Surprise, Az (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City: relocate, hotel, travel)

[jd433]

I am thinking about moving to Surprise, Az. I ahve heard so much about it and it seems like a real nice place to live. Does anybody have any feedback on this.

[ejk]

Surprise is great-- it's beautiful, you've got the stadium there, very family friendly. Del Webb hospital is nearby which means you have a lot of doctors and specialists available without having to travel too far. You've got your standard shopping & dining options: Home Depot, Kohls, Target, Olive Garden, etc, typical suburbia. The only real bad thing is the lack of freeway access. Years from now they will have the 303, but right now, that's just a regular road. There are a lot more developments going up along the 303 which means it will only get more congested in the mean time.

Surprise relies heavily on Bell Rd which gets to be pretty aggravating. Unfortunately there are not a lot of options there. There is also noise from LAFB but it's not as bad as living near a major airport. To me that would not be a deterrent at all.

We actually really wanted to live in Surprise, and it did not work out for us, but as it turns out we are better off where we landed just because of the road situation. My husband travels the entire Valley for work and coming and going from Surprise every day would have been awful. But if not for that, I know we'd be very happy there. We have family there and they like it very much.

[gigi927]

The previous poster is pretty spot on with their assessment of Surprise. If you have to commute anywhere near Phoenix for work, it is a tough drive. But if you don't have a big drive it's a nice location. My parents live in Surprise and there is a lot of home inventory on the market right now, you can really get some good deals out there in very nice communities. Be advised though that there are a lot of seniors who live in and near Surprise, with AZ Traditions, Sun City Grand and other communities right there, so if you don't have patience for seniors, you may want to look elsewhere.

As a former realtor in AZ, what impresses me most about Surprise is that it seems the city has put some real thought into the amenities and development that has been brought to the city. Near the stadium is a great swim center and splash area, a great park with a fishing lake, library, etc. I know there is another large hotel/shopping complex that was slated for right near the stadium as well - not sure if that's still moving forward but the plans I saw for it were really pretty impressive.

good luck!

[ejk]

Good point with the seniors; I have to say shopping in Surprise is not much different from shopping in Sun City. I spent 10 minutes waiting to check out of the grocery store express lane a couple of weeks ago and there was only one person ahead of me.

I'm not usually bothered, but if you tend to be in a hurry it might not be the place for you

[sweetmebri23]

I agree with ejk about Surprise. I just moved to Surprise a few months ago and I love it here! This is a very good community for families to live in. Everything is close by, restaurants, shopping etc. What I didn't like was the commute to Phoenix! In fact I hated the drive so much, that I resigned from my job at JCL hospital and took a job at the hospital out here. So if you are thinking of working in Phoenix, Surprise might not be a good place to live! I personally did not like spending at least 2 hours a day in my car, and that was if traffic was flowing smoothly. If there was an accident or road construction those 2 hours could turn into 3 or more hours per day. I tried using Bell road/ Grand and the 101 and then getting on the 17. All of these routes were at least an hour or more with traffic! If you don't mind spending that much time in your car, then it is o.k. I personally hated the commute!

Good Luck!

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by sweetmebri23

I agree with ejk about Surprise. I just moved to Surprise a few months ago and I love it here! This is a very good community for families to live in. Everything is close by, restaurants, shopping etc. What I didn't like was the commute to Phoenix! In fact I hated the drive so much, that I resigned from my job at JCL hospital and took a job at the hospital out here. So if you are thinking of working in Phoenix, Surprise might not be a good place to live! I personally did not like spending at least 2 hours a day in my car, and that was if traffic was flowing smoothly. If there was an accident or road construction those 2 hours could turn into 3 or more hours per day. I tried using Bell road/ Grand and the 101 and then getting on the 17. All of these routes were at least an hour or more with traffic! If you don't mind spending that much time in your car, then it is o.k. I personally hated the commute!

Good Luck!

Wow, I remember you. I'm glad it worked out for you! I, for one, am glad I didn't move to Surprise. We almost did a couple of years ago. I really did like it there, but the drive to Phx would have been murder, and both of our work places were a lot further than yours.

[diggitydot]

We're in Surprise, too. When we initially relocated, I wasn't too up on the idea of living in AZ but I was pleased to find that it isn't so bad. At least, here in Surprise, it isn't.

Surprise's stadium is absolutely gorgeous. The whole campus is great! I love the library across the street and use it often. The park directly next to the library is HUGE and my kids go nuts every time we take them to it. (Pretty sure they're just nuts for the insanely huge play thingamabobs in the center of it.)

Yes, you'll find lots of seniors, particularly during the winter/early springtime, but they're usually very nice. The only drawback that I've found with the seniors is timing. If you avoid shopping when they tend to shop, you most likely won't have any issues with long lines or slow service. They tend to do their shopping around morning tee times and fill up all restaurants in town fairly early. If you want to have dinner at 5PM on a weekend at a restaurant, you'll likely have a 45 minute wait. If you wait until 7PM or 8PM, that wait is cut in half.

The schools are pretty decent, too. At least, our experiences with them have been great. Our two eldest just barely miss the cut off for the gifted and talented programs, but their teachers still customize their curriculum, anyway. (Man, they've had some great teachers!) And our son was screening for a language issue and qualified to attend the Dysart Preschool for free. They've been absolutely PHENOMENAL with his speech and language issue and his skills have already improved dramatically. (He's only been going since January.)

Yes, the driving sucks. Even if you're going to another west valley location, the driving is ridiculously bad. With very few options for a straight shot (Bell Rd, Grand Ave, the 101), I would strongly suggest acquainting yourself with several surface streets that can get you going in the right direction without all the stop and go traffic. Either that, or see if you can work an adjusted schedule to avoid most of the hassle.

One thing to remember if you visit, most online mapping tools leave off a LOT of roads. There's been so much construction and new roads put in that they can't keep up. I can't tell you how many times Mapquest got me incredibly lost. GoogleMaps isn't any better, either. We finally just decided, "screw it!" and wandered around to figured out where everything was. If something is located in another, older city, you'll probably be fine using online maps. But if you're trying to find something in the west side of Surprise, double check and maybe call the place to get current directions.

Good luck! I'm not overly fond of AZ in general, but Surprise makes it bearable!

[sablebaby]

[quote=diggitydot;476851


Yes, you'll find lots of seniors, particularly during the winter/early springtime, but they're usually very nice. The only drawback that I've found with the seniors is timing. If you avoid shopping when they tend to shop, you most likely won't have any issues with long lines or slow service. They tend to do their shopping around morning tee times and fill up all restaurants in town fairly early. If you want to have dinner at 5PM on a weekend at a restaurant, you'll likely have a 45 minute wait. If you wait until 7PM or 8PM, that wait is cut in half.

[/QUOTE]

I agree about the shopping times. Try to avoid the Fry's grocery store on the first Wednesdays of the month as it's senior discount day. I went in one on that morning once near peoria and sun city and quickly left.

[jco]

I live here in Surprise, and I have to say that of the Phoenix-area cities, it's pretty nice I think. I've not heard of any crime issues. The schools aren't the greatest, very nice new buildings with a lot of technology, but they have trouble keeping up with the growth. I think any school district in the same situation would! I've said before that PH school is a nice alternative to public for grades k-8. If you have high school kids, Willow Canyon is one of few schools in AZ to have an IB program, and I definately recommend that.

I agree about the shopping times. Try to avoid the Fry's grocery store on the first Wednesdays of the month as it's senior discount day. I went in one on that morning once near peoria and sun city and quickly left

I never knew this! I live right by Fry's and I'll have to avoid that day! I don't know that I so much mind the way seniors drive; what drives me crazy is how much they complain! If you don't move near Grand Avenue or north of Bell, I think the interaction is minimal when you stay out of the Grand/Bell shopping center in the morning.

The commute is terrible. We have a friend that described traffic here the best... he said Surprise is like an island. It's hard to get out! My commute to the middle of Phoenix is 45 minutes without traffic. In traffic it's take me 90-135 minutes. This year they're starting a HUGE mall in Surprise, we have a Costco, Sam's Club, movie theater, and lots more in the works. Pretty soon we won't have to travel out so often.

All in all, if living in Surprise keeps me away from some of the issues facing Phoenix, I'm glad to live on an "island".

[sparty]

Surprise sounds very nice. My husband and I would like to move to AZ from dreary old Michigan in about 5 years. We have visited Scottsdale often and like it but it may be too crowded for us. Does Surprise have the asthma problems that Phoenix has?