Moving from Buffalo/Clarence NY to Phoenix, where is the safest place to go? (Scottsdale: apartment complexes)

[jt21]

Hello, I am a female in my mid-20s moving from a place in NY (Clarence) where I have never had to lock my doors to the phoenix area by myself, the company is in Phoenix, AZ 85043. I don't mind driving a little bit to get to work, preferrably a half hour or so but would rather be safe than have a shorter commute. I know the crime rate is much worse everywhere in Phoenix than where I am from now, and that is ok but I am wondering if anyone has any advice where to go that would be safer for a young female?? Also, where is a good place that I could meet people just looking for friends, as I will be by myself. Thanks

[Finger Laker]

that's still a pretty large zip code - but it appears to be west phoenix, south of the I-10 out to Tolleson

i probably wouldn't live in any of that area

for someone in their mid 20s, location will depend a lot on what you like to do - off hand I would recommend checking into the arrowhead area close to the mall (lots of nice, safe apartments in that area as well) and down by westgate (where the football/hockey stadiums are)

you could probably swing tempe, but the commute would be a little longer

will definitely be a lifestyle change, but on the whole phoenix as a city isn't any more unsafe than buffalo as a city - when in a city you just need to use your head a bit

i grew up in a small town in upstate NY, then moved to philadelphia for college ....... a bit of a culture shock (as will be moving to phoenix) but i've loved every move along the way

the biggest shock will be the size of the metro (it would almost be like filling in the area between rochester & buffalo and making it into one city) - phoenix itself would almost be the size of batavia to buffalo competely filled in - the city of phoenix itself is 517 square miles - buffalo is 52 sq miles

also climate will be the obvious change as well

I wouldn't really say that phoenix is dangerous - just be smart - pick a good location to live, lock your doors, don't wander around by yourself at night (pending area), etc

[Head coach]

Originally Posted by jt21

Hello, I am a female in my mid-20s moving from a place in NY (Clarence) where I have never had to lock my doors to the phoenix area by myself, the company is in Phoenix, AZ 85043. I don't mind driving a little bit to get to work, preferrably a half hour or so but would rather be safe than have a shorter commute. I know the crime rate is much worse everywhere in Phoenix than where I am from now, and that is ok but I am wondering if anyone has any advice where to go that would be safer for a young female?? Also, where is a good place that I could meet people just looking for friends, as I will be by myself. Thanks

Ok, I have a fiend that is your age that just bought a house in Phoenix, that is a really good area to live. It's just north east of the zoo and right next Desert Botanical Gardens. This is considered Tempe, but it's north Tempe. This is the closest area to down town Phoenix that is centrally located and it's very safe. The communte time into down town would be about 15 mins.

The only other playce would be Scottsdale where we live, but the price of homes and apartment are up there. If you are interested, PM me and I will get you a place around where she lives. She lives in a Town Home and it perfect.

[micmac99]

Originally Posted by jt21

Hello, I am a female in my mid-20s moving from a place in NY (Clarence) where I have never had to lock my doors to the phoenix area by myself, the company is in Phoenix, AZ 85043. I don't mind driving a little bit to get to work, preferrably a half hour or so but would rather be safe than have a shorter commute. I know the crime rate is much worse everywhere in Phoenix than where I am from now, and that is ok but I am wondering if anyone has any advice where to go that would be safer for a young female?? Also, where is a good place that I could meet people just looking for friends, as I will be by myself. Thanks

If I were you I would look first at different parts of Tempe and Scottsdale. They have a large concentration of single 20-something professionals, but Scottsdale may be expensive. Tempe is the home of Arizona State University which is a huge Pac-10 school with major college athletics like football and basketball and huge crowds of sports fans and students all the time.

Be advised that many young professionals in the Phoenix area are very career focused and driven individuals and might not be the friendliest of people to meet! Are you a member of a club or organization that has a chapter out here? Are you involved in a church?

Some of the areas immediately around the ASU campus have had some issues with robberies and assaults against the students in the last couple of years.

If you must look inside the city of Phoenix, try and first check out the Camelback Corridor which is anything along Camelback Road roughly between Central Avenue and 24th Street, and the area gets more upscale as you go eastward along Camelback. Camelback tends to be a congested street but there are a lot of apartment complexes and a couple of major strip malls at about 20th street with a wide variety of shopping and dining options. There seem to be a lot of single young professionals in the area. Many apartment complexes are on streets just north and south of Camelback in this area but really, really do your homework on them; for example the part of Camelback from about 7th Street to 16th Street has a lot of the city's major automobile dealerships. Some of the apartment complexes to the south of this area might be a little shady.

Generally in the city of Phoenix you want to try and be north of Camelback Road if possible and east of Central Avenue. Some parts west of Central are sort of OK (like the area near 19th Avenue and Northern, for example) and some parts east of Central (like the Sunnyslope district, basically Dunlap Road from 7th Street to 19th Avenue) you should be careful about.

Phoenix is not America's safest metro area anywhere you choose to live and you should do your homework on apartment safety tips and being safe when going out in the evenings.

[observer53]

Why would you send the OP all the way to Scottsdale to live, when she is going to be working in west central/southwest Phoenix??? It depends on how far west her work is, but living up the 101 from Westgate north to Arrowhead might make sense, or possibly the northwest part of Tempe, or north central Phoenix. Scottsdale? I don't think so.

[Head coach]

Originally Posted by observer53

Why would you send the OP all the way to Scottsdale to live, when she is going to be working in west central/southwest Phoenix??? It depends on how far west her work is, but living up the 101 from Westgate north to Arrowhead might make sense, or possibly the northwest part of Tempe, or north central Phoenix. Scottsdale? I don't think so.

Why...you say? Because you over looked this one little thing she mentioned...."I don't mind driving a little bit to get to work, preferrably a half hour or so but would rather be safe than have a shorter commute. I know the crime rate is much worse everywhere in Phoenix than where I am from now, and that is ok but I am wondering if anyone has any advice where to go that would be safer for a young female?"

That's why! South West Phoenix, where she works, is where ALL of the majority of the crime is. Why to you think tent city is over there..because of the nice scenery? NOT!

Remember, she's from a little town where you can leave your door open. You can do it in that area, just don't expect to come home to anything, not even the kitchen sink, or the copper wiring in the house!

[Finger Laker]

Good god - arrowhead and westgate are safer than tempe and definitely no worse than a good portion of scottsdale while providing a shorter commute, pending where the actual job is

it all depends on what you are into, but the arrowhead area has the largest concentration of restaurants in the metro (one of the largest in the nation), easy access to tons of sporting options, a lot of bars, a lot of shopping, easy freeway access - 20 minutes to the clubs in N. Scottsdale/desert ridge

it's a great location and a safe location

we obviously don't know the OP or know all of what they are into - but those two areas make a lot of sense to check into because there are a lot of people in her demographic there, while providing an easy, consistant commute

if it's important to her to be within walking distance to nightclubs, trendy lounges, etc then by all means head towards scottsdale

[observer53]

Well, anything in Scottsdale north of Indian School or even Thomas (staying out of south Scottsdale) is going to be more than a "30 minute or so" commute. Certainly the north Scottsdale and Desert Ridge (north Phoenix, bordering on Scottsdale) areas mentioned would be. That's why I emphasized other areas as being a better fit, and safe as well. I'd pick Westgate or Arrowhead, myself, if she is really working in southwest Phoenix. If she's closer to Central, then other areas may make more sense.

It would help to know the cross streets where the OP will be working, as it is a large ZIP code. We don't know just how far "southwest" yet, only that it is west of Central Ave.

[Howard Roark]

Phoenix - kidnapping capital, etc. Okay forget that. Kidnappings are mostly illegals versus illegals. There are realtor websites to google if you want to check the crime rates, ethnicities, and so on. Also a rottenneighbor.com type of site that reports bad or good neigbhbors. Unfortunately, at your age, you probably do not have financial resources to live in the safest communities.

Even so, the best places are where the rent prices are the highest (obviously). Look for the most expensive studio apartments, for example. Then start backward from there. There is at least one website (I no longer have it) that lists average income in the zip code. The higher the income, the safer it is. Rich people pay property taxes. Police are sure to protect the rich more than the poor. Paradise Valley (rich) / Guadalupe (poor). Joe Arpaio versus whoever.

Finally I suggest you google apartment ratings reviews Phoenix - those fouor words. Peruse the listings. Look for at least 15 raters with the highest rating. Avoid the 100% rating because it's a small complex/townhome where one person bothered to rate it highly.

I worked with a guy who moved from Buffalo to work in Scottsdale. Back in Christmas time of December (year 2000 or 2001, I forget) he went home to Buffalo. Heavy snow. He had pictures. About four of five feet drifts. Showed tunnels! But he loved living in the Phoenix area!

I hope that helps.