Got Job in Glendale. Starting date is March 3, 08.

[Doubleagle]

It looks like my best bets are 85383 & 85282 in Peoria, 85310+85308 in Glendale. If I get lucky mAybe anywhere in Scottsdale/Cave Creek.

Vistancia is looking like my first choice although the schools are not as good as West wing. Vistancia has looks to be a very nicely layed out master plan community. Anyone living in Vistancia??? Please advise.

Glendale 85310 is very attractive but out of my price range.
Ditto for Glendale 85308. It looks to be more established but no 5 beds in my price.

Scottsdale has just about all their schools rated at 10. But again no 5 beds in my price.

THANKS for all the input. Keep them coming. They are greatly appreciated.

[sablebaby]

Vistancia might be a good place for you. Where in Glendale will you be working?

The problem mainly lies in you wanting 5 bedrooms in your price. You can find 4 bedrooms. Is there anyway you can squeeze more kids into a room? lol

[Doubleagle]

My work is near Glendale and 59th intersection.

I have actually found a 5 bed in Vistancia and many others in Terramar, Westwing, and Sonoran.

My problem is that I do not want to buy a house until my house sells. I just listed it last week when I accepted the job.

[CodyW]

Vistancia may be a bit far for you, as well as Westwing.

I really love Terramar, it's nice, and pretty established. Sonoran is beautiful, as well, though not as established.

[blisterpeanuts]

I live near 59th Ave and Union Hills and I can recommend this area (85308). It's quiet and safe, the streets are totally convoluted to prevent fast traffic and the Greenbriar school is highly rated. You can get to work in probably 15-20 minutes. Most of the houses around here are 3 bedrooms, occasionally a 4. Here's an example of a $315K, 5 bedroom 3K sq ft house on a 10K lot: mls #2881893. Being sold "as is". I think in the $300 range you will find quite a few nice 4 bedroom houses in the 85308 area. Good luck!

[MotleyCrew]

We happen to live in Vistancia and our office is in Glendale. It does not take any amount of time to get here. They are also extending Happy Valley Rd to somewhere around 67th. We consider this drive a minor commute compared to working in Phoenix and living in Vistancia. You have many choices over here on the west side.

[Doubleagle]

Is there HOA in Vistancia? If so, how much? Mapquest tells me commute to work is about 35 minutes. Is this about right during the rush hours or is this during off peak hours?

There seems to be lots of bank owned homes in these areas (anywhere else for that matter) and I will be taking a big risk buying with very gloomy exit strategy (i.e. huge inventory, inflated prices, and limited buyers within 30 commute). However, my wife and I absolutely love this area when we visited (Scottsdale) and in a position that this is our only chance to move before our kids (two oldest) become too attached with friends.

Where can I find houses for rent by owners/banks?

Thanks everyone...

[MotleyCrew]

Vistancia does have an HOA as do most of the developments here. Our fee is roughly $85 a month. We have a resort-like pool with a slide for the kids, lap pools, a gym/basketball court/ club house and walking trails and tennis courts. The activities director is fantastic and manages to squeeze in some things for the adults with grown children to do. We do have some forclosures due to the subprime mess. These are starting to sell again. Some of these resales are very tempting. The builders (at least Shea) is almost sold out for two of the Phase Two developments. There are 4 lots left in each. The new builds in that section start at $212K, but the incentives may be far more at the sales office. Once the builders are finished, we feel sales may start to increase again I don't think this will become a ghost town.

There are several rentals in Vistancia, and the ones we looked at recently for our daughter started around $1,100 per month. Some of these were over 2,000 square feet, and hardly lived in. I can get a few numbers for you and private email them to you after work if that would be of any help.

[Doubleagle]

MotleyCrew, thanks for the info. I would greatly appreciate it if you could email me some phone numbers. My wife and I are arriving at the end of the month 29th and would like to look around that weekend.

[Great Joy]

We also live in Vistancia. It has all the things you're looking for, except the 1 acre lot...unless you want to spend a lot more to be in one of our other Vistancia communities called Blackstone. Our kids attend Vistancia Elementary, and we really like it. It's an "excelling school" with great teachers and lots of parent involvement. We also have friends whose kids attend the new high school here, and they're very happy with that school too. We've met quite a few families that have moved here just to get into our schools.

Vistancia will definitely not become a "ghost town" as the growth is evident because of all the residential and commercial construction going on both inside and near our master planned community.

In your price range, I recommend the Vistancia community called Vistancia Village. There are several gated neighborhoods within the Village to choose from. To help you know, you don't need to be in a gated one to feel and be safe. We've lived here for several years now, and havn't had any issues.

One of the things we really like about Vistancia is the centrally planned activities and events. By going to these, we've quickly and easily met a lot of neighbors all around the community and formed wonderful friendships. It really helped to make the relocation transition go very well for not only my husband and me, but also for our kids. Best wishes to you!