Phoenix Living

[johnnyV]

I am beginning to look at areas to live in Phoenix & the valley is huge. Does anyone living there have any gouge on awesome areas to look at or areas to stay away from?

Thx, JV

 

[Guppiedriver]

Stay away from South Phoenix and the soutwest side of Phoenix. Most of the pilots I know live in the southeast side of town...Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Awatukee. Stay away from Central Chandler. Those are all good areas and you get the most house for your dollar. Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and Carefree are in the North Valley and are nice but expensive. On the west side of town the extreme north and extreme west ends of that area are the best. They are the newer areas and they are reasonably priced. Stay away from Central Glendale.

 

[EternalOptimist]

We lived in the Phoenix area for two years. If you are looking to buy, we owned a home in East Mesa (Red Mountain area). It's the fastest growing area and relatively untouched by crime. It seems like it's kind of far away from everything but with the freeway getting ever closer, it's a fast commute. My husband commuted to the airport and I commuted to Scottsdale and his commute was by far the quickest - only 25 minutes or so. We loved it and in many ways wish we were still there.

I don't know about renting. I know we rented a townhouse in West Mesa when we first moved to the area - off of University Avenue (921 W. University) and it was NOT a good place to live. Lots of pilots live in Chandler but we stayed away from that area because of the traffic. Scottsdale is nice but expensive. Stay out of downtown Phoenix for sure. North Phoenix is not bad - there is a lot of development in that area. We have friends who live in Ahwatuki (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) but my impression is that it's not a great place to live - the commute isn't bad to the airport from there though. Fountain Hills is kind of far away but it's very nice - very expensive also. Tempe is your typical college town - lots of partying and noise. Not a great place to live if you want peace and quiet but not a bad place to live from a crime standpoint. It's close to the airport also.

Good luck! Stay cool.

 

[On Your Six]

Paradise Valley and North Phoenix (Moon Valley) are very nice. Scottsdale is very expensive but much less so than the LA basin (it's all relative). I would also look at the Mesa and Chandler.

 

[ILLUMINATI]

Try looking at the far southwest side. Specifically, Estrella Mountain Ranch (EMR). Same home, same floor plan, same builder on the southeast side will cost you $30,000-$40,000 more. Takes 40 minutes to get to work.

Or, try out west at Verrado; new development at the base of the White Tanks. Hell of a lot cheaper than the east/southeast side and just as nice with the exception of Scottsdale and points northeast (if you can afford it out there).

 

[dashocho]

The first question is......how much are you looking to spend? Each of these areas mentioned is good. SW valley not much out there, but nice and quiet. I personally just moved from the Red Mountain area to Awatukee. Red Mountain-Las Sendas is very nice and quiet, but I got very tired of driving 30 minutes to eat at somewhere nice etc. Lots to do in Awatukee and it's central location is nice. Lots of pilots over here too.

 

[johnnyV]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I have been looking in the right place. Scottsdale is awfully expensive, Mesa is cool & the surrounding area. I will have to check out the other areas mentioned. Good starting points though, thanks again.

When are the freeways supposed to be done to East Mesa?

JV

 

[starchkr]

Anyone have anything to say about Surprise on the NW side of town?? Been looking and it seems like you can get a good home for around 200K.

 

[EternalOptimist]

Nothing bad to say about Surprise. It's a good area and growing fast but it's way out there. If you don't mind the commute, it's probably a good place to invest in.

 

[Juniority]

What's your favorite Phoenix season? The one where the streets melt, or the one where the temperature inversions hold all the pollution down at about eye level.