east or west valley?? which one is best for people, housing, schools? (Phoenix: low crime, neighborhoods)

[nankjay]

Hi there!

My husband and I moved to AZ over a year ago and have only lived in the east valley and now living in city of Maricopa (which we hate, sorry ;(
Once we have enough equity in our home, who knows when that will be, we are moving to another area near PHX. We are strongly considering the chandler/ahwatukee area (we used to live in Chandler when we first moved to AZ) and also considering the glendale (near arrowhead) area. We like both and both are close to shopping and transportation. We've looked into tons of areas in the east valley, i,e. chandler, gilbert, mesa, east mesa, queen creek, etc. We are not as familiar with the west valley.

I was just wondering... I was told by several people that the west valley housing is cheaper. Are the people just as nice as in the east valley?? Also, we are looking for an area where the schools are good (well, good for arizona standards!) and close to phoenix because we like the night life and where there is lots of shopping. Currently, we are planning to look in the following zip codes:

85226
85248
85044
85048
85308
85304

(Chandler, Ahwatukee, and Arrowhead/Glendale area- kyrene school district and also good school district in glendale)

We wanted to consider Tempe but we are afraid of a very old house...we are not handy.... we also heard surprise is very nice and low crime but I have a friend out there and she said that she is not close to anything as far as highways, phx, etc. We would also never consider moving to PHX itself, unless it was a VERY GOOD area of north phoenix, which then we might be talking very pricy.

Any suggestions, opinions, or insight would be really appreciated! Thanks!!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by njay

Hi there!

My husband and I moved to AZ over a year ago and have only lived in the east valley and now living in city of Maricopa (which we hate, sorry ;(
Once we have enough equity in our home, who knows when that will be, we are moving to another area near PHX. We are strongly considering the chandler/ahwatukee area (we used to live in Chandler when we first moved to AZ) and also considering the glendale (near arrowhead) area. We like both and both are close to shopping and transportation. We've looked into tons of areas in the east valley, i,e. chandler, gilbert, mesa, east mesa, queen creek, etc. We are not as familiar with the west valley.

I was just wondering... I was told by several people that people in the west valley are nicer and housing is cheaper but people in the east valley say the same about people in the east valley (frustrated).. What is the lowdown on that??? (I don't want to start a riot on this website Also, we are looking for an area where the schools are good (well, good for arizona standards!) and close to phoenix because we like the night life and where there is lots of shopping. Currently, we are planning to look in the following zip codes:

85226
85248
85044
85048
85308
85304

(Chandler, Ahwatukee, and Arrowhead/Glendale area- kyrene school district and also good school district in glendale)

We wanted to consider Tempe but we are afraid of a very old house...we are not handy.... we also heard surprise is very nice and low crime but I have a friend out there and she said that she is not close to anything as far as highways, phx, etc. We would also never consider moving to PHX itself, unless it was a VERY GOOD area of north phoenix, which then we might be talking very pricy.

Any suggestions, opinions, or insight would be really appreciated! Thanks!!

Ha-ha, there was already a riot on this topic very recently. Don't remember the title of the thread, though. Maybe they're tired already and will either mellow out or ignore your question. But who knows... may be just as passionate!

[nitram]

Scroll down or check this shortcut to that post...
http://www.city-data.com/forum/phoen...city-best.html

[sablebaby]

Oh no, not this question again!

I say the North valley! This can be North, NorthEast, or NorthWest, they are all good. What is your price range?

[jco]

Personally, I think it should be divided into west, central, and east. Zip code 85308 is west of the 17, but it's more centrally located. To me, west valley is Arrowhead, Surprise, Avondale, and Buckeye. In this case I'd much prefer the west valley over the east for my price range. If you're comparing Glendale to Chandler, then I wouldn't say the same. Instead of comparing east valley/west valley, I'd compare city for city. There are good and bad pockets all over the valley!

[iworkwithdummies]

I don't think you can generalize east or west. Everywhere has its good and bad places....

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by jco

Personally, I think it should be divided into west, central, and east. Zip code 85308 is west of the 17, but it's more centrally located. To me, west valley is Arrowhead, Surprise, Avondale, and Buckeye. In this case I'd much prefer the west valley over the east for my price range. If you're comparing Glendale to Chandler, then I wouldn't say the same. Instead of comparing east valley/west valley, I'd compare city for city. There are good and bad pockets all over the valley!

I'd say split the valley up like a tic tac toe game.

NW/N /NE
W/C /E
SW/S/SE

It's impossible to generalize an entire side of the valley. Does everyone realize just how north it goes?? I have spent a lot of time traveling more and more north to see what's there and I'm stunned at the development and just how far it goes.

[jco]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

I'd say split the valley up like a tic tac toe game.

NW/N /NE
W/C /E
SW/S/SE

It's impossible to generalize an entire side of the valley. Does everyone realize just how north it goes?? I have spent a lot of time traveling more and more north to see what's there and I'm stunned at the development and just how far it goes.

I agree! When it comes to Anthem, there isn't an east/west spot to put it in! Out of your tic tac toe diagram, I'd live in W, NW, N, NE, E, and SE as far as Gilbert, but no further!

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by jco

I agree! When it comes to Anthem, there isn't an east/west spot to put it in! Out of your tic tac toe diagram, I'd live in W, NW, N, NE, E, and SE as far as Gilbert, but no further!

I'd say Anthem is North (more like NN= NorthNorth!).

[vegaspilgrim]

A good general rule of thumb I've discovered is the nicest parts of the PHX metro area are those that back right up to mountains, or are on the edge of the wide open desert, close to mountains. There are several noteable exceptions to this rule, such as South Phoenix/Laveen, which backs up to South Mountain, and Sunnyslope, which backs up to North Mountain, and there are also pockets of nice neighborhoods smack dab in the middle of the flat valley floor, but by and large, the formula holds true-- whether you're talking about the east valley, west valley, central Phoenix, or north Phoenix.

Saying you would never move to Phoenix itself doesn't make any sense. Phoenix is not like other cities where there's a black and white difference between being in the "city" and being in the "suburbs." The whole entire Valley of the Sun is one giant suburbia, and huge parts of the city of Phoenix are just as nice, new, attractive, and "suburban" as the "suburbs" in the East or West valleys. I would recommend Ahwatukee, Paradise Valley (the section of Phoenix north of the "Town of Paradise Valley"), and most of far north Phoenix-- they are all pretty decent.