Moving to the Glendale Area.. some quick questions!

[Finger Laker]

Yeah - definitely wouldn't put Litchfield Park and Maryvale in the same breath ..... not even close

LP can be confusing as there is "Litchfield Park" which is a small city, most of which is contained "within the walls" near the Wigwam Resort ...... however, there is a lot of unincorporated county land in the west valley - this land needs to have an address and is frequently assigned a LP mailing address .... this land is still county land though and not part of the city, you have no city services, etc ...... even that land though is vastly different than maryvale which is an older (by phoenix standards) neighborhood in west phoenix built to be a clean, working class neighborhood .... time hasn't treated it so well

Back to your specific question - that area is fine ... you are right near the 101 tucked back by the Cabelas and some newer housing stock .... you have westgate at your doorstep, plus the development at northern/101 right across the freeway and a short jaunt up to the arrowhead area (10-15 minutes) for more options ..... looking back to when my wife & I were a young couple moving out here (she also moved for a job in the Glendale ESD) and all we needed was an apartment, that complex didn't exist but if it did I would have jumped at it ..... we ended up at arrowhead and liked it a lot though

You will have a consistent 20-30 minute commute though (probably a true half hour most days) .... her commute will be easy to pretty much anywhere in the GESD

Are you teaching as well in Verrado? .... if so keep in mind that those schools are western outliers in their respective districts with the bulk of the schools being in Goodyear/Avondale

Speaking of which, Goodyear, Avondale & LP all have some really nice options .... if you go that route, I would look north of I-10 .... it's a little nicer with the broad brush, but more importantly it can give more commute options as both verrado and the GESD schools are a fair amount north ..... for example, if you ended up in an apartment complex (or even a home rental) near Indian School around Litchfield or Dysart you would have a 15-20 minute straight shot down Indian School Rd into Verrado and your wife would then have a 15-30 minute commute depending on which school she was going to, but would most likely run Indian School over to the 101 as an access point

The one caveat for that area would be the Rio Paseo/Estrella Falls complexes around Bullard/Thomas ..... this seems to be a less desirable pocket

[JOOOE]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I love this forum...

I don't know where I got it in my head that LP had a bad reputation. Trying to figure all this stuff out from online reviews and testimonies can get a little messy sometimes and it's not always reliable. So I feel comfortable looking at places around LP now.

As for specific questions, my girlfriend will be teaching in GESD, and I'll be teaching in Verrado, all the way out west. I'm sure in this case Goodyear, Avondale, and LP would make more sense. I'm assuming that Estrella puts me in the same position commute-wise as Glendale, although I have heard that it's nicer.

I guess now that I have some areas in my mind I can be a bit more specific. We're looking for an area where it may be possible to walk down to local bars and restaurants, or a local park. The complex where we live now in VA is nice and all, but there's just parking lots and fast food chains around it. It's depressing to go on walks. Is there any specific area that may fit into this description?

Again, thanks for the help. I can only hope in a couple of years that I love Phoenix as much as I hope to and can give back some advice of my own!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by JOOOE

Thanks for all the help everyone! I love this forum...

I don't know where I got it in my head that LP had a bad reputation. Trying to figure all this stuff out from online reviews and testimonies can get a little messy sometimes and it's not always reliable. So I feel comfortable looking at places around LP now.

As for specific questions, my girlfriend will be teaching in GESD, and I'll be teaching in Verrado, all the way out west. I'm sure in this case Goodyear, Avondale, and LP would make more sense. I'm assuming that Estrella puts me in the same position commute-wise as Glendale, although I have heard that it's nicer.

I guess now that I have some areas in my mind I can be a bit more specific. We're looking for an area where it may be possible to walk down to local bars and restaurants, or a local park. The complex where we live now in VA is nice and all, but there's just parking lots and fast food chains around it. It's depressing to go on walks. Is there any specific area that may fit into this description?

Again, thanks for the help. I can only hope in a couple of years that I love Phoenix as much as I hope to and can give back some advice of my own!

Estella adds ten minutes to just about everything. Estrella has two roughly 40 acre lakes with paths around them, free paddle and sail boat use, and miles of hiking and biking trails in it and nearby. There is a bar (well you can get a drink and sit on the patio) at the Taste of Italy restaurant in the development. People who live there do for the community and "country" feel and have the attitude that there is more to enjoying life than a short commute. But, there are no apartments there, so if that is what you are looking for it is off the radar.

[CodyW]

Phoenix is not walkable in the slightest. To walk to any kind of 'real' nightlife you need to be downtown or in Scottsdale/Tempe. Zanjero near Westgate would be the closest you can get to this on the west side, or if you're around certain parts of the Arrowhead area.. You'd need to be close to 83rd Avenue & Bell specifically, as that's where most of the nightlife is up that way. Westgate is limited, there are only a handful of bars - not very exciting. But you're heading in the right direction if that's what you want.

A couple of specific recommendations. There are two apartment complexes right at Thunderbird and the 101. Visions Energy and Visions Serenity. These complexes are RIGHT across the street from Rio Vista Park, which is probably one of the best community parks on the west side. It's also right at the New River trailhead, which is a pretty extensive walking/running/biking trail. You're also very close to the nightlife on 83rd, though not necessarily within walking distance. It's about a mile and a half away from everything up there. Westgate is about a 10 minute drive heading south on the 101 from there.

[Finger Laker]

Estrella is very nice and would dominate half of what you are looking for - plenty of nice walking area, etc .... it is a bit isolated though and you aren't going to be close to local bars, restaurants, etc

The area around westgate will provide walking to bars, restaurants, movies, etc and put you within short drives (10-15) of many more and there is a massive park up the 101 (Thunderbird Paseo) as well as some smaller parks you can drive to .... but walking out your door you'll have parking lots and streets ... which isn't great and who really wants to drive to go for a walk?! ......... you could walk to Kellis HS, but not sure what options would be there

LP would work if you can find a rental within walking distance - not sure if the Renaissance Condos rent out, if they do that would be a good location - access to parks and nice walking area around the Condos, in "The Village" and over in LP within the walls - also some bars, restaurants, etc there

Unfortunately, with the way our metro is there is typically some type of give/take on those two goals .... Verrado would also work out nice, but your wifes commute would be bad and if you move schools within your district (either Aqua Fria Union or Litchfield ESD) you'll be heading east yourself ... it's also a bit more isolated to the rest of the metro (this isolation decreases as you move east)

One thing to mention, there are a ton of fast food chains here, ton of typical big box stores, etc ...... there are also hordes of hidden quality places right behind them ..... they can be hard to spot, may not be obvious or sparkly, but they are there and they are good .... many people move to the area and don't make it beyond the local Applebees and complain that is all there is while never going to the place right behind it .... Yelp can be your friend as well .... it's a giant metro, nothing is concentrated and nothing just stands out

If you stretch your commute to 30-40 minutes (your wifes would still be short) you could look along the central corridor and have access to light rail and a lot of good options for bars & restaurants .... very walkable, but still not really a park type environment although there is a park near indian school & central

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by CodyW

A couple of specific recommendations. There are two apartment complexes right at Thunderbird and the 101. Visions Energy and Visions Serenity. These complexes are RIGHT across the street from Rio Vista Park, which is probably one of the best community parks on the west side. It's also right at the New River trailhead, which is a pretty extensive walking/running/biking trail. You're also very close to the nightlife on 83rd, though not necessarily within walking distance. It's about a mile and a half away from everything up there. Westgate is about a 10 minute drive heading south on the 101 from there.

Yeah, this is an area I was thinking about as well as that park is large and nice, plus you'd be a Peoria "resident" and have access to a lot of things at their clubhouse area at the park .... short drive to arrowhead/westgate/park west .... definitely a good suggestion ... again your wifes commute would be fine and you'd probably fall in the 30-45 minutes range