Estrella or Gilbert or Chandler (Phoenix, Goodyear: to rent, buy, good schools)

[Devine]

We're looking at moving to the Phoenix area soon. We're moving from a small town in Iowa. We have our heart set on Estrella (mainly from all the recommendations on here) We visited in March and loved it. My daughter and I will be visiting next week one final time before the move. I'm wondering if Gilbert or Chandler would be better tho, just because it seems like most of the things to do are there, or somewhere in the East Valley.

I'm looking for someplace safe, lots of stuff to do for families, good schools, and not too much traffic & pollution. We're looking to rent first, 3 or 4 bedroom for 1500 or less, then buy for about 150k. I want to check out schools when we're there, so I want a good idea on where I should look. What would be the best place for us? My kids are 3 and 10.. My oldest is into dance and cheerleading, and needs an accelerated program at school. Thanks so much for any advice!

[Ritchie_az]

Forgive me for not remembering, but where will you be working? Goodyear is a long ways from Gilbert. If you'll be working on the east side of town, Gilbert and Chandler are both good choices. If you'll be working on the west side, Goodyear is a good choice. But you wouldn't want to live in Gilbert and work on the west side of town or in Goodyear and work on the east side of town.

[Ponderosa]

Not exactly an apples to apples comparison. Estrella is a small development (for now) while the other two are pretty big cities. You have a lot more choices when it comes to schools, location, housing, things to do, etc in those places. I like the isolation of Estrella from the congestion and bustle of the area and would never go back down the hill to live.

[sheena]

All good depends on commute.