Mesa nice/ghetto areas? Where's the cut-off? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: apartment complex, crime)

[WildSpark]

I'm looking for non-politically correct opinions, as realtor's play the PC card. I've heard that Mesa has it's nice parts and straight-up meth'd out ghettos. Where is the dividing line?

[ghdana]

This explanation isn't too bad. https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...Mesa%20Arizona

[WildSpark]

Originally Posted by ghdana

This explanation isn't too bad. https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...Mesa%20Arizona

Haha! This does help! No Mesa for myself or my family. Thank you.

[ghdana]

Mesa also has some of the nicest parts of the Phoenix metro, for example the Las Sendas and Red Mountain Ranch areas. I would not count it out, prices there are very good for what you can get compared to Gilbert and Chandler. People keep telling others to go to Gilbert and Chandler, driving up the prices there, while those in awesome parts of Mesa stay relatively cheap.

[kitshipp]

Red Mountain Ranch is beautiful. Don't read too much into it. Even Scottsdale has ghetto pockets.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by kitshipp

Red Mountain Ranch is beautiful. Don't read too much into it. Even Scottsdale has ghetto pockets.

Likewise Mesa has nice pockets

[ShampooBanana]

Most of the geographic area of Mesa isn't bad, and certainly not what I'd characterize as "ghetto". The only areas I'd stay away from at night is the area generally bounded by the city limits on the west, Brown on the north, Gilbert Rd on the east, and Southern Ave on the south, plus some of the county island over towards AJ. Other than that it's mostly just bland suburbia and a few areas of nice old citrus grove estates (parts of north Mesa) and some really nice newer master plans (Las Sendas, Red Mountain Ranch, and Eastmark).

[Jnvlv247]

Ghetto of course is subjective. Scottsdale ghetto could be considered a nice area in other cities, etc

I really think the best thing to do it drive around to get a feel for things. Do this at day and night. I really don't think things are THAT bad in Mesa compared to parts of Phoenix to be around at night in a car. As I drive around different cities I get a different feel from place to place. You start noticing different things like how building are kept up. The lights, the sidewalks. What businesses are there and does it go from convenient stores and things like check cashing and title max to more higher end stores and built up apts? Typically, nicer areas will have more clean and updated architecture. Signs will all be in English. People don't just hang around gas stations and bus stops. Nicer cars, different crowd of people. See how people look and dress. You get the point. You wanted non-pc. I am the one to ask.

[LS Jaun]

"Scottsdale Ghetto" Will be no more in a couple years. The land values around Curry that was seedy and crappy a few years ago has gone through the roof. You can't buy a falling down shack for less than 200k anymore.

[yukon]

Originally Posted by Jnvlv247

Ghetto of course is subjective. Scottsdale ghetto could be considered a nice area in other cities, etc

I really think the best thing to do it drive around to get a feel for things. Do this at day and night. I really don't think things are THAT bad in Mesa compared to parts of Phoenix to be around at night in a car. As I drive around different cities I get a different feel from place to place. You start noticing different things like how building are kept up. The lights, the sidewalks. What businesses are there and does it go from convenient stores and things like check cashing and title max to more higher end stores and built up apts? Typically, nicer areas will have more clean and updated architecture. Signs will all be in English. People don't just hang around gas stations and bus stops. Nicer cars, different crowd of people. See how people look and dress. You get the point. You wanted non-pc. I am the one to ask.

I agree. Had I gone by crime stats alone, I would not have moved into my apartment complex in NW Mesa. After I did a daytime and nighttime drive by, I felt much better about the area and don't regret moving here at all. Try to do the nighttime drive-bys on Friday and Saturday. You'll get a better feel for the area than on a Monday or Tuesday. I look for people out jogging or walking their dogs. I also look at what is (or better yet, is not) hanging around on street corners and in business parking lots. I've done this for the entire time I've rented (40+ years in multiple cities/states) and it's never let me down.