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I love these "everything is beige" remarks. I am not sure about the wisdom of painting houses dark chocolate is in this climate. My next roof may be white. I also think of Santa Barbara where everything is white and it is one of the most beautiful spots in CA.
It's not true anymore, anyway. I suspect the remark was made by someone who knows nothing about trends in new home construction and/or rarely leaves their 80s-genre subdivision. The trend today is to have various colors from dark to light along with contrasting trim and stone accents. This is clearly evident in newer suburbs like Surprise. Earth tones rule, of course, as they should in this environment. Yellow and pink and blue just don't look right.
Homes no longer look so uniform in color or elevation. In Goodyear, it is against city ordinances for home builders to have the same color scheme on adjacent homes. Most HOAs now approve and encourage a variety of home colors. In my HOA if you paint your house anything other than the original color it cannot be the same color as the one on either side or across the street from you. We have come a long ways from the 80s when all homes being built here had red tile roofs and were painted Navajo White.
It's not true anymore, anyway. I suspect the remark was made by someone who knows nothing about trends in new home construction and/or rarely leaves their 80s-genre subdivision. The trend today is to have various colors from dark to light along with contrasting trim and stone accents. This is clearly evident in newer suburbs like Surprise. Earth tones rule, of course, as they should in this environment. Yellow and pink and blue just don't look right.
Homes no longer look so uniform in color or elevation. In Goodyear, it is against city ordinances for home builders to have the same color scheme on adjacent homes. Most HOAs now approve and encourage a variety of home colors. In my HOA if you paint your house anything other than the original color it cannot be the same color as the one on either side or across the street from you. We have come a long ways from the 80s when all homes being built here had red tile roofs and were painted Navajo White.
In Marley Park there are blue, yellow, and greens. The grass is very green as well. The moderator was right, too, we know of the crazy hot summers, but that doesn't mean we can't boast of the positives!
You might want to consider Glendale, as it is just on the other side of the 101 from Surprise, and is affordable.
Also, go to AZ Central and take a look at the crime in the area before you decide where you want to live.
Marley Park is, in my opinion, one of the nicer master planned communities but there are many to look at.
Not really it's too hyped up and then you move here and it's like.. this is it? Really?
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Originally Posted by MotleyCrew
I love these "everything is beige" remarks. I am not sure about the wisdom of painting houses dark chocolate is in this climate. My next roof may be white. I also think of Santa Barbara where everything is white and it is one of the most beautiful spots in CA.
Well white is better then seeing brown everywhere. To be honest, brown is just an ugly color.
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Originally Posted by Uhuh
Marley Park is the place in Surprise to check out. It is the only semi unique planned community in Surprise. I will warn you, the hoa fees don't pay for anything. They shut down the resource center, and public lawns are not coming as frequently. The neighbors are very "hi" and "bye" my car ran out of gas as I was leaving to the gas station (about a mile from my house) I attempted to push it for several blocks, all my neighbors cruised passed me, not 1 stopping to ask if I needed a hand or a ride to the gas station, something I have done to complete strangers. A lot of people are starting to move out, the houses are cheap, and its still a lot better than the other communities in Surprise.
Marley Park is really nothing special. When I looked at it from an outsider's view I was like hey this looks like the place to live. Now that I live here I wish we would of just stayed in our old neighborhood. The HOA fees pay for the parks to be taken care of. Don't you realize how nicely kept up the park are? The grass is always uber green and they're always trimming the trees. Yeah some of the neighbors are very hi and bye, but most aren't. Just you see more kids around then adults and obviously they aren't going to sit there talking to a stranger. And it's not our responsibility to help you push your car. It's your fault for not getting gas when you should of. Quit being lazy, and just stop to get gas when you should, it's better then having to push your car a mile later on. So what if you offer help to strangers. Everyone isn't the same, and it's not like the people know that you would do the same if they were in your situation. And some of them might be heading off to work or to the hospital so don't judge before you know THEIR situation. A lot of people are moving out because they originally moved to Arizona because it was cheap, and now they have the chance to buy a house for cheap in another state. But yes, Marley Park still is a lot better.
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Originally Posted by Sunnysdad
The thing I love about Surprise is that all the communties have the elementary school right in the middle of them. All the kids walk, or ride bikes to school.
The schools are so drab though, and I haven't had one teacher that was really a "wow" teacher that I like. And everyone tries to load into one school while the others that they should be going to sit there with barely any kids.
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Originally Posted by ShanMan72
I live in Surprise and have for two years (we're from Wisconsin). Surprise is an up and coming area. Now's the time to get in before they major retailer expansion that's going to occur soon. I live just west of the 303 on Bell Rd and there's plans in the works for a new Super Wal-Mart, Target, a Mall, and an entertainment district off of the 303 about a mile or two south of where I'm at now. I'd say look around the 303 area of Surprise if you're looking for something that'll grow in investment once all these retailers get moved in. Surprise really surprised me on how convenient everything is within a close proximity. With the 303 expansion almost completed (within a week or two) north of Surprise we'll have easy and quick access to US Hwy 17 which takes you north toward Sedona, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon. The 303 south is undergoing change as well which will give us better access to US Hwy 10 which goes into down town Phoenix and west toward Los Angeles. If you want some info on places and need a realtor, I can help. I know of someone who's absolutely wonderful with clients and she can help you find exactly what you need. She runs her own business. The only thing I ask is that you look into the schools. By far, the Peoria School District is probably the best in terms of quality of education. Surprise is in the Dysart School District. They're trying hard to improve the quality of the schools here and you can find some that are of distinct quality. If you have Elementary aged children I know that Cimmaron Springs is rated as an "Excelling School" which is a very high distinction. If you want more info please let me know. Welcome to Arizona.
Surprise is an up and coming place, but it's progressing soo slow. When I first moved out here it was like WOW where did that come from? But now I'm like zzz when will this be done. There's not really a lot for teens to do. Just the movies. Most of the teens have to travel to Phoenix to do anything fun. All of Surprise's 'big plans' are going to be finished around 2014, such as the mall, so we still have a while before any of that. May I ask how you know the Peoria School District is the best? I've been looking into it and the schools look amazing but reading you saying that perked my interested a lot o: I also hear good things about the Scottsdale School District. Dysart, it just stinks big time. I'm sorry to say that but if you have kids, enroll them in the Peoria School District. I don't know much about it but I hear good things and it will be a much better experience then Dysart. And yes, I agree Cimarron Springs Elementary School is a good school. Everyone thinks Canyon Ridge is THE school to go to, but don't waste your time on the waiting list.
Surprise is an up and coming place, but it's progressing soo slow. When I first moved out here it was like WOW where did that come from? But now I'm like zzz when will this be done. There's not really a lot for teens to do. Just the movies. Most of the teens have to travel to Phoenix to do anything fun. All of Surprise's 'big plans' are going to be finished around 2014, such as the mall, so we still have a while before any of that. May I ask how you know the Peoria School District is the best? I've been looking into it and the schools look amazing but reading you saying that perked my interested a lot o: I also hear good things about the Scottsdale School District. Dysart, it just stinks big time. I'm sorry to say that but if you have kids, enroll them in the Peoria School District. I don't know much about it but I hear good things and it will be a much better experience then Dysart. And yes, I agree Cimarron Springs Elementary School is a good school. Everyone thinks Canyon Ridge is THE school to go to, but don't waste your time on the waiting list.
Prior to moving to Surprise we did quite a bit of research on the schools here. By word of mouth and by looking at sites like Arizona Schools - Arizona State School Ratings - Public and Private you can find the information about school quality. We lived in Peoria (Vistancia to be exact) prior to moving into Surprise and our move there was initially prompted by the research into the schools. I can say for certain that Vistancia Elementary is an incredible school (and has that "Excelling School" rating). As for the ammenities here in Surprise....yes they're slow to come but when they do watch out!! No more having to travel all the way down to Arrowhead just to do some mall shopping. And there are plans to institute an entertainment district for the kiddos. Also I've come to learn they're going to build a hospital. Info about the Surprise business expansion can be found on Prasada's website Prasada - Home.
I live in the Surprise Farms division 2 area (off cotton and greenway). Our house is right across from the greenest park we have seen in the phoenix area YET. It's quiet and peaceful here.. the neighbors tend to keep to themselves, but they aren't afraid to report stuff they don't like to the City. HoA fees are high in the area we are in... and we were mislead about this during the process of buying the house. I still don't even know what all the hoa money is going to... there's not really a community pool or anything out here... and for the fees we pay, there SHOULD be.
The area is conveniently located near the mountains and away from traffic, but still decently close to needed stores. Grocery stores are within a mile or 2, but places like walmart/target are 5 miles away. There's a development plan for a near walmart, best buy, ross,and nearly a dozen other stores to be built just a mile south of here, but they're not expected to be done til Nov 2012.
Other than here, the other city we liked is Litchfield Park... probably the most ideal city to live in the west valley, but it can be the most expensive.. hoa-wise, and has the least available houses on the market. It's more conveniently located to the hwys and shopping and even the AF base... but at the same time, is too close to the base if you don't need to be there (and the planes will be louder there).
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