Best Phoenix Suburbs? (Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler: housing, rent, schools)

[Calibelle]

Originally Posted by Boatdrinks

I always recommend Chandler and Gilbert as nice, safe, family friendly places. If you do a search for Gilbert, you'll find many posts from me and a few others who've mentioned Gilbert, along with specific subdivisions mentioned too. The west valley has good areas too, but I live in the east valley so I can't speak to specifics for the west valley.

There are cheaper options too - Queen Creek, Casa Grande and Maricopa are a few east valley options. They're a lot further from Phoenix though, and I wouldn't really recommend them if you have to commute downtown. Do you know where you'll be working? I'd start from there, then try to find a place to live. You have options - just depends on your commute.

Thanx everyone! I really appreciate the responses! No, I don't know where my husband will be working, we are not quite there yet. We are just trying to figure out if Phoenix would be a good choice for us, the job will come later. However, hubby is a corporate H.R. trainer, so I assume he will be working downtown somewhere, should Phoenix be where we decide to plant our feet!

For some reason... Surprise is jumping out at me.... I am going to look into it further!

[sugarlips]

Originally Posted by Calibelle

Thanx everyone! I really appreciate the responses! No, I don't know where my husband will be working, we are not quite there yet. We are just trying to figure out if Phoenix would be a good choice for us, the job will come later. However, hubby is a corporate H.R. trainer, so I assume he will be working downtown somewhere, should Phoenix be where we decide to plant our feet!

For some reason... Surprise is jumping out at me.... I am going to look into it further!

Surprise is nice. Just be sure to look at the schools in the different neighborhoods of Surprise. Some schools in the Dysart district are better than others. Actually, it's like that around most of the valley. Here's a link with the public schools in Surprise so you can do more research.

http://www.greatschools.net/schools....e=AZ&st=public

[sablebaby]

Driving from Surprise to downtown is such a crazy mess. Many of us here HIGHLY recommend moving closer to work. There are dozens of nice areas that are not too far from downtown.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

Driving from Surprise to downtown is such a crazy mess. Many of us here HIGHLY recommend moving closer to work. There are dozens of nice areas that are not too far from downtown.

I totally agree. Surprise is highly overrated. I occasionally drive from where I live in Tempe to my grandma in Sun City West, right next door to Surprise, and it takes me 45min with no traffic. With traffic, it could take 1.5 hrs. Once I thought I could cheat the system by taking Grand avenue all the way instead of 101 and Bell Rd. Wrong. That took a solid TWO HOURS. That whole Surprise/NW Valley area is a disaster, transportation-wise. I think Surprise is highly overrated as a community. Awhile back I was walking in a Target parking lot there by Bell and Grand and a car that looked like it was filled with gang members pulled up and started honking and flipping me off as I was walking across the crosswalk, not doing anything wrong. I'm not going to forget that. You look at the people you see in the stores and restaurants in that area... let's just say... not the most desirable demographics. The cheap home prices there unfortunately attract a lot of low-lifers.

[sugarlips]

I would second the opinions of others. Unless you work nearby, Surprise is not a place you would want to commute to/from. Traffic is bad and getting worse each time I visit the area. The area is growing which not only adds to the traffic but also makes it hard for the schools to keep up with the growth. New schools are popping up and their track record remains to be seen.

I would say that it might be good for retired people or those that telecommute. For a family, I would look into a stable, established, family-friendly neighborhood within a reasonable commute to your work. It most likely means looking at resale homes that are a little on the older side. That's my opinion, for what's it's worth

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

I totally agree. Surprise is highly overrated. I occasionally drive from where I live in Tempe to my grandma in Sun City West, right next door to Surprise, and it takes me 45min with no traffic. With traffic, it could take 1.5 hrs. Once I thought I could cheat the system by taking Grand avenue all the way instead of 101 and Bell Rd. Wrong. That took a solid TWO HOURS. That whole Surprise/NW Valley area is a disaster, transportation-wise. I think Surprise is highly overrated as a community. Awhile back I was walking in a Target parking lot there by Bell and Grand and a car that looked like it was filled with gang members pulled up and started honking and flipping me off as I was walking across the crosswalk, not doing anything wrong. I'm not going to forget that. You look at the people you see in the stores and restaurants in that area... let's just say... not the most desirable demographics. The cheap home prices there unfortunately attract a lot of low-lifers.

I agree that Surprise is overrated. I worked for a while there and wasn't impressed with the people who lived there (traveled the area a lot and did home visits). We thought about moving there when I got the job but decided to move to north Peoria, which is very nice and easier to commute to phx and other places. A lot of lower income people moved to Surprise as it was cheap and also neighboring El Mirage. The whole area = COMPLETELY OVERRATED! Being a phx native, there are probably a hundred other areas I'd live in before I'd consider Surprise again.

[Calibelle]

Okay! Thank you for the input. My hubby will have a motorcycle, so the commute may be shorter for him if he works downtown.

Thank you so much for the link to the schools as well!

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Calibelle

Thanx everyone! I really appreciate the responses! No, I don't know where my husband will be working, we are not quite there yet. We are just trying to figure out if Phoenix would be a good choice for us, the job will come later. However, hubby is a corporate H.R. trainer, so I assume he will be working downtown somewhere, should Phoenix be where we decide to plant our feet!

For some reason... Surprise is jumping out at me.... I am going to look into it further!

What is the reason it jumps out? I'm curious.

[sablebaby]

The biggest part of commuting and Surprise is actually getting in and out of Surprise. There's really only one way out and you'll be competing with thousands of other people. My bf used to drive a motorcycle around town (before it was stolen) and he says he would never drive one again in phx. Too dangerous for him.

[PhoenixMan]

Personally I would move to Peoria, Glendale, or Surprise....but im a west valley kinda guy.