Arizona City by City (Phoenix, Tucson: renting, crime, house)

[jojokristen]

i dont know where u live in bullhead but in mohave valley where i live i own a half million dollar home on the river. walk half mile your in the water any homes in bhc that are on the water are surrounded by drugs and crime i would much rather drive 20 min to get to the red lobster that doesnt exsist than have hispanics watching my home to rob it there is nothing wrong with mohave valley

[xD3M0Nx]

Originally Posted by kbat

Here's Show Low and surrounding environs:

Weather: Four season climate with snow in the winter and fairly mild summers compared to most of Arizona. Areas at lower elevation such as Snowflake get hotter in the summer and see less snow. Moving toward Pinetop-Lakeside, your snow shovel will get a real workout in the winter. Highs in July are generally in the low to mid 90s, lows in January are typically in the teens and occasionally single digits.

Schools: Not very familiar with the Show Low school district. There aren't any 4-year colleges nearby, but Northland Pioneer Community College has locations in Show Low and Snowflake.

Commute: During the winter, usually pretty good (weather notwithstanding). During the summer, the roads are choked with tourists. It's still not anything like big-city traffic, but the roads here are not designed to handle a lot of cars and the speed limits are very low... so don't expect to get around quickly.

Food: Not a lot of big chain restaurants except for fast food, but there are some good locally owned places. RT's Black Bull does steak and burgers very well, Grumpy Jake's is renowned for its BBQ pork, Charlie Clark's Steakhouse gets good reviews. There are some hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants, a so-so Chinese food place... everything else is beef, BBQ or fast food.

Shopping: There's Super Wal-Mart and Safeway. That's about it. There is a strip mall with a Sears, Radio Shack, Bealls and JC Penney. Nature's Realm is a natural food/health store in Show Low, with a smaller location in Pinetop. Everything else is either a discount store such as Dollar General or a mom-and-pop shop. There are some interesting craft, hobby and souvenir stores such as quilting stores, rock shops and locally crafted rustic furniture.

Air Quality: Generally great unless there's a wildfire or prescribed burn nearby. Very low humidity. Pine pollen can be bad in the spring. Little or no smog.

Economy: High unemployment. Wages are generally low. The area is growing and there is work to be had in construction and in service industries. It's much easier to live here if you're retired or have a secondary source of income.

Crime: The area is struggling with a meth problem and the level of property crimes and drug-related offenses reflect that. A lot of DUI, which makes driving at night a little scary. Not a whole lot of violent crime.

Housing Prices: Very good compared to most of Arizona. Steadily going up. Right now you can get a decent 3 BD house for $250-$300k. Toward Snowflake or Vernon property is less pricey, around Pinetop-Lakeside and also Linden or Pinedale you'll pay more. More trees = more expensive.

Good Neighborhoods: It's kind of a crap shoot. There are some very nice houses right next to some real dumps. Do your homework, visit the neighborhood several times and chat with your potential neighbors before you buy. Pay attention to the police logs and notice places that keep popping up. The police logs are posted in the local newspaper, the White Mountain Independent, which is published twice weekly and is available online.

Culture: Show Low and Snowflake are mostly cowboy towns, with a lot of ranchers and blue-collar workers. Snowflake is a strongly Mormon community. Pinetop-Lakeside tends to be more retirees, wealthier people and tourists. There is also the White Mountain Apache reservation nearby. You'll find a lot of rodeos, cowboy museums and the like around Show Low. The Apaches have an annual pow wow on the reservation, to which everyone is invited. They are willing to share their culture with respectful non-Indians and have a museum and cultural center which is open to the general public. All told, this is a very conservative area and its citizens are not always amenable to new ideas, though with the influx of people from other areas this is (slowly) beginning to change.

Recreation: Lots of wilderness and places to go hiking, hunting or camping. The Sunrise Ski Resort is nearby. If you like the great outdoors, you will find plenty to do. If you don't, you will have to look a little harder for entertainment.

I grew up in Show Low and the areas around it.

Schools: A new elementary school building was build a around 2000-03, located by the High school (all i know about the new one).
Grade 7-8 ("Jr. High") has strict teachers. Kids can be easily sociality passed.(might have something to do with "No Child Left Behind") the buildings are by the old elementary school. It has a football field/track field, A black top basket-ball court and thats about it.
The high school is located by the elementary school. It has a large auditorium (its own building),football feild, wood-shop, metal-shop, two car auto-shop. Its a very nice cafeteria. The class rooms are nice too. The teachers are about the same as Jr. high and it a little rougher to get sociality passed. The hall ways are packed like a holiday on the Vegas strip when switching classes.
For More Information click here

Shopping: Home Depot right next to the Walmart as well as "Mom-pop" construction places.

Other: The rest of the info your is right, but the local newspaper "White Mountain Independent" spins more stories then the national news. I can't count the times their info turned out to be half-truths and some times out right lies.
The city's lose dog control got a 5 year old girl killed in 2004....
I currently live 2 hours away and thank you kBat for reminding me why i moved.

[mimichamp]

I am thinking of moving to AZ all the info I am reading is very helpfull. I learned a few things I did not know. Keep it up

[arizonapeach5000]

Thank you for this great description of Heber/Overgaard. I always wanted to know what it is like. I may just take a drive up there from Prescott.

Great job!

Petra

[lynguy1]

This is a fab link I have just returned from Peoria to Scotland UK with a view to relocating and both myself and my husband loved it.

We found the people to be so friendly and helpful and have decided its the place for us as a family (we have a 5 year old boy).

Can anyone suggest housing that have a communal meeeting place as we will need this as we will have no friends and will need to make some new one.

Thanks

[dabgal]

Doesn't anyone live in Yuma? I need more info.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by dabgal

Doesn't anyone live in Yuma? I need more info.

The search button is your friend...


http://www.city-data.com/forum/arizo...highlight=yuma
http://www.city-data.com/forum/arizo...highlight=yuma
http://www.city-data.com/forum/arizo...highlight=yuma
http://www.city-data.com/forum/arizo...highlight=yuma

[bmiller3]

Where's Mesa's information??

[twiggy]

Well, there has defiantly been some changes in Chandler. A lot of foreclosures mean you can get a cheap home but once decent areas have gone down to not so good areas. They are taking away the Kyrene school district and mixing it in with the Chandler district. Corona High school is being torn apart because of mold issues and cancer links and they are building a new large casino out here. Needless to say homes won't be worth anything pretty soon. This is mainly happening in the "closer to Phoenix Chandler neighborhoods. Ray Rd. to Pecos Rd. From Awatukee to Gilbert borders. It's not really terrible but if you are just moving in, I would go south. The border is experiencing change right now and I'm not sure how it will play out in the future.

Here is some data:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Chandler-Arizona.html

A map:

Chandler Map - Map of Chandler, AZ

Ocotillo and beyond heading south to Queen Creek seem to be fairing pretty good. They still have a nice feel and decent neighborhoods for your children. Stay south of Pecos though. Closer to Tempe and Mesa boarders are not going to hold ground through this crisis.

Ocotillo Rd. / Alma School Rd. is a town center, lots of shops.

Downtown Chandler is Arizona Ave./ Chandler Blvd. shops, thrift stores and city court building.

Price freeway(101 freeway)/ Chandler Blvd. is a town center with a large Chandler Mall. Cosco, toy stores, eateries, Target greatland, Lowes, etc. etc.

Not to worry though, there are a drug store and smaller grocery and gas station on almost every corner.

Typical suburb, strip malls, nice box stores, man made lake neighborhoods and large, new schools. A little bit of a commute to Phoenix, I would say about 35 to 45 min. in morning and afternoon traffic without any accidents or delays.

On a good note, a lot of new employers out here. Motorola, Intel still seem to be doing ok. Lots of small business, law, insurance, accounting firms, and several malls to work at. (so far that is, with this climate you never know)

Night time temps are about 2 degrees cooler than Phoenix. Doesn't seem like much but on a 110 day it makes a difference. Air is a bit cleaner, and so are the neighborhoods. Typical desert look. Stucco, desert landscape, pools. Very Arizona! Similar to Southern California suburbs. Nice mountain views.

As with any desert outlying Suburb there are scorpions, black widows, roaches, africanized bees, crickets, wolf spiders, a few unidentified flying objects, beetles, ants, and a few tarantulas, tarantula wasps and snakes. Not as many now that more people are moving in out here but enough for you to notice. If you don't want any, make sure you talk to your real estate agent and pest companies in the area before you purchase or rent.

If you like the desert you will be more than pleased out here. It is a very typical suburb, and has nice amenities. You must have good transportation out here. Things are really spread out, which is typical of a suburb of Phoenix. You will have to drive everyday, so don't forget your car. lol (unless you are in good shape and don't mind sharing roads with cars). No good bike paths.

For Phoenix, Chandler is a decent pick for a suburb. It really has everything you would need or want.
Yes, all the homes look the same though. Stucco, cream to brown, and a lot of tile roofs. You won't get away from that out here. If this is what you want, then you will be a happy camper!!

[garisonthebull]

Buckeye currently is undergoing a metamorphasis of its own. The School distric still rates poorly, but they are working hard to improve. New homes are selling VERY CHEAP with big incentives to buy. $90-180,000 is the averrages for single family homes. There is not a lot of anything out here though. You know your not very big when the hype is over a Wal-Mart and a Lowes. However there is a big equity shift that should happen before to long as a lake is in the works. If it is constructed it will be larger than Tempe Town lake and will boost home values substantialy. Buckeye is one of the fastest growing communities in the nation. Problem is it seems every road is under construction. Now is the time to buy here. As there is no real entertainment and contruction drives buyers out and prices very low you can score a great deal. Then in five to eight years when developers build shopping entertainment and a lake your homes value should take a signifigant jump.

I hope that was what type of info you wanted.

The Bull

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