Anthem Lifestyle vs. Horrid Commute? (Phoenix, Mesa: appointed, real estate, cliquey)

[Toucan Sam]

Please convince me that the following logic is way off-base, wrong, or misguided!!!

But first, thank you for the helpful Phoenix threads on commuting, family-friendly towns, "concrete heat effect," deadly critters, crime rates, etc.

My family and I have boiled the collective responses down to renting in Anthem, AZ for 6 months to 1 year before buying. We based our decision on: 1) it's the "thermostat-cooler" alternative to Gilbert and NE Mesa; 2) it's (ahem) "more affordable" than Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley, etc.; 3) Anthem has many comparable family-friendly amenities to Fort Collins, CO (e.g., kiddie railroad, water park slides, hiking/biking in the foothills, dog parks, open space, etc.); 4) lower crime rates; 5) our existing home in CO will likely sell in 6-9 months; 6) rental prices are reasonable in Anthem; 7) a 45-minute commute may not be so bad after all; 8) Phoenix will likely grow north into Anthem one day; and 9) if the job doesn't work out, we can return to Colorado before the 2 babies are in school (approx. 4 years from now).

Background: My family and I are relocating from Fort Collins, CO to "Somewhere Greater Phoenix." My new job is in downtown Phoenix starting 01/01/08. Although Fort Collins was ranked the #1 place to live in Money Magazine 2006, I can't find a high-end white collar management job within 50 miles (1 hour)! We hate to leave this wonderful town, but the Phoenix job is presently our best alternative.... (If you are a Greater Denver employer with immediate availability for a management guru, let's talk!)

[sassieb75]

Most of what I have heard about "anthem" is rather negative. Yes, it seems like a nice family orientend community. The homes are nice, and there are plenty of amenities for folks living there. However, my girlfriend moved there a year or so ago with her husband and two children here is what she had to say......people are very cliquey(sp)if you don't drive the best cars, dress your children from the best stores, and aren't interested in a "swinging" lifestyle, you may not be the norm. Now, I know this sounds quite extreme, but her kids felt like they were from the other side of the tracks. I have no idea why either....she dresses her kids well, they make over $100K a year. She said the school was terrible, the teachers didn't seem to care(which to me was strange since we are in the same district)but, that was her experience. She felt like people were fake and didn't watch their children very well. Living in that community she felt parent's had this false sense of safety that didn't really exist so their kids ran the neighborhood with no supervision. Then there was the story of the young girl that put of flyers for babysitting. Got a call from a guy pretending to be a Dad needing care. The girl went inside his home for an interview while mom waited in the car. Needless to say the man did some inappropriate things to this girl, right there while her mom waited outside.....Ok, so this kind of thing happens everywhere, but my point being, Anthem is no better a place than most other areas in and around Phoenix. Have you looked in the Arrowhead area, or near there? Peoria? I just think the trade-off for communting...isn't a trade-off! There are plenty of nice neighborhoods here that won't constitute the horrible,dreadful commute to anthem. Good luck, sorry I didn't have much good to say. If you want more info on other areas that I mentioned....PM me

[vegaspilgrim]

I can understand why you need to move out of Fort Collins-- not enough jobs there-- but why not move an hour south to Denver? There are just as many upper level management positions in Denver as there are in Phoenix-- if not even more. Even though Denver is a smaller city, it actually has more Fortune 1000 companies, and a more diversified economy-- in addition to real estate/construction, they have a lot of energy companies, banking/securities, and high tech. What you're saying doesn't make sense... driving from Fort Collins to Denver, 50 miles/ 1 hour drive is too much, as you're saying, but Anthem to Downtown Phoenix, slightly less miles and probably the same commute time, isn't? That's a big mistake, IMO. The only "lifestyle" you'll be living will be in your car. If you're serious about moving to Phoenix, I would move closer in where your job is. If your job requires you to commute to downtown Phoenix 5 days a week, I'd forget it.

In my opinion, if you LOVE Fort Collins and living in Colorado, you will probably be disappointed with Anthem/Phoenix. The only thing Arizona has over Colorado, IMHO, is warmer weather in the winter months-- which is only an advantage if you hate cold-- some people actually like CO's dry cold and powdery snow. I also disagree that Anthem is the equivalent of Fort Collins. Anthem is more like Loveland or Castle Rock. I don't think there's any true equivalent to the fort in AZ-- the closest thing would probably be a mix of Tempe's college atmosphere, Gilbert's family friendliness, and Flagstaff's climate and recreation. Not trying to be the party pooper here, just telling you what's up from someone who's also from Colorado (and will be going back in 7 months). Go Rockies btw!

[sablebaby]

Who said it would be a 45 min commute to downtown phx? It's much more than that. If I took the freeway to work in Central PHX (several miles north of Downtown PHX) it would take me about that much or more and I'm 12 miles south of Anthem right off the freeway. I take surface streets and it takes me 35 to 40 mins!

Have you visited Anthem yet and traveled around the area and to downtown phx? I do like Anthem and it would be on my list of places to live IF and only if I worked from home. I have a coworker who commutes from there and he has to come in at 10:30am to survive the commute.

I think somewhere in the Arrowhead Ranch or North Peoria would be a better idea if you have to commute so far. The traffic is insane on the only road going in and out of Anthem. Save yourself the headache! Rent somewhere else and see what it's like and if it's as bad as I'm saying it is then you will be happy you're not renting there!

If you try jumping on the 17 from the 101 on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon some days it is BACKED UP! I have to go another way to get to my house.

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by sassieb75

...people are very cliquey(sp)if you don't drive the best cars, dress your children from the best stores, and aren't interested in a "swinging" lifestyle, you may not be the norm...

sassie, it's interesting you wrote this because last week I found out from one of my neighbors that Anthem was on Dateline (or one of those investigative shows) for being one of the top locations in the US for "swinging". I didn't even know what that term was until she told me. We looked at Anthem when we house hunted. Even though we thought it was beautiful and loved the amenities, we decided against it due to the awful one-way-in/one-way-out I-17 traffic and long commute. Finding out now about the "swinging" that goes on there (although I'm sure all---and hopefully most---Anthem residents don't do it), I'm really glad we didn't buy a home there.

[sassieb75]

Originally Posted by Great Joy

sassie, it's interesting you wrote this because last week I found out from one of my neighbors that Anthem was on Dateline (or one of those investigative shows) for being one of the top locations in the US for "swinging". I didn't even know what that term was until she told me. We looked at Anthem when we house hunted. Even though we thought it was beautiful and loved the amenities, we decided against it due to the awful one-way-in/one-way-out I-17 traffic and long commute. Finding out now about the "swinging" that goes on there (although I'm sure all---and hopefully most---Anthem residents don't do it), I'm really glad we didn't buy a home there.

Well, now I know my friend wasn't making it up....LOL

[30apples]

Wow, a pretty big change for you and the family. There were no opportunities in coloado springs, or any other city up your way? What about at least Flagstaff? I hope you've been to Phx in the summer, the very long summer. It can be brutal, esp so for little ones. I agree w/ the other poster, the commute would be very long. Have you considered Arcadia or the (expanded) Biltmore area? Good luck.

[StillLookingToo]

I've lived in Anthem 4 years and moved from Colorado and know several others from Colo here. Personally we just got tired of the cold and snow. Many here work out of the house, open a local business or take some other job here in the Anthem community like teaching, realtors, banks or retail, travel for their jobs, or work in N Phoenix or Scottsdale (you will get much more for your dollar in Anthem). People live here for the self contained resort like lifestyle, drive around in their golf carts, enjoy the pools, 2 golf courses, water parks, trails & parks, great community center with all sorts of sports and activities for the kids. If you have seen the community it is beautiful right up against Daisy Mountain. Plenty of shopping for all the basics with lots more coming 1 exit down in Tramonto. Definitely cools off more at night then PHX. There have been some challenges in the schools but I would point the finger at the district for underfunding, lack of electives for middle schoolers, low teacher pay and lack of more forceful discipline. We have had great appreciation of the teachers and never felt the teachers didn't care. The actual school facillities are beautiful. You don't want to drive down 17 Sunday afternoons as previously mentioned. 17 can be terrible and the expansion while coming is a ways off. Downtown is a drive no doubt. I have made it in 35 minutes off hours can't tell what it would be in rush hour. You might want to stay a few nights at the Hampton Inn and try for yourself during your commute times. Certainly Anthem has issues like every place else does, but as far as Sassieb75's comments, with all due respect to her friends point of view, I would say they are inaccurate. Personally have no swinging experience, school kids seem normally dressed in T-shirts and shorts or jeans and have never heard my kids or their friends feel any need to compete with others' clothes styles, and the cliques may just be groups of friends that have known each other for years and like to hang out. With homes going between $300 to over a million, different people are going to drive different kinds of cars, and have not seen anyone ostricized for driving their 5 or 10 year old car. As far as the employment goes, you know what best for yourself. I would also think you would have at least as much opportunity in Denver as PHX, but I'm sure you have already weighed that before taking your new position in PHX. Bottom line there are much more convenient places to commute to downtown from, but Anthem is fairly unique in what it offers too.

[Roger & Tracey]

I've been on all freeways at rush hour and non of them are great but i have to say I do not have that much problem with I-17,and they are adding more lanes now and there is alternatives when highway is backed up,plus there are more and more conveniences being built in Anthem every day,so you would only have to leave if you were working downtown,My experience with the schools here are much better than alot of places in the valley,with a ton of parent involvement.It is like living at a resort with all the ammenities,sports programs etc.As far as crime we are just like other areas in the world,and it is a few degrees cooler in Anthem also.

[HX_Guy]

As others have said, the commute from Anthem to downtown Phoenix is much longer if you are driving to and from work during the rush hour. Without rush hour traffic, it's about 45 minutes...with rush hours, probably 1:15+.