El Mirage Opinions (Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria: houses, rent, job)

[Synergy38]

Hi again, I've targetted Surprise, Glendale and Peoria as areas i'd want to live in but looking for places to live I see alot in El Mirage, so doing a search I find it's right in that NW Phoenix area that I'm looking in.

Is there much difference between El Mirage and Surprise, Glendale and Peoria??

Thanks!

[Finger Laker]

yes - el mirage is cheaper so when I bought a few years ago it definitely grabbed my attention - but it's a lot rougher than the bulk of the cities you mentioned (although all have some rough edges, especially glendale) - surprise not so much

[LBTRS]

Don't know much about El Mirage, however, driving through there during a recent visit showed it to be a less desirable area in my opinion. Less developed and things didn't look as nice as in the other places you mentioned. We ended up buying in Goodyear as it was very nice and had access to all the areas you mentioned along with downtown Phoenix.

[Synergy38]

Yup it's off my radar. Surprise still #1 for now. Thanks though.

I see alot in Goodyear. I'll have to look into it some more.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by Synergy38

Yup it's off my radar. Surprise still #1 for now. Thanks though.

I see alot in Goodyear. I'll have to look into it some more.

Yeah, keep it off your radar permanently. Many people moved there in the mid to late 90's when they were building really cheap homes ($60k-70k). These were people who couldn't afford anywhere else. Many of the communities do not have HOA's and they immediately went downhill. Cars parked in the front yard on blocks, etc. The property values stay pretty stagnant.

[Synergy38]

Jeez, 70k for a house?? That's going to be El Ghetto within 5 years

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by Synergy38

Jeez, 70k for a house?? That's going to be El Ghetto within 5 years

I think it went quicker then that.

[Captain Bill]

Synergy, where is your job located. You mentioned the north west cities which indicated you may work in that area, and then you mentioned Goodyear, so I'm not sure.

Much will depend on your work place and your price range for a home. Surprise is a depressed market where you can get cheaper homes, but if you have to sell within a couple of years you will have problems because the prices are still going down there. Some houses that sold for 239k in 2005 are now being sold through short sales at around 140k. There are several homes for sale on many blocks, and many homes that couldn't sell are being rented.

North Glendale including the Arrowhead area, and Goodyear are the better choices of the names you mentioned. But then again it depends on your job location, and your other needs. I'm just speaking about areas. I don't know your specific needs.