Glendale or Scottsdale (Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe: apartments, to rent, houses)

[iksmada7]

Hello,

I will be moving to Arizona very soon from WI and just looking for some additional advice. I am moving with my girlfriend, both mid/late 20's, no kids, very active and love the outdoors. We have been told to primarily look for places around Scottsdale and Tempe. When we visited a little while back, we were a little more impressed with Glendale, though we did not spend much time in either city. We will be looking to rent an apartment around 800-1000 and want to be in a nice, safe neighborhood that has an active lifestyle/nightlife. Any information/advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

[HX_Guy]

What did you like about Glendale? Not asking in a negative way toward Glendale, but just curious. Also...what parts of Glendale?

[Finger Laker]

i think it would be also important to look at where you'd be working

[iksmada7]

We didnt spend a whole lot of time in either city, and really didnt spend any time in any of the neighborhoods. Our opinions were completely based on the Glendale area around the stadiums, and driving through Scottsdale during the day and hanging out in Old Town Scottsdale at night. So basically, I guess we took a liking to Glendale because we had more fun that particular night, which I know is a completely ignorant reason for picking an area to live in.

As far as work, neither of us have a job out there yet, so we are concentrating on where we would like to live first and go from there.

[Finger Laker]

commutes can be tough so keep that in mind

if you are working in tempe you'll definitely want to be closer to scottsdale than glendale, for example

i personally prefer glendale of scottsdale - it's just more my vibe - i lived in the arrowhead area around the 101 and bell road when I moved out and still frequent that area, the westgate area near the arenas, the new plaza off the 101 and northern and downtown glendale

there are some seedy parts near downtown (my wife used to work in one.......) - however, they run some neat events in their park, the antique shops and stores are pretty decent and there are some unique restaurants as well for more family run type style places

[joninaz]

The east side is much better for younger adults who aren't yet doing the house/family thing. I'm involved with a number of valley-wide social and professional groups with a outgoing types and the vast majority of activites tend to be in the Scottsdale/Tempe/Chandler corridor... it's simply a reflection of the demographic. Those in the West valley and further out in the East valley - Gilbert/QQ, etc. often feel a bit underserved. Glendale has gotten a lot better recently, but I wouldn't go there unless I was also going to a game/event.

[Finger Laker]

I absolutely disagree with the above

for someone in their late 20s who is in a relationship (one that is serious enough to move with someone) you'll find little difference unless you move out to the edges

if you lived in the arrowhead area you would have easy access to lake pleasant, the white tanks and some local parks for recreation

it would be easy to get on the 60 to start the trek to vegas, near the 17 to go up north, etc

you'd be 20 minutes from desert ridge & n. scottsdale

you'd be 10 minutes from westgate and the northern & 101 area

you're closer to the football stadium, closer to the hockey stadium (which is also the top indoor concert venue in the city), near the top outdoor ampitheater, fairly close to PIR, within easy distance to 3 spring training parks serving 6 teams (2 of the parks also house fall league teams)

you have everything from dive bars to wine bars to go out

everything from fast food to higher end dining

tons of shopping options

and there are a lot of people in the same age demographic in that area with all of the available apartments

[joninaz]

I'd suggest looking at Meetup's greater Phoenix calendar - it's quite a diverse mix of different interest groups. Look for stuff you like and note where they are going on:

Phoenix, AZ Meetups - Meetup.com

Likewise, look over the Best of Phoenix guide from New Times. It's probably the largest and most diverse listing of fave things, and you can also browse picks from multiple years. Again, you can seek what you like and note the locations.

- Best Of Best of Phoenix ® 2008 - Phoenix New Times

[LittleRedPitbull]

Originally Posted by iksmada7

Hello,

I will be moving to Arizona very soon from WI and just looking for some additional advice. I am moving with my girlfriend, both mid/late 20's, no kids, very active and love the outdoors. We have been told to primarily look for places around Scottsdale and Tempe. When we visited a little while back, we were a little more impressed with Glendale, though we did not spend much time in either city. We will be looking to rent an apartment around 800-1000 and want to be in a nice, safe neighborhood that has an active lifestyle/nightlife. Any information/advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

dont go to scottsdale, you'll be harrassed if you dont have this years car and a perfectly manicured lawn, oh and the bratty kids there watch too much Viva la Bam and they think they can get away with wrecking your yard and everything else they think would be funny to break. Alot of people there are stuck up and snooty and thier kids are spoiled brats, i've been to glendale before and it's pretty cool, i've got friends that way, you still have your problem with some brats but they aren't as bad. The houses there actually have POOLS!!! the closest pools to me are codemned, you'd be so lucky!!! and if you're in your late 20's you get alot of oppotunities that i wouldn't since im only 18. GOOD LUCK moving!!!

[bld88]

I have lived in Scottsdale for the last 6 years and lived in Tempe for college. Scottsdale has the best restaurants, bars, shopping and gyms. Glendale has the stadiums and some chain restaurants. If you do not like Scottsdale, the Biltmore area would be a happy medium. The zip code there is 85016. If you like to go out to bars and clubs the 85251, 85258 area is best since the old town bars are just a cab ride away.