super mom (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Peoria: sales, insurance, houses)

[hbanks27]

Hi, I'm moving from memphis to Arizona in a year. I have three children and I'm single, I was wondering what would be a good area to raise children? I really need a quite location, with great schools and decent houses. But not at a million dollar price.

[MotleyCrew]

Where will you be working? There are many different choices out there that would be great communities to raise your family. I happen to live in N. Peoria and have no regrets in our choice. Vistancia is a fantastic family community with many ammenities. The homes are built by several different builders so they are not "cookie cutter" neighborhoods. The resale market here is very favorable to buyers with prices starting in the $200K's for single family detached to $180K's for a Trend town home. You can go to Vistancia - The difference is real to find out the builder incentives. I know that Shea has some great year end sales going on right now. There are other developments on the west side that we like as well. Estrella Mt. Ranch is beautiful, Verrado, and plenty of new communities popping up in Buckeye. It really depends on where you will be working. You don't want to tangle with the freeway here.
Good luck.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by hbanks27

Hi, I'm moving from memphis to Arizona in a year. I have three children and I'm single, I was wondering what would be a good area to raise children? I really need a quite location, with great schools and decent houses. But not at a million dollar price.

Move to Texas. San Antonio would be a great choice or Austin. Maybe Colorado would be a better choice. I love living in Scottsdale, but raising a family in the general Phoenix area is expensive and difficult. (Including Scottsdale) Phoenix is not a family oriented city. Sorry, I'm not trying to be a "hater" because that is far from the truth, (I absolutely love living in Scottsdale) but it is - in fact, a very difficult place to raise a family.

[MotleyCrew]

I would not want to raise small children today in just about any city.

I think it depends on where you will be working, that will be key to where you will want to look for a good neighborhood. There are plenty of them and you do not have to limit yourself to just the center core of Phoenix.
What is your housing budget? That will also be a key factor in your search. The closer to downtown Phoenix, the more expensive the better neighborhoods get.

[JeepGirl118]

This is a very tough city for single parents in both the dating scene and in the financial aspect. It's difficult for two-parent families with double income. Have you visited Phoenix? Have you thought about the extra costs you will acquire living Phoenix - such as the extra wear and tear on your vehicle (you will be buying tires more than you are now, your auto's battery doesn't hold up the same as it does in TN....) - and our auto insurance is ridiculous..renewal of a license plate is expensive. Our medical here bites - it's lousy - have already told my husband and family that if anything happens to me that needs close medical attention and should I not be coherent, to immediately take/fly me to Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Austin - Japan - anywhere but here. The "can you afford Phoenix" goes well and above the housing costs. Have you considered these additional costs?

[sirwinston73]

Arizona is notorious for having terrible schools, you will hear that places like Scottsdale have great schools, but this is only true relative to the rest of Arizona; relative to the rest of the country they are far below average.