Anthem MPC (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Flagstaff: rentals, HOA, chapel)

[skyegirl]

I know, I know... This subject has probably been done to death, but when I searched, not much came up. Does anyone on this board actually live in this Anthem MPC? I realize it's in the boonies, traffic can be a nightmare, blah, blah, blah. What I really want to know about is, drum roll please...the quality of life there. Is it really all that it's cracked up to be, is living that far out fighting traffic uphill both ways worth it? I know that it has great amenities, do you utilize them often? What is the HOA per month/year? Are you happy with the schools, or do you wish you had chosen another area? You get the drift...any insight would be much appreciated

[hts]

Living in Anthem is better then you could possibly imagine.

Drive up there, get out at the park, walk around, and strike up a conversation. I suspect you'll be pleasantly surprised with the friendly nature of the good folks that live up there and all the positive things they have to say about 'our' community.

[skyegirl]

Originally Posted by hts

Living in Anthem is better then you could possibly imagine.

Drive up there, get out at the park, walk around, and strike up a conversation. I suspect you'll be pleasantly surprised with the friendly nature of the good folks that live up there and all the positive things they have to say about 'our' community.

Thanks so much for the input, truly appreciated HTS! My husband "accidentally" found it while searching craigslist for 4 bedroom rentals, needless to say we really liked what we saw, but I wanted to get a true perspective. I work from a home office and my territory has would me from N Phoenix almost up to Flagstaff, he would commute once per week to the airport, so commutes do not matter. We are going to be back in town in next weekend, we will most certainly spend some time in Anthem (srtiking up a conversation no doubt) By the way, is there a difference between the East and West side, I heard the East of 17 was "nicer", any thoughts? Thanks again!

[hts]

Very interesting. I also 'stumbled' across Anthem by talking to a guy sitting next to me on a flight from SFO-PHX a couple of years ago. I was on a project in the Bay area and flying to the Valley to meet my wife (flying in from Chapel Hill where we lived at the time) for a weekend house-hunting trip. This was our second (of 3 scheduled) house hunting trip and we had planned to spend the entire weekend in/around Scottsdale (again). The guy told me it was up I-17 a ways, but that it was worth it. I remember thinking that this guy must be some kind of loser for having to live way out in the boonies (after all, "we were going to live in Scottsdale"). Hah.

Long story short, we couldn't find anything we liked/could afford in/around Scottsdale (including Greyhawk, DC Ranch, Desert Ridge-not really Scottsdale, etc.), and I told my wife about what this guy said about Anthem. She wasn't crazy about driving way up there, but we decided that we could always rent first while we got to know the Valley better. We knew within about 5 minutes from the time we got off I-17 on Anthem Way that this was a very special community. We had never seen anything like it before (and haven't since) and have been around the block a few times. We actually did end up renting in Parkside (the non-gated community East of I-17) until we finally won a lot lottery in the Club and could contract/build.

I don't know much about the West side, as we haven't lived there in 3 years now (I took another promotion/transfer back to DC--ugh) and it was mostly commercial then (the Walmart wasn't even open when we left), but I do understand that some folks consider the West side to be the Anthem step-child (as far as I know, all the main community amenities are on the East side). After living in Michigan, NY, Texas, England, Nebraska, N. Virginia, NC, and Anthem, I can easily/honestly say that the folks in Anthem were the nicest of all. We only lived in Anthem for 15 months, but we consider it our home. We've decided to move back next Summer (2009), as our boys are now 6 & 7 and we want to raise them there. We miss it every day and can't wait to return, but financial reasons have us here in DC for a little over one more year.

I also work from home (when I'm not flying out/traveling maybe 3-4 days/mth) and my wife stays at home, so Anthem's somewhat remote location is actually a plus for us. We can get downtown (to dinner or a ballgame) in under an hour. I can get to/from Sky Harbor in less then an hour (I typically fly out early in the morning and return after dinner). Scottsdale for weekend shopping trips is 45 minutes tops (often 30). They're widening I-17 north of the 101, so it will only get better. The Anthem schools are well regarded and score well on standardized tests.

Best of luck with your home search!

[bklemt]

My husband and I moved to Arizona from Wyoming 5 years ago. My sister was living in Tatum Highlands at the time, and we knew Cave Creek, Carefree, and northern Scottsdale well. We rented a home near The Boulders for six months to figure out where we wanted to live. On a drive to Lake Pleasant one day, I noted the Anthem sign and told my husband to pull in, because we had friends from Wyoming who had mentioned the community. We drove in, past the lake, waterfall, and park and I said, "This is where I want to live." A week later, we had purchased a house in the Country Club. Five years later, my folks live here in the winters, my sister (the one in Tatum Highlands) lives a few blocks away with her husband, and a second sister, her husband, and their seven year old son, just relocated here from Nebraska. My best friend growing up bought a second home here a couple of years ago, and our good friends from Wyoming will close on a home in April. The point? The advantages of living in a true community, surrounded by family and both old and new friends, outweigh the disadvantages--the distance to the airport, I-17 traffic, for example.
As to the schools--my kids are grown, so my knowledge of the schools is through my sister. She's been quite happy with Anthem School, where her son attends. Friends with grade school kids generally seem happy with the school system. (I don't have any friends with high school-age kids, so I can't even offer second-hand advice there.)
All-in-all, we love it here. It's a small town, next to a city. If I can answer other questions, I'm happy to.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by bklemt

My husband and I moved to Arizona from Wyoming 5 years ago. My sister was living in Tatum Highlands at the time, and we knew Cave Creek, Carefree, and northern Scottsdale well. We rented a home near The Boulders for six months to figure out where we wanted to live. On a drive to Lake Pleasant one day, I noted the Anthem sign and told my husband to pull in, because we had friends from Wyoming who had mentioned the community. We drove in, past the lake, waterfall, and park and I said, "This is where I want to live." A week later, we had purchased a house in the Country Club. Five years later, my folks live here in the winters, my sister (the one in Tatum Highlands) lives a few blocks away with her husband, and a second sister, her husband, and their seven year old son, just relocated here from Nebraska. My best friend growing up bought a second home here a couple of years ago, and our good friends from Wyoming will close on a home in April. The point? The advantages of living in a true community, surrounded by family and both old and new friends, outweigh the disadvantages--the distance to the airport, I-17 traffic, for example.
As to the schools--my kids are grown, so my knowledge of the schools is through my sister. She's been quite happy with Anthem School, where her son attends. Friends with grade school kids generally seem happy with the school system. (I don't have any friends with high school-age kids, so I can't even offer second-hand advice there.)
All-in-all, we love it here. It's a small town, next to a city. If I can answer other questions, I'm happy to.

If everyone had the family and friends in their neighborhoods that you do, it would not matter where they lived; they would be happy