Young Married Couple Relocating from Raleigh to Phoenix Metro area (Glendale: appointed, best cities)

[duckfan123]

Hi,

My wife and I are relocating from the Raleigh, NC to Phoenix, AZ area in the next month. We have only been to Phoenix one time and it was only for a couple of days.

We are considering buying a home in the Phoenix metro area, or potentially renting for a few months to get to know the area better first.

Where are the best cities (low crime, good value, close to restaurants and other entertainment) to look for a house or townhouse in the Phoenix metro area? Our budget would be roughly $300-400K.

Thank you!

[observer53]

Renting first is a VERY good idea.

As far as buying, first, where will you be working? Commutes can be long, (this is a VERY spread out place) and it's good to avoid that, for any number of reasons. With that budget, you will have lots of choices. What other amenities/activities would you like to be close to?

[autism360]

I recommend the East Valley, Chandler,Ahwatukee,Tempe or Gilbert. Low crime,lots to do and good highway access

[duckfan123]

My office is based in N. Phoenix, but since I will be working as an account manager I will be at customer sites and working from home most of the time. My wife is still looking for a new job and we are unsure where she will land.

As far as other activities, we like to golf, go to sporting events, and live near an area with a decent entertainment scene with restaurants, bars, etc..

Thank you!

[ibarrio]

you should look in the Desert Ridge area. Nice area, more centrally located, near golf but far from sporting events. you got to give somewhere because the major sports are downtown or in Glendale.

[PoppySead]

With the real estate market right now I always tell people to look into new construction. Good deals and little to no hassle. The market is a bit of a pain right now, limited inventory and a lot of cash buyers from Canada.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by PoppySead

With the real estate market right now I always tell people to look into new construction. Good deals and little to no hassle. The market is a bit of a pain right now, limited inventory and a lot of cash buyers from Canada.

This can be problematic, too. New builds are six to nine months out now and almost all of them are going to be on the fringes of the metro area. So you rent for 50% higher than purchase costs and blow your down payment/discretionary money. You have to move twice. Then you have landscaping and decorating costs the day you move in and you probably don't get a pool either. There are a lot of reasons to want a move in ready home.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by duckfan123

Hi,

My wife and I are relocating from the Raleigh, NC to Phoenix, AZ area in the next month. We have only been to Phoenix one time and it was only for a couple of days.

We are considering buying a home in the Phoenix metro area, or potentially renting for a few months to get to know the area better first.

Where are the best cities (low crime, good value, close to restaurants and other entertainment) to look for a house or townhouse in the Phoenix metro area? Our budget would be roughly $300-400K.

Thank you!

You definitely need to rent for at least 6 months before you can really appreciate and determine where you want to live. Phoenix is unlike most cities in that there are several nice areas to live. There is no distinct "bad and good part of town" It's very spread out like Los Angeles and you have to see where your friends live, schools, proximity to work, style of homes, landscape (desert, trees/grass, water), what you enjoy doing for entertainment (hiking, professional sports, dining). All of those factors will determine where you want to live but I would say 80% of the Valley is really nice so there are many options.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

So you rent for 50% higher than purchase costs and blow your down payment/discretionary money. You have to move twice. Then you have landscaping and decorating costs the day you move in and you probably don't get a pool either. There are a lot of reasons to want a move in ready home.

For someone who is going to purchase a 300-400K home, renting an apartment including a nice one will not be 50% higher than purchase costs. I would never advocate buying without renting here first. There are so many variables to consider that you can't attain until you move here. Furthermore, everything looks nice on the internet and you truly can't appreciate an area until you see it in person AND spend some time living there. During the day, everything looks great with the bright sunshine and the stucoo homes with red tiled roof. At night and on weekends, it's a different story. Plus when you make friends and meet people in the area, they can share information and insight that you won't get from people posting opinions on this forum.

[bguar]

Unless you get really lucky, you should rent for a year first. You will be disappointed if you buy a place in the wrong area and have to get up and move/sell again. Rent first, and figure it out -- each pocket of the valley feels different.