attending cgcc: gilbert, chandler or mesa? (Scottsdale: apartments, leases, transferring to)

[_m1key]

hi everyone! been lurking for awhile doing preliminary research. ive been living in north dakota for about 16 years (except for 18 months when i lived in germany) and im originally from brooklyn, ny. last winter i was extremely depressed between the weather here and working a job i hated for the last 5 years. then in february, one of my best friends passed. his death motivated me to get my life together.

on a whim, i flew allegiant down to phoenix in may. i was there for a week and absolutely fell in love with the area. great weather, great food, and actual things to do (unlike nd). i started looking into schools, and was initially enrolled at glendale cc with the intention of transferring to asu after. i even did a little apartment hunting in the west valley. on the way back to nd, i actually missed my flight, and while sitting on the patio at phx-mesa, i remembered seeing a university of north dakota sign when i landed. i googled and found cgcc. they had a program that i liked more than glendale, so i flew down again in july for orientation, with the plan of starting spring 2017.

my second trip down was only wed-fri, so i didn't really have a chance to explore much of the eastern area. both times i stayed with a friend in the way northwest of phx, like 20-30 minutes north of arrowhead? i will be attending cgcc at the airport campus. i would like to keep my commute time around 30-45 minutes each way.

im 35 so nightlife isn't too important to me, although a few places close by to have some late drinks would be nice. ive been looking at apartments in chandler, gilbert and mesa. i actually really liked midtown on main in mesa. can i take the 101 to 202 and make decent time? are there any other areas i should be looking at? id appreciate a few pointers as there's only so much i can learn via apartments dot com and google maps.

tl;dr 35yo single male attending cgcc, needs help finding a place to live!

[observer53]

From Mesa to that campus would be a reverse commute, so that helps. You might also look in the area around Chandler Fashion Center. Not as familiar with Gilbert, but you should have some options there, too, maybe close to the San Tan Village area.

[_m1key]

thanks observer53! looking at the area around chandler fashion center, i've already found 3 places that i like. and it looks like they are all about 30 minutes to the mesa airport campus. the san tan village area looks to be a little higher than i'd like to pay for rent, though.

i appreciate the suggestions!

[JGMotorsport64]

Do be advised that CGCC has two campuses, a lot of people learn the hard way. One is on Pecos and the other is out by Mesa-Gateway airport.

Their class selection system doesn't really differentiate the two.

[_m1key]

yes, i will be attending at the airport campus

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by _m1key

thanks observer53! looking at the area around chandler fashion center, i've already found 3 places that i like. and it looks like they are all about 30 minutes to the mesa airport campus. the san tan village area looks to be a little higher than i'd like to pay for rent, though.

i appreciate the suggestions!

I used to live near the Chandler fashion mall in a very nice neighborhood that had easy access to good shopping and dining, not the high-end overpriced stuff you might find in Scottsdale but still a very good selection.

Schools in Chandler are among the best around especially in the Kyrene district.

There are very few bad or sketchy areas in Chandler, you really can't go wrong living there.

[_m1key]

that's good to hear, thanks java. the first time out i was in the area for a week but really focused on glendale. when i went back for orientation at cgcc, i didn't really have a chance to go exploring in chandler as i flew allegiant and was only there wed pm through fri am.

from their website, i really like the chandler court apartments. going to have my friend that's local go check them and midtown on main in mesa out. any others you think i should have her go look at?

[infocyde]

Whatever you decide go with a six month lease if you can, so that once you are here and know the area a little better you can upgrade if you want to.

[_m1key]

good tip, thanks infocyde! do many places offer 6 month leases?

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by _m1key

that's good to hear, thanks java. the first time out i was in the area for a week but really focused on glendale. when i went back for orientation at cgcc, i didn't really have a chance to go exploring in chandler as i flew allegiant and was only there wed pm through fri am.

from their website, i really like the chandler court apartments. going to have my friend that's local go check them and midtown on main in mesa out. any others you think i should have her go look at?

Be careful of Mesa, it can be sketchy compared to Chandler but there are still some good areas, not sure about the midtown area.

If you decide to live in Chandler near the fashion mall chances are you'll be in a better neighborhood with good freeway access to the 101 and 202, but the area of Mesa you're thinking about would probably be a longer drive.