Chandler vs. Gilbert - what's the difference? (Phoenix: lease, houses)

[Donna7]

Looking for family oriented neighborhood with schools nearby. Not interested in driving long distances to places, please. Looking for parks, rec areas, library, shopping, schools. Relocating from NE OH. Was wondering if anyone had a preference of one over the other (Chandler vs. Gilbert). We are a Catholic family, possibly considering Catholic parochial school if we relocate there. Our children currently attend K-8 Catholic school here, one is in public high school. Also wondering how the job situation is there for teaching (Chemistry/Biology - high school). We are also open to other areas, but not too far a drive from things. Thank you very much in advance.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Donna7

Looking for family oriented neighborhood with schools nearby. Not interested in driving long distances to places, please. Looking for parks, rec areas, library, shopping, schools. Relocating from NE OH. Was wondering if anyone had a preference of one over the other (Chandler vs. Gilbert). We are a Catholic family, possibly considering Catholic parochial school if we relocate there. Our children currently attend K-8 Catholic school here, one is in public high school. Also wondering how the job situation is there for teaching (Chemistry/Biology - high school). We are also open to other areas, but not too far a drive from things. Thank you very much in advance.

Didn't someone just ask this? Anyway, the answer is there is no real difference. If you woke up in one place or the other you would not be able to tell which one it was. These are carbon copy areas in every sense from schools, to shopping, to home styles, to location relative to the rest of the valley. Chandler developed earlier and when it hit whatever street, the city name changed to Gilbert. Pick whichever one is closer to where you will work. If you are a teacher - particularly math or science - you can find a job in a heartbeat around here.

[ILuvAZ]

GIlbert and Chandler are very close in demographics. ASU East is very near SE Gilbert. Most neighborhoods in both areas will have an elementary school (some are k-8) centrally in the neighborhood.

Having moved from Chandler to Gilbert 5 years ago there are some differences (all be them slight). Gilbert has more new areas and is a very educated area. Gilbert seems to be more family friends and has more young families. My neighborhood in SE Gilbert is FULL of kids. 7 houses on my street and I think when I counted there were 25 kids. Chandler is a little closer in to Phoenix but with the freeways now it's not by much. Since you mentioned religion... you'll find a higher concentration of Mormon families in Gilbert. We are not mormon and have experienced no issues with this, they are wonderful to share a 'hood with. Having said this we have no Mormon familes on our street but several Catholic familes.

I thought I had a few othert things to say but they've slipped my mind, LOL. Need more caffiene

Good luck, both are great choices!

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Didn't someone just ask this? Anyway, the answer is there is no real difference. If you woke up in one place or the other you would not be able to tell which one it was. These are carbon copy areas in every sense from schools, to shopping, to home styles, to location relative to the rest of the valley. Chandler developed earlier and when it hit whatever street, the city name changed to Gilbert. Pick whichever one is closer to where you will work. If you are a teacher - particularly math or science - you can find a job in a heartbeat around here.

Thank you very much - I should have checked if there was a thread similiar to this before I posted, I guess - LOL! Thank you very much for the information; very helpful. Also, thank you for letting me know about the demand for teaching; big difference from NE OH.

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by ILuvAZ

GIlbert and Chandler are very close in demographics. ASU East is very near SE Gilbert. Most neighborhoods in both areas will have an elementary school (some are k-8) centrally in the neighborhood.

Having moved from Chandler to Gilbert 5 years ago there are some differences (all be them slight). Gilbert has more new areas and is a very educated area. Gilbert seems to be more family friends and has more young families. My neighborhood in SE Gilbert is FULL of kids. 7 houses on my street and I think when I counted there were 25 kids. Chandler is a little closer in to Phoenix but with the freeways now it's not by much. Since you mentioned religion... you'll find a higher concentration of Mormon families in Gilbert. We are not mormon and have experienced no issues with this, they are wonderful to share a 'hood with. Having said this we have no Mormon familes on our street but several Catholic familes.

I thought I had a few othert things to say but they've slipped my mind, LOL. Need more caffiene

Good luck, both are great choices!

Thank you very much! Excellent and helpful information. Family neighborhoods are very important to us. I did read on Wikipedia that there is a good concentration of Mormom families living in Gilbert, which is fine with us as well. Thank you kindly for the information. It is very encouraging.

[Captain Bill]

I have several Morman friends and business associates, and they are great people to know and to work with.

As someone mentioned, Gilbert is a little newer, and they have a quait little down town area consisting of a few blocks with some of the old buildings.

There are great communities in both south Chandler and Gilbert. Some of the communities allow desert landscape, some allow only grass, and some allow either type. My community is Val Vista Lakes, and they have green landscape so that one forgets that they're living in the area.

You can't go wrong in either area.

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

I have several Morman friends and business associates, and they are great people to know and to work with.

As someone mentioned, Gilbert is a little newer, and they have a quait little down town area consisting of a few blocks with some of the old buildings.

There are great communities in both south Chandler and Gilbert. Some of the communities allow desert landscape, some allow only grass, and some allow either type. My community is Val Vista Lakes, and they have green landscape so that one forgets that they're living in the area.

You can't go wrong in either area.

Thank you Captain Bill! You know, interestingly enough, I also have absolutely wonderful Mormon friends and business associates; one lives in Appache Junction, another lives in St. George, a good number of them live in the San Diego area. They are truly loyal and good friends. Thank you most kindly for your post. I feel very encouraged reading positive responses. The real test will be going in the summer and seeing how it feels. Thank you again.

[Captain Bill]

Visiting in the summer is a great thing to do before deciding on a move here. You'll notice the heat is dryer than in Ohio. If you experience around 110 when you're here you'll notice that it is not nearly as bad as when it's close to 90 degrees with 90% humidity back home.

What you'll need to get accustomed to is drinking a lot of water because it's easy to get dehydrated. Drinking more water is good anyway.

Also, until one gets accustomed to the heat, it's easier to go out to work in the yard and get heat exhaustion, by not realizing that you're working too hard in the heat, and not drinking sufficient water. Once you learn that, you'll be fine. You will really enjoy the other months.

During the months before you come out here, try to get a feel for some of the communities, the homes in the communities, and the amenities that certain communities offer.

Then when you're here you can visit some of the areas and make better use of your visiting time.

Here's a start for you. Check out the Val Vista Lakes - Your Community. That is the web site for the almost 2000 home Val Vista Lakes community. It was chosen by the city of Gilbert as the 2007 community of the year.

I must disclose that I'm partial to Val Vista Lakes, and live there. Since I love the community so much I also serve on the board of directors for our sub assiciation and for the Val Vista Lakes HOA.

There is another lake community called The Islands. It's about 7 minutes closer to work for you, but doesn't have near the amenities that VVL has.

There are other really nice areas also, but this a start for you to look at.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Didn't someone just ask this? Anyway, the answer is there is no real difference. If you woke up in one place or the other you would not be able to tell which one it was. These are carbon copy areas in every sense from schools, to shopping, to home styles, to location relative to the rest of the valley. Chandler developed earlier and when it hit whatever street, the city name changed to Gilbert. Pick whichever one is closer to where you will work. If you are a teacher - particularly math or science - you can find a job in a heartbeat around here.

Yep...............................

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

Visiting in the summer is a great thing to do before deciding on a move here. You'll notice the heat is dryer than in Ohio. If you experience around 110 when you're here you'll notice that it is not nearly as bad as when it's close to 90 degrees with 90% humidity back home.

What you'll need to get accustomed to is drinking a lot of water because it's easy to get dehydrated. Drinking more water is good anyway.

Also, until one gets accustomed to the heat, it's easier to go out to work in the yard and get heat exhaustion, by not realizing that you're working too hard in the heat, and not drinking sufficient water. Once you learn that, you'll be fine. You will really enjoy the other months.

During the months before you come out here, try to get a feel for some of the communities, the homes in the communities, and the amenities that certain communities offer.

Then when you're here you can visit some of the areas and make better use of your visiting time.

Here's a start for you. Check out the Val Vista Lakes - Your Community. That is the web site for the almost 2000 home Val Vista Lakes community. It was chosen by the city of Gilbert as the 2007 community of the year.

I must disclose that I'm partial to Val Vista Lakes, and live there. Since I love the community so much I also serve on the board of directors for our sub assiciation and for the Val Vista Lakes HOA.

There is another lake community called The Islands. It's about 7 minutes closer to work for you, but doesn't have near the amenities that VVL has.

There are other really nice areas also, but this a start for you to look at.

Moving to Val Vista Lakes Saturday 6 months lease and scouting for a deal to buy.