Moving to Az. places NOT to live? (Phoenix, Tucson: condo, crime rates)

[rabidamazon]

Hi there.
I live in Anthem (the place north of Phoenix). We moved here last August and chose it for its close proximty to my Fiance's workplace. It is a great little community with almost everything you need contained in "town" and it has this small town feel since there are under 30K residents. There are two sections, Parkside and Country Club (gated, golf courses etc).
The only problem I have is lately there has been a string of crimes not making the news. Dead body dumped across the highway (they say not a homicide but how did it get there?) and LOTS of break-ins at the local businesses. I recently read it takes the police 45 minutes to respond (don't think it helps to publish that).
I-17 is the only way in and out of Anthem so it can make for a difficult commute to downtown. If there is a wreck, forget it.
Also, Surprise is not just a retirement community anymore. They are experiencing tremendous growth there and many of our friends live in that part of town. Same traffic issue, there is no good way in and out yet.
Since I am new, that's about all I know. Good luck!

[bigtye]

We will be moving to "Robson Ranch", a new retirement community in Casa Grande/Eloy which is very upscale and filled with amenities. Started selling homes there in December, '05 and have already sold over 350. Our home will be ready for occupancy in Sept/Oct '06, looking forward to moving there from sunny, (and very expensive), southern california.
For anyone thinking of moving to Arizona, they presently have no Property tax limits and it is speculated that they will raise taxes in Maricopa County by 50% this year. There is a group that formed for Tax revolt that is trying to get enough signatures to get a ballot measure similar to California's Prop.13, which would put a lock on the taxes and limit increases to a 2% cap per year. That is a big plus if it gets passed. You can find more about them through their website at ArizonaTax Revolt.org
We have spent considerable time in the Phoenix, chandler, casa grande area prior to our purchase and find it very affordable and very pleasant.
If anyone is looking for info on crime, ethnic makeup, income, etc., you can go to city-data.com and find almost anything about any city in the U.S.

[SpeedyAZ]

I'd recommend Chandler, this place is growing considerably and is very upscale plus you'd pay about 150% less than you'd pay in Scottsdale. I bought my home here a while ago and I couldn't believe how much it's worth since it's pretty small (but has a good view).

Check out Chandler, it's a beautiful (and young) place!

[arizonapeach]

Hi,
Hope you made it to San Manuel by now. Let us know how you like it so far. I would be interrested to find out about the town.

[alpine]

Lake Havasu City is a good place not to live, OK to visit but they have a water problem. (We go there every Winter for 2 -3 months) You NEED an RO system and then it is still awful. AZ in general is growing so the demand for water is growing. Kingman however doesn't have water problems. We always liked Prescott but it's pricey. Best thing to do is subscribe to the "local" newspaper or get it on-line and read up on a place & then go visit for a few days.
Wyoming ain't bad and we have low crime, good water and polite cowboys!
Good luck!

[flounder083]

I am looking to relocate from NY to Az and was just there. Almost bought a house in avondale and then drove not even a 1/2 mile and hit a cargo train and alot of shanties.Was wondering if anyone had any information on surprise
Thanks

I just took a trip to Az looking for houses. Right before i was ready to do the contract i spoke to the local PD (face to face and not over the phone )there and asked how was the area and was told to drive around because there was low income down the road and they were breaking into houses aover there. SO i did and a 1/2 mile down the road from the community i was about to buy in was a cargo train which i never knew was there and right after the tracks was awhole different area the houses were all shanties . Needless to say i called realtopr and told him i was nto buying.

[getframedaz]

What part of Seattle are you from? I lived in the Renton area. I have lived here most of my life though. If you are still interested in moving to AZ, let me know if you need any further advice.

[steve22]

"Are there places within say 50 miles surrounding the Phoenix area that one shouldn't live in due to high crime etc.?"

Yeah, the whole valley. If you want a nice community with little crime, move to Prescott or Flagstaff. Phoenix has too any problems to even enumerate, don't get me going. And local realtors will deliberately lie and mislead you into thinking a bad neighborhood's a great place to live, especially if they know you're from out of town & don't know the valley. It can be very difficult to tell from an outsider's perspective when they're in a high-crime or section 8 region, since this is such a relatively new city and there isn't much blight. A subdivision with nice-looking, new houses can actually be a very bad place to live, & you won't know it until they've sold you on it & it's too late. I would definitely recommend renting for the first several months so that you can get a real feel for the layout, bad areas, commute times, etc. There's no reason to rush into buying anything, especially considering the glut of homes for sale & consequent downturn that home prices are taking. Just for reference's sake, I copied & pasted an address which will link you to Sperling's web page showing the violent crime statistics for the nation's largest 100 cities. As you can see, there are only 3 metropolitan areas worse than greater Phoenix. If you move here, watch your back.

[alpine]

KO, if you want good tasting water don't go to Lake Havasu City. Other than that, it's an OK town. Treats snow birds unfairly at times. Kingman is a growing city you should check out.
HTH
John

[msvi007]

Gilbert is a great place to live, but you really can't go wrong if you choose Gilbert, Chandler or Tempe area.