Best suburbs near Luke AFB? (Phoenix, Avondale: travel, zoning, rental)

[kmitch]

Hello,
My husband and I will be moving to the Phoenix area for his training at Luke AFB in 6 months or so. We would like to live off base and wondered if anyone could give us some information about the nearby suburbs? We'd like to stay 5-10 miles from base and in a family-friendly area. I'd prefer an area that is not difficult to get in and out of, but one that is safe and close to base for the commute for my husband. If anyone has any information, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

[Ponderosa]

There's quite a number of Luke people in Estrella Mountain Ranch and, I would think, Pebble Creek. Litchfield Park (town) is right next to Luke. There are lots of non-master planned subdivisions convenient to Luke in Goodyear and Avondale. Prices run from low/mid-200s along the freeway around Cotton Lane in Goodyear to a million + at EMR. There are rental homes all over right now because of the over-building back in the boom.

Even somewhere like Verrado in Buckeye would not be out of the question travel-wise. You may find some homes within 5-10 minutes but not that many because of noise corridor zoning. They have limited development along the takeoff and landing paths to Luke to keep encroachment from being a reason to close the base. Those F-16s are LOUD, but you probably already know that.