Younger Areas Around Phoenix (Glendale, Scottsdale: sales, apartment complexes, for rent)

[ericgolf14]

Me and my friend are 21 and seniors in college. Following this school year, we are planning to move out to the phoenix area. We both have lived in Pittsburgh our whole lives, and are pretty fed up with it. We are just tired of living in a city in regression with only 60 sunny days/year. We have already started job hunting in the phoenix area and have been pleasantly surprised by the number of available, well-paying jobs. We have also been doing some apartment searching in areas such as glendale, scottsdale, and chandler. We have very different priorities compared to many other people on this forum... we are pretty indifferent to issues like high crime and poor education. We are more interested in things like nightlife and watching sports teams. With that being said, could anyone comment about any similar experiences or about places for us to live (i.e. I realize tempe is a younger demographic, but is it an ok place to live?) Thanks so much in advance for your input.

[BriansPerspective]

Scottsdale may be what you are looking for. My wife and I went down there for some shopping. (We live in Prescott.) Anyway, we went out for dinner at a sushi restaurant that the sales lady recommended, named RA. There must have been 150 young (20-30 yo) people in there. The music was blasting and everyone seemed to be having a good time. We opted for the patio where the noise was less deafening. Alas, at 36 and 41, living in a semi-retirement community, I guess we have lost our zest for shouting across the table to make conversation

[Master Shake]

I believe Glendale has both the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Coyotes stadiums, and it is relatively close to downtown Phoenix (at least compared to the newer burbs!)

[LVGAZ]

Get as close to Scottsdale as you can - great night life, lots of young people, clubs, nice college educated professionals - good paying jobs, and close to escaping the sities for the outdoors if you are into hiking, etc.
CHandler is good, Ahwatukee, Scottsdale, of course
look into the Scottsdale FAshion Sq area, Biltmore, PAradise Valley

[lola8822]

oldtown scottsdale.....PATTY'S rocks!.......ummm tempe is good too....

[alterego]

I have lived in the Phx area for about 8 yrs now. I used to know the nightlife well, and although I don't frequent the bar scene as often as I used to the general hotspots have remained about the same even if the names have changed.

For nightlife, anything around the ASU campus in Tempe will be young. Plenty of sports bars and bars that lean more toward the casual side. For more trendy and upscale bars (but still young), stick to South Scottsdale/Old Town area. Check out 944 magazine's website for ideas of where the hotspots are. The trendy nightlife for Phoenix is mostly in the Tempe and Scottsdale areas. The casual bars and cheaper drinks are in Tempe, and it gets older, more upscale, and more expensive as you move north all the way into north Scottsdale/DC Ranch area.

For watching sports and sports teams, someone mentioned Glendale which is where the new football stadium is. I don't recommend living in Glendale (or anywhere in the west side of the valley) if you are looking for hip and trendy nightlife. If you can't afford to live in Tempe or Scottsdale, then at least stick to the East valley, otherwise you will find yourself driving a lot and the more afterhours nightime driving you do, it just increases your chances of being hit by a drunk driver. Besides, watching ASU sports is more fun!

There are lots of new condos being built around hwy-202 which sits between Tempe and Scottsdale. For housing, check out zip codes 85283, 85281, 85257, and 85251. I hope this helps.

[ericgolf14]

Thanks guys, these suggestions are great so far!

[AZHawkeye]

I've lived in AZ for 10 years now and moved out here when I graduated from college. I definitely took advantage of the bar scene for many years. Now that I am married and have a child it does not happen much. Hower, I do know that not much has changed in the last few years....still have single friends and the place to go is south Scottsdale area around Old Town as others have already mentioned. That is where the night life is. One of our favorite hangouts was Dos Gringos.
When I moved out here I moved to Tempe, which wasn't bad, but if I had to do it all again I would have picked Scottsdale around the Fashion Square area. One of the apartment complexes I lived in which I really enjoyed was off the Greenbelt, called Sunscape apartments off of Hayden Rd. in Scottsdale. You may want to check them out. Good luck!

[SouthGilbert Specialist]

I would shoot for Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler or North Phoenix. Tempe is a party town since ASU is right there. Scottsdale is where the clubs, restaurants and nice cars are. North Scottsdale is more expensive then South Scottsdale. There are plenty of condos, apartments and houses for rent. I would rent a house before a apartment. Moderator cut: no soliciting here