El Mirage, Anybody? (Phoenix, Glendale, Gilbert: relocate, hotel, rent)

[CodyW]

Yeah.. So I'm feeling really random today. I went out to El Mirage and took a few pics of one neighborhood.

For the out of state people; El Mirage is one of Phoenix's western suburbs.

It may look quaint, but it isn't the best area.

So, I'm starting a thread for.. four pictures? Yeah.

I hate suburbia...







Poor Cesar was DEMOTED!

[sablebaby]

Boy this is a random thread! And I agree, El Mirage isn't the greatest place to live.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

Boy this is a random thread! And I agree, El Mirage isn't the greatest place to live.

Seconded. We live in Surprise, but our kids attend a school that has students from both areas. BIG difference.

[monsoon74]

I moved here 22 years ago when both Surprise and El Mirage were both just wide spots on Grand Avenue on the way out of town.

Since the late-80's/early 90's Surprise has grabbed the bull by the horns and has become pretty darn good place to live. Strip malls, tons and tons of new homes, restaurants, Home Depot, Target...you name it, it's there. They even landed two Major League baseball teams for Cactus League spring training.

El Mirage, on the other hand, basically stood still. Up until a few years ago, they did virtually nada as far as progress. Now they're a decade or more behind the curve. The good thing is they're sandwiched between Surprise and Sun City, so everything is nearby. Like many AZ farming commnuities, there's not much English spoken in the older neighborhoods.

[MovinFromUT]

Originally Posted by CodyW

Yeah.. So I'm feeling really random today. I went out to El Mirage and took a few pics of one neighborhood.

For the out of state people; El Mirage is one of Phoenix's western suburbs.

It may look quaint, but it isn't the best area.

So, I'm starting a thread for.. four pictures? Yeah.

I hate suburbia...







Poor Cesar was DEMOTED!

I'm actually glad that you started this thread. We will be moving to AZ in the next couple of months (hubby is already out there living in a hotel), and El Mirage caught my eye, but I knew nothing about it. Surprise, Goodyear, and Glendale also caught my eye. NOW I know that El Mirage is not a place for us. Another poster stated that they live in Surprise. When I looked at Dysart High School on greatschools.net, they didn't have the best ratings. Does anyone live in that school district that feels differently?

[irwin]

Originally Posted by monsoon74

Since the late-80's/early 90's Surprise has grabbed the bull by the horns and has become pretty darn good place to live. Strip malls, tons and tons of new homes, restaurants, Home Depot, Target...you name it, it's there

This comment just reinforces why Arizona is not for me. Progress in Arizona is more identical one-story homes, chain stores, and (ack!) strip malls!?!? Probably a couple of Walmarts, fast-food joints, and other chain restaurants thrown in for good measure.

Nothing personal of course, but it just shows how different people have such different perceptions of what is “nice.”

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by MovinFromUT

I'm actually glad that you started this thread. We will be moving to AZ in the next couple of months (hubby is already out there living in a hotel), and El Mirage caught my eye, but I knew nothing about it. Surprise, Goodyear, and Glendale also caught my eye. NOW I know that El Mirage is not a place for us. Another poster stated that they live in Surprise. When I looked at Dysart High School on greatschools.net, they didn't have the best ratings. Does anyone live in that school district that feels differently?

My two eldest kids attend school in the Dysart district. Not all schools are created equally in this district. The elementary school our girls attend isn't bad, at all. But there could always be improvements. But there are FAR worse within the same district. It's kind of odd

Personally, my experiences with the district have been pretty good. But it's going to depend on the school. My girls have had some fantastic teachers.

[monsoon74]

Originally Posted by irwin

This comment just reinforces why Arizona is not for me. Progress in Arizona is more identical one-story homes, chain stores, and (ack!) strip malls!?!? Probably a couple of Walmarts, fast-food joints, and other chain restaurants thrown in for good measure.

Nothing personal of course, but it just shows how different people have such different perceptions of what is “nice.”

No offense taken, but my point was Surprise had practically nothing but a tortilla factory 20 years ago. And I agree strip malls are not the prettiest thing in the world, but my point about those was the fact that there now exists many small businesses, where before there was nothing.

Progress is usually defined by expanding the capital inflow into a town; therefore creating a larger tax base; therefore increasing the amenities available to your citizens, like schools, infrastructure, better police/fire forces, etc, which in turn draw more residents.

Not sure how you define progress, but that's the context in which I was defining it.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by monsoon74

Progress is usually defined by expanding the capital inflow into a town; therefore creating a larger tax base; therefore increasing the amenities available to your citizens, like schools, infrastructure, better police/fire forces, etc, which in turn draw more residents.

This brings up another point. The El Mirage police department has been the subject of SEVERAL internal affairs investigations. I think you can find the info at azcentral.com. That's the website for the AZ Republic for the person looking to relocate.

[MovinFromUT]

Well, thank goodness I've marked THAT town off of my list.!
What makes Gilbert school districts so wonderful, that the other surrounding school districts can't do? I'm thinking we might rent until our son graduates in 2008. Highland seems to be my school of choice right now. Any opinions?