Is surprise farms a good area? (Phoenix, Tucson: for sale, low crime, credit)

[JasonS]

Im currently in the process of moving to Surprise, particuarly surprise farms. I think its was on the far end of surprise farms on greenway past the 303. I bought a new house from Richmond American. Its set to close at the end of September. I liked the house alot the price was good compared to where i live now anyways in CA. The upgrades were a bit on the high side though.

I have only been to Surprise 3 times now in my life during this past year. For the most part i liked it alot the only real negative was the heat but i work at home on my computer and dont go out too much so i guess that wont be that big of a problem.

Is surprise a good area to live? Is the surprise farms area low in crime? I read somewhere that they were building a big mall and hospital a couple miles south of my house on the 303 not sure if that is true or not. Are there any negatives i should be worried about moving to surprise besides the heat and i know its a little drive to phoenix but thats not a big deal to me.

Do you think house prices will drop alot in Surprise over the next year or so? i know they have been dropping a little this past year,i have been following the builders there and a few have lowered prices on some of the more expensive homes. My particular model has stayed the same price but im sure the incentives have changed a bit since i signed. i got 3% off the price,a little over 20k in upgrades but had to pick certian upgrades for the credits and also a free 17k pool. I am starting to worry next year my house will be worth a lot less then i paid. But i do plan to stay in the house for a long time so i guess they will go back up eventually.

[ibarrio]

We moved to Surprise about three months ago. We are enjoying it. A nice city and growing city with low crime. The only negative (a big one for some) is the traffic. The traffic has not been an issue for me but I moved here from So Cal.

So far:
No gunshots have been heard

No copters up searching for suspects

No thugs milling around looking for trouble

Kids around the neighborhood have actually been pleasant (In Cali they flip you off and cuss at you when you drive past them...this was in a gated community where the average home price is 400K)

No druggies or hookers walking down the main drags

The Surprise Complex is very nice (Baseball fields, Library, water park, etc.)

Tons of shopping on Bell (between the 303 and Grand Ave.)

Arrowhead Mall and everything around it is close enough.

I could go on and on about the positives...

Some of the posters around here who have not been to Surprise will bash it (they still think it is a rink-a-dink town).

In fact, Surprise is one of the safest areas in the Phoenix Metro...and someone around here produced some stats showing it most likely is the safest area.

[diggitydot]

I'm not a huge fan of Arizona, in general, but living in Surprise is what makes it bearable for me. And I second the kudos for the Surprise Complex. Love the parks, libraries, and ballpark. A really cool area.

We've lived in Surprise for about 3 1/2 years and am glad that we elected this area over many others on our list of potentials.

[formercaligirl]

They are building a mall across Greenway and the 303...a huge one and are building more and more stuff everyday. You will love it here. We have lived in the West Valley of Phoenix for 4 years (2-1/2 in Surprise). It is safe and clean and a lot of nice people here. Traffic is no worse (actually better) than almost anywhere in California that I have lived. Yes they need to fix the 303 (and they will) and Bell is already being resurfaced. People that say the traffic is bad here have obviously never lived where it is actually really bad and not just a mild annoyance. My husband works at home too so we don't have to worry too much about driving to Phoenix or anywhere else in the Valley in less we want to. Mountainside Fitness is a great place to work out and go to Over Coffee on the corner of Greenway and 303 and tell Al and Kirk hi. There is a lot of good here and it will only get better.

[MotleyCrew]

We almost moved to Surprise Farms when we first started looking here. We liked the area. Still like the area.

[jco]

Surprise Farms is nice. It's a longer commute into Phoenix or Glendale, but it sounds as if you don't need to worry about this.

[chocolaterie]

Hi There,

yes Surprise Farms is a great area. We almost bought a house there from Trend but opted out because we liked another one more in Vistante (which is also a community in Surprise). Overall, I'm pleased with the city. My husband and I have good friends that live out there. We visit at least once a week. Once a week times 4 years, with only positive experiences (so far) rate pretty high in my book. I think the new mall is called Prasada?

[azloafer]

We spent some time visiting in the Phoenix area and thought Surprise looked really nice. We live near Tucson, but if we wanted to move to the Phoenix area we would seriously look into living in Surprise.

[Barry Cox]

Some great deals can be had in Surprise right now. If you don't have to commute into Phoenix I think you will really like it. Enjoy.

[NYtoAZ2007]

After looking at a bunch of resales and new homes, we opted to stay out of Surprise right now, simply because there are so many investor-owned or otherwise empty properties up for sale...many homes and yards not being kept up.

But there are great deals to be had, it you're willing to live in a neighborhood half-empty. I know that situation is not unique to Suprise right now, but it is the reason we steered away.

Closing on your house soon...asking these questions now seems kind of "cart-after-the-horse" don't 'ya think?