Sun City, Sun City West, El Mirage, Peoria, Avondale or Goodyear (Phoenix: 2014, crime rates)

[from nv]

We are 55+ and considering moving to Sun City, Sun City West, El Mirage, Peoria, Avondale or Goodyear. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of each area. We've previously lived in West & North Glendale so we are aware of traffic/commute times. We never looked at living in any of these cities before.

Thank you in advance!

[Dewey59]

With SC or SCW you will not have any city / school taxes to pay. You will have rec center fees however. The rec center fees pay for many amenities the other communities do not have though, so to me, they are well worth it.

SC or SCW also does not have any kids, if that matters to you. The other communities will have more shopping and entertainment options, if that is important. Since you are familiar with the areas, you know what the commute would be like from SC or SCW to these options.

In general, SC has older and therefore cheaper homes than SCW, but both communities will give you more bang for the buck than the others you listed because there is a smaller pool of potential buyers (limited to 55 and older in SC and SCW).

In my opinion, I would not consider El Mirage because of "undesireable elements". Parts of Goodyear and Avondale suffer from the same problem, but there are other areas in both that are nice. Peoria would probably be your most expensive option in general. Surprise could be another consideration that has some nice areas.

Personally, having neighbors who are respectful, considerably lower taxes, and the wealth of clubs and activities is why I love living in SCW. Obviously, each person is different. When I was looking, I did tend to favor SCW a little more over SC because of less traffic. SC has several major through streets running through the middle of it, where SCW is almost like a gated community with little through traffic. However, SCW is further out from the heart of Phoenix.

Feel free to PM me if you need more details about SCW.

[GeneR]

In my opinion Sun City (and to a lesser extent Sun City West) is the very best value for a 55+ community in the nation for reasons cited by Dewey59. We looked hard at SC and SCW and in the end we preferred Sun City Grand and the community we now call home, Sun City Festival. Details on our investigation can be found on these pages dating back to June, 2014 in threads titled “Our Retirement Community Visit”.*

*We also investigated areas around Tucson and in the San Tan Valley areas which are also mentioned.

[Densi52]

I'm curious why you would consider El Mirage. Have you considered Sun City Grand in Surprise? It's very close to SCW. Not all areas of SCW are low taxes BTW.

I like Buckeye and Goodyear.

[wit-nit]

SCW is only one city by itself and it's taxes are low. SC taxes are low too. Both are in the county with no school districts. The Sun Cities have the lowest crime rates too.
SC Grand is in the City of Surprise which has the highest taxes in the State.

[Dewey59]

Originally Posted by Densi52

Not all areas of SCW are low taxes BTW.

I like Buckeye and Goodyear.

I was not aware of this.... can you please provide specifics?

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Dewey59

I was not aware of this.... can you please provide specifics?

That area around El Mirage and the 303 is SCW but it's zoned for nearby Peoria School District. I'd wager they have higher taxes in that area.

[Densi52]

When I was considering a home in SCW, Dewey49, I noticed that the property taxes on similar properties varied for no apparent reason. A realtor gave me a map of the development that outlined the homes in the low-tax area. Being in the low-tax area is often mentioned in a home listing as a selling point.

[Dewey59]

JGM,

By El Mirage, I'm assuming you mean El Mirage Road, since the city of El Mirage is no where near the 303. The area by the 303 and El Mirage Road is a separate development called Corte Bella. They share a zip code with SCW, but they are not part of the SCW community.

Realtors often mislead their clients into thinking it is part of SCW and that they will have access to the clubs and activities in SCW, but that is not correct. I shouldn't say they all mislead... some are just ignorant! I recently corrected a realtor who posted information on the internet that SCW was part of Surprise. What was worse was she said she meant it was near Surprise but did not correct what she had posted! I am astonished at the incompetence and deceptive practices of some realtors.

Densi,

Is Corte Bella the area that you are referring to also? If not, can you provide me with specific areas in SCW that are low tax and high tax? As a SCW resident, I am interested in knowing where I fall, because this information is new to me! Maybe you had one of those bad realtors too!

[GeneR]

Originally Posted by Dewey59

JGM,


Densi,

Is Corte Bella the area that you are referring to also? If not, can you provide me with specific areas in SCW that are low tax and high tax? As a SCW resident, I am interested in knowing where I fall, because this information is new to me! Maybe you had one of those bad realtors too!

I believe any SCW property north of Deer Valley Drive falls into the higher tax area.