Need personal opinions on where in Arizona. (Phoenix, Tucson: for rent, crime)

[spordee]

Well, I've been reading up as much about Arizona and their towns and cities as much as possible.

My whole family lives now in Connecticut and every one of us hates it here because of prices and the cold winters, so were all moving in different directions. Some are going to North Carolina, some to Florida and some to Maine. My mom, brother, aunt and I want to move to Arizona because, well no clue really we just picked it. It was Colorado at first but it seems like it has a lot of snow and cold.

So I searched and read and have come down to four main places:

Prescott
Surprise
Peoria
Gilbert
Each one seems to have its own downfall.
Prescott is pretty close to being the same as Connecticut in the area of weather, just less snow. We want to get away from cold weather but its been said it is a nice town.
Surprise is also mentioned as a nice town but far away from many jobs and will cause a long commute to anywhere.
Peoria, don't remember anyone saying anything bad besides it being closer to Phoenix and the crime and traffic.
Gilbert is said to be very nice by almost everyone that I've read upon. The only thing is that it is close to Chandler and there is supposed to be a lot of gangbangers and crime? Well, where I live in Connecticut we are fed up with "gangbangers" and people causing a stack load of unwanted and pointless trouble. Obviously it will happen everywhere be we want the minimal, if possible.
I saw pictures of Maricopa and it seems to be the prettiest of all that I've look at, and if I recall Peoria and Gilbert are in that County. We really want some solid advice and want to know where definitely NOT to live and which is the better of the choices.
We are looking to rent a house, 3-4+ and we can probably afford up to 1500 because we are all of working age. Which brings me to another point. I'm 16 and I've never had a job, my brother is 19 almost twenty and obviously my mom and aunt are also of working age. 
We don't need big corporate jobs that require going into Phoenix, just jobs like working in restaurants or grocery stores, etc, which is also why I don't want to live to close to Phoenix cause everyone seems to say it has a lot of crime, well like any other major city. We're going down there pretty much blinded without jobs a home or anything so it will be pretty scary. Our main concern it if we'll be able to get a job that we need and if it will be hard or not. We plan on going almost as soon as I finish school this year which is June 16 or so.
Wow, I wrote a lot, sorry about that, yikess. We're also going to be driving all the way to Arizona, so I'm guessing 5 day drive? With our pets and we're leaving almost everything behind to "start over" pretty much.
Well, I think or I hope I've covered everything, any other questions and I'd love to explain. Oh, one more thing. We love the beach and since there is none in Arizona, how long will the commute be to get to a beach in California?

[sh9730]

Wow, for a 16 year old, alot of thought going into this post!!! Good job!

Unfortunately, with soooo many variables its hard to give a good choice....sounds like you guys can live just about anywhere, and as for renting a house you will have plenty of choices anywhere for that amount of money.

So, it sorta comes down to - while you say you dont want to be in the city, how often will you go there for baseball games, museums, etc etc... Does a drive on those occassions bother you?

Otherwise, almost all of the outlying areas of Phoenix on any side (North=Peoria/Surprise, East=Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa/Tempe, West=Buckeye/Goodyear, South=Maricopa/Casa Grande) are all basically the same place with the same stores, same restaraunts, etc.

As for the drive to the beach? Depending on exaclty where you end up - between 5-6 hours to either LA or San Diego beaches.

And of course there are other choices in the state - Tucson (little cooler in summer and more mountains), Yuma -(Not too much there but 2 hours closer to the beaches in CA and HOT HOT - more than Phoenix even), Kingman (middle of road whether wise and close to Vegas!), and other places too.....

[spordee]

If we even think about going to baseball games or the museum, we probably won't be for a while. Not much of a sports fan me or my family, haha. I'm trying to convince my family to move to Gilbert, seems to be the best choice, hopefully from what I can tell. I'm just worried about getting a job.

[Ponderosa]

Interesting conclusions you have drawn from our posts. Maybe we should phrase things better. First, Chandler is every bit as nice as Gilbert and I think most people would say it is better. As for gangs, forget about it. There may be gangs in Chandler but it is a big place and most people who live there would not even know that. The gangs and crime are concentrated in the old parts of town far away from where the growth has been. Second, Prescott weather is not like Connecticut no matter how much you have compared statistics. Prescott has wonderful weather with 300 plus days of sunshine, warm but not hot summers, and comfortable winters. No one would move from Prescott because of the weather. While it is nearly ideal weatherwise, it is also too expensive and lacking in good paying jobs. Lastly, you are overdoing the crime thing. Crime is not an important factor for most who live here. Of course, it occurs, but if you live in a decent neighborhood, it is mostly something that you see on TV. It is perfectly safe to drive into any part of Phoenix to work as well. Some places would be nice to be out of by dark, I suppose, but even that is arguable.

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Second, Prescott weather is not like Connecticut no matter how much you have compared statistics. Prescott has wonderful weather with 300 plus days of sunshine, warm but not hot summers, and comfortable winters. No one would move from Prescott because of the weather.

I second that Ponderosa...there is NO way anyone could compare Prescott's winters to those of Connecticut. They're a bit colder than I would like but most would find them pleasant.

PS I live in Sedona and the job availability up here, and in Cottonwood and the Prescott area does not hold a candle to the Phoenix area.