Best place in Az for 2 adults 40yrs old, no kids (Phoenix: HOA, crime)

[nicoleeee]

My husband and I are 40yrs old, have 2 dogs and no children. We are active and like diversity but are concerned about crime areas also. We are looking in Gilbert to buy a home under 100,000. We also looked at Mesa. What place is better and why? Really appreciate info.
Thanks

[observer53]

I would choose Gilbert over Mesa, if those are the two places you are considering. You will probably find more homes in that price range in Mesa, but you need to look in the north and northeast areas of Mesa, and to some extent the southwest area, for the best areas of that city. Mesa MIGHT be slightly more diverse. Tempe or Chandler would provide more diversity than either Mesa or Gilbert.

[nicoleeee]

Thanks, I will check it out.

[Ponderosa]

100K sounds awfully low for Gilbert. Their median is much higher than that. You can probably find one, but it might be in sad shape. As for Mesa, there is more bad than good and the good is higher priced.

You don't say anything about where you might work, but the standard advice is give top priority to the commute. You can find good areas in every part of Phoenix metro just about. In your price range, you would get a much better deal in Surprise, a nice community as well. But Surprise can be a real challenge for a commute in some cases.

[Finger Laker]

without kids you kind find a nice neighborhood and not have to worry so much about the school district premium - for example, you can find homes in comparable neighborhoods with comporable safety, commute, resources, etc be priced with a noticeable spread because on one side of the street you are zoned to school X and the other is school Y - sometimes in a completely different district

if you have done all your other research and find that mesa/gilbert work for your jobs, etc then just dig around and search the forums specific to those locations .... i don't know enough about the neighborhoods to really comment on them

however, it's a very large metro so make sure your location works for your jobs and what you like to do ....

[nicoleeee]

we work from home

[Finger Laker]

then you have a lot more options than just gilbert & mesa ... both communites can be pretty good ... but I wouldn't limit myself when having such a large area to work with

[nicoleeee]

How about zips without HOA's? Do u no any please?

[Finger Laker]

nope, I really don't ... they will typically be the older neighborhoods .... but I really don't know any areas off hand - then again, I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid an HOA either

[nightnurse613]

I would say that HOAs are formed by the developer in order to maintain community standards and help pay for amenities. I don't think there is any Zip Code limitation-in other words, they can be anywhere. If you are running a business out of your home then HOA CCRs may be very important to you. As pointed out, people in your category will have a lot more residential options. Depending on what activities you will want to enjoy I would think Chandler or Tempe more than Gilbert. Scottsdale even before Gilbert. I'm thinking that because (my impression is) most of Gilbert is newly developed and will more likely have HOA - also, they are a little further out of the way. Of course that may be exactly what you want. I also would agree, probably not Mesa, either. Unfortunately, newer homes are generally more expensive than older homes (and the energy savings alone may be worth it)!