Possibly taking a job in the Tolleson area (Glendale, Scottsdale: apartments, lease)

[Shanes]

I just got offered a job in Tolleson and need to make a decision in the next few days. I am a 24 year old single female who just finished graduate school in the midwest. I have never been to Arizona so I'm not familiar with the area at all. I know that Tolleson would not be the most desirable area to live in but what about Glendale, Goodyear, or any of the other areas? I will be making around $33,000. I want something that is safe and around alot of fun things to do but affordable. Any input would be great!

[roundball]

Live in one of the apartments by Westgate.
Westgate City Center - Home

[observer53]

I think the above suggestion is good. Go north on the 101 to the Westgate area or a few miles further north to Bell Rd, which is the Arrowhead area. Lots of shopping, restaurants, etc.

[Finger Laker]

I would recommend Arrowhead, downtown or maybe tempe

I live in Goodyear and really like it - but not exactly a refuge of young singles

The area up by the arrowhead mall (75th & bell) has a lot of apartments, close to shopping, bars, restaurants, etc

Close to the westgate/stadiums in goodyear ...... about 20 minutes to north scottsdale & desert ridge

Should leave you within 30 minutes of work on a bad day ........

[breakingbad]

Congratulations and good luck in your career!

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

I would recommend Arrowhead, downtown or maybe tempe

I live in Goodyear and really like it - but not exactly a refuge of young singles

The area up by the arrowhead mall (75th & bell) has a lot of apartments, close to shopping, bars, restaurants, etc

Close to the westgate/stadiums in goodyear ...... about 20 minutes to north scottsdale & desert ridge

Should leave you within 30 minutes of work on a bad day ........

Tempe is TOO FAR for a regular commute. Even downtown would be longer than necessary in terms of miles, though it would be a reverse commute which would ease the traffic somewhat.

[Finger Laker]

It's going to be a matter of preference, but I absolutely disagree

I imagine this is a teaching position - has all the benchmarks (midwest, masters degree, low $30s salary) - plus it looks like Tolleson has been active (see the other thread where someone was talking about commuting from Scottsdale to Tolleson

It's less than 15 miles from chase field to tolleson union HS

that commute wouldn't take more than 30 minutes on a bad day and about 20 on a normal one - you could just run surface streets as both are south of I-10 or you could move on I-10 if you wanted for a wide open reverse commute

it's pretty much the same as living in arrowhead .... in fact, most places that you would live could end up saving a mile or two each way ..... but it's all negligible

tempe is admittedly a bit of a stretch - but depending on where exactly you land it's 20 miles with traffic for the roughly 5-8 miles it takes you clear downtown and then clear sailing from there ... probably typical commute around 40-45 minutes - maybe a bit less pending

you could also avoid the freeway with this configuration a couple different ways or blend surface with a couple different freeway options

on a generic note it's about 9 miles on I-10 between the 101 interchange and I-17 interchange ..... that's pretty much the NW part of tolleson to the NW part of downtown ... need to add a few miles to actually get into downtown, etc

[Shanes]

Thanks for all of the great information!

[observer53]

On a teacher's salary, I would not be spending more money on gas and car wear and tear than necessary. Westgate or Arrowhead make more sense on that basis than downtown or Tempe. The time it takes is not the only factor.

[Shanes]

The salary I will be living on when first moving will be an internship salary and should be quite a bit higher if I choose to take a job in the area after that. But from the research that I've done so far, Westgate and Arrowhead seems to have a decent amount of things to do and apartments in the $700/month range. This seems to be the most logical area to look around. I can always move when my lease is up.