Laveen vs. Surprise (Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale: houses, rent, work)

[OctoberMoon]

Hello!

Hubby and I are thinking of moving to Arizona early next year once I am finally finished with school. I lived in Scottsdale for a year back in 2003 and loved it. I've always thought about going back and now that we want to buy a home and since it's pretty much out of the question here in L.A., Arizona seems like the place to go!

Now, we can't afford Scottsdale considering we are looking to spend under $250,000. I have a friend moving to Laveen from Scottsdale (she just got married and they wanted a brand new home.) I KNOW all the of things being said about the area on here and she herself is a little hesitant about living there. But new homes there are VERY reasonable and it's so close to downtown and other areas with shopping and fun stuff. So I started looking for new homes in the Laveen and found one I fell in love with. Hubby loves it as well. It's in our range at $230,000 and having a good friend in the area makes it seem like a great deal. I am just still so iffy because of all that has been said about Laveen on here.

Turns out the builder has the same model home in Surprise for over $25,000 less (at $204,000). From reading up on Surprise it seems like a lot safer of an area, just very remote. I did read some posts about a huge new mall going up out there as well as other shopping.

Here's my dillema. A less desirable area, but with more nearby, for more money (and a friend a few miles awa), or the same home in a little safer of an area but with less to do, possible long commutes and no one we know near us.

ANY suggestions would be helpful as I'm very confused and we're heading to Arizona this weekend to talk to the builder. I would love pro's an cons of each area other than what I've mentioned. Thank you so much!

[Ponderosa]

I have a friend who lives in the Laveen area and just loves it. There are some nice houses and developments there now compared to just a few years ago.

I think the problem in Laveen, if any, is that you are so very close to less savory areas of town. The criminals prey on each other for the most part and don't drive out to Laveen to kill and rob other people . And really, it is just mostly poor/working class people, not criminals who live around there. But, as an up-and-coming affluent urban professional living in that area, you will have to rub elbows with the poor and even the criminals. You will see them at Safeway, Walmart and the gas station. They will be next to you at traffic lights. Their kids are in the schools.

To be honest, though, Surprise is not much better in that regard (and the same could be said about a lot of the west valley). Surprise was just another impoverished dump until the development wave passed over a few years ago. You run into poor/working class/illegal people everywhere in Surprise. You really need to go to the east valley - places like North Scottsdale, Ahwatukee or Gilbert if you seek demographically homogeneous communities of upper middle class people.

So, if you like Laveen, go to Laveen instead of Surprise and be near friends. Having friends nearby can make all the difference in your enjoyment of life here.

[ibarrio]

Surprise is a lot safer then Laveen. The powers that be in Surprise have built a very nice community. Like the poster said, buy in the newer areas of Surprise.

I would never recommend Laveen over Surprise. I have friends that live in Laveen and they do not like it. A couple of weeks there we played poker at their house and heard three seperate shootings. Ponderosa is the first person I have seen recommend Laveen over Surprise.

There is a link with the crime stats. You can check crime by zip codes.

Also, Type Laveen and Surprise in the search.


Search results for Laveen



Search results for Surprise

[OctoberMoon]

Thank you both for your input. I do not mind shopping and sharing gas stations with the poor/illegal/working class, at all. And I actually enjoy living around a variety of ethinicites; I grew up with friend of all backgrounds here in L.A. and honestly when I lived in Scottsdale for that year it felt a bit weird to me in that sense.

It's just the stories of shootings like ibarrio just mentioned that turn me off and make me question Laveen.

I guess I will just drive around a lot this weekend and see how things look in each area. Thank you for the links, though, I'm sure they will give me some answers.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by ibarrio

Surprise is a lot safer then Laveen. The powers that be in Surprise have built a very nice community. Like the poster said, buy in the newer areas of Surprise.

I would never recommend Laveen over Surprise. I have friends that live in Laveen and they do not like it. A couple of weeks there we played poker at their house and heard three seperate shootings. Ponderosa is the first person I have seen recommend Laveen over Surprise.

There is a link with the crime stats. You can check crime by zip codes.

Also, Type Laveen and Surprise in the search.


Search results for Laveen



Search results for Surprise

I didn't recommend Laveen over Surprise. I just think that in both Surprise and Laveen you will run into the same types of people in the stores and restaurants around there (maybe no Sun City types in Laveen) and that Laveen is not nearly as bad as the reputation it derives from being next to/part of South Phoenix. I think that if you like that area for the convenience, have friends there who recommend it and you would be close to it is worth considering and not just rejecting based on some stereotypes we old timers may have.

I guess it depends too on what you call "Laveen". I don't think of 67th/Broadway as part of Laveen for example. Laveen, to me, is the area up next to S. Mountain over to the old store and Post Office on 51st Avenue.

[twiggy]

I have to agree with Ponderosa on this one. Part of Surprise backs a bad area "El Mirage". (little barrio) Full of crime. It depends on were you live there to. As a matter of fact I believe to drive out of Surprise you have to go through El Mirage, were as with Laveen you can go around S. Phx. (not positive anymore, they might have built new roads by now). Chandler is the same way, there are bad areas in downtown Chandler I avoid at night. Parts of it I don't. I do have a friend who lives in Laveen also and she loves it. She has a child in a great montessori school, with farm animals and a garden. So, I think it would depend on life style. If you have kids I would check the boundries for both areas to see who they will be schooling with.

[nitram]

Surprise is a large sprawling actively growing city. Sun City Grand, a retirement community, is also located within Surprise. Surprise has several Baseball spring training clubs. Surprise is a great investment area. They have annexed a lot of property going west toward Wickenburg. The majority of Surprise today is a nice modern up to date actively motivated town.
Yes there is a ghetto area in the El Mirage area, far from the main activity of Surprise. And it's no different than any other city in the Metropolitan area. Laveen is not my cup of tea, but then there's always a buyer for something everywhere.

[Lorann]

I would recommend Surprise over Laveen, but neither are perfect or ideal. Surprise does have some really nice areas. I don't know if you have kids or planning on it, but definately check out the schools. Good luck to you on your move.

[sun queen]

Go for Laveen. It is more centally located. U will have some traffic issues, but nothing like what u will face coming out of Surprise every day. Suprise is just too far away from everything. Good luck and if u relocate to AZ welcome to the Valley of the Sun.

[Magnum Mike]

If you're going to be working in downtown Phoenix, then Laveen will be a good choice. The commute from Surprise to dowtown and back will take about 2 hours from your day.

If you're going to be working in northwest Phoenix, Glendale or Peoria, then Surprise should be your choice.

Laveen is still a small community and some of the new developments over there are gated communities, so I wouldn't worry about crime too much.