moving to az (Phoenix, Peoria, Sun City: jobs, special needs, housing)

[vmac]

hi, me, my wife and my two kids are planning to move to phoenix area and work at (both) at sun city. we want to move into a neighbourhood with good schools, low crime and best commute time to sun city. what would you phoenix residents recommend. i wouls appreciate a response

thanx

[sablebaby]

There are many areas, but I'd recommend Fletcher Heights in northern Peoria. It's a big subdivision that is full of families and good schools. It's a very safe area with a variety of prices. They are just a few years old. We moved from there just a year ago to be closer to our jobs and phoenix.

[jco]

There are two cities I recommend for you: Surprise and Lake Pleasant. Both have low crime. The biggest complaint from people living in both cities is that the commute to Phoenix is terrible, but you'll be ten minutes away! If you move to Surprise, I recommend getting your kids into the PH school instead of public school. The public schools are improving, but they simply can't keep up with the growth. It's sad to see kids that are already insecure because they're in a new place go to school and not get the attention they need.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

There are many areas, but I'd recommend Fletcher Heights in northern Peoria. It's a big subdivision that is full of families and good schools. It's a very safe area with a variety of prices. They are just a few years old. We moved from there just a year ago to be closer to our jobs and phoenix.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this area is an easy commute to Sun City! They are just a few miles from each other. Plus, there's a ton of stores and restaurants around, as it's very near Arrowhead Mall. They have grown a ton just in the last year since I've moved. It's definitely worth a look!

[MotleyCrew]

Surprise has some great deals on resale homes as well as "new build" right now. Google Standard Pacific and Morrison Homes to see what they have to offer as far as housing goes. We like Surprise as it is full of new shopping centers. If you don't mind moving up towards Lake Pleasant, check out Vistancia. We live there and have been very happy with all the ammenities and we are now enjoying our new Super Target 4 miles down the road from us. We are also getting a new Safeway on site so we can walk down the walking trail for groceries. Vistancia just opened it's first elementary school on site this year and everyone seems pleased with the school. The new builds start in the high $200's but Trend homes has some great starter homes starting at $179,+++ for an attached town home to $209,990 for a detached 1,600 square foot cottage home. There are also plenty of good resales in Vistancia. You might want to contact a realtor to give you a tour of both new and resale homes in the area. Good luck.

[WantingoutofAz]

I will second the recommendation for the Fletcher Heights area. We live there now and it is mostly families, a lot with young children. Arizona is not known for their schools but I have heard that the Peoria schools have a good reputation. The other area I would highly recommend depending on your price range is the Arrowhead area specifically the subdivision Sierra Verde. We lived in this neighborhood previously and loved it. It has a lot more grass than other areas and a lake with walking paths throughout the whole neighborhood. It is the Deer Valley School district which is supposed to be good as well. The nice thing about these areas is that you are very close to the 101 freeway which will make for a very easy commute to Sun City, probably 10-15 minutes at the most. For Phoenix, that is an awesome commute.

I would be glad to help you with any other specific questions.

Angie

[vmac]

thanks guys. one of my kids is a special needs child and hence our concern about public schools.

[jco]

I've been thinking about this post. This area would be a little further west than Surprise (believe it or not, there is a further west!), but the Verrado community seems to be an excellent community. It's absolutely beautiful, and there are a lot of amenities in the neighborhoods. I think their website is verrado.com. Thought I'd share!

[JMX]

Another planned community to consider is WestWing Mountain. It's in Peoria at 83rd Ave. and Jomax Rd.