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Old 02-18-2012, 03:39 PM
 
537 posts, read 1,547,092 times
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We took a day trip several weeks ago to Lake Pleasant and on to Wickenburg. Lake Pleasant was wonderful and we ate our picnic lunch there. We went from there to Wickenburg. I guess if I never saw Wickenburg again in my life, it would be too soon. We came back to central Phoenix on Grand avenue. There was one cheap buffet after the next around Surprise. We got off and looked at some of the homes in Surprise. Nice houses and streets. Other than that, not much there there. I couldn't believe how long the drive was back to Phoenix. I have no desire to visit that area again any time soon. It looks like a mostly Hispanic population.
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Old 02-18-2012, 04:26 PM
 
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Here, in the Surprise Farms 2 area, our neighbor's just moved here to retire. The man is a golfer too and there's 2 golfcourses in this area: one is right down the street, barely a mile, and another is about 3 miles away. There are lots of other courses though; most are a bit further north in the sun city west area (only about 5 miles, if even). Depending WHERE in Surprise you live, shopping (to stores like walmart, target, Michaels, Petsmart, Kohls, etc) can be anywhere from down the street to a 10 minute drive. It's 10 minutes for me, but I don't mind it... doesn't use much gas. A walmart will be opening about 2 miles down teh street from here later this year, and there are plans to open a Target, Ross, Best Buy, in the same area, within the next few years. And by 2020, there will probably be a mall over here too; it's in the plans, but it's constantly being pushed before building begins. I'm hoping it'll be an awesome outdoors mall, unlike many of the malls out here. So... anyway, anywhere north of Greenway and west of Litchfield Rd is a good place to consider in Surprise. You'll just want to house hunt online to view houses, then try and see the houses/neighborhoods yourself when you visit to find one you like the most.
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Old 02-18-2012, 04:30 PM
 
777 posts, read 1,338,306 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desertspiritsteve View Post
We took a day trip several weeks ago to Lake Pleasant and on to Wickenburg. Lake Pleasant was wonderful and we ate our picnic lunch there. We went from there to Wickenburg. I guess if I never saw Wickenburg again in my life, it would be too soon. We came back to central Phoenix on Grand avenue. There was one cheap buffet after the next around Surprise. We got off and looked at some of the homes in Surprise. Nice houses and streets. Other than that, not much there there. I couldn't believe how long the drive was back to Phoenix. I have no desire to visit that area again any time soon. It looks like a mostly Hispanic population.
Near Grand Ave, is actually El Mirage, which IS a heavy Hispanic population. Bordering it west is Surprise, and Surprise stretches for nearly 10 miles west before it ends, and it is heavily White people. Very few Hispanics reside in much of Surprise, probably because of the cost. It is a little more expensive than El Mirage, which is the cheapest housing in the entire west valley.
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Old 02-18-2012, 06:42 PM
 
Location: Surprise, Az
3,502 posts, read 9,613,701 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pandaundercover View Post
Here, in the Surprise Farms 2 area, our neighbor's just moved here to retire. The man is a golfer too and there's 2 golfcourses in this area: one is right down the street, barely a mile, and another is about 3 miles away. There are lots of other courses though; most are a bit further north in the sun city west area (only about 5 miles, if even). Depending WHERE in Surprise you live, shopping (to stores like walmart, target, Michaels, Petsmart, Kohls, etc) can be anywhere from down the street to a 10 minute drive. It's 10 minutes for me, but I don't mind it... doesn't use much gas. A walmart will be opening about 2 miles down teh street from here later this year, and there are plans to open a Target, Ross, Best Buy, in the same area, within the next few years. And by 2020, there will probably be a mall over here too; it's in the plans, but it's constantly being pushed before building begins. I'm hoping it'll be an awesome outdoors mall, unlike many of the malls out here. So... anyway, anywhere north of Greenway and west of Litchfield Rd is a good place to consider in Surprise. You'll just want to house hunt online to view houses, then try and see the houses/neighborhoods yourself when you visit to find one you like the most.
North of Greenway leaves out some of the more affluent areas of Surprise. Litchfield Manor, Marley Park, Rancho Gabriella, and a few other subs that are even more expensive that the ones I mentioned.
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Old 02-19-2012, 06:59 AM
 
9,805 posts, read 11,200,038 times
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Originally Posted by khuntrevor View Post
one should really consider what it will be like to sell......might not be that easy to find someone else, who only wants a vacation home in exurbia. Where are you NOT close to golf and shopping in The Valley.
In case you haven't figured this one out, there are people employed in Surprise, Peoria, Glendale, Goodyear and other areas (not everybody works in Mesa or Chandler). My commute is from the bedroom to the office (40 feet). I'm not alone in that situation. Also, there are a lot of golf courses inside of 15 miles from my house and more shopping malls are being built as we speak.

Independent of that seemingly obvious point, if gas climbs to $6 a gallon, I'll sell my 18 MPG SUV and get a car with twice the mileage. Like many times before, your points have nothing to do with the the OP's question. Usually you squeeze in how much you paid for your place in Phoenix and what the last person paid for it.
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Old 02-20-2012, 10:50 AM
 
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Crime is up in Surprise. I thought that this story might be of interest. I saw it in today's Republic.

Surprise, other Valley cities see hike in crime rate
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Old 02-21-2012, 01:37 PM
 
777 posts, read 1,338,306 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ibarrio View Post
North of Greenway leaves out some of the more affluent areas of Surprise. Litchfield Manor, Marley Park, Rancho Gabriella, and a few other subs that are even more expensive that the ones I mentioned.
Whoops, my bad. I suppose, just generally west of Litchfield Rd are pretty good areas. Some west of Dysart, but north of Waddell, are OK too. Just that it borders El Mirage and is not super desirable, but is certainly close to shopping.
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Old 02-23-2012, 12:23 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,256 times
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MN born an raised. Have several listings give me honest opinion. 1-5 for each. Sierra Verde, Mountain Vista, Coyote Lakes,Surprise Farms,Canyon Ridge West and Veramonte.
Thanks for your time, Chicago Matt
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Old 02-23-2012, 12:46 PM
 
9,805 posts, read 11,200,038 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago Matt View Post
MN born an raised. Have several listings give me honest opinion. 1-5 for each. Sierra Verde, Mountain Vista, Coyote Lakes,Surprise Farms,Canyon Ridge West and Veramonte.
Thanks for your time, Chicago Matt
Matt,
Over an entire weekend, I had my agent show me homes in a bunch of neighborhoods. In well over 1/2 of them, I asked her to simply turn around after a few hundred feet of driving. Meaning, I didn't like the feel of the neighborhood.

One that I remember was Surprise Farms. The homes were sitting on top of each other and the road was full of parked cars. I started looking in early January. I quickly figured out my eye appreciated green grass. In AZ, you need to seed with rye grass annually during the winter months. So my short list shrunk down to Marley Park. In other words, I didn't bother with paying attention to the other neighborhoods unless they passed the "green test". I also liked the community pool idea.

I can positively guarantee you that your ideas will dramatically change once you see things for yourself. If you are like many people, you start out with a desire to spend little and you go over your ideal budget. So my message is you will quickly learn why Surprise Farms (for instance) has steals-pf-deals in comparison to Marley Park. IMHO, there really isn't a comparison.

I wish I could be of more help. I've very sure I've been in all of these neighborhood. I just cannot tell you which one is which. An Agent will be a better person to talk with once you tell them your own priorities.
Good Luck!
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Old 02-23-2012, 10:18 PM
 
Location: Surprise, Az
3,502 posts, read 9,613,701 times
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Each neighborhood is different. For instance, Marley Park homes have small yards or in some cases shared yards. They are nice homes but the homes do not sit on custom lots. They have a community pool which means there are not many pool homes in Marley Park. Last summer I was going to bid on one of the few pool homes but found out if had closed the Friday before we started our search.

The areas you mentioned are HOA subdivisions which means the homes are very similar (cookie cutter) and sit on small to medium lots. There are always homes that sit on bigger lots but they come with a premium. Coyote Lakes is a golf community.

Here is a map of Surprise broken down by subdivisions

http://www.surpriseaz.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=546
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