Goodyear, Avondale or Buckeye? (Phoenix, Tempe: rent, crime, houses)

[observer53]

Originally Posted by lollipops

Thank you all so much - it helps tremendously!
I guess my main concern is to find a good place to raise my children IE; friendly faces, good schools, some conveniences. I would love to be far enough away from the city life, but still close enough (10 mins or so) to a Target, Walmart, grocery store, etc. Maybe I should look closer to the Goodyear area then all the way out to Buckeye. However I am still partial to seeing more "natural" things around me =)
Does Goodyear tend to have decent schools? Would they welcome a nice, friendly and fun family from Wi?! LOL

You're getting some good ideas here about where to look. The transition from WI to AZ in terms of "nature" will be pretty dramatic; the mountains you'll see from those areas are not like anything you see in WI, and grass will be not nearly so evident. You may see more grass lawns in Goodyear than Estrella, but either of those places won't have the level of vegetation you're used to. The good thing is, they won't have the snow you are used to, either!

Best of luck!

[lollipops]

HTPR - Thank you!! I've never come across that area - I'm going to that site now. I will definitely let you know if I have more questions!!

[lollipops]

Originally Posted by observer53

the good thing is, they won't have the snow you are used to, either!

yeah!!!

[military spouse]

Hubby commutes from Goodyear (palm valley phase V) to Sky Harbor. It takes anywhere from 25 minutes to one hour. Depends on the time of day and the number of accidents. I think he generally counts on 45 minutes door-to-door, unless he is going to work really early (0430 or 0500).

[Runemaster]

The first response had some great insight & points.

I'd like to clarify on Buckeye, as it sort of has 3 different vibes in one town.

*Old Buckeye, down off MC85 & Miller, is a very "small town" with mostly farmers & such. Everyone knows just about everyone and for the most part they're all very nice people who would bend over backwards for friends & neighbors. It's almost like it got stuck in the 50s, and just now is getting dragged into the 21st century. Chances are if you dropped a hundred dollar bill in front of an "Old Buckeye" native, they'd pick it up & chase you down to give it back. Of course there's a few jerks, but every area has that.

*Sundance, the new area that centers around Watson & I-10 is more of a wannabe-mid sized suburb of its own. The people aren't quite as neighborly, compared to old Buckeye, and it has a more "suburbs" vibe to it. A lot of newer stuff, and a lot of people who haven't lived near each other for more than 5 years max.

*Verrado, built by the company that owns DC Ranch in Scottsdale. A little more wannabe up-scale. It has a neat "downtown/main street" area, GORGEOUS views and good people (although pretentious is a word some use to describe the community). The housing is far more expensive than either Old Buckeye or Sundance, the schools are better, but the houses are packed in like sardines (unless you can afford a million dollar custom home).

Overall, it's a nice town with very good people. Far too often the local media gives it a really bad rap, which most people buy in to until they get there and experience it for themselves.

As for Goodyear, it also has three areas:

*Palm Valley - great community, master planned by Suncor. It has good shopping, good schools and a "community" vibe that makes it seem far older and more established than it really it is.

*Central Goodyear - a weird mix of much older homes & brand new subdivisions. It's kind of hit or miss in there, some streets are really nice, some border on the "ghetto" ish (at least a ghetto-ish as you can get in the 'burbs, it's nothing like, say South Central LA or Harlem or Anacostia).

*Estrella (Mountain Ranch) - originally started by Charles "Savings & Loan Scandal" Keating. A gorgeous area, akin to Verrado, but not nearly as well designed, since Keating had one plan, the second owner group another and the new owner group a third. It's a bit "out there" (ten miles from the freeway to central EMR) and has NO shopping, other than a very overpriced mini-mart sort of thing with a gas station next to it. Based on the real estate listings, you could get a mansion back there for what you'd pay for a nice house in any of the other areas. They are finally clearing land to build a shopping center, complete with grocery store, drug store & bank, but if they stopped & never finished it wouldn't be the first time.

I don't know much about Avondale, other than I'd never live there. I have many friends who do and at least once every few months or so I get to give one of them a sympathetic ear for their latest car/house break-in story. I also know a few teachers that work in Avondale and the stories they tell me of the schools make it a "not for my kid, ever!" kinda place.

Chances are, if you met someone from any of the three cities, they'd be good people, but the further east you get, the greater the odds that might not come true...

Granted, this is all just my opinion, you'll really have to check it out & decide for yourself. If it was me, based on what I know, I'd choose Palm Valley.

[Ponderosa]

Re Estrella. Post above paints a biased picture. Estrella has been voted the best master planned community in AZ (Ranking Arizona mag) for the 4th straight year. And it is. It is head and shoulders above Verrado in every aspect from views to schools - unless you value having a strip mall down the street from your house. And you can't buy a mansion here for a song - though I am not challenging you to post back with some flipping foreclosure because I am sure you can find one. New home sales INCREASED by 28% in Estrella in 2008. Also, the shopping area is not "clearing", it is well underway with opening set for a couple months and two more areas on the boards (this does not make me happy - I prefer the isolation from the garbage "down the hill").

[Runemaster]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Re Estrella. Post above paints a biased picture.

As does yours...

I never said it sucked, just that it isn't what it should be, which will happen with anything that has too many cooks in the kitchen.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Runemaster

As does yours...

I never said it sucked, just that it isn't what it should be, which will happen with anything that has too many cooks in the kitchen.

You are welcome to your opinion. I disagree.

[beckyinaz]

I have lived in Litchfield Park and Goodyear - I'd say if you can afford Litchfield Park, the Litchfield school district is very good. Goodyear has some decent schools as well, but from what I've heard Avondale and Buckeye schools leave something to be desired. Avondale is closer to downtown by a little but Buckeye will be horrible for a rush hour commute... Litchfield Park is at about Dysart/Litchfield and Indian School/Camelback area, so a little west of Avondale, and northeast of Goodyear. If you look at Litchfield Park and end up looking in the Wigwam Creek area, I've heard Wigwam Creek north is not as desirable as Wigwam Creek south (more vandalism is what I heard...).

[military spouse]

Parts of Goodyear are in the Litchfield District. We live in Palm Valley Phase 5 and our daughter's assigned elementary school was Litchfield ES.