Moving to Az. places NOT to live? (Phoenix, Mesa: houses, neighborhoods)

[SynMelRN2007]

My family and I are moving in October to the Phoenix area d/t our jobs. We decided on a location in east Phoenix d/t the kyrene school district for the twins and desert vista high school for our teenager. Are these schools as good as the website says they are? Can anyone tell me what specific areas are safe there? We were looking to rent for a year before possibly buying. Is the area around South Mtn safe? I believe its Ahwatukee near route 202 and 32nd st. Please advise before we sign anyones contract/rental agreement.

[Valley Resident]

Live In...
Near Westgate City Center Glendale, AZ
Litchfield Park, AZ
Surprise, AZ-except old town-DUMPY!
Paradise Valley, AZ
Anthem, AZ
Scottsdale, AZ
Goodyear, AZ-unsafe south of I-10
Avondale, AZ-unsafe south of I-10
Arrowhead area of Glendale/Peoria, AZ
North Phoenix, AZ-north of Thunderbird Road
Gilbert, AZ
Carefree, AZ
Cave Creek, AZ
Awatukee, Phoenix, AZ
Queen Creek, AZ
Fountain Hills, AZ

Don't Live In..
El Mirage, AZ
Mesa, AZ
South Phoenix, AZ
Tempe, AZ
Downtown Phoenix, AZ
Near Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix, AZ
Near Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix, AZ
Near Encanto Park in Phoenix, AZ

[Michigander in AZ]

Hi all,

I recently interviewed for a position that would be based in Eloy, AZ and would require occasional commuting to Phoenix (not too frequently). I am a single male, age 28, and I would like some recommendations for areas to live close to Eloy and Phoenix. I don't think I'd want to commute more than 30 mins and I looked at Casa Grande.

Basically, I am looking at low crime, affordability (if offered the job, my income would be about $64K), and activities and culture. Down the road, I'd also be interested in nice school districts when I have children.

Any recommendations?

[deena647]

Does anyone know about Glendale? We might transfer there with my husbands job.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Michigander in AZ

Hi all,

I recently interviewed for a position that would be based in Eloy, AZ and would require occasional commuting to Phoenix (not too frequently). I am a single male, age 28, and I would like some recommendations for areas to live close to Eloy and Phoenix. I don't think I'd want to commute more than 30 mins and I looked at Casa Grande.

Basically, I am looking at low crime, affordability (if offered the job, my income would be about $64K), and activities and culture. Down the road, I'd also be interested in nice school districts when I have children.

Any recommendations?

Casa Grande would be your best bet for 'small town' living and Tucson is close enough for big city amenities

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Valley Resident

Live In...
Near Westgate City Center Glendale, AZ
Litchfield Park, AZ
Surprise, AZ-except old town-DUMPY!
Paradise Valley, AZ
Anthem, AZ
Scottsdale, AZ
Goodyear, AZ-unsafe south of I-10
Avondale, AZ-unsafe south of I-10
Arrowhead area of Glendale/Peoria, AZ
North Phoenix, AZ-north of Thunderbird Road
Gilbert, AZ
Carefree, AZ
Cave Creek, AZ
Awatukee, Phoenix, AZ
Queen Creek, AZ
Fountain Hills, AZ

Don't Live In..
El Mirage, AZ
Mesa, AZ
South Phoenix, AZ
Tempe, AZ
Downtown Phoenix, AZ
Near Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix, AZ
Near Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix, AZ
Near Encanto Park in Phoenix, AZ

Tempe is by and large, actually pretty nice if you stay along the Mill/Rural Ave corridors and south of Broadway.

And most of Mesa is good as well.

Plus the 24th St/Camelback section of Phoenix (Arcadia) ain't exactly poor either

[Michigander in AZ]

How about Gold Canyon?

[lola8822]

Parts of glendale are nice......just go as far north as you can......north of like Union hills but the area north of Beardsley/happy valley is really nice....beautiful homes

[themudpuppy]

Has Golden Valley near Kingman changed much in the past couple of years? I was there looking at homes in 2005, and most of the affordable homes I saw in Golden Valley were very trashy looking mobile homes on bad dirt roads. I have nothing against mobile homes. I live in one now and like it a lot and it's about all I can afford, but the mobile home areas of Golden Valley just looked very trashy and "rednecky" to me. But it was about the only place in Arizona that seemed affordable on my low disability income.

Just wondering if the area has improved any? I'm still trying to decide where to move to. Been looking at the northwest too, but my heart really is in Arizona. I used to go to Arizona yearly and always felt like I was leaving "home" when I had to leave.

I also visited Eloy when I was there. I found a couple of affordable rental houses there recently, and they were listed as being built in 2007, so it looks like that area has been developed a bit more than when I was there in 2005. Wonder what it's like there now. I'm mostly looking for peace and quiet, so a small town is probably what I'm needing.

[BillyBaroo]

Originally Posted by tnp

I also visited Eloy when I was there. I found a couple of affordable rental houses there recently, and they were listed as being built in 2007, so it looks like that area has been developed a bit more than when I was there in 2005. Wonder what it's like there now. I'm mostly looking for peace and quiet, so a small town is probably what I'm needing.

Believe it or not, Eloy is about to start growing. There was a funny column about it just last week.

Smith: My God! Eloy really poised to grow | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®

I took a drive through Eloy a couple of days ago, south to north and back again, and look who's got the last laugh now: To the sophisticated eye of the professional (who's been reading the clips), Eloy has the look of a town about to boom.
Indeed, all of Pinal County is fast-tracking its way to fulfilling the prediction that all the way from Cave Creek to Nogales would be one megalopolis by 1960-something. Yuk yuk.
A few days and countless millions of dollars short, but better than never to the greedy eye of the developer, Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the country and growing its way toward Tucson, which in turn is growing its way toward Marana. I never drive through Marana without misting up thinking of my Dad, who made his living in Marana and places like it.
Places such as Marana, when Dad was alive - pre-1978 - were like Eloy when the Armenians happened upon it. Desert. Interrupted by cotton fields.
Marana was a cotton gin, a welding shop, a couple of lunch counters and Dale Gladden's farmhouse. No town hall, no Gracie Mansion equivalency.
Marana was a place like the Avra Valley was a place. A place to do the business of agriculture. After Gladden there were the Wongs, the Kais, the Anways and that was enough to form a quorum for any kind of argument you could promote.
Now Marana is a big city, if you think square mileagely. Like Casa Grande: Wait two weeks between your trips up I-10 to Phoenix, and you will find yourself uttering an involuntary, "Holy cow!"