Scottsdale is a possibility for us GA residents, but what about Mesa, AZ? (Phoenix: low crime, new home)

[gengegals3]

Hi again,

BTW, thanks to those who have responded to my earlier post about Scottsdale. All advice is helpful at this point.

What about Mesa, AZ though? What are your opinions about the quality of life for a family with two young girls in the public school system? I want what most other families want -- safe neighborhoods, low crime, good schools ..... not too much to ask, right

Anyhow, any info on Mesa, AZ would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks All!

Elizabeth

[ReadyFreddy]

I live in Mesa and think the schools are good. I'm in north Mesa, in a nice part. Parts in southern and central Mesa are often lower income. I think the access is pretty good from here, with the 202.

I mention this often because it's a real issue for some, but parts of Mesa are high in LDS families. What I find most people in my area worry about with that is that their kids will be left out due to religious cliques though there are also often recruitment concerns. If I could do it again I'd probably pick a different city but it's not bad enough for me to pluck my kid out of school and move. And I'm in a very LDS neighborhood so other neighborhoods might have much less of a concern. I've heard it's the whole Mountain View H.S. area. I might look in Red Mountain H.S area instead. Both are excellent schools.

[matyoka]

We purchased our home in Mesa, right off Signal Butte in one of the new(2007) developments. 60 and 202 are just a hop away, not to mention Mesa Gateway airport which can be reached in 10 minutes. There's great shopping nearby... Wal-Mart, best buy, movie theater, etc etc... Our 4th grader goes to an elementary that it's pretty highly scored on great schools and school digger. She was homeschooled in Montana, so the public system is a breeze for her and could have been easily placed in 6th grade but her principle was against it. The neighborhood is very quiet and somewhat snobbish, but we are the newcomers and got our home for half of the price they paid($500k-$600k original prices). There are two LDS churches within a 5 mile radius and frankly I don't think anyone bothered my wife since October... Since October home building projects are back up and running, I see a new home every time I visit Mesa(monthly). So, as per my .2 cents, Mesa has been great to us and hopefully it will be great to you as well.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by gengegals3

Hi again,

BTW, thanks to those who have responded to my earlier post about Scottsdale. All advice is helpful at this point.

What about Mesa, AZ though? What are your opinions about the quality of life for a family with two young girls in the public school system? I want what most other families want -- safe neighborhoods, low crime, good schools ..... not too much to ask, right

Anyhow, any info on Mesa, AZ would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks All!

Elizabeth

I think you could a lot better than Mesa. Besides Scottsdale I would easily consider Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Goodyear, North Phoenix and Surprise before Mesa. I think there are some nice neighborhoods in Mesa but I would recommend these other places first.

[CheyDee]

Mesa is a huge city, parts of which are a bit shabby and other parts which have million dollar plus homes.

As another poster pointed out, there is very good shopping and freeway access, (including in the nicer areas).

I think east Mesa is lovely, (including NE and SE Mesa), as well as the orange grove area.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by gengegals3

What about Mesa, AZ though? What are your opinions about the quality of life for a family with two young girls in the public school system? I want what most other families want -- safe neighborhoods, low crime, good schools ..... not too much to ask, right
Anyhow, any info on Mesa, AZ would be much appreciated as well.

I believe you can find all that in north east Mesa. The Red Mountain school district in north east Mesa has a good reputation. Within that district, in north east Mesa, there are several very nice communities. There is Las Sendas which is a very popular community in the foothills of the Usury Mountains and backs up to the Tonto National Forest. Most all the sub-communities within Las Sendas are gated, and there is a clubhouse with swimming pool and tennis courts. There is also a health facility with work out facilities, etc for an extra fee.

• It's a golf community, but several of my clients who bought there don't play golf. They loved the location and the community.
• It's by the north loop of the 202 for a fast commute to the airport, or to downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale.
• The prices range from around $200k to $2mil.

Just to the south of Las Sendas is Mountain Bridge, a very nice new community developed by Blandford, who also developed Las Sendas.

As you know, there is no area free of crime. Gilbert has the lowest crime rate in AZ. However, the area in north east Mesa is also very low. Here is a crime map where you can check any area. Arizona Crime Search - Crime In Arizona - Phoenix Crime Search - azcentral.com

Las Sendas is located in the north east corner of where the loop 202 begins to turn from north to west. You'll probably see Eagle Crest Drive, which goes around Las Sendas on the north side. You'll recognize Las Sendas by that street and the golf course.

In the crime map you'll notice that that area is very low in crime rate. As I zeroed in on that zip code 85207, I saw, during the past 6 months, a family fight, one burglary, and several vehicle thefts.

Vehicle thefts are usually a crime of opportunity. Someone will park their car outside and not have it locked, or in many cases, leave the key in it. I've seen that happen twice in my community during the past 5 years.

[maverick974]

I just moved to East Mesa last June and I couldn't be happier. The area is beautiful, so far all the people have been awesome except one guy at Fry's Marketplace in AJ, I'm very close to all the lakes and there is abundant retail and eateries close by.
Far less expensive than Scottsdale. I personally think Mesa, particularly east Mesa has a lot to offer.
I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to move here.
There are certain parts of Mesa that I don't care for but the east side is awesome.
Check out North East Mesa along McDowell or Brown. Lots of very nice new homes in that area.

[Jkgourmet]

Another vote for East Mesa, though I won't agree that it's as convenient to restaurants, shops, etc. A bit more isolated than Chandler, Gilbert or Scottsdale, IMO. That said, housing is also cheaper and the feeling of wide open spaces still exists. I can't say that for Chandler or Gilbert, and in Scottsdale that would cost me bundles and bundles.

I don't live there, but I agree that Las Sendas is an outstanding community. One suggestion: don't buy south of McDowell. You want the REAL Las Sendas, not the overflow, across the road part of Las Sendas.

[Captain Bill]

I might add that east Mesa, as well as the east valley cities of Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler, and to a lesser degree, other areas of the metro area, will continue to prosper because of the General Motors Proving Grounds Project which is scheduled to begin by the end of this year and will provide around 100,000 jobs.

It's a huge project, and all those who are interested in learning more about it's economic impact on the area should read the project information.

DMB - Mesa Proving Grounds Project

Board OKs housing project for GM proving-ground site

[ReadyFreddy]

That said, housing is also cheaper and the feeling of wide open spaces still exists.

That is a nice thing about north Mesa. Most of the land north of Mesa is national forest or reservation.

Las Sendas and also Red Mountain Ranch are nice communities. If you like the 'no HOA' scene, there are plenty of those around, too. Though the newer neighborhoods will pretty much all have HOAs.

I'm in a 'retail black hole'... Lindsay/McDowell area, but that's largely because of that vast expanse of nothingness to the north. For a mall or Costco, it's about 10 miles. When you get closer to Power Rd., you gain a ton of retail.