Moving to area in June! HELP!! (Glendale, Chandler: rental, condo, daycare)

[Wyogal6]

we are relocating in June. Husband will be keeping his job with his current company but I will be working. we have 4 kids (4, 7, 10, 14) and want/need the safest suburb with the best schools.
We are worried about the heat. We are from Wyoming, lived here most of our lives. We lived in St. George Ut for a year and Huntington Beach, Ca for a year. Everyone says we will get used to the heat. I sure hope so....We really want this to be the last move for us (the other two moves were for school and when we only had one child) so we need this to be somewhere final....any help would be most appreciated!!!

[Kimballette]

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When asking questions about a location, give as much detail as you can, so we can zero in on the info you need. If house hunting, what is your price level or rental amount. How many BR's, Baths, square feet, lot size, etc, do you need? Pets? SFH, TH, Condo, mobile home? In-town, rural, college town, military town, mountains? Schools for children? Gated community, golf course community, active senior community? Do you need to stable a horse? Is there an RV or boat trailer to consider? The more you tell us, the sooner our regular posters can reply with specificity. Same for any other criteria you have. Please avoid open-ended requests like "I'm moving to your city, tell me EVERYTHING I need to know."

[MotleyCrew]

Originally Posted by Wyogal6

we are relocating in June. Husband will be keeping his job with his current company but I will be working. we have 4 kids (4, 7, 10, 14) and want/need the safest suburb with the best schools.
We are worried about the heat. We are from Wyoming, lived here most of our lives. We lived in St. George Ut for a year and Huntington Beach, Ca for a year. Everyone says we will get used to the heat. I sure hope so....We really want this to be the last move for us (the other two moves were for school and when we only had one child) so we need this to be somewhere final....any help would be most appreciated!!!

Where will you be working? On the west side, I would look at West Wing, Sonoran Mt. Ranch, Vistancia, which has some of the highest rated schools. These are newer developments and for older developments, Arrowhead Ranch in Glendale is nice. In Goodyear, Estrella Mt. Ranch and Verado are also very nice and on the newer side. Others will chime in regarding the east side. These are all very safe areas.

[observer53]

Are you definitely moving here, or are you also looking at CA?

[sh9730]

As others are pointing out - we need more information to be helpful.

Someone already asked you the MOST important question - where will you be working? Moving to the wrong area can me longer drives than you may want. A secondary question along with this, is how far are you willing to drive to work?

The next is, what kind of budget are you working with for housing? (rent or buying?).

THEN we can help with all the schools etc....it wont do us any good to recommend the best schools, if the housing costs are double what you can afford!

Welcome - Im confident, that like most of the people that make this move without much time, you will find a place that suits you....

[AZgarden]

You may or may not get used to the heat. Just have to see how it goes.
I thought last summer was the worst so far, in my 10 summers here. It just seemed like it lasted longer and was hotter than ever before. If you have a pool, it might help somewhat.

[SpeedyAZ]

Originally Posted by Wyogal6

we are relocating in June. Husband will be keeping his job with his current company but I will be working. we have 4 kids (4, 7, 10, 14) and want/need the safest suburb with the best schools.
We are worried about the heat. We are from Wyoming, lived here most of our lives. We lived in St. George Ut for a year and Huntington Beach, Ca for a year. Everyone says we will get used to the heat. I sure hope so....We really want this to be the last move for us (the other two moves were for school and when we only had one child) so we need this to be somewhere final....any help would be most appreciated!!!

Safest suburb with the best schools...buy a house in Paradise Valley. Forgot to mention that you're looking at around $1 million for a tear-down property and around $2.5 million for a large enough home for 4 children.

Need more information to be helpful. There's good suburbs everywhere, it just depends on where you'll be working, what type of budget you have, and how much traffic you can endure.

[Pink Jazz]

I personally like Gilbert. As for schools, the Chandler, Gilbert, and Higley districts are all good.

[Wyogal6]

Husband works for railroad so he travels for work....It doesn't matter where he lives as he travels all over the united states.....I am a social worker and will be looking for a job once we get there. We are hoping to get a rental (4 bed, 2 bath) for around $1000. I've looked on craigslist and it seems that it is feasable. we are moving because there is zero posibilities for me here employment wise. I owned a daycare/preschool but now that my youngest will be starting school I was ready to get out of that. Plus, we definately want warmer weather. Right now, as our options are open, we can live anywhere in that area.....

Yes, there may be a chance we move to CA. Hubby applied for a promotion and if he gets it then we for sure will be moving that. If not, then CA is out of the question as we would need the pay raise associated with the promotion in order to afford the cost of living. Our main concern is moving to a place that has job opportunities for me and is safe for our kiddos. I am hoping to attend ASU next year to get my Ph.D. but cannot guarentee acceptance as it is a fairly competitive program.

THank you for all your input! It is very much appreciated!

[observer53]

Social worker pretty much means government employment, primarily state or county, or nonprofits. The job market here is not great with those employers, either. If you can do fine on his salary alone until you find employment (which may not be as a social worker, for the time being) then moving is not an issue. But do not bank on quick employment here as a social worker.