I wrote last month about running a single sponsored tweet on my Twitter feed, asking for your feedback, which came back overwhelmingly in favor. The $244.53 payment arrived earlier this week, and I rounded up to $250 and donated it to Childrens Hospital Boston with my gratitude for the great care they’ve given my daughter over the last three years.
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Speaking of charitable donations, Amiel Sawdaye, the scouting director for the Red Sox, is participating in the New England Parkinson’s Ride this year, with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research. I know many of you are Red Sox fans and I offered to pass along the link where you can make a donation to help Amiel reach his goal of $10,000. He’s already halfway there and I gave $100 myself just before writing this.
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So I mentioned in passing today that my family and I are leaving Massachusetts next month after eleven years year, nine in the same house, to relocate to Arizona. I’ll probably have more to say about it later on, but for now, I wanted to answer the two main questions that came up in the chat.
The only change you’ll see in my work at ESPN is more coverage. I’ll get more games while cutting my travel, which has been a major goal of mine for the last year and a half or so. I’ll get to more Fall League games and more spring training games, as well as seeing instructional league action for the first time and having better access to the Pac 10 and to all the great high school prospects in southern California.
The second question I was asked today was why the move, and the simple answer is that everything pointed the same way. We’ve spent the month of March in Arizona the last three years and have grown to like the area. Neither my wife nor I is actually from Boston – although the frequency with which I’m “accused” of being a Bostonian/Masshole/Red Sox fan is absolutely hilarious – and we are here largely because of a career I abandoned nine years ago. I have never liked winter or the cold one bit, even as a kid in New York, and the climate here hasn’t been great for my daughter, who has inherited my seasonal allergies and is prone to croup and even a little asthma. We’ll get more house for our money in Arizona, of course, and it’s one of the few places in the country where there’s a major league club, minor league activity, and access to good college and high school baseball. Most importantly, though, you never have to shovel sunshine.
Of course, it’s an enormous change for us, and we’re leaving our comfort zone here in Boston, as none of our friends or shops or routines will fit in the moving van. If you live in the East Valley and have a shop, a restaurant, a farmstand, a local product or service, anything you want to recommend, please send it my way.
Wow. That is a big move. Never easy–may you make good friends and find the good food you seek. Thanks for all of your writing.
Good luck on the move, Keith.
So, uh, do you plan to make your home a flophouse during the Cactus League season? If so, can I crash?
Welcome to the East Valley Keith.
I don’t know if you’ll be as far south as Gilbert, but there’s a great coffee shop out here if you get the opportunity. It’s called Bergies and it’s in downtown Gilbert.
Here’s the link: http://www.bergiescoffee.com/
These guys roast their own coffee on the premises. It’s excellent stuff. I usually buy my beans within a couple hours of them being roasted. Hard to beat that…
It’s a little cottage that’s about 90 years old so it really has some character. It’s right next door to Joe’s BBQ, which is generally considered the best BBQ in the Phoenix Metro area. (Though I’m from Kansas City and they don’t know BBQ out here. After over 8 years in AZ, I still miss KC BBQ with a passion. I’m also a Royals fan so it’s nice to go to Spring Training games. I’m genuinely excited to see some of KC’s highly rated prospects play next year in Surprise.)
If you are going to be living further north in the Scottsdale area, there’s a coffee house called Jolta Java. It doesn’t have the character or fresh roasted coffee like Bergies, but the coffee’s consistently good as is the food.
Here’s that link: http://www.joltajava.com/
Good luck with your move out here!
When you get to East Valley, you have to go to the Mission. The Latin American food is incredible and the desserts are even better. Check it out!
Welcome to the Valley.
I’d rather see Shaughnessy leave MA than you, Keith. We’ve loved it here since moving up a year and a half ago (and I’m also from NY originally) but the weather isn’t for everyone. Best of luck.
Good luck Keith – I could see moving to the Bay Area (I moved to Boston after college and then out here to the SF), but Arizona seems… impressive. Still, your Boston place can probably buy you half the state. Is your wife’s gig amenable to moving?
I’m happy to see that you and your family are going somewhere warm and that we can expect more coverage from you in the future. Best of luck with the move. Thanks for all that you do.
Hard to argue with the contention that sunshine never needs shoveling. And the asthma argument is unassailable. (My grandparents moved from Ohio to Arizona in 1919 for a similar reason.) But it’d be tough from me to move from a city that has roots that go back centuries and have grown a city that is “organic” to a city that is more “manufactured.” Any thoughts you have on the transition as you settle in would be appreciated. (Personally, I live the Bay Area, but in a town that was founded in 1858, so has an organic feel.)
I’m starting a job in six weeks that will involve regular travel to Phoenix. I hope to see you at a Fall League game.
After living almost 17 years of my young adult life in Boston, I pulled up stakes and moved to WI for a university job. I have to say that you will miss it. I did, and Madison is a pretty cool place. AZ ooof. I’ve been several times, and I am a little surprised that this is your preferred landing spot. Not really sure where you will eat or who you will discuss Murakami novels with..prolly with strangers on the internet. But I guess thats how you roll. Good luck, but I’m guessing this will be less than ideal for you.
Welcome to AZ, Keith. Big fan of your baseball coverage, but I think that I enjoy your Dish posts even more. Keep up the good work and hopefully I’ll see you at some Sun Devil games or maybe more likely at the Whole Foods in Chandler.
If you haven’t been there (or even if you have) you should head to Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe (Scottsdale location also). Above average food and some of the best micro brews that I’ve ever had are made on site. I recommend the Hop Knot.
Klaw,
Sort of shocked you would leave your beloved Sox on the East Coast!! 🙂 Actually, we are Chandler residents transplanted from the Great White North ourselves. Minnesota in our case. We have been down here about eight years. Just wanted to throw out a few pointers. I moved down here thinking I was done with the allergies…but, they are worse then ever down here for me. For me, I’m miserable pretty much the entire month of April. Until the temperature reaches that magical 100 degree mark, I sound like a mix of Darth Vader and the Godfather. Anyway, I’m hoping you and your daughter get the relief you are looking for in that regard…I guess it all just depends on what you are allergic to and if it grows in the desert.
Also, my wife is the cook of the family…she has us all on great diets and knows where to get a lot of great organic fruits and veggies. She also belongs to a CSA in the SE Valley. Unfortunately, she is just finishing up a two-week trip to MN so I can’t ask her exactly where she goes at this late hour. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to their return tomorrow so I can end my pizza, chinese, and beer diet. I think I’ve put on about 20 pounds. Depending on where you are heading in the Valley, I can pass along the info on our CSA, if you are interested.
Good luck with the move.
Welcome to the East Valley Keith, looking forward to having you out here. I would try Liberty Market and Joe’s Farm Grill and I would second the beer at Four Peaks. It will be cool to see you at Sun Devils games and if you want to borrow Agricola let me know.
Curious as to why Arizona as opposed to Southern California. AFL and spring training that much of a clincher over (ostensibly) the breadbasket of HS baseball and the cultural and climatic advantages it’d have over Phoenix? Familiarity?
Either way, here’s hoping you enjoy your new adventure.
Less than ideal? He’s still prevalently a baseball writer!
Check out Cyclo in Chandler, AZ
http://cycloaz.com//
I think AJ’s compares favorably to Whole Foods:
http://www.ajsfinefoods.com/
Renowned chef Mark Tarbell has a place on Camelback that’s worth a try
http://www.tarbells.com/
and there’s a nice wine/spirit shop next door called Sportsmans.
Best wishes, Klaw!
Good luck with the move! I hope you continue to think of your Boston years very fondly, despite the blight of winter. As a fellow Bostonian, I enjoyed your occasional (but always trenchant) takes on the local color. I’ll miss them as you’re riffing on the great American southwest.
Keith, I’d recommend checking out the blog http://www.skilletdoux.com. It’s food centric (with Top Chef coverage as well), but the writer recently relocated to Phoenix and is very connected to the Phoenix food scene. Would be a great place to go for recommendations of all types.
Best of luck with the move Keith. x2 to Trieu on missing your take on local stuff here in town. Hope everything goes well and looking forward to the additional coverage.
Say “hi” to Alice Cooper when you get there. I, too, hate the cold and have long thought about moving away from Chicago to Arizona, which I like as well. The dry air would be great for my allergies too, but the heat – I mean, OK, it’s not humid – has to be a bit intimidating. 115 is 115 even if it’s dry heat, right? Sure, there’s air conditioning but who wants to stay indoors all the time?
Good luck with that 120º heat for months at a time… Also, careful with getting too much of a tan, you may get deported back to Boston… In all seriousness though, sunscreen, it’s your friend.
Best of luck, Keith. Mass just got a little more blue!
“Keith, I’d recommend checking out the blog http://www.skilletdoux.com.”
Seconded. And the writer went Boston to Arizona as well (although his stop in Boston was brief).
Keith,
Good luck with the move! I moved back to NY after spending seven years in Boston, and, as much as I love living in Manhattan, I miss Boston everyday. I always tried to run into you at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods, but I never did, and I guess I never will.
I don’t think I could ever leave the snow, but I sure could leave the humidity … so enjoy the dry air!
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ This is a link to a produce co-op that is available once a week. The fruits and veggies are never the same, but that it part of the fun. Plus I think it is pretty cheap ($15+) unless you add on organic breads and whatever else the had that week to your order.
Two pizza places (why does the Phx area seem to be a pizza haven all of a sudden?) I can recommend are http://www.ljspizza.com/ and http://www.organstoppizza.com/ . LJ’s pizza has a great pizza buffet serving every kind of pizza you can imagine. Organ Stop pizza is more about the experience than the food. There is a large organ that is the focus point of the restraunt, and the organist plays 45 min sets. He plays everything from Disney to Mozart. I don’t know if that is something your daughter would like, but children seem to love it. I have been going there since I was a kid.
Good luck getting all settled in. If the heat ever seems unbearable, just remind yourself of 70-75 degrees from Thanksgiving to St. Patricks Day. That always makes me smile.
Not a fan of Cyclo, myself. Much prefer Pho Van on Dobson/Warner for Vietnamese food. Order the spring rolls, but ask for it with grilled pork and shrimp. Plus, there’s a huge Asian grocery store in the same plaza as well as Gelato 64 (yes, 64 different flavors of Gelato).
For Korean food, Takamatsu (yeah, it’s a Japanese name, ask the owner, Richard about the name) on Arizona Ave/Elliot Rd.
For sushi, love the baked scallop roll and spicy tuna roll at Sakana in Ahwatukee (around Elliot Rd and 51st st, I think. It’s on the west side of the freeway).
Thanks for the recommendation on Five Guys, never heard of them before you mentioned it.
As someone who lives just southeast of boston, I can’t disagree with anything Keith said. Except, I’m weird and I love the cold and the snow.
Are you really moving there to take the DBacks GM job?
Yes. When is the introductory press conference?
Also, I’m going to miss your TV spots where your background showed the Citgo sign and Boston University. I miss that wonderful landmark and my ol’ alma mater, and that always brought me back. Damn you Klaw!
Ha! Just this week I arrived in Boston (Brookline) after spending a few years in the Bay Area, and one of the fringe-benefits (or so I thought) was the possible random sighting of one Mr. Keith Law. C’est la vie. But I must say, even though I’m from the East Coast, and love Boston, I imagine I’ll head back out west eventually. You’re going to love it there, Keith!
Keith,
I’m sure you’ve seen this graphic already, but it came to mind instantly when I read you were moving:
http://www.flipflopflyin.com/flipflopflyball/info-arizona.html
Good luck with the move!
Best wishes to you and your family in Arizona.
good luck with the move keith
Looking forward to your west coast bias, AZhole.
Hope your move is great. Here’s a decent page that allows you to compare air quality for different counties, which may be of interest.
http://www.epa.gov/aircompare/
Much health and happiness to you and yours, klaw. Even though I knew you weren’t from around here, it seemed kind of cool that you lived in the area.
I hope wherever you end up in AZ, there’s enough green and blue to keep you sane.
Keith – welcome to the East Valley…stay away from the West Valley…I used to live there in Laveen.
There is a 5 guys on Val Vista and Baseline now…I just found it, not sure how long it has been there. Also, for beer San Tan Brewing in Chandler has good beer and OK food (the guys used to work at 4 Peaks). If beer and pub food is your choice, go to Papago Brewing in Scottsdale on Scottsdale and McDowell…30 beers on tap and huge beer store cooler full of bottles…try the Orange Blossom Mandarin Heffeweizen…it is good.
As for food in the East Valley, these people have great recs. I found a new BBQ place that is OK. I used to go to Joe’s but got sick there on Father’s day…and I have not been back. The new place is Waldo’s in San Tan Village mall. The sauce was great. The pork was pretty good, but I did not care for the brisket.
Anyway, now you can smoke your own BBQ and not have to worry about the cold and keeping temp up.
Good luck with the move!
Keith,
Welcome to the Valley! I moved out here in January and love it. I would second the thoughts above on Four Peaks in Scottsdale and Tempe. I’d recommend their Kiltlifter (Scottish Ale).
Also, if you ever make it out to my side of the valley and go to the Reds/Indians facility in Goodyear, you can try a mom and pops Mexican place near by called Raul and Theresa’s, http://raulandtheresas.com/. This will be my first AFL season and I can’t wait.
If you’re looking for a classy place to take your wife on a date, I’d definitely recommend Top of the Rock. It’s part of the Marriott Buttes Resort in Tempe. Amazing sunset views overlooking the city. Outstanding atmosphere and food, but be prepared for it to make a dent in the wallet. (I proposed to my fiancee there last month 🙂 )
Welcome to Town, Alan