Moving from Minnesota to Phoenix area! (Tempe/Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa?) (Scottsdale: 2014, apartment complexes)

[hannahchristine]

Hello everyone!

My boyfriend and I are planning on moving out of the frozen tundra that is Minnesota! We are hoping to move this August/September 2014. I'd love to get some detailed information about the areas in and around Phoenix to help us figure out the best place to live! We'd like to be no further than 20-30 minutes of downtown Phoenix. Ideally we'd like a 2 bedroom apartment, but with our price range of $500-$800 a month, we'd be fine with a roomy one bedroom. People are usually so vague in their posts that they don't get the feedback they're probably looking for, so I'm just gonna put everything I'm thinking and hope you guys can help me out!

A little bit about us to help narrow the options:
-Both 23 years old and just finished college (no jobs lined up yet- want to get settled first!)
-Love to have fun; very spontaneous (love nightlife, music, sports, dining, hiking)
-We have a cat
-We have 2 cars
-Not planning on having kids anytime soon
-Want to be in a SAFE area/neighborhood
-Looking to spend between $500-$800 on a one or two bedroom
-Want to be somewhat near others our age (don't want to end up in an old folks community) but we don't mind the suburb areas either
-Don't want to be right on campus, also don't want to live somewhere with too many college students

I've searched hundreds of apartments around the area, but hearing reviews and firsthand experience would be much better and more reliable (I can tell a lot of the websites are biased and don't tell you everything you SHOULD know). I'd like to know names of apartment buildings that fit our criteria.
Here's what we're hoping to find in our new home:
-1 or 2 bedrooms
-Washer/Dryer IN UNIT (no community laundry facilities)
-Air Conditioning
-Wireless Internet
-Walk-in Closet
-Pool/Hot Tub
-Fitness Room
-Patio/Balcony
-Dishwasher
-Cats allowed
-Parking/Garage available
-Alarm system/security
-Newer place/Renovated (not the out-dated looking units)
-SAFE AREA (I don't think I can stress that enough ha)

I know I might sound picky, but I'm just trying to get as specific as possible so we can narrow our search as much as possible!! And, I've found that these are pretty standard criteria in many of the places we've looked into, so I don't think it's too much to ask! We're going to be spending a week down there in May and I'd like to have places lined up beforehand to visit.

Your feedback is much appreciated!! Thank you!!

[phx1205]

If I were you, I would want to be living near Downtown Scottsdale, but you will be lucky to find a decent 1 bedroom for $800 in a good area that meets most of your criteria. You will probably have to up your budget to $1,000 to get all of your requirements in a good place.

[hannahchristine]

We would definitely consider upping our budget to $1000 if the place is nice and safe enough! I've heard great things about Scottsdale and that would probably be our first choice, if we are able to afford it of course! Thank you for your input, we will definitely be looking into Downtown Scottsdale a little more

[observer53]

I think you might have to raise it for Tempe south of Broadway (which gets you away from the campus) or for Chandler, both of which would be good choices for what you are looking for. I'm not sure, as I'm no expert on rental figures. If you do a search here, there have been some discussions of some south Tempe apartment complexes, particuarly those off Grove Parkway west of the Kyrene Rd./Hardy Drive area. I don't remember the names, but there's more than one thread where those are discussed. I don't recall what the rent figures were, or their exact amenities, but you may find that info in those threads.

[Finger Laker]

Two really good suggestions out there

I would also consider a couple other places - Arrowhead area tucked in around 83rd and Bell, a lot of apartments there and pretty convenient

Also the Tatum/101 area - a lot of options in that area as well

[gearedtowardssalad]

I'm 24 and live in Tempe and was raised in northern Minnesota. I have to agree with observer53. The northern part of Tempe is the most dense area of the entire valley (maybe the entire state of AZ?) and of course it's very noisy - there's almost always some sort of event going on. The farther south you go, however, it gets more suburban and quiet. I would have to agree and say anything south of Broadway is a great option. I'm not familiar with much down that way - I live near ASU/downtown.

Tempe is really easy to get around. I've successfully centered myself in Tempe and got a job just a couple miles from my apartment so I won't have to leave here for anything. If you don't have a car or are looking to not use it as much for whatever reason, Tempe has excellent transit options. Tempe has a free neighborhood bus system that operates from 7:00AM-10:30PM every 15-30 minutes called Orbit consisting of 5 lines: Mars, Venus, Earth, Mercury, Jupiter. Metro bus is also quite good in Tempe - however traveling outside of here can occasionally be tricky and sometimes make you go crazy, Metro light rail has 6 stops in Tempe and is a pretty extensive line at a length of 20 miles traveling from Mesa to 19th & Montebello in Phoenix.

There's quite a bit of development going on in Tempe. It's growing quite fast, so it's an exciting place to be and watch all of these things take shape. You may want to look into jobs at State Farm - they're in the process of creating a regional HQ in Tempe and have a lot of jobs open.