Moving to Phoenix area - commute time to Tempe

[techaz]

I would advise you to live as close as possible to work. I live really close by (Ray rd and Kyrene) and this whole area is pretty nice. I pay 1200/month for a pretty good size house with a pool, so that should tell you that you really get more than you pay for housing-wise compared to most of the country.

Use google maps and satellite view on apartments you are interested in. It will show restaurants and shops nearby, and if you're looking for "walkable", make sure those shops/restaurants are within a half mile.

You have a lot of options on where to live, that's why I advise you to live close to where you work. Avoiding rush hour traffic, or the freeways in general, is always a good idea if you get a good choice on where to live. Might as well avoid any headaches.

You can use this to find the walkscore of neighborhoods: http://www.walkscore.com/

PHX metro is really not great for true walkable neighborhoods....but you can find a place close to a few shops/eateries.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by techaz

I would advise you to live as close as possible to work. I live really close by (Ray rd and Kyrene) and this whole area is pretty nice. I pay 1200/month for a pretty good size house with a pool, so that should tell you that you really get more than you pay for housing-wise compared to most of the country.

Use google maps and satellite view on apartments you are interested in. It will show restaurants and shops nearby, and if you're looking for "walkable", make sure those shops/restaurants are within a half mile.

You have a lot of options on where to live, that's why I advise you to live close to where you work. Avoiding rush hour traffic, or the freeways in general, is always a good idea if you get a good choice on where to live. Might as well avoid any headaches.

You can use this to find the walkscore of neighborhoods: Get Your Walk Score - Find Walkable Apartments and Rentals

PHX metro is really not great for true walkable neighborhoods....but you can find a place close to a few shops/eateries.

Good advice.

I would love to live closer to my workplace in Tempe but there are factors preventing that from happening.

I really dislike the crush hour commutes especially on I-10 and 202 Loop.

[Kritter47]

Thanks again for all the advice. I've got a couple of nice apartment complexes on my list in the Fashion Center area. My aunt is going to drop by to check them out for me in person in the next couple of days.

However, I've also found a very tempting condo rental near the intersection of Price/Southern. This is totally against many of the things I kind of want (walkability for one, also it's about 8 miles from work so not far but not close either), but the place itself is awesome. No carpet, which is perfect for my asthma/allergies, right size, right price and a garage (which I never thought in a million years I'd find important, but I really like the idea of one as both a place to keep the black interior of my car away from the UV rays and as a place to store my smelly, smelly hockey gear).

The only downside is my aunt said she's heard that's not a great area. Now, she's not the most, er, PC person in the world, and all the crime mapping stuff I found online made that area look average. But are there some issues there that I wouldn't know without being a local?

It's on my shortlist for right now. I still have a month to move, which almost feels like too much time with the non-apartment rentals. This whole thing is entirely to stressful. :-)

[ReadyFreddy]

I would agree with your aunt... it's average. Not great, not terrible. If it appeals to you, go for it.

[observer53]

I agree with Ready Freddy. It sounds like it might be a good choice in many respects, and the area is not a deal breaker.