TEMPE or NOT? (Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale: homes, condo, rent)

[girlsonthemove]

Hi!

My mother and I currently live the cold state of Michigan. (Today is Easter and the temperature is about 35 for a high). She is a young retiree, and I am 21 needing to go to college.
Anyway, we have been toying with the idea to move to Tempe for about a year or two. I've heard great things about it, however I know that the weather is very hot during the summer, the crime rate seemed a little high for what we've researched online, and it's also a college town. We weren't sure if all these issues paid off considering the year around sun and warmth.
Does anyone have any input on if this would be a good move?
Thank you!

[silverbear]

Originally Posted by girlsonthemove

Hi!

My mother and I currently live the cold state of Michigan. (Today is Easter and the temperature is about 35 for a high). She is a young retiree, and I am 21 needing to go to college.
Anyway, we have been toying with the idea to move to Tempe for about a year or two. I've heard great things about it, however I know that the weather is very hot during the summer, the crime rate seemed a little high for what we've researched online, and it's also a college town. We weren't sure if all these issues paid off considering the year around sun and warmth.
Does anyone have any input on if this would be a good move?
Thank you!

Tempe is an attactive place to live, but keep in mind that it is part of a metro area of over 3 million. It's not a standalone community, and it's not separated from the city by a semi-rural buffer zone the way Ann Arbor is from Detroit. Instead, Tempe blends seamlessly into Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Guadalupe, and Chandler. You should therefore evaluate not just Tempe specifically, but the Phoenix Metro Area as a whole, as part of your decision-making process. Even if you choose to live within Tempe city limits, it's important to understand that you will be a resident of a large metropolitan area and could find yourself commuting to work elsewhere in the region.

My thoughts specifically about Tempe, some of them pasted from another thread:

Downtown Tempe, near the campus of ASU, is undergoing a lot of upscale, urban development with 30-story condominium towers, new apartments, and light rail all on their way. The downside is that some of the college-town feel is being sacrificed as chain stores displace independent businesses, and venues for live music, which used to be plentiful, have diminished.

Many independent businesses displaced from downtown have moved south to the more suburban portions of Tempe that lie below Southern, the 60 Freeway, and Baseline. There you'll find attractive neighborhoods of single family homes. It's still a pretty dynamic area, though, with many ethnic restaurants hidden in the various strip malls.

As for recreation, Tempe is near South Mountain Park, a park in Phoenix with dozens of miles of hiking trails. Tempe also features Tempe Town Lake, which is good for canoeing, rowing, and kayaking.

There are some shaky areas just west and east of the ASU campus with marginal apartment complexes. Those areas are being gentrified pretty quickly, however. It would be a reasonable commute to Central Phoenix, although traffic on the Broadway curve can be brutal. Light rail will improve the commuting options when it opens in two years.

[Idaho]

Originally Posted by silverbear

Tempe is an attactive place to live, but keep in mind that it is part of a metro area of over 3 million. It's not a standalone community, and it's not separated from the city by a semi-rural buffer zone the way Ann Arbor is from Detroit. Instead, Tempe blends seamlessly into Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Guadalupe, and Chandler. You should therefore evaluate not just Tempe specifically, but the Phoenix Metro Area as a whole, as part of your decision-making process. Even if you choose to live within Tempe city limits, it's important to understand that you will be a resident of a large metropolitan area and could find yourself commuting to work elsewhere in the region.

My thoughts specifically about Tempe, some of them pasted from another thread:

Downtown Tempe, near the campus of ASU, is undergoing a lot of upscale, urban development with 30-story condominium towers, new apartments, and light rail all on their way. The downside is that some of the college-town feel is being sacrificed as chain stores displace independent businesses, and venues for live music, which used to be plentiful, have diminished.

Many independent businesses displaced from downtown have moved south to the more suburban portions of Tempe that lie below Southern, the 60 Freeway, and Baseline. There you'll find attractive neighborhoods of single family homes. It's still a pretty dynamic area, though, with many ethnic restaurants hidden in the various strip malls.

As for recreation, Tempe is near South Mountain Park, a park in Phoenix with dozens of miles of hiking trails. Tempe also features Tempe Town Lake, which is good for canoeing, rowing, and kayaking.

There are some shaky areas just west and east of the ASU campus with marginal apartment complexes. Those areas are being gentrified pretty quickly, however. It would be a reasonable commute to Central Phoenix, although traffic on the Broadway curve can be brutal. Light rail will improve the commuting options when it opens in two years.

Thanks for the low-down on Tempe!
My high school senior is headed to ASU in the fall.
We've visited a few times, and appreciate your insights.
Feeling better prepared removed