Moving is a possibility (Phoenix, Glendale: house, neighborhoods, to live)

[quaide78]

Hello there! I am new to City-Data, although I have lurked here for a long time. I want to get some opinions from you all.

I have lived in the Phoenix area since the late 80's. My parents moved here when I was real young. I am now married and in my mid thirties. My wife and I don't plan to have kids.

We had a house in Glendale for about 7 years. 59th and Northern. That area became undesirable to us. Especially after our home was burglarized in 2007. It was our first home. A small one at that, 1300sf. We moved out to Litchfield Park (Wigwam). We moved in summer of 2008 and been here since. We bought a bit more house than we needed for just the two of us. I have wanted to move for since we got here.

The wife is in the dental field and I work in IT. I currently work in downtown PHX. My wife can pretty much work anywhere. We haven't really set in on a new area to live. We do have a few options. One is to stay out here but find a smaller home in Palm Valley or surrounding neighborhoods. Although I am annoyed by the cookie cutter homes and I HATE HOA's. Our other options is to find something in an older neighborhood or move to one of the more affordable historic neighborhoods in downtown PHX.

Our range is around 200k-250k. We don't need a large home but we want a big yard. 8000sf + We drove through the Coronado historic district. It is hit or miss it seems. I love Willow and Encanto but the homes there out of our range. We also looked at homes in Camelback East. It seems the homes there are well kept and may be a safer bet than moving to Coronado.

So I am looking for some advice and information on the historic areas. How is the gentrification coming along? Also, any information on some of the other neighborhoods. We want quick access to the freeway(s). Access to entertainment. Some walk ability/bike riding. Canal access would be awesome.