Day to day life questions? Weather, colleges & Anthem (Phoenix: schools, community college)

[peabody12]

We currently live in the Seattle area and have been considering a move for sometime now. For a while we focused on Colorado, but for some reason my husband isn't too imressed. Arizona is on the radar, specifically Anthem.

I am a big fan of master planned communities and I happened to see Anthem on tv via the reality show, downsized. We have two very small kids and we are an active family, so Anthem looks as if it might be a good fit. When we visit we'll be sure to check out the other large MP communities is the greater Phoenix are, but for now I'm stuck on Anthem.

Anyway for my questions, so on the tv show the family appeared to do a lot outside, even in the summertime. The mother ran (okay, it might have been very early like 5am) and the kids would be outside playing throughout the day sometimes. I was under the impression that it was too hot to do anything during the summer, but maybe I was wrong.

During their summer break from school, the kids on the tv show would walk around posting flyers door to door and they looked a little hot, but they weren't dripping in sweat. Here in Seattle we don't have AC, so a couple weeks out of the year we suffer and I am dripping in sweat when the temp reaches 85 and above. I guess it's a humidity thing?

So can you be active outside during the summer months? What about playgrounds? Will there be times during the day that it will be too hot (or the equipment will be too hot) for the kids to play?

A few other questions, are there many car dealerships near Anthem? Maybe on the way towards Phoenix? Is there an auto row somewhere, or maybe more than one?

What about community colleges and hopsitals? I plan to go to nursing school down the road and I did a quick search and it looks like I'd be driving at least 45 min to get to a CC, is that correct?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[AZJoeD]

Originally Posted by peabody12

We currently live in the Seattle area and have been considering a move for sometime now. For a while we focused on Colorado, but for some reason my husband isn't too imressed. Arizona is on the radar, specifically Anthem.

I am a big fan of master planned communities and I happened to see Anthem on tv via the reality show, downsized. We have two very small kids and we are an active family, so Anthem looks as if it might be a good fit. When we visit we'll be sure to check out the other large MP communities is the greater Phoenix are, but for now I'm stuck on Anthem.

Anyway for my questions, so on the tv show the family appeared to do a lot outside, even in the summertime. The mother ran (okay, it might have been very early like 5am) and the kids would be outside playing throughout the day sometimes. I was under the impression that it was too hot to do anything during the summer, but maybe I was wrong.

During their summer break from school, the kids on the tv show would walk around posting flyers door to door and they looked a little hot, but they weren't dripping in sweat. Here in Seattle we don't have AC, so a couple weeks out of the year we suffer and I am dripping in sweat when the temp reaches 85 and above. I guess it's a humidity thing?

So can you be active outside during the summer months? What about playgrounds? Will there be times during the day that it will be too hot (or the equipment will be too hot) for the kids to play?

A few other questions, are there many car dealerships near Anthem? Maybe on the way toward Phoenix? Is there an auto row somewhere, or maybe more than one?

What about community colleges and hopsitals? I plan to go to nursing school down the road and I did a quick search and it looks like I'd be driving at least 45 min to get to a CC, is that correct?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Wow, a lot of questions!

First, weather. It is HOT here in the summer. Can you do outdoor activities? Yes, just do them early in the AM or later in the evening. Mid day is a killer. No sweating, it's too dry. It will be a few degrees cooler in Anthem than other parts of the valley because it is higher in elevation and away from the heat island. Kids can go to the community pool.

Anthem is a wonderful community, great for raising a family. But, it is on the edge of the north valley so it is a commute to anywhere.

No car dealerships in the immediate area. Closest are a couple near I-17 and Bell Rd (12 miles), in Scottsdale near Scottsdale Rd and 101 (24 miles), near Arrowhead Mall (22 miles).

Closest community colleges are Glendale and Paradise Valley CC (30-45 min. depending on time of day). They may have some remote locations closer. I do not know much about the nursing program, but here is a link.

Maricopa Community Colleges District Nursing Program

Also, there are several private nursing programs from Apollo, Grand Canyon U and others. Do a search for Phoenix Nursing schools.

[Ritchie_az]

I'll add that there are a number of master-planned communities around Phoenix that are just as nice (and sometimes nicer) than Anthem. I wouldn't focus just on that one.