Moving to Az. places NOT to live? (Phoenix, Tucson: insurance, low crime)

[kowatson]

Hi there, I hope someone can help! My family is planning to move from the Seattle area to Arizona and we are literally at step 1. Are there places within say 50 miles surrounding the Phoenix area that one shouldn't live in due to high crime etc.? Thanks!

[Azbound]

kowatson, I'll be waiting to hear replies as we are relocating from Maine in June. Good question!

[layn]

I think PHOENIX is a great place for you and your familey to live if you like heat.

[SpeedyAZ]

Unless you want to be up until 3 a.m., pass on Tempe. The ASU campus is there and some properties are not kept up well.

[wra]

Originally Posted by kowatson

Hi there, I hope someone can help! My family is planning to move from the Seattle area to Arizona and we are literally at step 1. Are there places within say 50 miles surrounding the Phoenix area that one shouldn't live in due to high crime etc.? Thanks!

The Phoenix area is growing in all directions, until the growth hits Indian reservations. 50 miles from central Phoenix is a large area. You'll probably find its easier to commute if you live reasonably close to your work. There are some options with Park-and-Ride and a new light rail system if you will work downtown. Light rail construction just started.

The commute into downtown is crowed in the morning. Where there are mountain passes or mountains to go around, the traffic is more congested cause everyone has to pretty much take the highways and surface streets may not go where you need to go.

Hard to say much about crime. Probably follows typical urban trends. You'd have to reach your own conclusions -- make a visit!

[SpeedyAZ]

Do like wra said, take a visit and make sure it's long enough to get a feel for the area (maybe 2 weeks if you can). There are many good cities here, but usually people have an idea of where they want to move. Where is your job at? What is your budget? Do you want to be near a lot of attractions or a more calm area?

Neighborhoods change very quickly here, you might be in an affluent area and if you drive 5 miles down the road, the area might be more run-down. As a rule of thumb, try to stay away from some parts of Mesa, Tempe (unless you're young), and some parts of Phoenix.

[Mike from back east]

K-O: Phoenix is a very decent place. Scottsdale is exceedingly nice, fairly close in, a bit pricey and from our observations full of swanky medical practices.

We looked all over the area. Out to the east I recall Apache Jct and Gold Canyon, with very nice houses, but long commutes to downtown. Way out to the north is Wickenburg, a pleasant community with some flavor as an artist colony.

On the north side are some nice places too. For families there is the Paradise Valley area, and I believe Del Webb / Pulte was building a large community for both seniors and young families, and some of the homes had basements. For retirees there is Surprise, AZ, with a huge Del Webb planned community for seniors.

Any area full of seniors will have low crime. Visit there if you can and see for yourself, nice looking areas should be okay. Dirty run-down areas will have a higher crime rate. Talk to the locals and talk to policeman face to face.

As far as crime goes, check the data found in the listing on the splash page of this website. There is a numeric score for crime in a city. To find it, drill down by state and then city. It only took 20 seconds to find the crime rate in the Phoenix area is "610" vs a national average of 327. Here in Colorado Springs the number is 377.

In my posting under the "OTHER" category I talk about a book called Cities Ranked and Rated, it will provide another numeric listing that ranks the 400 largest metro areas for various data, including crime data. That book makes it easy to compare.

Another way is to work with your home owner and auto insurance companies to see what they can tell you about the rates you'll pay. Lower rates mean better communities or areas. Higher rates would apply in areas to avoid.

It is very hot there. We visited over Labor Day a couple years ago and it was 113 on the highway, and 105 overall. Sunscreen, eye protection, chapstick and lots of water are absolute requirements most of the year. I'm told that during the 3 hottest months most people just stay indoors and hide from the heat, doing their exercise or errands at sun up or after dark.

See my tip (in OTHER) for using realtor.com to look at housing in any given area or zip code. It can steer you to the better looking areas.

[Mike from back east]

K-O: That community on the north side of Phoenix that I was thinking of is called Anthem-Parkside. Website is: http://www.delwebb.com/Default.aspx (broken link)

If you get down there for a visit, let us know how you do and what you think.

Thanks!
s/Mike

[florizona]

I prefer the Tucson area. Will be moving to a small town, San Manuel, just outside of Tucson in 2 weeks. I cannot wait! Live in Tampa, FL, now and hate it! Lived in AZ for 13 years til I moved back to Florida in 2005. Cannot wait to get back to Zona!

[TallGuy]

Originally Posted by florizona

I prefer the Tucson area. Will be moving to a small town, San Manuel, just outside of Tucson in 2 weeks. I cannot wait! Live in Tampa, FL, now and hate it! Lived in AZ for 13 years til I moved back to Florida in 2005. Cannot wait to get back to Zona!

Ha ha, that's funny. I lived in San Manuel for about 14 years or so. It's alot different now with the mine shut down. There's been alot of stuff in the newspaper about them doing a retirement community there, which would be a cool thing for the town. It's pretty bare right now!

I'm probably headed down there when they demolish the smoke stacks at the mine. I can't imagine what it will look like with those gone!

Good luck!

Tucker