What does everyone think of Surprise, AZ? (Phoenix, Glendale: fit in, new home)

[Sk323i]

I just bought a new home in north Surprise up 163rd. What is life like for young professionals in Surprise. Am I probably going to drive to downtown or across to Scottsdale to go out to cool bars and malls and restaurants? Is there cool stuff on the west side in Peoria, Glendale, etc.?

I'm 26 from an upper middle class suburban community north of Los Angeles.
I was living in downtown LA for the last 2 years, but really wanted a home and could not afford anything in CA.

I'm going to ASU's - Thunderbird School of Global Management.

I work full-time for a management consulting company as an analyst. I work from home 90% of the time, and fly out of state once a quarter.

I guess I envision myself going out into nature for day, weekend camping trips to arcosanti, sedona, white tank mountains, grand canyon, flagstaff, etc. In a year or 2, I hope to build a pool and a outdoor patio cover, bbq bar area.

It would be nice to go out shopping, bar hopping, walking around etc. but it seems like those kind of activities are mainly in Scottsdale, and downtown areas and that the west side- Surprise especially is just full of families, etc.

Just trying to get a sense of what to expect lifestyle wise in Surprise. Will be nice to have a brand new home but will also be hard not living 1 block from Sunset Blvd in California anymore.

[JGMotorsport64]

It's pretty bland and boring, but you'll be fine.

Surprise is full of the following:

Retired folks
Military families
Families with children looking for cheap new homes

Not a lot of young professionals, many of the people your age probably went to high school out there and never left. It's not a bad thing, but it's reality. If you're married you'll fit in just fine, if not, you'll find yourself in Scottsdale/Phoenix/Tempe/Maybe Arrowhead or Westgate but those two are a maybe.

I've spent many years out there, I have many friends still over there. I won't go back but many like it fine.

[Sk323i]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

It's pretty bland and boring, but you'll be fine.

Surprise is full of the following:

Retired folks
Military families
Families with children looking for cheap new homes

Not a lot of young professionals, many of the people your age probably went to high school out there and never left. It's not a bad thing, but it's reality. If you're married you'll fit in just fine, if not, you'll find yourself in Scottsdale/Phoenix/Tempe/Maybe Arrowhead or Westgate but those two are a maybe.

Thanks for your insight. That's the sense I got from visiting but if I survived growing up in a conservative california suburb I thought I would survive in Surprise.

I have a girlfriend who is moving in with me. I hope to get married and have a baby and all that soon.
I also want to join the air national guard at some point. So I guess it's a good move. The only other option would have been Buckeye. East Valley was too expensive for me - even though I would have loved to live in either Gilbert or in Scottsdale. I wanted an acre in Buckeye, couldn't get that so settled for Brand New home in Surprise. Hoping to build it up in value a bit and sell it for much more as Surprise and East Valley become more developed over next few years, and property values increase.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Sk323i

Thanks for your insight. That's the sense I got from visiting but if I survived growing up in a conservative california suburb I thought I would survive in Surprise.

I have a girlfriend who is moving in with me. I hope to get married and have a baby and all that soon.
I also want to join the air national guard at some point. So I guess it's a good move. The only other option would have been Buckeye. East Valley was too expensive for me - even though I would have loved to live in either Gilbert or in Scottsdale. I wanted an acre in Buckeye, couldn't get that so settled for Brand New home in Surprise. Hoping to build it up in value a bit and sell it for much more as Surprise and East Valley become more developed over next few years, and property values increase.

If it were me I'd take Surprise every day over Buckeye if you want to be able to do stuff as you'll be closer to Arrowhead and close to Westgate. If you want small town atmosphere with the smell of farms and large plats Buckeye is alright.

Conservative California suburb is very very similar to Surprise, no surprises for you.

[Rickaida]

Do people actually live in Surprise? I thought it only existed for Baseball training camps.
I'm kidding so please don't scream at me! Actually, we plan to come out this spring to visit my Boys In Blue and have a question. What's the drive like from I17 just north of 101 around to the stadium complex and what's mid-March weather like?

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Surprise seems like our version of Menifee or Murietta, pretty boring and quite a drive from the city

[BIG CATS]

Surprise? Its the vanilla Phoenix suburb. What else can we say? Its about as plain Jane as one can hope for (if one hopes for such a thing). Be prepared for a LONG drive to Old Town Scottsdale if you just want to hang out. You'll probably do it 3-4 times then hang out in downtown PHX because its much closer.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Surprise? Its the vanilla Phoenix suburb. What else can we say? Its about as plain Jane as one can hope for (if one hopes for such a thing). Be prepared for a LONG drive to Old Town Scottsdale if you just want to hang out. You'll probably do it 3-4 times then hang out in downtown PHX because its much closer.

Not everyone goes to Old Town Scottsdale on a regular basis, so I wouldn't base that as a reason to not live in Surprise. I have lived here 3 years and have been there about 5 times (2 of those were for work events)! I can't say I have ever gone there to just "hang out."

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Not everyone goes to Old Town Scottsdale on a regular basis, so I wouldn't base that as a reason to not live in Surprise. I have lived here 3 years and have been there about 5 times (2 of those were for work events)! I can't say I have ever gone there to just "hang out."

The OP asked "Am I probably going to drive to downtown or across to Scottsdale to go out to cool bars and malls and restaurants?"


I said Old Town is quite the haul from Surprise, and after a few trips the OP might decide its ultimately not worth that huge cruise.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

The OP asked "Am I probably going to drive to downtown or across to Scottsdale to go out to cool bars and malls and restaurants?"


I said Old Town is quite the haul from Surprise, and after a few trips the OP might decide its ultimately not worth that huge cruise.

As others have suggested, there are other places to go besides Scottsdale. I think a mistake a lot of people make when they move, or at least an assumption they make, is that Scottsdale is the be-all-end-all-only-place-to-be because that is what they have heard. It's like thinking Los Angeles is JUST Hollywood.

The valley has lots of places one can go for a night out, cool bars or restaurants, or just to "hang out".

In reality, Surprise is a long haul from almost everywhere in the valley! According to Google maps it is roughly 40 miles to Old Town and 30 miles to downtown Phoenix.