Are There Any Smaller Areas That Are Nice To Live In Outside Of Phoenix? (Mesa: home, neighborhood)

[hts]

I would definitely consider Anthem.

We bought here at the peak of the market in '05. I actually loved DC Ranch a bit more, but we couldn't quite swing it financially and if we did, we'd be on the wrong side of the tracks.

;-)

We bought/built here in '05, and unfortunately we also moved back east (DC, where we're from) in '05 when I lost my job. We've been trying to get back to Anthem ever since and finally moved back in July--6 years later!

All I can say is that we're *extremely* happy we returned 'home'. The public schools up here are decent (I think they're all Excelling), but coming from N. Virginia, we're accustomed to a higher standard. We're sending both of our sons to charter schools--our 4th grade son to Anthem Prep (it's one of the Great Hearts Academies) and our 6th grade boy to the new BASIS Peoria school. We couldn't be happier, although we'll probably send our 4th grader to BASIS next year for 5th grade (where it starts), as we're seeing some things with BASIS that are more attractive to us than Great Hearts.

The other communities that we looked at were Vistancia (Peoria) and Verrado (East Valley), just because it's being developed by the same group (DMB) as DC Ranch and we were looking to build a custom home in Verrado for roughly the same price as a tract home in DCR.

Welcome to Phoenix and good luck!

[midmod]

Originally Posted by hts

I would definitely consider Anthem.

We bought here at the peak of the market in '05. I actually loved DC Ranch a bit more, but we couldn't quite swing it financially and if we did, we'd be on the wrong side of the tracks.

;-)

We bought/built here in '05, and unfortunately we also moved back east (DC, where we're from) in '05 when I lost my job. We've been trying to get back to Anthem ever since and finally moved back in July--6 years later!

All I can say is that we're *extremely* happy we returned 'home'. The public schools up here are decent (I think they're all Excelling), but coming from N. Virginia, we're accustomed to a higher standard. We're sending both of our sons to charter schools--our 4th grade son to Anthem Prep (it's one of the Great Hearts Academies) and our 6th grade boy to the new BASIS Peoria school. We couldn't be happier, although we'll probably send our 4th grader to BASIS next year for 5th grade (where it starts), as we're seeing some things with BASIS that are more attractive to us than Great Hearts.

The other communities that we looked at were Vistancia (Peoria) and Verrado (East Valley), just because it's being developed by the same group (DMB) as DC Ranch and we were looking to build a custom home in Verrado for roughly the same price as a tract home in DCR.

Welcome to Phoenix and good luck!

Thank you so much for the great information! I will definitely look into those areas and school districts. Glad you were able to move back 'home'

[Jkgourmet]

Anthem is one heckuva commute to Scottsdale - isn't that where the OP is working? It's been a little unclear in this thread.

[Finger Laker]

I believe Phoenix - which isn't exactly clear ... if it's phoenix by I-17 & the 101 the commute from Anthem wouldn't be that bad.

If it's Phoenix down by 44th St & Van Buren then the commute would be very rough from Anthem

[pandaundercover]

I live in Surprise and it's a great city. But you have to like commute if you work outside of this town... roughly a 40 minute drive (in non-rush hour traffic) to downtown phoenix from my house, and the includes strictly the 303 to 10. If you need to take streets, it's longer. The 303 in the Surprise area is about to undergo some more construction and that's going to cause delays for about a year, and there are some new shopping areas being built right near it too, that are not only about to add jobs next year, but also cause more construction issues/traffic until they're finished (in about 1-2 years probably).

Waddell is a nice little city south of Surprise, and west of Glendale. Not much shopping out there (prob a 10 min drive to a grocery store), but it's isolated and a quiet area and also requires a bit of a drive to get anywhere.

Litchfield Park is my personal favorite city in all of the west valley, it's near everything and the city is very well maintained. You should consider checking out that area too.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by midmod

Hi, all! We are contemplating a move to the Phoenix/surrounding area within the next 6 months or so. I was just wondering if there are any nice smaller communities that anyone is familiar with that surround this area? Does anyone know about Surprise, Bisbee, or Sun City? Could these areas be considered 'smaller' in nature? Also, we are looking for reasonable communities as far as cost of living...not million dollars homes...lol! Thank you so much for any advice you may be able to give Oh, and just a note...the town does not have to be super exciting or anything...just more family oriented.

I would look into El Mirage. I have a buddy who lives out there and he loves it. He has 4 kids so he had to move to a family oriented area. The house prices are an absolute bargain. You can get a newer 4 bedroom house for $75,000.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by pandaundercover

I live in Surprise and it's a great city. But you have to like commute if you work outside of this town... roughly a 40 minute drive (in non-rush hour traffic) to downtown phoenix from my house, and the includes strictly the 303 to 10. If you need to take streets, it's longer. The 303 in the Surprise area is about to undergo some more construction and that's going to cause delays for about a year, and there are some new shopping areas being built right near it too, that are not only about to add jobs next year, but also cause more construction issues/traffic until they're finished (in about 1-2 years probably).

Waddell is a nice little city south of Surprise, and west of Glendale. Not much shopping out there (prob a 10 min drive to a grocery store), but it's isolated and a quiet area and also requires a bit of a drive to get anywhere.

Litchfield Park is my personal favorite city in all of the west valley, it's near everything and the city is very well maintained. You should consider checking out that area too.

Nice areas - but well out of a reasonable commute to Phoenix.

[MotleyCrew]

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Surprise sounds like the way to go. It is a modern, fast-growing city with lots of shopping, restaurants, and other social infrastructure, yet the housing costs are very reasonable. Sun City is NOT a family-oriented city - it is age-restricted. Anthem, Vistancia (in North Peoria), and Estrella Mountain Ranch (south Goodyear) are nice master-planned communities if you want to be away from the hustle-bustle of the city, but you may find yourself driving into the city for shopping and dining.

Best of luck with your move!

Vistancia/north Peoria has tons of shopping, our own little Safeway in the development and new eating spots that have just opened. Also plenty of restaurants down on 83 & 83rd in the Peoria Sports complex which has a baseball stadium, chain restaurants and shopping on every corner. Why would you feel the need to drive into Phoenix for shopping? Unless it is IKEA and we do venture over there now and then. If you want the hustle and bustle of city life, it is 24 miles away.

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Nice areas - but well out of a reasonable commute to Phoenix.

Depends where in Phoenix ........

I wouldn't want to go to downtown from Surprise - Waddell could be OK depending how close you are to I-10 and the commute from LP is definitely doable

[Jazzjazz07]

Originally Posted by midmod

We are willing to commute. Job secured...transfer. We are a family with two children ages 13 and 6 so, yes, school is quite important. Another important note, perhaps, is that we lived in Scottsdale about 14 years ago and ended up moving East due to a job offer. Now we are ready to go back. I realize that times have changed since we lived there, and we are not interested in moving back to Scottsdale...a little too Beverly Hilly' for us! So as far as the areas that I mentioned previously, I do realize that they are spread out in different areas, but we are willing to make a reasonable commute. I guess that I forgot about Sun City being totally age restricted lol, so that is obviously out!

I would like to know since you lived on both East Coast and West Coast how different is it? I lived on the East Coast all my life for 40 years and we are thinking to Moving to Phoenix due to Job relocation but is very nervous to move to the West coast. I guess the fear of the Unknown.