Neighborhoods to avoid? (Phoenix: for sale, real estate, to rent)

[jessrscott]

Good morning!

My husband and I will be relocating to Phoenix between May and July of this year. I was hoping that you all could perhaps recommend neighborhoods for our house hunt and neighborhoods to avoid.

Here is our situation:
He is taking a job as a surgical resident at Banner Good Samaritan. Because of the ridiculous hours and being called in on short notice, we want to live a MAXIMUM of 20 minutes from the hospital, but the closer the better. He will be going in at 5am or earlier, so rush hour traffic adding to his commute isn't really an issue. Since he will be gone so often, I want the safest neighborhood possible in this radius (safe enough that I can go out and walk the dogs or go for a jog). I know that in big cities, whenever you narrow your search to areas near a downtown corridor or business district you often have a mix of good and bad neighborhoods, so any advice on areas to concentrate on and areas to avoid will be SO greatly appreciated! Our budget will be maximum $300k, but we would prefer to stay closer to $250k. I have found many options that meet our criteria or price, specs, and distance on realtor websites, but am wanting to make sure anything we look at is in a neighborhood that we will be comfortable raising a family in.

Thank you so much in advance!

[ReadyFreddy]

My best advice is hire a realtor who knows the area. That said, I know several people who live right near that hospital in Coronado Historic District and feel entirely safe, including single women. There are tons of dog walkers there. Most homes in there are not re-done nicely (yet) but a lot are. But for your price range, you can afford to live where all the homes are nice so Coronado might not be your thing. That's the only neighborhood down there I sort of know. Willo Historic isn't far and is very 'fixed up'. Do you like older or newer?

Phoenix metro is tough as the 'good' areas and the not so good are just all mixed in, for the most part. There are upscale blocks right near lower ones. A realtor can help you. The home prices you see are a good guide. I would watch for homes without a lot of multi-family (apts., 4-plexes) or commercial or industrial stuff nearby.

[pbenjamin]

We live in the Willo Historic District, our house is 10 minutes from Good Sam. The neighborhood is full of people walking dogs, etc., at all hours. It is a bit more expensive than Coronado, most of the homes, which were built between between the two World Wars, have been already "fixed up". Encanto-Palmcroft, FQ Story and Roosevelt districts are all nearby and are worth looking into as well.

[khuntrevor]

239 E Pasadena Ave Phoenix AZ - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #4670788 - Realtor.com®

top public schools, short walk to LR, safer than Coronado, which I do like but schools/crime are more of an issue. This is a very special part of Phoenix, expensive gas will only make it more attractive. There are always alternate routes for 4-5 mile trips.

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't know that neighborhood but it seems a little expensive for an older, fixer-upper that backs retail (?) on Camelback.

[eventusstultorummagister]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

239 E Pasadena Ave Phoenix AZ - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #4670788 - Realtor.com®

top public schools, short walk to LR, safer than Coronado, which I do like but schools/crime are more of an issue. This is a very special part of Phoenix, expensive gas will only make it more attractive. There are always alternate routes for 4-5 mile trips.

No HOA and a stone's throw away from a microbrewery, nice work!

[talich]

Originally Posted by jessrscott

Good morning!

My husband and I will be relocating to Phoenix between May and July of this year. I was hoping that you all could perhaps recommend neighborhoods for our house hunt and neighborhoods to avoid.

Here is our situation:
He is taking a job as a surgical resident at Banner Good Samaritan. Because of the ridiculous hours and being called in on short notice, we want to live a MAXIMUM of 20 minutes from the hospital, but the closer the better. He will be going in at 5am or earlier, so rush hour traffic adding to his commute isn't really an issue. Since he will be gone so often, I want the safest neighborhood possible in this radius (safe enough that I can go out and walk the dogs or go for a jog). I know that in big cities, whenever you narrow your search to areas near a downtown corridor or business district you often have a mix of good and bad neighborhoods, so any advice on areas to concentrate on and areas to avoid will be SO greatly appreciated! Our budget will be maximum $300k, but we would prefer to stay closer to $250k. I have found many options that meet our criteria or price, specs, and distance on realtor websites, but am wanting to make sure anything we look at is in a neighborhood that we will be comfortable raising a family in.

Thank you so much in advance!

Banner Health Good Samaritan is just off the highway. So if traffic is not a problem, 20 minutes will really carry you a long commute and you are not limited to downtown area. I would prefer somewhere north along 51.

And of course you can stay near to the Banner Health. I live in downtown area, recently in Roosevelt district, for years, which is about 5min to Banner. I saw people running and walking with dog everyday. I guess as long as you don't do it really late in the night, there should be no problem. The house is still cheap, but gone quickly, mostly in a day. So you might want to rent a place and consider looking for a house while settling down.

[gabygirl]

Maybe around/south of the Biltmore area? Or how about the Arcadia area? Wouldnt be bad at all at 5 am.