50s style suburbia with grass lawns commute to DT Phoenix (Mesa: real estate, apartment complex)

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Exactly and how do kids and dogs play in a yard of rocks? Sounds horrible.

We actually gave my dog the gravel/paver side yard and had a little wrought iron fence built to keep him out of the grass. We are busy people and only pick up his mess about every 10-14 days and find that it is hard to pick his mess up after the sprinklers come on But about the kids I agree, or if you just want the cooling feeling of grass, some people put a towel down in the grass and lay out there after being in the pool, etc. Of course I was being facetious about running out of water here, I actually don't believe most of the scare tactics.

[Colt AZ]

Attempting to stay on topic, I'm a huge "fan" of good old desert scapes any time. It's Arizona natural and needs little to no upkeep. Kids, animals and other "fans" of grass can be shipped off to designated grassy parks!

[asufan]

Originally Posted by Colt Cassidy

Attempting to stay on topic, I'm a huge "fan" of good old desert scapes any time. It's Arizona natural and needs little to no upkeep. Kids, animals and other "fans" of grass can be shipped off to designated grassy parks!

Sounds great Bubba, keep an eye on my 3 and 7 year old in the park while I'm BBQing in my gravel backyard

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Exactly and how do kids and dogs play in a yard of rocks? Sounds horrible.

I have a large lot that was all in grass at one time. Over the years as the water bills went up the green square footage went down. It's all gone now and replaced with 1/4 minus gravel. It looks and feels like a beach, but not as messy. Dogs are good with it; the kids are too old to play outside anymore - not that they ever did in this god-forsaken inferno, anyway. I like the easy care benefits of gravel too.

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

And in some places grass is mandated by the HOA. So put that in your pipe and smoke it !

And in some places it's forbidden for areas visible from the street. Go ahead and have your grass but don't come to C-D complaining when you are forced to drain your pool during the forthcoming drought.

For the OP, Arcadia looks like the exteriors shown in old TV programs like Ozzie and Harriet and My Three Sons. There are some traditional suburban neighborhoods in Tempe, too, with generally smaller houses than you'll find in Arcadia.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

And in some places it's forbidden for areas visible from the street. Go ahead and have your grass but don't come to C-D complaining when you are forced to drain your pool during the forthcoming drought.
.

LOL, not happening.

[Arizona Mike]

Flint 2 Phoenix, the Phoenix Historic Preservation Office is doing (or has done) a survey of Midcentury Modern home neighborhoods. It might be worthwhile to contact them to see if you can get a copy of their survey. Here's an article about the project: Phoenix taking survey of postwar homes

One of the neighborhoods mentioned in the article might fit your interests is the Town and Country subdivision in the Rancho Ventura area, which is not that far from Arcadia and is not as pricey (or as trendy, yet.) It is a post-WWII subdivision (1956) in the area between 40th and 44th streets and McDowell and Thomas. All have grass lawns. The homes were designed by architect Ralph Haver for the developer Fred Woodward. I've always liked the look of the homes, which are very distinctive - high windows, open carports, low ceilings with 3 load-bearing walls.










Some of the houses have been nicely fixed up in period decor, as the article shows. I like the houses enough that I drive through the neighborhood when I'm down there and grab some realtor cards when one is on the market, and have thought about buying one for a rental property.

The downside is that the area is bounded by some pretty skeezy apartment complexes and stripmalls, and the area closest to McDowell Road probably has some crime problems. It might be worth checking the area out. Rents would be a lot cheaper than the trendier Arcadia district.

Also check out modernphoenix.net, a website devoted to midcentury modern houses in Phoenix and the Valley, and has overviews of the kind of neighborhoods you're looking for, including some Haver home neighborhoods.

Hope this helps you out.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

Go ahead and have your grass but don't come to C-D complaining when you are forced to drain your pool during the forthcoming drought.

Yes, folks, it's inevitable. Swimming Pool Prohibition!

The swimming pool police will be on 24/7 patrol in the 'burbs. A tidal wave of unlawful swimming holes (secretly known as Swim Easies) will begin rising up all over Arizona. There will be a tsunami of 21st Century "bootleggers", or illegal swimmers... pouring into jails.

It'll be a true "dry heat" in the desert!

[new2colo]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

I have yet to understand why people move to the desert but insist on having grass lawns, but there are many areas that have them. I would definitely look to central phoenix to find a decent area fitting your description and that would keep your husbands commute to downtown reasonable.

I don't see what the issue is. Some people want the benefit of grass (less radiant heat, a more inviting space for kids/pets to run around, and for a certain aesthetic. The overwhelming majority of homes here have no grass. Quite a few properties that were built prior to 1965 come with grass yards, especially the areas between the Arizona Canal and I-10 between the 19th Avenue and the 51 in addition to Arcadia, because that's what was preferred at the time. As long as there are properties available in those areas, I don't see what the issue is with people desiring that lifestyle. It's not like the OP is proposing a move to Carefree and wanting to install a lush lawn in the middle of the neighborhood.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Flint 2 Phoenix

Hey, me and my husband are moving from the suburbs of Flint MI to Phoenix. We liked the area but I'm not a fan of the new build stucco housing. I have a thing for 50s/60s style mid century modern suburbia type homes. We have a 7 year old but we are probably going to go with parochial school. We just need a small home 3 bedrooms with a real grass law (not a big fan of the rock lawns).

The first area that comes to mind (as other posters have suggested) is Arcadia. That is basically a suburban styled area that has many older, larger, quality constructed homes, and good safe neighborhoods ... however, it's in east central Phoenix, and not exactly in a location that one would consider to be suburban. Arcadia was always meant to be suburban, especially in its early days (1950s, 1960s), but the city just grew & sprawled around it.

If you're looking for green grassy areas in a more suburban location, the McCormick area of Scottsdale would also be a good area to look into. That area was developed mostly in the 1970s, and it contains neighborhoods with good quality homes as well as easy access to parks. Keep in mind that you're likely going to be paying more for a home in the Arcadia area, and in much of Scottsdale ... but as I've said many times, a home is an investment, and you usually get what you pay for.

Originally Posted by TempeAZnative

The main issue I'm sure people are trying to express with grass lawns is first a foremost this is a desert, and we are years into a drought. So grass lawns should not be your first choice, but like with every transplant it seems they want to move here and turn this place into the place they are escaping. If you are going to move here then you should respect the natural environment which a large, luscious, green lawn doesn't.

I take issue with this on many levels. First of all, I'm tired of hearing this is a desert. Yes, this is a desert environment, but Phoenix is a city/metro area, not a desert. Second, while it's very true that we're in a drought (and have been for years), the Phoenix area is in pretty good shape as far as water supplies are concerned. In fact, agriculture uses much more water than grassy lawns ... and the Valley has much less agriculture now than it did many years ago, which is actually saving on water usage in the long run. Third, many people prefer grass over a desert landscape because greenery is much more aesthetically pleasing. Rock lawns actually contribute to the heat island effect about as much as concrete & asphalt, so you can say that a yard with desert landscape is even more environmentally unfriendly than grass is.