Moving to Mesa/Phoenix area, need a safe area to live (Chandler: 2013, apartments)

[JordanCarlson13]

In about 9 months ill be moving to the Mesa area, I'm 24 and I will be in college. I will be moving by myself (so a studio apartment would be good), I want to live in a safe area with little to no crime, i have read that Mesa has some bad areas, but Chandler is pretty safe and crime free? (For the most part).

I have been looking for a FURNISHED apartment, preferably a studio, as my rent budget is around $600. I have found Fiesta Village Furnished Apartments for decent priced, just wondering if its a good area or not. Please if anybody knows the good areas in Mesa/Chandler area that'd be great! Really trying to find a good area with affordable furnished housing for a single college student, like I said, $600-ish budget.

Any information is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by JordanCarlson13

In about 9 months ill be moving to the Mesa area, I'm 24 and I will be in college. I will be moving by myself (so a studio apartment would be good), I want to live in a safe area with little to no crime, i have read that Mesa has some bad areas, but Chandler is pretty safe and crime free? (For the most part).

I have been looking for a FURNISHED apartment, preferably a studio, as my rent budget is around $600. I have found Fiesta Village Furnished Apartments for decent priced, just wondering if its a good area or not. Please if anybody knows the good areas in Mesa/Chandler area that'd be great! Really trying to find a good area with affordable furnished housing for a single college student, like I said, $600-ish budget.

Any information is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Typically, the eastern part of Mesa is nicer and safer than the western part. Also, in addition to Chandler, consider Gilbert as well.

[Jkgourmet]

Ah, no, I wouldn't want to live in the Fiesta part of Mesa. But yes, Chandler, Mesa and Gilbert are all safe areas, but like any city, each have their pockets of not-so-safe areas (less in Gilbert).

Furnished apartments are not very common here, I'm afraid. Studio's are not very common, either. And your budget is small for a one bedroom. I'd consider looking for an unfurnished place (you'll have a MUCH wider choice) and get some stuff off of CraigsList.

Or consider a roommate situation, or possibly just renting a room in someone's house?

[JordanCarlson13]

After some more searching, I have decided to probably just get an unfirnished place, and purchase furniture off of Craigslist. I could up my budget to around $650-700, for studio or 1 bedroom.
Do people sometimes rent out a bedroom in their house?

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by JordanCarlson13

After some more searching, I have decided to probably just get an unfirnished place, and purchase furniture off of Craigslist. I could up my budget to around $650-700, for studio or 1 bedroom.
Do people sometimes rent out a bedroom in their house?

Good - that will widen up your choices enormously!

Yes, people do rent bedrooms in their homes. Sometimes they are very nice deals to be had. But be careful, okay? Craigslist and the local paper are advertisers for that kind of thing. But be aware that there are many scammers. Whatever you do, don't do this over the internet or without personally inspecting the place. Get the owners name (ask to see their driver's license) and look it up on the Maricopa County Assessors site to make sure they own the home. Look up their name on google, including looking for any criminal activity. I don't mean to scare you or be a negative person, but you do need to be careful.

But I've known people (women) who have rented rooms in Phoenix for work (they lived in CA and commuted every week). It worked very well for them, and was cost effective.

[JordanCarlson13]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Good - that will widen up your choices enormously!

Yes, people do rent bedrooms in their homes. Sometimes they are very nice deals to be had. But be careful, okay? Craigslist and the local paper are advertisers for that kind of thing. But be aware that there are many scammers. Whatever you do, don't do this over the internet or without personally inspecting the place. Get the owners name (ask to see their driver's license) and look it up on the Maricopa County Assessors site to make sure they own the home. Look up their name on google, including looking for any criminal activity. I don't mean to scare you or be a negative person, but you do need to be careful.

But I've known people (women) who have rented rooms in Phoenix for work (they lived in CA and commuted every week). It worked very well for them, and was cost effective.

Thanks a lot! Definitely something to look out for.
I will be going to school at Pima Medical Institute in Mesa, is it a long drive from Chandler?
Also, how is the work there? I have experience in restaurants, hotels, etc (basic jobs) and am very strong in those fields. Will it be hard to find an $8-$9/hour job while I'm in school?
-I'll be moving dell Minnesota, and I am already aware of the strong heat I've read about haha.

[Jennybean75]

You're going to the Pima on Dobson right? I've lived in the neighborhood for about 4 years and I went through the MA program there a few years ago. What everyone is saying is pretty accurate, I wouldn't recommend this neighborhood. I think Chandler will be more of a drive than you want, but look at Tempe. PMI is actually really close to the border of Tempe. Plus Tempe has lots of students (Arizona State University) so it might be easier to find a suitable roommate. Good Luck!

[Jkgourmet]

JennyBean gave you some excellent advice. You'll also find a lot of other students and people your own age in Tempe. enjoy!

[JordanCarlson13]

Does anybody know of any 1 bedroom apts or Studio apts in Chandler/Gilbert/South scottsdale that have garages available and is within the $650 range?? I've searched and can't seem to find a whole lot. Maybe people that live in AZ know more than me though!

[dura]

Hmm, why are you going to drive from Chandler if you are going to the Institute on Dobson??

You will hear how bad West Mesa is as most people here lump it all together and (for some reason?) forget about the West Mesa part that is south of Hwy 60. Even those that know will say oh it's old yada yada but "old" is relative to Phoenix, not the country in general. What are people going to say in 10 years when their neighborhood is "old" like areas now?!

Anyway, check into Dobson Woods and Dobson Glen on the SE corner of Dobson and Baseline next to Dobson Ranch. There's a grocer, several restaurants, banks and golf course right around here, and the bike lane through the community is nice and wide. We have a great community here and it is often lumped into the "bad" part of town for no good reason.

If you lived at Dobson Woods or Dobson Glen, you could walk to the grocery store and hop on a bus that brings you right to school and back. Dobson around Broadway starts looking somewhat gritty until you get to about Rio Salado, but the Me Kong Market is in there too. There are a ton of stores around, and it's a convenient location to snag a hwy if you have a vehicle.

IMO you need to increase the amount you want to pay for a place though. If you could get to $725 you could get this place with in-apt laundry that is right near this. Nice huh?

One great thing about it here is that you will find people initiating "hellos" that you might read doesn't happen elsewhere. Of all the places I have lived, I have never found a more friendly neighborhood. You will see walkers and bicycles and people talking to other people. If interested, read some of my other posts about Dobson Ranch.

You hear how nice Tempe and Chandler are, right? Well if you were in Dobson Ranch in West Mesa, and then I blind-folded you, drove you to some places in Tempe or Chandler, and dropped you off to look around, you wouldn't know the difference. Heck, IMO NE Tempe along Apache near Hwy 101 looks worse than anywhere on Dobson.

Of course YMMV but if you are going to the school on Dobson, don't drive from Chandler when south of Hwy 60 is where it's at.