North scottsdale area with easy commute? (Phoenix: relocating, budget, travel)

[Indylog]

We (wife and I, both in our 30's) are relocating to phoenix in August and I just returned from a trip to phoenix looking at some nighborhoods. My plan is to rent for a few months first, but I also wanted to get an idea for purchasing a house as well. I looked at the biltmore area and some areas in scottsdale (north of loop 101). In general I liked Phoenix and specially the N. Scottsdale area. My work will be in downtown phoenix. Here are my questions;

1.Can one purchase a house in N. scottsdale and keep the commute time to downtown phoenix less than 30-40 min.?
2.What area of N. scottsdale (if any) would people recom. for easy commute to downtown phoenix (with the budget of 800k-1.2 mill at this time)?


Thank you in advance for your input!

[AksarbeN]

Simple answer is no! You can not commute from North Scottsdale area into the downtown Phoenix area in 30 –40 minutes (most of the time). You may be able to look at 45 min. + as a better rule of thumb. The problem is every neighborhood has a different traffic pattern and not all of these are so great for saving time to downtown. If rush hour traffic has an accident or a breakdown (normally they do) you’re trip should be closer to 45+ .

You will see other opinions on trip times but it all depends on where in N. Scottsdale and where in downtown.

[Axiom]

I agree with AksarbeN
It would probably be tough.


We're north of the loop 101 (but on the 'real' side of the valley... meaning west of I-17)

Getting to the downtown area from here is maybe 20 - 25 minutes normally. During rush hour we're talking at least 45 minutes in the morning and an hour coming home is not uncommon. Of course that's using the I-17

You might find a better route depending on where you're commuting to/from, but I'm not sure what it would be.

[jlhct]

Originally Posted by Axiom

I agree with AksarbeN
It would probably be tough.


We're north of the loop 101 (but on the 'real' side of the valley... meaning west of I-17)

Getting to the downtown area from here is maybe 20 - 25 minutes normally. During rush hour we're talking at least 45 minutes in the morning and an hour coming home is not uncommon. Of course that's using the I-17

You might find a better route depending on where you're commuting to/from, but I'm not sure what it would be.

Axiom,

I live in your same general area, but south of the 101. If I need to go to the S. Phoenix area would it be better to take 1-17 to I-10 or should I take the 51 to I-10?

Are both roads equally as bad?

Thanks!

[63ragtop]

I can't answer your overall commute time question but I will say the 51 is a lot better than the 17.

I live near the top of the 51 near the 101 and used to work close to the Phoenix airport. It took me about 20 minutes each way working from 7 am to 4 pm.

I lived at Union Hills and the 17 8-9 years ago and commuted to the Priest exit off the 202 (not much further). It was a traffic nightmare every single day and I am pretty sure it is worse now.

[jlhct]

Originally Posted by 63ragtop

I can't answer your overall commute time question but I will say the 51 is a lot better than the 17.

I live near the top of the 51 near the 101 and used to work close to the Phoenix airport. It took me about 20 minutes each way working from 7 am to 4 pm.

I lived at Union Hills and the 17 8-9 years ago and commuted to the Priest exit off the 202 (not much further). It was a traffic nightmare every single day and I am pretty sure it is worse now.

Ok thanks...that is great info! I am actually about 5 mins or so from the 51 so that estimation is helpful, thanks a lot!

[Indylog]

Thank you for the replies so far. I am totally disappointed as I really liked the area. While I was out there I looked at the Arcadia area as well, nice properies but very expensive and in general I like the newer areas/houses.
Are there any other areas that I should be looking at?

[Indylog]

I forgot to mention; work is thomas and third...

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by jlhct

Axiom,

I live in your same general area, but south of the 101. If I need to go to the S. Phoenix area would it be better to take 1-17 to I-10 or should I take the 51 to I-10?

Are both roads equally as bad?

Thanks!

I've never tried SR51 during commute time since it's further east than I need to be, but I think ragtop is right in that traffic is probably lighter there than on the I-17
Now once you get down to the I-10 all bets are off since it can be a mess no matter which way you're traveling.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by 63ragtop

I can't answer your overall commute time question but I will say the 51 is a lot better than the 17.

I live near the top of the 51 near the 101 and used to work close to the Phoenix airport. It took me about 20 minutes each way working from 7 am to 4 pm.

I lived at Union Hills and the 17 8-9 years ago and commuted to the Priest exit off the 202 (not much further). It was a traffic nightmare every single day and I am pretty sure it is worse now.

This estimation is very hard for me to believe. I used to live off of the 51 (for years) and it MIGHT take me 20 mins to get to the airport with NO traffic. How in the world did you do it in rush hour? Hovercraft? Especially after work?