Looking at Gilbert to move- (Phoenix, Mesa: low crime, townhomes, landscaping)

[CosmoPoppy]

We are Retired and looking to move to Gilbert. What are some of the positives and negatives? What is the traffic like comparing it to Mesa or Apache Junction? what suburb of Phoenix do you prefer and why? Thanks

[DetroitN8V]

Perhaps sharing why you've zeroed on in Gilbert will give people a bit of an idea as to what you're looking for in an area.

[KurtAZ]

Well...from your other posts, I don't think Gilbert would be top of the list for a "Liberally minded" retiree. As far as comparing it to other towns in the valley, there are a ton of threads on Gilbert, Mesa and the East Valley as a whole. I would suggest Tempe though if you are looking for folks and a town that may lean a bit more to the left...Gilbert and Mesa are very conservative.

[hikernut]

We live in Gilbert. For the most part it's pretty sleepy. We have lots of Mormon neighbors, who have all been nice to us. If that bothers you I'd look elsewhere (not Gilbert or Mesa). Most shopping and restaurants are the typical chain offerings, although there's some local stuff in the old town Gilbert strip.


I doubt the traffic is notably better/worse than the other areas you mention. As you might expect, the traffic at the mall is hectic on weekend afternoons/evenings. And of course there's more traffic at rush hour times, especially on the freeways, but Gilbert is far enough out to not have horrible traffic unless there's an accident.


Biggest downside for us is the longish drive to events in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Glendale (football, for example).

[lovecrowds]

Originally Posted by CosmoPoppy

We are Retired and looking to move to Gilbert. What are some of the positives and negatives? What is the traffic like comparing it to Mesa or Apache Junction? what suburb of Phoenix do you prefer and why? Thanks

Gilbert is excellent, I just moved from there but I do think it is a great community.

Some of the best times I ever had were in Gilbert. I really think basically every city can learn from Gilbert.

The people who run Gilbert, run a very solid-city with rock-bottom crime rates, very low poverty rates and it is a very, very clean town with landscaping and man-made lakes to make it look less deserty

I am not a fan of much of the valley, but Gilbert offers top-notch amenities for a place of it's size. Very modern neighborhoods that are far more affordable per square foot then Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Valley.

Gilbert is also a very short distance from Scottsdale, Tempe and Chandler which are some of the nicer cities in the valley.

It does have a high percentage of families, but northern Gilbert was mainly built in the 1990s and has many retirees who I think are the original homeowners in many cases.

I think Gilbert is an excellent community but it really excels in being a good city for families and retirees. People who live in Gilbert in my opinion are just very happy to reside there with it being so modern, clean and filled with nice amenities and parks.

Positives:
-Affordable ranch homes and townhomes that are much lower priced then similar areas like Scottsdale
-One of the lowest crime rates in the nation for a city of it's size.
-Affordable, good-natured home owners associations that keep tab's on the neighborhood
-Lots of modern, big-box retailers to shop at
-Large-destination downtown for a town of it's size.
-10 degrees cooler then downtown Phoenix during summer-nights
-In my opinion, the friendliest people in the valley
-Lots of really nice landscaping with many, many small man-made lakes

Negatives:
-Slightly windier then the rest of the valley
-I notice during July and August the area gets a stronger monsoon.
-Mosquitos during the late-summer at dusk from the small lakes.

[SMG]

I have lived in Gilbert since 2003. I moved here as a single guy, am now married. I am 60. Plenty to do here, great restaurants and activities. Its clean and has a very low crime rate. According to what I read on city-data, it is Mormon influenced and conservative. I say that tongue in cheek as it is constantly hammered on here. I would not know this if I did not read it here all the time. Honestly, I do not care what way my neighbors lean politically and spiritually. We all get along great and those topics never arise. I have lived all over the Valley, moved here in 1979. I prefer Gilbert more than the other communities I have lived in here.