Relocation Advice.. Eloy, AZ Job Opportunity (Phoenix, Tucson: houses, safe area, where to buy)

[jreeves628]

My husband has a promotion opportunity in Eloy, AZ so we are looking to move to AZ probably in about 6 months. As a native New Yorker, the rural living of Eloy is definately not for me so we are looking for advice on where to buy a house in the Phoenix area. So far we are leaning towards the Chandler/Gilbert area.

We want an area that is:
A safe area
The best to raise our children (we have 6 month old twins)
Tolerant of bi-racial families
Has stuff for adults to do (i.e. nice restaurants)

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Robert A]

Originally Posted by jreeves628

My husband has a promotion opportunity in Eloy, AZ so we are looking to move to AZ probably in about 6 months. As a native New Yorker, the rural living of Eloy is definately not for me so we are looking for advice on where to buy a house in the Phoenix area. So far we are leaning towards the Chandler/Gilbert area.

We want an area that is:
A safe area
The best to raise our children (we have 6 month old twins)
Tolerant of bi-racial families
Has stuff for adults to do (i.e. nice restaurants)

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't want to live in Eloy, either. Chandler is a good 45-55 miles from there, depending on where you are.

You might want to look at Casa Grande - it's much closer and there are lots of new developments. The restaurant scene is pretty awful, though.

[sh9730]

I definetely would consider Casa Grande in your shoes. Its only a 10 min drive into Eloy, has a full service Mall with more stores being added every day (currently has JC Penneys, Dillards, Best Buy, Target, Sports Authority, Kohls, Ross, movie theatres and lots of clothing/specialty stuff). Has all the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart etc.) and the restaraunt scene though not as eclectic as NYC or even Phoenix/Scottsdale of course, is not so bad....there are some great local hole in walls as well as most of the big chains (Olive Garden, Chili's etc..). CG also has the only hospital in the area.

Current population is about 50K in Casa Grande and though in a little of a holding pattern for now, will eventually be much larger and will likely always be the center of population between PHX and Tucson. Speaking of that...nice thing about CG is that when you really need big city amenities (D Backs game, art museums etc) its less than an hour into downtown PHX (35 mins to Chandler), OR just over an hour into downtown Tucson which in the summer can be 10-15 cooler than PHX valley with a whole different culture.

CG is right on the intersection of both I 10/I 8 you can jump right on the freeway and be in San Diego in 5 hours.

I will say I actually have seen more bi-racial couples than I would have expected here in CG, and race in general seems to be a non-issue.

Finally, houses here are considerably cheaper than Chandler and environs! Especially these days!

If you have other questions feel free to ask, but as the other poster said, that drive every day could be a real factor even though most of time he will be going against the traffic patterns.

[sh9730]

Just a couple other things - not all of em my thing but - there is a frequent concert in the park series, an aquatic park for the kids, a pretty active rodeo grounds, an "art in the alley" I think monthly, a "old downtown" theatre with improv troupe, and a bunch of other stuff.

If you go to the city website www.casagrandeaz.gov , they have a bunch of info, plus they have a map of upcoming commercial developments in town. Just click on the little bubble to see drawings etc. Some of these are already in process of being built, and some of them are stalled slightly until the economy picks up.

Anyway, enough for me unless you want specifics.

[jreeves628]

Thank you all for your help. How are the schools in Casa Grande?

[sh9730]

My kids are grown so no direct experience. My understanding is that almost all AZ schools are mediocre, but I do have a sis in law who is a teacher here and she says things are improving as the newer schools get built etc. Of course AZ is in a budget crunch and education may get hit. But that is everywhere, not just here.

[jreeves628]

I looked up Casa Grande and I think that city is too small for me. It would be too much of a culture shock from NYC. I guess I'm going to stick with the Chandler/Gilbert area. Thanks for your help.

[sidrah]

Oh my God!!! You do not want to live in or near Eloy or Casa Grande. I am from NY and know exactly how you feel. Personally, I would not even encourage him to take the job unless it is a really much needed job for you guys. I live in Chandler and work near Eloy (10 minutes away). It's like 45 minutes, no big deal, so add another 10 minutes on to that.

As far as the schools, I am a HS teacher and I am teaching HS kids what I taught middle school kids in NY. So, yeah, the schools --not so hot, but then again I went to private school my whole life, so hard to compare NY Catholic sto AZ public. No offense to the teachers/admin, many of whom I know, but the school culture of many families out here is not at all what you know and I doubt you would approve.


I agree 100% with Chandler area. You are 15-20 minutes from the airport, 50 minutes or so from Eloy, but worth not living there, let me tell you. You are near Phx., Scottsdale, and definitely in a much better neighborhood.

No on Casa Grande. No on Eloy. No on Coolidge and I don't think Tucson would be your thing either.

[sh9730]

Just to be clear, I think Chandler is a great place. BUT, if you think Chandler, or really any PHX suburb is going to be like NYC (I assume you are talking about the City since the "hustle and bustle" seems to be what you are used to), I dont think so, and I ve spent quite a bit of time in NYC (though never lived there).

When I drive in the newer areas of Chandler I see the same stores I see in CG and every other suburb, and the same kind of houses, in the same subdivisions. Granted, there are MORE of these types of things in Chandler as it is part of the Metroplex and even itself is much larger (for now) than CG. Gilbert however, is VERY similar to CG from an aesthetics standpoint (not culturally), except its closer to the downtown area. I happen to like that "suburbia" lifestyle, but I know its not for all.

My point is that I cant really think of anywhere in PHX that has that same feel as NYC, its just a different (much newer) place...so, since houses are probably 25% more expensive in Chandler than CG, and the hubby will have a considerable drive every day if they stay up there, I thought CG would be an option (again because driving up and down the streets they sorta look the same!).

OP, it sounds like you have decided those factors are not your priority, SO, there are a ton of posts on Chandler/Gilbert on CD. Just use the search feature at the top and you should get almost any information you need!

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

[jreeves628]

In no way did I think that I would find a city in Arizona that is like NYC. No other city is like NYC. I am just trying to find the city in which I would feel most comfortable. I feel that very small towns like Casa Grande would not be for me. I did a photo tour of CG and its just not what I'm looking for. Moving to a new city across the country is a lot to begin with so I'm trying to make the transition as smooth as possible.

I'm just trying to find the best of both worlds... A city with the most "metropolitan" feel that is within driving distance to Eloy.