Laveen vs. Surprise (Phoenix, Tucson, Scottsdale: showing, apartment, job)

[dmiller01]

Oh my God, some of you people are crazy. Surprise is SO much nicier than Leveen it isn't even funny. Most of the city is middle to upper-middle class with houses up to 1 million. It is beautiful... The older part of Surprise is close to El Mirage, but it is far removed from the newer, nicier areas... You DO NOT have to go near this area, unless you were unfortunate enough to have bought too close to it. The White Tank Mountain area is very nice, much nicier than most of Tempe, Mesa, etc. and believe me, a much larger part of those cities lie closer to questionable and potentially dangerous areas...

[OctoberMoon]

The area of Surprise we saw was near W. Olive and the 303. Yes, it was rural. I come from Los Angeles and were we were in Surprise there were miles and miles of nothing, a few shacks, and the some new communities. That, to me, is rural.

[ibarrio]

Surprise is rural when it comes to L.A. But so is Laveen. However, One area has frequent drive by shootings the other does not. So if you really want that LA hometown feeling go with Laveen because gun shots heard in the night are frequent.

[catfishmass]

All of Phoenix Metro is spotty, and the crime varies by the area.
Those perceived "nicer" areas -- which for some reason is defined as those areas of new homes -- are more prone to home invasions. My current neighborhood in Central Phoenix has more than its fair share of graffiti and the occasional burglary. We used to live in North Scottsdale, which is light on crime save for the car break-ins, but frankly DH and I got bored up there.

Personally, I would go with Laveen. I know some would disagree, largely it seems because the area is close to the abject brown people neighborhoods (please note my sarcasm). Surprise is *really* far, and I've done that drive in rush hour -- I think next time I will just put a gun to my head.

Something to consider, that nobody will mention about Surprise, is that most of town is directly under the flight path for Luke Air Force Base. A family friend has a very nice home up there, but one evening on their patio listening to fighter jets was enough for me.

[smood86]

i would choose surprise over laveen. having lived in south phoenix for a good portion of my life (which is what laveen is) i would never go back. yes it is close to downtown and to everything really, it is just not a good place to be. if you have any kids or are planning to have kids, the schools there are horrible. i feel i did not learn all i should by going to school there. i now live in the west valley and love it.

[jco]

Originally Posted by catfishmass

All of Phoenix Metro is spotty, and the crime varies by the area.
Those perceived "nicer" areas -- which for some reason is defined as those areas of new homes -- are more prone to home invasions. My current neighborhood in Central Phoenix has more than its fair share of graffiti and the occasional burglary. We used to live in North Scottsdale, which is light on crime save for the car break-ins, but frankly DH and I got bored up there.

Personally, I would go with Laveen. I know some would disagree, largely it seems because the area is close to the abject brown people neighborhoods (please note my sarcasm). Surprise is *really* far, and I've done that drive in rush hour -- I think next time I will just put a gun to my head.

Something to consider, that nobody will mention about Surprise, is that most of town is directly under the flight path for Luke Air Force Base. A family friend has a very nice home up there, but one evening on their patio listening to fighter jets was enough for me.

Well, there is some truth to what you're saying. The commute into Phoenix during rush hour is not fun. Getting better, but a long way from pleasant.

Yes, it's a Luke flight area. No, we don't hear jets all the time. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I heard one.

I used to think being far was a bad thing, but now that I'm sitting away from all the woes of Phoenix, I'm glad to be here! The commute is worth it (and yes, it's taken me awhile to say that).

[chocolaterie]

I think the air traffic has to do a lot with where in Surprise you are. But frankly speaking, out of all the areas we looked at, Surprise will be the one of choice.

[instantclassic]

Well i have never been to laveen but live in Surprise. Thank god I only have three more weeks to go until i go off to college. Anyway surprise is one of those over percieved nice areas. It has its fair share of crime justlike every other Phoenix suburbs. earlier tonight someone stole money from a cash register using a crowbar at Target. a few weeks ago someone opened fire in the Target parking lot. Thank god no one was hit. recently there was a stabbing after a dispute between construction workers, this I beleive happened across the street. So my suggestion is before you move into a community make sure it has what you're looking for and always be aware of your surroundings. Never assume your in a "nice city" because there is no such thing as a nice city.

[_Charles_]

The charm of Laveen is that it is still low density. Many of the residents live on horse acreage and have horses.

Surprise is just one more extension of the cookie cutter subdivision madness that has consumed much of the Valley.

[OctoberMoon]

See, that's the thing. I want to be close to downtown and Tempe, because of my age. My husband is a cop and will be joining the Phoenix police when we move. We are not having children anytime soon, so schools are not an isssue as of now.

Laveen is MUCH closer to urban areas than Surprise. Like I said, I have a friend who is moving to Laveen and another friend who already lives there. My husband and I also explored the area well. It's really not as bad as some of you are making it out to be. I lived in NORTH SCOTTSDALE in 2003 and I still don't think Laveen is that bad. Then again I had some really snobby neighbors in North Scottsdale who complained about everything, so every area has its bad qualities