Relocating to West Phoenix w/ 3 kids Need Help (Avondale, Goodyear: to rent, neighborhoods)

[MD2NC]

Hi everyone,

I am relocating from Charlotte, NC to West Phoenix for work for a 6 month period in January. I have twins who are in kindergarten and a 2 yr old. I will be working off I-10 in the Palo Verde area. I really know nothing about Phoenix and have never been there.

What areas should I look at to rent a house? I would like a good school district, community type feel with lots of families, things to do, pool in the community (or at the house), etc. My budget is around $1,500, but could go a little higher if the place was right.

I looked at Verrado, due to the close commute for work, but am worried it could be a little out of the way??

Thanks for any help!

[observer53]

Verrado is surely close to work, but it's a drive to shopping and other amenities, too. You can get closer to other amenities in Goodyear, Litchfield Park, north Avondale, etc. and drive a bit further to work.

[CodyW]

Working at I-10 and palo verde, anything new the rest of the city will be a bit of a drive to work. Verrado would be a pretty safe bet. There is a bit of shopping around I-10 and Watson in Buckeye but the schools will not be as good. Cheap place to rent, though.

[roundball]

One thing to remember is that Kindergarten is not free in most school districts. Just giving you a heads up if you need to rework your budget.

[Ponderosa]

I think half the people who work at Palo Verde live in Estrella, a development in south Goodyear. The majority of our friends out here have at least one family member who work there or at Luke AFB. The schools are good (Kindergarten is free), there is a true community feel, the lifestyle is great. Check it out: www.estrella.com.

[MD2NC]

Originally Posted by roundball

One thing to remember is that Kindergarten is not free in most school districts. Just giving you a heads up if you need to rework your budget.

Thanks for the info, I've looked all thru the Litchfield School District site and don't see any reference to fees for Kindergarten anywhere. Does anyone else know what the cost is?

Are there any other specific neighborhoods that people can recommend other than Verrado? That are in a good school area and have a community pool and are in my $1,500/mo budget for a 3 bedroom house.

Thanks again!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by CodyW

Working at I-10 and palo verde, anything new the rest of the city will be a bit of a drive to work. Verrado would be a pretty safe bet. There is a bit of shopping around I-10 and Watson in Buckeye but the schools will not be as good. Cheap place to rent, though.

Verrado has top rated schools and rent there is not cheap. It is an upscale, affluent community. South of I10 is the Sundance area that is lower income (relative to Verrado) and the rents would be cheaper and the schools not as highly performing.

[LBTRS]

I don't know what "close to work" means to you but neither Verrado or Estrella are "close" to Palo Verde. Not saying they are not viable places to live if you work at Palo Verde but want you to be aware they are not close in my opinion. Verrado is over 30 miles from Palo Verde and Estrella is 35-45 miles (depending on the route). Is that "close" to you?

I live in this part of the valley and make that drive often and it is certainly not a drive I would enjoy every day. If you want close you'll need to live in the Tonapah area where meeting your other criteria will be harder.

[MD2NC]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I think half the people who work at Palo Verde live in Estrella, a development in south Goodyear. The majority of our friends out here have at least one family member who work there or at Luke AFB. The schools are good (Kindergarten is free), there is a true community feel, the lifestyle is great. Check it out: www.estrella.com.

Thanks for this suggestion. I started looking at that neighborhood yesterday, but when I googled the distance to Palo it said 40+ min drive, which may be further than I would like to drive. But I will definately do some more research on it since it fits my criteria!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by MD2NC

Thanks for this suggestion. I started looking at that neighborhood yesterday, but when I googled the distance to Palo it said 40+ min drive, which may be further than I would like to drive. But I will definately do some more research on it since it fits my criteria!

Palo Verde is out in the middle of nowhere so to speak. The nearest really nice places with good schools, community facilities, etc are Verrado and Estrella. Tonopah is a ramshackle trailer village.

APS does have car pool vans here that go to PV. And I suppose that some people car pool in their own vehicles as well. At least there is no traffic to deal with. Like I said, there are many PV workers in Estrella. It was sort of founded by them as they made up the bulk of the early residents when Estrella really was considered way out there and there was no Verrado.