Relocating to scottsdale next month would love some input. (Phoenix: apartment, rent)

[Jvany]

Hello everyone,
Im a 25 year old male and I will moving to scottsdale next month and am looking for some input on where to live and things to do.
I'm looking for a 1 bedroom apt and Scottsdale 101 seems to be where I want to move (90 degrees,desert club or barossa) seems to be a good collection of restaurants and nightlife nearby. My budget is about 1,000 so I was hoping to get some input from people who live in the area about rent prices and negotiations and overall things to do in the area. I was also considering shade at desert ridge but have heard out side the market place there's really not much over there. Would love to hear more about the areas.
Thanks
James

[azdr0710]

where will you be working, if you are?....is a Scottsdale address important to you?....

the Scottsdale 101 area, to me, is a little sparse and away from the "action", though it certainly is not in the middle of nowhere....just seems like you might want to live in a more densely developed area with businesses, bars, restaurants more close at hand....keep in mind the areas west of Scottsdale Rd AND north of Cactus are in Phx proper, but get a Scotts mailing address over to about Tatum

Desert Ridge is in Phoenix more to the west of Scotts 101....the Marketplace is very big and has all you might want....

many, many choices....maybe you might want to live along the Indian Bend greenbelt park (google it)...it goes for miles and offers incredible recreation opportunities.....or live in downtown Scotts (Old Town)?....walk everywhere from there.....

[liz451]

Hi James, definitely give us a little more details about where you're working and what you're looking for. I'm 25 too and live in Old Town/downtown Scottsdale. I like this area a lot, and have grown up in the Phoenix area, so will try to help out with any questions.

I agree Desert Ridge just has the marketplace and isn't too exciting. Scottsdale and the 101 is fun to be close to Scottsdale Quarter/Kierland but that area is known to be a little older for going out, more early 30's and up. I go there a lot to eat but if you want to meet a lot of people it wouldnt be my #1 choice (although where you're working and how far you want your commute could really nfluence this). If you're not too into the bar scene it should be fine - tons to do, restaurants, movie theatres, shopping, etc. if you still want to go out occasionally I'd suggest further south. Most people in their mid 20's live in Arcadia, Old Town, Tempe, or Downtown Phoenix.

Also, 1k/month is plenty for a 1 bedroom apartment here. Just remember how high AC bills can be in the summer here, lots of threads on that if you want to search this forum.

[DetroitN8V]

I agree with what the others have said. Scottsdale and the 101 is a very nice area but it's very suburban. The action will be further south, toward Old Town. Desert Ridge is just a shopping mall with restaurants. I'm not a huge fan. It really depends on what you want to be near and where you'll be working.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Jvany

Hello everyone,
Im a 25 year old male and I will moving to scottsdale next month and am looking for some input on where to live and things to do.
I'm looking for a 1 bedroom apt and Scottsdale 101 seems to be where I want to move (90 degrees,desert club or barossa) seems to be a good collection of restaurants and nightlife nearby. My budget is about 1,000 so I was hoping to get some input from people who live in the area about rent prices and negotiations and overall things to do in the area. I was also considering shade at desert ridge but have heard out side the market place there's really not much over there. Would love to hear more about the areas.
Thanks
James

I agree with the others: the area around Scottsdale Road & the 101 is very suburban, and there are a good share of restaurants, but most are of the chain variety. Not much in the way of nightlife. For that, you should look further south. Kierland and Scottsdale Quarter would offer a little more, but Old Town/downtown Scottsdale is where the 20 & 30 somethings like to go for better nightlife.

I personally don't like Desert Ridge because of the way it's laid out. It's not very walkable at all, except for the outdoor mall area. Otherwise, it's mostly chain stores & big box merchants, and very autocentric. I recall a few good restaurants around there, but there's not a great deal of nightlife. Most of all: the location is bad. It's just north of the 101 freeway, and south of there is a large desert preserve area, so in a way it seems like it's plunked out in no man's land. Lots of hit & miss development.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

where will you be working, if you are?....is a Scottsdale address important to you?....

Apparently not, all the places that he mentioned are in Phoenix.