Tempe v. Mesa ... What's the difference?!? (Scottsdale, Chandler: rent, mortgage, home)

[newkarma209]

Ok so for the locals, this may seem like a dumb question. BUT ...

What's the real difference between living in Tempe and living in Mesa?

Is one safer than the other?
Is one more family friendly?
Is one more racially diverse?
Does one have better schools?


Some background:

I am moving to the area from PA and will be commuting to Scottsdale for work (101 & Northsight Blvd). I think Tempe is an easier commute, I can hop right on the 101, but some parts of Mesa are pretty close also. I have 2 young children so schools are important, and I am single so safety is also important. As far as I can tell, Tempe and Mesa seem to be pretty similar, but am I missing something? Locals help please!

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by newkarma209

Ok so for the locals, this may seem like a dumb question. BUT ...

What's the real difference between living in Tempe and living in Mesa?

Is one safer than the other?
Is one more family friendly?
Is one more racially diverse?
Does one have better schools?


Some background:

I am moving to the area from PA and will be commuting to Scottsdale for work (101 & Northsight Blvd). I think Tempe is an easier commute, I can hop right on the 101, but some parts of Mesa are pretty close also. I have 2 young children so schools are important, and I am single so safety is also important. As far as I can tell, Tempe and Mesa seem to be pretty similar, but am I missing something? Locals help please!

Really, the most family-friendly areas are Gilbert and Chandler. As for a comparison between Tempe and Mesa, the safer areas within the two are East Mesa and South Tempe. As for schools, the Kyrene Elementary School District in South Tempe/West Chandler is a very good district. Also, parts of East Mesa are in the Gilbert and Queen Creek districts, which are also very good.

[DetroitN8V]

What's your budget? The 101 near Northsight is a great area. There's no need to work there and drive to Mesa everyday if you can afford a decent place near your job.

[Goober13]

Originally Posted by newkarma209

Ok so for the locals, this may seem like a dumb question. BUT ...

What's the real difference between living in Tempe and living in Mesa?

Is one safer than the other?
Is one more family friendly?
Is one more racially diverse?
Does one have better schools?

Safety is a non issue. Neither has any hard core hoods. Even though we are a metro of 4.5 million people, we don't have the hard core areas like Philly has. As one poster so eloquently stated yesterday on a thread, "don't be afraid, be aware."

Tempe is a college town with about 180,000 people, is more politically liberal and many of it's residents are more intellectual, health conscious, and progressive. It's more diverse, and once you get out of the university area is suburban.

Mesa has about 465,000 people, is quite spread out, is the home of the Mormon Temple, and it has MANY retirees, particularly on the east side. Between Mid-October and Mid April, they can be very overwhelming, and Mesa is quite conservative politically. It has a growing Latino population in some of the older areas, and there are some blacks. Not a particularly intellectual city. You may encounter some Tea Party types there. None of the areas are threatening. Not much if any night life. Not as intellectual a city as Tempe. Tempe housing stock is a little older (mostly meaning 60's to 80's) but most of it's neighborhoods are amazingly clean.

Once you go east of Tempe and West Chandler, you will find it very conservative, full of white parents trying to juggle raising kids and making the mortgage payment, along with the huge retirement population, with some downscale areas which are a little older, in the mix.

Schools require some inspection as to what you are looking for. Personally I would say the learning experience would be better in Tempe due to it's demographics.

[chaparrito]

Tempe schools get teachers and student teachers straight out of the university. More cutting edge attitudes and educators who are up on the latest research.
Tempe is more diverse. Has more to offer culturally. It's closer to Snotsdale. The beer is better. The women are much more fun to look at.

[newkarma209]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Really, the most family-friendly areas are Gilbert and Chandler. As for a comparison between Tempe and Mesa, the safer areas within the two are East Mesa and South Tempe. As for schools, the Kyrene Elementary School District in South Tempe/West Chandler is a very good district. Also, parts of East Mesa are in the Gilbert and Queen Creek districts, which are also very good.

Thanks for your reply! I also looked in Gilbert and Chandler, but from there my commute is at least 35 minutes. As a single mom, to have my kids in school near home and then have to hightail it down the 101 after work just to pick them up on time from the after school program is a worry of mine. It's actually what I'm experiencing right now in PA, so I want to make certain my commute is 30 minutes MAX. I have found that some of the neighborhoods in North Chandler are about 25 minutes, but isn't that basically Tempe anyway? And with East Mesa, the same applies. Just a little too far out. Maybe I will look more around that Chandler/Tempe border to get more of the family friendly vibe. Thanks!

[newkarma209]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

What's your budget? The 101 near Northsight is a great area. There's no need to work there and drive to Mesa everyday if you can afford a decent place near your job.

If I could afford a decent 3 bedroom home in the area, I certainly would! Unfortunately I'm working with one income, and I'm only looking to spend between 1200-1300 on rent for a 3 bedroom home. Do you think I could find anything in South Scottsdale in that range? Is it worth looking there versus Tempe/Mesa/Chandler?

[newkarma209]

Originally Posted by Goober13

Safety is a non issue. Neither has any hard core hoods. Even though we are a metro of 4.5 million people, we don't have the hard core areas like Philly has. As one poster so eloquently stated yesterday on a thread, "don't be afraid, be aware."

Tempe is a college town with about 180,000 people, is more politically liberal and many of it's residents are more intellectual, health conscious, and progressive. It's more diverse, and once you get out of the university area is suburban.

Mesa has about 465,000 people, is quite spread out, is the home of the Mormon Temple, and it has MANY retirees, particularly on the east side. Between Mid-October and Mid April, they can be very overwhelming, and Mesa is quite conservative politically. It has a growing Latino population in some of the older areas, and there are some blacks. Not a particularly intellectual city. You may encounter some Tea Party types there. None of the areas are threatening. Not much if any night life. Not as intellectual a city as Tempe. Tempe housing stock is a little older (mostly meaning 60's to 80's) but most of it's neighborhoods are amazingly clean.

Once you go east of Tempe and West Chandler, you will find it very conservative, full of white parents trying to juggle raising kids and making the mortgage payment, along with the huge retirement population, with some downscale areas which are a little older, in the mix.

Schools require some inspection as to what you are looking for. Personally I would say the learning experience would be better in Tempe due to it's demographics.

Thanks so much for your reply! This was very informative. It sounds like Tempe is a little more upbeat & hip than Mesa. Right now I live in the Philly suburbs, which are still quite liberal and diverse (and unsafe!) even though we're not in the city. It seems like Tempe may be a little more my speed. I'm glad that I will be renting at first, so I can have some time to feel out the area for myself. Thanks a lot for your input!

[newkarma209]

Originally Posted by chaparrito

Tempe schools get teachers and student teachers straight out of the university. More cutting edge attitudes and educators who are up on the latest research.
Tempe is more diverse. Has more to offer culturally. It's closer to Snotsdale. The beer is better. The women are much more fun to look at.

It seems to be the overall theme that Tempe feels more diverse, even if the numbers don't suggest too much of a difference at all between the two. & hotter women and better beer are both pluses in my book
Thanks!

[WSPHXPELON]

All the previous posters summed everything up pretty nicely. The only thing I would add is that you should note that:

Tempe is much geographically much smaller and fairly "Centrally Located".

Where as Mesa is a huge city (geographically speaking), which means that different parts of it vary immensely, both in terms of atmosphere and commuting convenience.

I would reccommend playing around a little with Google Maps so you can see what I mean.

For the record: Tempe is my favorite city in the valley for a variety of reasons. To give a few: Liberal local Government, Pro-Expanding Public Transit, more diverse, etc...

I really have nothing bad to say about Mesa, but I am not familiar enough with it to say anything good about it either.