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Old 10-18-2012, 06:06 PM
 
Location: wisconsin
6 posts, read 11,733 times
Reputation: 11

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Hi I'm looking at relocating my family to the Phoenix metro area so I can hopefully get a job doing what I'm going to school for. My wife and I have done a lot of research and really like the Mesa area from what we have read the schools are really good and have great test scores and the community is nice as well. I was wondering if I could get some input from people who live in the area or that know the area to see if it is different than what we are seeing. We do have two small children my son is 4 and my daughter is 2 so the school and safety are major factors to us. Also how is the job market in the Phoenix metro area and in Mesa? We would be coming from Wisconsin when we do move and we are playing on making the move in the next year.

Thanks
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Old 10-18-2012, 09:03 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,915 posts, read 43,311,267 times
Reputation: 10724
What field are you looking at? The job market valley wide is better in some fields than others. There are parts of Mesa that are very nice, others somewhat less so. You really can't describe the whole city as a "community". Lots of different neighborhoods, different income levels. The schools are not uniiformly very good; I don't know which ones you are looking at or what sites you used.

I don't know where you are moving from, but this is a very spread out metro area. Mesa itself covers a lot of ground. I would not be too focused on Mesa; if you end up with a job on the other side of the Valley, you will not want to make that commute.
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Old 10-18-2012, 09:22 PM
 
Location: Queen Creek, AZ
7,319 posts, read 12,273,964 times
Reputation: 4811
Quote:
Originally Posted by zsprague15 View Post
Hi I'm looking at relocating my family to the Phoenix metro area so I can hopefully get a job doing what I'm going to school for. My wife and I have done a lot of research and really like the Mesa area from what we have read the schools are really good and have great test scores and the community is nice as well. I was wondering if I could get some input from people who live in the area or that know the area to see if it is different than what we are seeing. We do have two small children my son is 4 and my daughter is 2 so the school and safety are major factors to us. Also how is the job market in the Phoenix metro area and in Mesa? We would be coming from Wisconsin when we do move and we are playing on making the move in the next year.

Thanks
It seems like Gilbert is the right place for you. Gilbert has one of the lowest crime rates in the United States, and has very good schools either in the Gilbert, Higley, or Chandler districts.

Actually, the Mesa school district really isn't quite one of the best in the Valley; the districts I mentioned above are better. The Chandler and Higley districts were rated an "A" for two straight school years now, and the Gilbert district was rated a "B" for 2010-2011 and an "A" for 2011-2012.
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Old 10-18-2012, 09:27 PM
 
Location: wisconsin
6 posts, read 11,733 times
Reputation: 11
I will have a bachelors in business management and marketing when we move. I was looking at greatschools.com and a couple other websites also on trulia.com when we were looking at places they have schools listed on there that are close to the house with a score from 1-10 and there were quite a bit of 7-10s one there. I'm moving from a smaller town in Wisconsin but I did live in Madison for 2 years.

Thanks for all the advice
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Old 10-18-2012, 09:33 PM
 
Location: wisconsin
6 posts, read 11,733 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andros 1337 View Post
It seems like Gilbert is the right place for you. Gilbert has one of the lowest crime rates in the United States, and has very good schools either in the Gilbert, Higley, or Chandler districts.

Actually, the Mesa school district really isn't quite one of the best in the Valley; the districts I mentioned above are better. The Chandler and Higley districts were rated an "A" for two straight school years now, and the Gilbert district was rated a "B" for 2010-2011 and an "A" for 2011-2012.
Thank you that information means alot and helps out I was on a site and it said mesa schools tested the highest in the US but it could have been old information and I can't remember what site it was. For the Chandler, Gilbert area what is there for shopping, activities, etc. are there options close by or are they a drive from the area. how long would the commute be if I would happen to get a job in Phoenix. Sorry about all the questions just trying to collect as much information as possible this will be a big move for my family.
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Old 10-18-2012, 09:40 PM
 
1,551 posts, read 3,636,520 times
Reputation: 3131
I moved to Mesa from Oregon 16 months ago and I've loved every minute of it. All my kids are grown and have flown the coop so I can't comment on the schools but many parts of Mesa are nice. Particularly the farther east and the farther north you go although there are exceptions to that.
I'm in Northeast Mesa in a great (for me) neighborhood. It's not the most expensive area but I like it. I have easy access to the freeways, I'm very close to the lakes and I'm close to open country yet very close to everything the city has to offer.
Overall, Mesa is a good place but be aware that there are a few less desirable areas.
Gilbert and Chandler are also great areas on the east side. It's worth a look.
I'm not the best person to ask as I haven't been here that long so all I can say is that I'm VERY happy here so far.
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Old 10-18-2012, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Queen Creek, AZ
7,319 posts, read 12,273,964 times
Reputation: 4811
Quote:
Originally Posted by zsprague15 View Post
I will have a bachelors in business management and marketing when we move. I was looking at greatschools.com and a couple other websites also on trulia.com when we were looking at places they have schools listed on there that are close to the house with a score from 1-10 and there were quite a bit of 7-10s one there. I'm moving from a smaller town in Wisconsin but I did live in Madison for 2 years.

Thanks for all the advice
I wouldn't trust those reviews from those sites. For some unknown reason, many seem to give negative reviews to the Higley district for some unknown reason despite being one of the top-performing districts in the Valley. There is no disputing actual statistics from the Arizona Department of Education.

Here are the specific scores given to each of the districts for the 2011-2012 school year:

Mesa Public Schools:
Growth points - 52
Composite points - 83
Total score - 135
Letter grade - B

Gilbert Public Schools:
Growth points - 53
Composite points - 91
Total score - 144
Letter grade - A

Higley Unified School District:
Growth points - 58
Composite points - 90
Total score - 148
Letter grade - A

Chandler Unified School District:
Growth points - 57
Composite points - 92
Total score - 149
Letter grade - A

Growth points measure academic growth, while composite points measure academic achievement.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zsprague15
Thank you that information means alot and helps out I was on a site and it said mesa schools tested the highest in the US but it could have been old information and I can't remember what site it was. For the Chandler, Gilbert area what is there for shopping, activities, etc. are there options close by or are they a drive from the area. how long would the commute be if I would happen to get a job in Phoenix. Sorry about all the questions just trying to collect as much information as possible this will be a big move for my family.
In Gilbert, there is San Tan Village, an open-air lifestyle shopping center, while in Chandler, there is the Chandler Fashion Center, a very good indoor mall.
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Old 10-18-2012, 10:26 PM
 
Location: Southeast Valley
1,123 posts, read 3,049,452 times
Reputation: 798
Have you checked out the Mesa School District site? Mesa Public Schools · Mesa, Arizona · Unprecedented Excellence in Education I know the schools in the NE part of Mesa get very good scores.

I grew up in Mesa, but now live in Gilbert. Lots of good choices for you.
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Old 10-19-2012, 01:43 AM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,915 posts, read 43,311,267 times
Reputation: 10724
Where you end up working is going to go a long way to determine where you live long term. There are good school districts in different parts of the Valley. You can come out here and rent for a time to get a feel for the area and get settled in a job, and then make another move to a different part of the Valley if you need to. If you end up with a job in northwest Phoenix, living in Gilbert, Chandler or Mesa may not be a good choice.
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Old 10-19-2012, 07:39 AM
 
Location: wisconsin
6 posts, read 11,733 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by observer53 View Post
Where you end up working is going to go a long way to determine where you live long term. There are good school districts in different parts of the Valley. You can come out here and rent for a time to get a feel for the area and get settled in a job, and then make another move to a different part of the Valley if you need to. If you end up with a job in northwest Phoenix, living in Gilbert, Chandler or Mesa may not be a good choice.
Thanks that information helps I take it if I would get a job in the northwest part the commute would be something I wouldn't want to make from that area. We are planning to come visit sometime before we move. How does the job market look for someone with a business degree also is the economy improving there.
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