Thinking Of Moving To Phoenix? (Tucson, Scottsdale: relocation, vacation, rent)

[OneWayStreet]

Get out there and experience the valley for yourself.

Just returned from a 10 day fact-finding vacation to Arizona. Spent most of our time driving through Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Avondale, and Casa Grande. Except for the Sun Cities, these areas were on our list to check out. We also drove down to Tucson to visit friends. And just for kicks, we drove down to Nogales, AZ.

I must admit we found a few surprises (good and bad) in Queen Creek, Gilbert. Peoria, and Casa Grande that I did not know about, and thankfully we invested the time to find them.

This board has much to offer, but you are considering moving to Arizona, get out there and drive around before you uproot your life.

As far as the heat, we did not find it hellish as some here appear to. But walking around in the evening when it's 103 degrees with 25% humidity in Chandler is MUCH more comfortable than walking around in the evening when it's 85-90 degrees and 75% humidity in Maryland! The hottest day was 117 degrees when we there. Not the kind of conditions to go jogging in, but we were not totally uncomfortable. The best analogy I've read on this board to describe the heat is "standing in front of a big hair dryer".

On another note, I now know why many love thunderstorms during the summer.


And how about that fire!


There was no shortage of nice sunsets.


Using our criteria, our relocation list has been trimmed to 2 areas.

Hoping this helps some of the other lurkers and newbies. Don't forget the cooler of water, sun screen, and hats!

[Lovehound]

Please share your surprises and findings about those areas "Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Avondale, and Casa Grande."

I'm still interested in PHX even though my preferences are drifting towards Santa Fe.

[SpeedyAZ]

Yes please share your experiences, some of us residents who've lived here a while overlook certain aspects of the area that tourists always seem to notice. I hope you enjoyed your trip though, Phoenix really is a great place contrary to what some people have to say. I've also never found the heat unbearable, when I lived in Iowa we had days where it was 90F with 90% humidity now THAT was unbearable!

[CA_Dreaming]

Originally Posted by OneWayStreet

Get out there and experience the valley for yourself.

Just returned from a 10 day fact-finding vacation to Arizona. Spent most of our time driving through Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Avondale, and Casa Grande. Except for the Sun Cities, these areas were on our list to check out. We also drove down to Tucson to visit friends. And just for kicks, we drove down to Nogales, AZ.

I must admit we found a few surprises (good and bad) in Queen Creek, Gilbert. Peoria, and Casa Grande that I did not know about, and thankfully we invested the time to find them.

Did you check out Anthem? If not, you should have IMO. Beautiful family oriented community!!

This board has much to offer, but you are considering moving to Arizona, get out there and drive around before you uproot your life.

As far as the heat, we did not find it hellish as some here appear to. But walking around in the evening when it's 103 degrees with 25% humidity in Chandler is MUCH more comfortable than walking around in the evening when it's 85-90 degrees and 75% humidity in Maryland! The hottest day was 117 degrees when we there. Not the kind of conditions to go jogging in, but we were not totally uncomfortable. The best analogy I've read on this board to describe the heat is "standing in front of a big hair dryer".

On another note, I now know why many love thunderstorms during the summer.


And how about that fire!


There was no shortage of nice sunsets.


Using our criteria, our relocation list has been trimmed to 2 areas.

Hoping this helps some of the other lurkers and newbies. Don't forget the cooler of water, sun screen, and hats!

Did you check out Anthem? If not, you should have IMO. Only negative would be if you work downtown. Beautiful and very family oriented with all the master planned amenities.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by OneWayStreet

Get out there and experience the valley for yourself.

Just returned from a 10 day fact-finding vacation to Arizona. Spent most of our time driving through Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Avondale, and Casa Grande. Except for the Sun Cities, these areas were on our list to check out. We also drove down to Tucson to visit friends. And just for kicks, we drove down to Nogales, AZ.

I must admit we found a few surprises (good and bad) in Queen Creek, Gilbert. Peoria, and Casa Grande that I did not know about, and thankfully we invested the time to find them.

This board has much to offer, but you are considering moving to Arizona, get out there and drive around before you uproot your life.

As far as the heat, we did not find it hellish as some here appear to. But walking around in the evening when it's 103 degrees with 25% humidity in Chandler is MUCH more comfortable than walking around in the evening when it's 85-90 degrees and 75% humidity in Maryland! The hottest day was 117 degrees when we there. Not the kind of conditions to go jogging in, but we were not totally uncomfortable. The best analogy I've read on this board to describe the heat is "standing in front of a big hair dryer".

On another note, I now know why many love thunderstorms during the summer.


And how about that fire!


There was no shortage of nice sunsets.


Using our criteria, our relocation list has been trimmed to 2 areas.

Hoping this helps some of the other lurkers and newbies. Don't forget the cooler of water, sun screen, and hats!

Great idea, will do that for the next place I land. Thanks! Is Maryland as pretty as they say? I've heard it was gorgeous there.

[OneWayStreet]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Please share your surprises and findings about those areas "Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Avondale, and Casa Grande."

I'm still interested in PHX even though my preferences are drifting towards Santa Fe.

No problem, hope I do not offend anyone living in these areas.

To us, Queen Creek appears to be an "up and coming" area. We were shocked to find what appears to be a waste water treatment facility AND a working dairy farm on German Road, with neighborhoods surrounding them. My wife ABSOLUTELY hates cows! Also found some very strange housing configurations featuring tandem houses that appeared to "interlock" like puzzle pieces. However, in the Maricopa County portion of Queen Creek, we found some very nice areas. I'll have to find the brochure. The Pinal County portion of Queen Creek did not impress us much.

We drove through 2 neighborhoods in Gilbert, and both featured very strange ideas regarding traffic control. The main roads through the developments were constructed to slow traffic, ie, sharp turns and narrow roadways. We live in a neighborhood like that now, and when someone has company, it's a real pain to pass the parked cars. No thanks.

Chandler is EXTREMELY nice with every convenience you could possibly want. In fact, we ate many times at the 5 & Diner on Ray Road, and Marlo took care of us most of the time. She was very friendly as we found most everyone in Chandler. But we like mountain views, which are not exactly plentiful in Chandler. There are some older neighborhoods that need some attention, but there are MANY very nice newer neighborhoods that looked fantastic. That's just our preference, but there is nothing wrong with Chandler!

Scottsdale is another area with lots of conveniences. My wife is a nurse and the Mayo Clinic is right there. But both of us will need to make more $$$ to live there.

Peoria was one of our favorite areas! Mountain views, no strange lay outs, no interlocking puzzle-piece box houses, and there were many more medical facilities there that interested my wife. Plus it is closer to Scottsdale. I myself am a motorhead, and the 83rd Street cruise is just what I like! While driving through Vistancia, some of the mountain views were spectacular!

Both Sun Cities appear to be 55+ communities. Most of the folks there get around with golf carts. We are 55+, and we were not welcome!

Surprise, to us, is a mix of Peoria and Queen Creek as far as scenery. But Surprise also has many medical facilities nearby. My wife liked Surprise more that I did because of the scenery and the "newness" of the housing. Bell Road is a VERY busy road!

Avondale has those mountain views, but in our opinion, is too close to the 10 Freeway. Dysart Road is a BUSY road with lots of truck traffic, at least when we were there! Didn't get the best vibe in Avondale. Kind of hard to explain.

Casa Grande is TOO FAR to commute to the Phoenix area! CG, to us, is another "up and coming" area. There was one neighborhood with many houses that we liked, but to get to it, you needed to drive down a road that was between 2 truck stops. I think we were very near Eloy. And I'm sure all of those empty fields will have some sort of development on them in the future, so we would rather not take that gamble at this time.

BTW, we drove through downtown Phoenix. Although there are some "rough areas", we were impressed how clean (compared to Baltimore) it was! Phoenix as a whole is very easy to get around. One would have to try very hard to get lost!

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

Yes please share your experiences, some of us residents who've lived here a while overlook certain aspects of the area that tourists always seem to notice. I hope you enjoyed your trip though, Phoenix really is a great place contrary to what some people have to say. I've also never found the heat unbearable, when I lived in Iowa we had days where it was 90F with 90% humidity now THAT was unbearable!

Oh yeah, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and can't wait to come back. Actually, we were in Arizona a little longer, took 3 additional days to drive up Rt 69, then Rt 89A into Prescott, Prescott Valley, Jerome, Cottonwood, Sedona, Williams, and Flagstaff! We even went to the Grand Canyon, but that's all vacation stuff. We didn't look at houses or neighborhoods, just acted like tourists.

I think we actually suffered a little information overload. Road names and sub-development names are mostly a big blur right now.

Now that I'm back in Maryland, my knees hurt and my allergies have kicked back up! Don't know it it's the heat or the lack of humidity, but I FELT better there!

Originally Posted by CA_Dreaming

Did you check out Anthem? If not, you should have IMO. Only negative would be if you work downtown. Beautiful and very family oriented with all the master planned amenities.

No, we did not. Gives us somewhere to go next time. Thanks.

Originally Posted by twiggy

Great idea, will do that for the next place I land. Thanks! Is Maryland as pretty as they say? I've heard it was gorgeous there.

Depends on where you go. Western Maryland, IMO, is quite like Flagstaff. Eastern Shore area reminds me of Queen Creek, but with more open space and NO foothills. I'm not much of a fan of Baltimore City, but the Inner Harbor is pretty nice. However, it's a tourist area, and what little housing there is WAY expensive!

I have lived in Maryland all my life, but it's time for a change, and I really hate winter!

Hope this helps.

[twiggy]

Have you looked at Ocotillo? It's in South Chandler between Queen Creek and Northwest Chandler. It's a great area out there. I think you would like it. You can see the mountains but it has none of the draw backs of living too far out. Google it and see if you like it. It's around Alma School and Ocotillo Rd. Just a thought.


Oh, and I know what you mean. I've lived here all my life and I'm needing a change as well. I don't know why but growing up and growing old in the same place gives me the willys. lol

[JDish2000]

BTW, if you "hate" winter - you will love AZ for two reasons:

1. Living in the desert Southwest will acclimate you to never really feeling "too cold".

2. If you desire a day or two of "winter cold" you can drive North into the AZ high country to play in the snow!

It's that easy!

[Elmonellie]

Originally Posted by OneWayStreet

No problem, hope I do not offend anyone living in these areas.

To us, Queen Creek appears to be an "up and coming" area. We were shocked to find what appears to be a waste water treatment facility AND a working dairy farm on German Road, with neighborhoods surrounding them. My wife ABSOLUTELY hates cows! Also found some very strange housing configurations featuring tandem houses that appeared to "interlock" like puzzle pieces. However, in the Maricopa County portion of Queen Creek, we found some very nice areas. I'll have to find the brochure. The Pinal County portion of Queen Creek did not impress us much.

We drove through 2 neighborhoods in Gilbert, and both featured very strange ideas regarding traffic control. The main roads through the developments were constructed to slow traffic, ie, sharp turns and narrow roadways. We live in a neighborhood like that now, and when someone has company, it's a real pain to pass the parked cars. No thanks.

Chandler is EXTREMELY nice with every convenience you could possibly want. In fact, we ate many times at the 5 & Diner on Ray Road, and Marlo took care of us most of the time. She was very friendly as we found most everyone in Chandler. But we like mountain views, which are not exactly plentiful in Chandler. There are some older neighborhoods that need some attention, but there are MANY very nice newer neighborhoods that looked fantastic. That's just our preference, but there is nothing wrong with Chandler!

Scottsdale is another area with lots of conveniences. My wife is a nurse and the Mayo Clinic is right there. But both of us will need to make more $$$ to live there.

Peoria was one of our favorite areas! Mountain views, no strange lay outs, no interlocking puzzle-piece box houses, and there were many more medical facilities there that interested my wife. Plus it is closer to Scottsdale. I myself am a motorhead, and the 83rd Street cruise is just what I like! While driving through Vistancia, some of the mountain views were spectacular!

Both Sun Cities appear to be 55+ communities. Most of the folks there get around with golf carts. We are 55+, and we were not welcome!

Surprise, to us, is a mix of Peoria and Queen Creek as far as scenery. But Surprise also has many medical facilities nearby. My wife liked Surprise more that I did because of the scenery and the "newness" of the housing. Bell Road is a VERY busy road!

Avondale has those mountain views, but in our opinion, is too close to the 10 Freeway. Dysart Road is a BUSY road with lots of truck traffic, at least when we were there! Didn't get the best vibe in Avondale. Kind of hard to explain.

Casa Grande is TOO FAR to commute to the Phoenix area! CG, to us, is another "up and coming" area. There was one neighborhood with many houses that we liked, but to get to it, you needed to drive down a road that was between 2 truck stops. I think we were very near Eloy. And I'm sure all of those empty fields will have some sort of development on them in the future, so we would rather not take that gamble at this time.

BTW, we drove through downtown Phoenix. Although there are some "rough areas", we were impressed how clean (compared to Baltimore) it was! Phoenix as a whole is very easy to get around. One would have to try very hard to get lost!



Oh yeah, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and can't wait to come back. Actually, we were in Arizona a little longer, took 3 additional days to drive up Rt 69, then Rt 89A into Prescott, Prescott Valley, Jerome, Cottonwood, Sedona, Williams, and Flagstaff! We even went to the Grand Canyon, but that's all vacation stuff. We didn't look at houses or neighborhoods, just acted like tourists.

I think we actually suffered a little information overload. Road names and sub-development names are mostly a big blur right now.

Now that I'm back in Maryland, my knees hurt and my allergies have kicked back up! Don't know it it's the heat or the lack of humidity, but I FELT better there!



No, we did not. Gives us somewhere to go next time. Thanks.



Depends on where you go. Western Maryland, IMO, is quite like Flagstaff. Eastern Shore area reminds me of Queen Creek, but with more open space and NO foothills. I'm not much of a fan of Baltimore City, but the Inner Harbor is pretty nice. However, it's a tourist area, and what little housing there is WAY expensive!

I have lived in Maryland all my life, but it's time for a change, and I really hate winter!

Hope this helps.

Thanks for taking the time to share your impressions. I think they are pretty accurate.

Try to come down when it's cooler...spring and fall are so nice here and the winter is very pleasant.

Next trip check out NE Scottsdale, Carefree and Cave Creek. Very pretty up here and fun to spend the day...you can rent bikes in Downtown Cave Creek and just snoop around.

[ArizonaBear]

Being a Wash DC native: I agree with OneWayStreet line for line.