Living in one place for half of the year and living somewhere else for the other half posses some unique problems, all of which are solvable.
When I first went shopping for utilities such as phone service Cable/Satellite TV and an Internet service provider (ISP), I found that everyone had a special deal for me. You can “Bundle and Save” or you can get “Deep discounts” for the first six months. Sounds great and is great if you are a year round resident of Maricopa, but read a little further. Usually you are expected to stay with the service on a continual basis for up to two and sometimes three years.
The thing to do when ordering all utilities is to be straight up with them and explain your particular situation to them. Let them know you want “NO CONTRACT” There are some 350,000 winter visitors in The Valley and 55,000 are Canadians. They have dealt with us before and have the answers we are looking for. You may not get the “Deep Discounts” but you will get services that you can start and stop, increase and decrease as you need them. In many cases you will be able to “Bundle and Save”. Just make sure there is no contract involved.
I like to activate my internet as well as my long distance in Arizona and suspend my Canadian services. Then reverse the situation come Spring. Other people have a “Basic” phone hooked up in Maricopa year around and purchase long distance calling cards for calling home. This works very well and is very inexpensive.
Security Systems are a horse of a different colour. They require you to sign up for a three year contract (If you want the $99.00 installation specials). You can ask for NO CONTRACT here as well, but you will be paying substantially more for the hook up. Oh, and you will be required to have a standard phone hooked up for the Security company to monitor your home. Some companies have an alternative cellular method for monitoring, but that will cost extra.
And finally, don’t be afraid to call around and make some price comparisons. What is right for me may not be right for you.
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