North Chandler feels as if it is becoming an extension of Fiesta District/West Mesa (insurance, high crime)

[AZ_Rookie]

Interestingly a lot of the complaints in this thread are precisely what has happened in CA over the last 2-3 decades - and many on this forum tout CA as being a pattern to follow (go figure )

I always get a chuckle when I read or hear someone saying they want to live in CA... then read a thread full of complaints about the same problems CA has (albeit worse there).

[KurtAZ]

Well...the "Californication" of AZ began years ago and has been creeping more and more to the forefront over the years. Chandler becomes kind of a microcosm being touted as the "Tech Corridor" and the same type of feel (sans heat) as some areas of SoCal. Add in that someone selling a home in Orange County they bought years ago for $500k more than they owed on it and buying a home for cash in Ocotillo for top dollar...and you start seeing the price of housing go crazy. Not to mention that Chandler doesn't have a lot of "fill areas" left for new SFHs...so they build Condos and Apartment Buildings. I think there is a new one over on Gilbert road where (I heard) rents are starting in the $2k range.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Well...the "Californication" of AZ began years ago and has been creeping more and more to the forefront over the years. Chandler becomes kind of a microcosm being touted as the "Tech Corridor" and the same type of feel (sans heat) as some areas of SoCal. Add in that someone selling a home in Orange County they bought years ago for $500k more than they owed on it and buying a home for cash in Ocotillo for top dollar...and you start seeing the price of housing go crazy. Not to mention that Chandler doesn't have a lot of "fill areas" left for new SFHs...so they build Condos and Apartment Buildings. I think there is a new one over on Gilbert road where (I heard) rents are starting in the $2k range.

There are PLENTY of homes for sale in Chandler that are very inexpensive. The problem is we have too many low wage poorly educated people that can't afford even a starter home. So they have to build apartments to accommodate them. Most of the homes in Chandler have not come close to recovering their value during the height of the boom and are still priced at 200K less that what was paid for them. Chandler also has plenty of land in southeast Chandler.

That is the real concern. Because of our relatively low cost of living, we will attract people from other states who get priced out or come looking for a deal that don't offer any value in terms of skills and education.

Look at this forum. You have threads started by people who have no job, no skills or education and just want to move here because of the weather and "sounds like a fun town" What you are going to start seeing is an increase in crime, flooding of our emergency rooms and hospitals because they can't afford health insurance, and other social problems. If you can't afford to live here then don't move here. There are plenty of places in the United States that offer much cheaper cost of living.

[belgirl]

Originally Posted by AZ_Rookie

Interestingly a lot of the complaints in this thread are precisely what has happened in CA over the last 2-3 decades - and many on this forum tout CA as being a pattern to follow (go figure )

I always get a chuckle when I read or hear someone saying they want to live in CA... then read a thread full of complaints about the same problems CA has (albeit worse there).

Oh dear God, I would never tout CA as the pattern to follow. That state has gone to pot. In fact, I blame alot of
people coming here from CA on trying to screw up this state.

[belgirl]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

There are PLENTY of homes for sale in Chandler that are very inexpensive. The problem is we have too many low wage poorly educated people that can't afford even a starter home. So they have to build apartments to accommodate them. Most of the homes in Chandler have not come close to recovering their value during the height of the boom and are still priced at 200K less that what was paid for them. Chandler also has plenty of land in southeast Chandler.

That is the real concern. Because of our relatively low cost of living, we will attract people from other states who get priced out or come looking for a deal that don't offer any value in terms of skills and education.

Look at this forum. You have threads started by people who have no job, no skills or education and just want to move here because of the weather and "sounds like a fun town" What you are going to start seeing is an increase in crime, flooding of our emergency rooms and hospitals because they can't afford health insurance, and other social problems. If you can't afford to live here then don't move here. There are plenty of places in the United States that offer much cheaper cost of living.

Inexpensive and in a good area in Chandler? Nope. Anything under 200k is usually in a crappy area and I know because we lived in Chandler near downtown for years. The townhome we sold for under 200k had so much interest we got multi offers the first day above asking price. Why? Because its one of the few homes under 200k in Chandler that is decent. If you want a decent home in Chandler with decent sq footage, yard, garage, you are going to pay over 300k.

[belgirl]

And the reason for so many apartments? People can't afford a down payment or have bad credit. What they don't realize is: owning a home is almost always going to cost you less in the long run. Our mortgage payment is so low, no one would believe me if I told them.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by belgirl

Inexpensive and in a good area in Chandler? Nope. Anything under 200k is usually in a crappy area and I know because we lived in Chandler near downtown for years. The townhome we sold for under 200k had so much interest we got multi offers the first day above asking price. Why? Because its one of the few homes under 200k in Chandler that is decent. If you want a decent home in Chandler with decent sq footage, yard, garage, you are going to pay over 300k.

Expensive/inexpensive is a relative thing. You act as if it's the same for everyone. In my opinion, $300k is quite inexpensive for a decent house in a decent area. Look at other major cities, there are only a few exceptions.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

There are PLENTY of homes for sale in Chandler that are very inexpensive. The problem is we have too many low wage poorly educated people that can't afford even a starter home. So they have to build apartments to accommodate them. Most of the homes in Chandler have not come close to recovering their value during the height of the boom and are still priced at 200K less that what was paid for them. Chandler also has plenty of land in southeast Chandler.

That is the real concern. Because of our relatively low cost of living, we will attract people from other states who get priced out or come looking for a deal that don't offer any value in terms of skills and education.

Look at this forum. You have threads started by people who have no job, no skills or education and just want to move here because of the weather and "sounds like a fun town" What you are going to start seeing is an increase in crime, flooding of our emergency rooms and hospitals because they can't afford health insurance, and other social problems. If you can't afford to live here then don't move here. There are plenty of places in the United States that offer much cheaper cost of living.

This exactly. We can't continue to attract the lowest common denominator. Bad areas getting worse will hopefully detract those that want to move here simply because it's cheap, while adding nothing. How many posts are there of unskilled workers and people that can barely use punctuation and grammar looking to move here? Mississippi is cheap and warm.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Expensive/inexpensive is a relative thing. You act as if it's the same for everyone. In my opinion, $300k is quite inexpensive for a decent house in a decent area. Look at other major cities, there are only a few exceptions.

Maybe, but $300K is close to starter level in Chandler (except for those in the high crime areas). There's very little $300K and lower in the more desirable South Chandler area. For a starter home of $300K (likely to be an older and smaller home) a family would really need to earn $110-$120K to afford that. $110K isn't entry level wage.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

The OP is misguided or confused. The area he is referring to as being "North Chandler" is not commonly thought of as "North Chandler" He is referring to the older part of Chandler near downtown Chandler. That area has always been an average to bad area. The reason it has gotten worse is because downtown Chandler is being gentrified which is pushing all the riff raff even further north.

When we think of "North Chandler", we typically think of the area that borders Tempe. That area has actually gotten nicer as a result of the improvement in the economy and the growth of Tempe in general. A lot more upscale homes and previously abandoned areas are now filling. There is a lot of construction going up in this area

North Chandler has always been the area East of the 101, South of Mesa. The area South of Tempe is West Chandler. North Chandler goes North of Elliot Rd East of the 101 and is in the inferior Mesa School District, so that should make sense.