Yet another moving to Phoenix thread (Glendale, Chandler: apartments, rental, condominiums)

[bfocus]

Hi all,

I finally landed a job in AZ! I will be working in central Phoenix, around the Indian School and N Central Ave area.

I had been looking at Gilbert and Chandler due to the schools, but the more I look at it, the more it seems like the commute for an 8-5 job would be atrocious!

I currently have a long commute in the DFW area, I work odd hours so traffic isn't generally a problem now, just distance. If i work office hours and I pay tolls here, my commute is normally about 1.5 to 2 hours.
I know in Phoenix I will always work office hours.
Does anyone here have a similar commute?
How bad is traffic to and from these areas?
Are there any other areas that have a better commute and have really good schools?
Not really interested in Tempe or Glendale, unless there are areas of Glendale that are nice, I lived there when young (1994) and it was pretty bad with gang violence in those days.
Any input would be appreciated.
One other thing, I have to be in Phoenix by March 1 and would stay with friends/family for a little bit, but I'm trying to avoid that by securing a place as soon as possible.

[liz451]

What's your budget? Madison School district has some very good schools and would be a very short commute for you as well. the Arcadia area also has some good schools and is a beautiful area but it turns from good to bad quickly so you would need to really research a houses location.

Gilbert is very large, but at a minimum in rush hour to Central and Indian School I'm thinking 45 minutes each way, but I've never lived in those areas. We have lots of Gilbert/Chandler folks on this board who can probably give more info.

[bfocus]

I forgot to say what my budget is, thank you!
I would love to stay at 1,000 or less as I will be renting. I have seen some houses and town homes in Gilbert in the 850-1000 range.

[Java Jolt]

That area is known as midtown.

Years ago I worked in the Park Central area, I remember there are some nice neighborhoods nearby with mostly older homes but they seem well-kept.

I understand there are some fairly new condominiums and apartments around there along and near Central Avenue, you might want to check out their rental rates.

Living closeby would allow you to walk or take mass transit, bus or light rail to work and you wouldn't have to drive and deal with the crush hour madness. With the cost of gas and maintaining a car it would be a big savings.

Don't be convinced by anyone that crush hour commutes are a piece of cake, they're not.

Other metropolitan areas might have worse traffic but our congestion can be a big headache especially living in distant suburban areas and commuting to downtown-midtown Phoenix.