Possible move to Phoenix area...which are best? (Mesa, Glendale: short sales, foreclosures) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

scout66 · 01-02-2010, 10:31 PM

My husband and I are thinking of possibly moving to the area and will be out in March for a visit. We are looking for an area outside the city because we like it more quiet. My husband likes fishing, boating and sports. I like the shops. He would most likely be working in Phoenix but not sure what part. He's willing to drive up to an hour each way for work. He also would like someplace cheaper and I would like something more upscale and clean with low crime. We have two college age daughters who would probably be commuting to a local college or university. We're from Wisconsin with brutal winters and are aware that you have brutal summers, but I guess I'd rather be hot than cold? Today the high was 6 degrees. Right now it's below zero and worse with the wind chill.
So my question is this... since we aren't familar with the area, what would you suggest? Also looking for lower taxes. Ours are currently $4000.

observer53 · 01-02-2010, 11:07 PM

Well, you will find the lower property taxes, for sure. I'm not into fishing, the closest lake for fishing/boating would be Lake Pleasant, to the northwest of Phoenix. I don't know what you mean by "someplace cheaper"- is that in terms of home price, cost of living, or both?'

For access to Lake Pleasant, you could live out in the northwest valley in some place like Vistancia in north Peoria, there are some other nice newer areas out to the northwest. Also, most of the spring training facilities for baseball, as well as the Cardinals stadium and the hockey arena, are on the west side. Your daughters could commute to Glendale Community College and/or ASU west; if at some point they end up with classes at the downtown campus or main campus, the University runs buses, and the light rail runs from downtown Phoenix to the main campus.

Captain Bill · 01-03-2010, 06:24 AM

Gilbert is known to be one of the safest cities in the valley, although it is not crime free. I live in Gilbert in Val Vista Lakes, so I have a bias for the area.

In a recent article in the Gilbert "Your Town", local news paper, they spoke about Gilbert growing from the "Hay Capital of the World" to being the largest Town in Americal, yet it still has that small town atmosphere with family-oriented communities.

The original boundaries (90 years ago) was at the Heritage Center which was one square mile. Today it has grown to 73 square miles with 220,000 residents.

Gilbert received some federal stimulus dollars which will go to improve sidewalks throughout the downtown neighborhoods, and with a $500k federal grant they're studying the re-timing of the Town's 172 traffic signals to make sure the traffic can flow with the continued growth.

Traffic flows pretty good, but I believe if the lights were timed to somewhere near 45mph on the arteries it would flow even better.

There is plenty of shopping and restaurants within Gilbert, and it is fairly close to the large Chandler Fashion Mall, thanks to the freeway system.

Schools are very good in Gilbert, although the class size has grown some due to the cut back in school budgets all over AZ.

Here are some neighborhoods to check out:

Seville: A golf community near Chandler Heights and Higley. This would take you close to that 1 hour commute

The Islands: A lake community near McQueen & Elliot. A short distance to the 60 for commuting.

Agritopia: An interesting and popular little community with homes around 5 years old that resemble the 1940's style home with a front porch. Inside they're all modern. It's close to the south loop of the 202 for easy commuting.

Val Vista Lakes: A larger lake community at Val Vista Dr & Baseline, less than a mile to the 60 for communiting. www.valvistalakes.org This community has a 6 million dollar clubhouse with more amenities than can be imagined for the monthly HOA fee of about $88.

Ritchie_az · 01-03-2010, 11:59 AM

Estrella in Goodyear could be a good choice.

sh9730 · 01-03-2010, 01:14 PM

With the broad based requirements you have outlined you will have MANY choices on all sides of the valley...and if your hubby really is willing to drive an hour, even more options are offered! As a rule, the further you are willing to drive, the more house you will get for your dollar. Of course many of the newer developed burbs do not have many of the amenities yet that the more urban core offers. Also, many of the suburbs of the Phoenix area are very similar as they have all blossomed in size so much over the last 20 years.

You will really need to come out and see for yourself what subtle nuances of each area you visit have to offer, and then of course your budget will determine some of your choices. If you had any idea where jobs would be, and what schools the daughters would be attending, that would help narrow the choices down alot.

JH6 · 01-03-2010, 03:57 PM

Do you have a job lined up?

We have been trying to make the move to phoenix for the past 18 months. We are coming from Buffalo, NY.

It is a tricky job market here in NY, it seems a little worse in Phoenix. Lets hope that turns around a little in 2010!

scout66 · 01-21-2010, 07:26 PM

Thanks for all the feedback. We don't know where our daughters would want to attend. One goes to a community college and the other goes to a university at the moment. My husband knows someone in Phoenix who owns a successful telecommunications company who most likely will be offering him a job soon. DH would like to only have to drive 5 minutes to work but is willing to drive longer if it means more house for the money. By "cheaper" I meant less expensive house. It seems that no matter what area the property taxes are at least half of what we pay now. As far as the location, I'm liking Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa and some parts of Phoenix so far. But now a new question has popped into my mind...rattle snakes and scorpions...are there certain areas where they are more common? Is there any kind of pest/animal controlling chemicals or such to keep them away? We don't have those here in the midwest. We only have to worry about bees in the summer, tornadoes in the spring, summer and fall, and sometimes flooding, but not too often.

observer53 · 01-22-2010, 03:45 AM

I still don't know what you mean by "less expensive". With the current home prices, I'm guessing there are lots of areas that would fit, but I'm just guessing. Can you give us some sort of broad price range? That might help us all give you more specific suggestions

Rattlesnakes are NOT an issue except in the outlying desert areas or in the homes on a desert mountain. (and even then not much of one) Not to worry. Scorpions are made to look like a large problem here based on the number of threads that get posted by those worried about them, but many, if not most, of us have seen either none or very few in many years here. They are more common in areas where new construction nearby has removed their habitat. I would not spend a lot of time worrying about them.

AZJoeD · 01-22-2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scout66

My husband and I are thinking of possibly moving to the area and will be out in March for a visit. We are looking for an area outside the city because we like it more quiet. My husband likes fishing, boating and sports. I like the shops. He would most likely be working in Phoenix but not sure what part. He's willing to drive up to an hour each way for work. He also would like someplace cheaper and I would like something more upscale and clean with low crime. We have two college age daughters who would probably be commuting to a local college or university. We're from Wisconsin with brutal winters and are aware that you have brutal summers, but I guess I'd rather be hot than cold? Today the high was 6 degrees. Right now it's below zero and worse with the wind chill.
So my question is this... since we aren't familar with the area, what would you suggest? Also looking for lower taxes. Ours are currently $4000.

Since your husband only wants to be 5 minutes from work, I would think that would limit your choices. Obvisously, 5 minutes might be unrealistic but I get the feeling he wants a short commute. Do you know where he will be working?

You need to find a good REALTOR (don't go driving around until you find a house then call), have him/her research the areas, homes, prices, the commute, etc. and help you find the best home for you. You will be far better off having someone watch your back who knows the process.

scout66 · 02-15-2010, 09:38 PM

Okay, when I said cheaper, I meant my husband is more on the "cheap" side. Where I'm willing to pay more for a house if it's in a nicer area. I guess we would be looking to find something with 3-4 bedrooms, at least a 2 car garage (3 is better), a pool of course and a house that's not more than 15 years old. With a price range up to $175k. The newer the better. We would probably be looking at foreclosures or short sales to get the best deals. I'm a Realtor so I understand the process of both. I'm not sure where the company is that he would be working at (somewhere in Phoenix is all I know so far). He drives an hour right now (on a good day), so if he could cut that in half, he'd be extremely happy. The shorter the better. We have been in contact with a Realtor, but know they can only say so much about an area. She did tell us a little about fissures. When we come to visit next month, she's taking us out looking so we can get an idea of what we can get for the money. The homes we've seen online look wonderful in our price range. Which makes us wonder if there is something undesirable with certain areas. That's why I came on here. Good news about the rattle snakes and scorpians. That makes me feel much better! How's the air quality? Arizona just seems to good to be true, that's why I'm asking so many questions. Seems like a whole different world there. Thanks again for all the feedback everyone!