Anyone know anything about Surprise, AZ (Phoenix, Glendale: military, condos, travel)

[want2leaveVA]

My husband and I are in the process of selling our home in Va Bch and can't wait to move to AZ. We were thinking about the Cottonwood area, but have been informed that there are no jobs for people in our age range (26/30). I was looking at homes in Surprise and found them to be reasonable. Does anyone know anything about the area? How is housing, crime, schools, jobs? Would appreciate any feed back!

[ibarrio]

Surprise is the safest city in Arizona. The homes are very affordable and the area is family oriented and retirees.

Traffic can be bad...with bad being relative (easy for me but I moved from So Cal).

New shopping is popping up all the time. There are big plans for the area.
We have Prasada, Asante (?), and new downtown Surprise around the spring training facilities. The new downtown will include shops, offices, and upscale condos.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I think that you will love Surprise. It is one of the lowest crime areas in Arizona. The city was listed as Arizona's safest last year. Some people think that the area is too far away. That just depends on your perspective I guess. I don't think that the commute is too bad but then for me my commute will be minimal when I finally move there in April. Most of the housing in the area is new. My parents live in an older home in Surprise. It was built in 2003. Most of the shopping areas are new as well. There is a large regional shopping area, auto mall, office complex that will be built between this year and 2010. Not sure if it will be complete by then, but well on its way anyhow. Surprise, like many cities in the area has a sports complex that includes the training facility for the Texas Rangers and Minnisota Twins Baseball teams. Across the street from that is an aquatic center, an amazing city library and park.

There are jobs within the area but as some will tell you that is limited to what you do at this time. Medical is well represented, as they have a lot of hospitals in the area. Retail is available and still growing. Luke Airforce Base is near by. Some people don't like living in the area because of Luke. When you move there you need to be aware that you live under there airspace and they were there first. I love that but then I grew up under the airspace of a Naval Air Station. For me I feel at home in Surprise. And actually it has been less of a distraction in Surprise than in Oxnard, California. You may end up driving to Glendale, Peoria, or the west side of Phoenix for more job opportunities.

As far as housing, our home price was recently reduced to $169,000 and I think that is great. Hope it goes lower, before we close on the sale in June or July.

Have fun and thank's for considering the Surprise area.

[jco]

Surprise is the safest city in Arizona, as mentioned before. The availability of jobs depends on what field you are in right now. The city is definately growing, so even if we don't have your field right now, there's a strong possiblity that it's coming. A lot of people commute into Glendale or Phoenix (or further) for their jobs. The key is to stay west of Litchfield, east of Reems, south of Bell, and north of Olive if you're commuting out. The schools are overcrowded right now because of growth. The district is in the process of trying to replace/improve the poor administration put into place during the desparate times of the 2005 boom. There are three good charter options here, though, which are: Carden Traditional, Rosefield, and Paradise Education Center. Valley Vista High School is the best HS in the area.

[want2leaveVA]

Thank you for everyones input, you've given us a lot of insight to the area. We honeymooned in Sedona and saw more of the northern part of the state. We were only in the Phoenix area for one night and we had to deal with the airport then!!!

[azjack]

The key is to stay west of Litchfield, east of Reems, south of Bell, and north of Olive if you're commuting out.

I do not see how residing East of Litchfield or (a bit) North of Bell would lengthen commuting time to Phoenix or other points East.

[jco]

Originally Posted by azjack

I do not see how residing East of Litchfield or (a bit) North of Bell would lengthen commuting time to Phoenix or other points East.

Right, maybe two minutes. You have to end the mark somewhere, though, and that's where it starts to get difficult to get to Litchfield to travel out. Grand's a nightmare, so taking Litchfield to Olive to the 101 (or continuing on surface streets) is usually the fastest commute into Phoenix or Tempe.

Personally, I wouldn't go north of Bell simply because of the renter to homeowner ratio in the neighborhoods. A lot of those houses were purchased as investments.

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by ibarrio

Traffic can be bad...with bad being relative (easy for me but I moved from So Cal).

I agree Surprise is very nice. Whenever we're there, I wouldn't consider the traffic bad at all. I think it's great there actually, as it is most areas of Phoenix.

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by jco

Personally, I wouldn't go north of Bell simply because of the renter to homeowner ratio in the neighborhoods. A lot of those houses were purchased as investments.

Speaking of renters, how can you find out this ratio? Is there a website somewhere, or do you just find out by driving through the neighborhood and observing the neglected lawns etc.

[want2leaveVA]

I just read somewhere that there is a meth and crack problem in the area?! Anyone aware of this?!

As far as traffic, I am coming from one of the larger cities on the east coast that includes 4-5 military bases. Believe me, we are used to traffic!