central phoenix (Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale: to rent, new house, neighborhoods)

[virgoox]

Hi. I have an interview on Tuesday at 3877 N. 7th st. and I am pretty sure I will get the job. So......where can my family of DH and 3 small children live that is safe, has good schools and is not that far of a commute. (Far to me is more than 30 minutes).

My DH cousin is willing to rent us a house in central
Phoenix because he is actually moving back her (Milwaukee). He says it is in a nice area but that poor/bad areas are definitely close by. He is single so he knows nothing about the schools. Anyway we may try it for a temp. situation without having to deal with landlords and deposits etc. as he is very accomodating with the fact that we are moving or entire family across country. Does anyone know about the schools in central area ? I wish I had a zip or address but will get it when I see the house on Tuesday.

Also, if the area is bad we will look into Peoria and Glendale, what kind of commute will I be looking at from North Glendale.

Lastly, are the schools really that bad in Arizona ? I guess I was wondering if some midwesterners could share their views. I am hearing terrible things but I hear terrible stuff about the schools here and the rest of the country thinks our schools are great.


Also, I was wondering how the racism issues get played out there ? We are Latinos but we are educated and have never lived in "ghetto areas" and I do not want to live in an area where people will assume I am uneducated, illegal and monlingual just because if how I look. For that reason I cannot stand Texas but is Az. the same way ?

I know I asked a lot but research can only draw a big picture- I need stories from real people.

Thank You

[ethurston]

Wow, you've asked a lot of intense questions. Because I'm not Latino, I can't really give you a great answer on that. And because I am a realtor, I have a skewed vision of "good" areas. But because no one else has reponded to you, I'll throw in my two cents.

You're working in the heart of downtown and you want less than a 30 minute commute. Without any idea of what your price range is the first options that come to mind are: Encanto district and just west of it. I've mentioned on this board before, there is a really nice small area just west of Encanto park. Which is this huge park in the middle of downtown. Just west of it is a nice, older (not cookie cutter) neighborhood with a great school, called Heard Elementary. That would be an extremely short commute.

Otherwise you could look at the 51 and Shea area. I've heard others on the board say that's a nice area with a reasonable commute. There is Laveen, essentially south Phoenix along South Mountain. Some here say it's just new houses in a ghetto area, I say there are some great neighborhoods in there with new schools and friendly people. the houses are pretty affordable and they're new. You could look at North Mesa, I've mentioned a neighborhood before called Candlelight Estates, older but very unique and friendly. Maybe Ahwatukee if you can afford it. Lots of traffic to get to downtown but the distance isn't too bad. Great schools there. South Tempe is also really nice with good schools.

As far as downtown schools, the best district is Madison. Best being a relative term. I've heard that Heard school is wonderful. My sister works at Longview Elementary near downtown and likes it a lot. But even she says the Madison district is better.

As far as perception, I would say stay in the nicer areas but more for your kids protection than for racial profiling. I was born and raised in Arizona and I have learned that there are Latinos much richer and much poorer than me and in both circumstances it doesn't make a difference on how well we are able to get along. It's more about being able to communicate, feel safe around ech other, and be nice to each other. But then again, that's how it always is, right?

Schools are a passion of mine so let me know if you need any more help.

[jenol]

just a quick suggestion
live as close to work as possible
phx is so spotty
there is good and bad everywhere
don't go for the cheap housing way out in "East LA"
dont be afraid of central phx
lived here all my life

[HX_Guy]

Definitely live as close to work as possible. Even a 30 minute commute each way is an hour of out your day just driving, and a lot of people spend a lot more time then that on their commute.

[exit2lef]

I echo the comment above about the Madison School District. It begins around Campbell at the north end of Central Phoenix and extends up through the Biltmore area and North Central to around Northern Ave. If the house you've been offered is inside the Madison School District, you needn't worry about the schools. If not, you might have to do more research about the specific school serving your area.

Use this URL for a map of the Madison District:

http://www.msd38.org/Assets/PDFs/madmap.pdf (broken link)

[AksarbeN]

The last several posts have hit the target on correct thinking. Great neighborhoods, schools and close to work what more could a person ask for or need. I don’t understand why so many newcomers make the mistake and drive several hours or more a day back and forth to work living far enough out of the city that they spend more money at the gas pump and in the care then it’s worth. Gas isn’t getting cheaper, public transportation isn’t all it could be, streets and freeways are parking lots at rush hour, air pollution is bad and the extra driving isn’t making it better. Air pollution is in the suburbs not just the center of Phoenix. If you drive more then 30 minutes each way you are adding to the problem and you don’t need to move here.

[Cj81]

I love central Phoenix. I don't think you will have a problem with people thinking your an illeagal alien or uneducated in Phoenix. I think its usually rather obvious who the educated people are, however Phoenix is a pretty laid back city, there are not a lot of pretentious snobs that judge you by what you drive or how you look. Just stay away from Scottsdale if your trying to avoid prejudice. The latino population in Phoenix is very large and many of them are educated. Put it this way, unless you are commuting to work in the back of a pick-up truck wearing a straw cowboy hat, nobody is going to second guess your education here. As for the neighborhoods, maybe you could give us the cross streets , then we could give you a better opinion on the area.