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As a precursor to what I know will be coming my way, I want to announce that I have read nearly every thread on C-D relating to Arcadia numerous times and the questions that I am asking either weren't answered in the thread or enough time has elapsed since the previous discussion that I am looking for any new information
We are slowly honing in on a home in the area and I have to say that no matter where I look, I keep coming back to Arcadia as my favorite area/neighborhood. I will define Arcadia as the area between the canal and Camelback road, 44th and 68th streets. I know there are those who disagree with this definition but I don't want this thread to devolve into that debate.
With that being said, a few questions....
1. Being that it is relatively close to some higher-crime areas, are there many instances of crime in Arcadia? How would it compare to, say, McCormick Ranch area? I know it's not a high-crime area (I'm not an idiot so don't flame me) but I would like to know where it stands in this respect relative to other desirable neighborhoods in Scottsdale,Phoenix,PV. I will be traveling extensively and don't want my wife and 2 little kids to have to worry about crime, or at least and more so than they would have to worry about anywhere else in the valley. Any residents of Arcadia who could comment would be especially appreciated.
2. What is the latest with the roof rat infestation? I can read all sorts of posts on here from 3+ years ago where this was a big issue, is it still? Has the problem been reduced or has it simply become a fact of life for Arcadians? Once again, any comments from residents would be fantastic-
3. I am interested in people's comments on the differences between McCormick Ranch and Arcadia. McCormick Ranch is our 2nd favorite area as it has kind of the old-school, green, well-manicured, close to old town kind of thing going on. Does one area have more families vs. retirees? Is one neighborhood more/less pretentious? (we loathe pretentious new money/30k millionaire types) What about neighborhood spirit? liberal/conservative inclinations? religious? intellectual? Any kind of contrast would be helpful and also probably spark some interesting discussion on the thread.
I can only help you with #3, though I've been here for 39 years....
Arcadia vs. McCormick Ranch....a little bit like comparing apples and oranges, sort of....Arcadia's rep with old-time Phx residents is one of citrus trees, green irrigated lawns, conservative old-money to some extent, non-flashy, very very convenient location, established, great area...Arcadia is older and will have some smaller ranch-style places from the 50s.....McCormick Ranch, to most who've been here more than 20 or 30 years, still has a feel of just being a large planned development started in the 1970s with many little housing areas within - condos, townhouses, SFRs, apartments...also very green, very good and convenient location (for Scottsdale), well-managed (small annual fee to McCormick Ranch and another fee, probably, to your individual area), some dated-feeling housing in the older part of "The Ranch"......
families and retirees in both and neither has a rep for being one or the other....I'd say Arcadia has a more prestigious rep, but definitely not a snobby/flashy one - just a low-key "nice" place to live.....frankly, McCormick Ranch, to me, does not have an incredible rep as "the" place to live, but, rather, is a very nice middle-of-the-road (for Scotts) neighborhood of families, snowbirds, and retirees....both probably lean conservative in politics.....and both have strong spirit from those who are into neighborhood activism....
one is Phx and one is Scottsdale, of course.....low religious influence in both....
I can only help you with #3, though I've been here for 39 years....
Arcadia vs. McCormick Ranch....a little bit like comparing apples and oranges, sort of....Arcadia's rep with old-time Phx residents is one of citrus trees, green irrigated lawns, conservative old-money to some extent, non-flashy, very very convenient location, established, great area...Arcadia is older and will have some smaller ranch-style places from the 50s.....McCormick Ranch, to most who've been here more than 20 or 30 years, still has a feel of just being a large planned development started in the 1970s with many little housing areas within - condos, townhouses, SFRs, apartments...also very green, very good and convenient location (for Scottsdale), well-managed (small annual fee to McCormick Ranch and another fee, probably, to your individual area), some dated-feeling housing in the older part of "The Ranch"......
families and retirees in both and neither has a rep for being one or the other....I'd say Arcadia has a more prestigious rep, but definitely not a snobby/flashy one - just a low-key "nice" place to live.....frankly, McCormick Ranch, to me, does not have an incredible rep as "the" place to live, but, rather, is a very nice middle-of-the-road (for Scotts) neighborhood of families, snowbirds, and retirees....both probably lean conservative in politics.....and both have strong spirit from those who are into neighborhood activism....
one is Phx and one is Scottsdale, of course.....low religious influence in both....
anybody disagree??!!
No, that's pretty accurate.
You can find statistics to compare the crime by ZIP code. My bet is that there is not much difference, and either is a good choice on that score. I grew up in Arcadia, and would live there again if I could afford it, including the lawn maintenance I would not want to do myself. Arcadia is a time warp. While there have been some teardowns followed by McMansions, on many streets all that has really visually changed since my childhood are the cars in the driveways. I LOVE that. Also, when you are in the middle of Arcadia you have NO idea that you are in one of the largest cities in the country. It is an oasis in this city. Conveniently located, interesting restaurants just outside the boundaries you've given (which are the same as I use, BTW )
McCormick Ranch is nice, it was one of the earlier planned communities. There's some variation because different builders built the homes in different smaller sections, but it doesn't have near the variety of homes and the feel of Arcadia. It shares with Arcadia the green lawns and big trees, the lawns and the houses are just smaller.
Agree with azdr on the neighborhood demographics/characteristics issues. Arcadia has a pretty good handle on the roof rats by now, I think people are quicker to harvest/pick up citrus, and have taken other steps to discourage them.
You can probably find something you'd like in either one. I guess you can tell which I'd choose.
Outside of my dream mansion on the side of Camelback in PV, Arcadia and McCormick Ranch are my two favorite locations in the valley. If you're talking about true Arcadia and not Arcadia Lite (Edit: Sorry, I didn't see the boundaries at first pass. The boundaries given would be Arcadia proper to me. Someone correct me if I'm wrong), Arcadia is more prestigious and expensive. I wouldn't really worry about politics or religion having any an impact on daily in either.
To be honest, you won't go wrong with either location. McCormick Ranch is a bit more isolated from the "higher crime" areas, but I use the term "higher crime" very loosely. If you have schools and kids and all of that to consider, maybe Scottsdale would be preferable. Arcadia might tilt a bit more "liberal". Again, term used loosely. Crime itself would neither persuade me to move to one or the other, nor dissuade me from either.
Left merely to personal preference, and limited to your two choices, I'd pick Arcadia in a heartbeat, but it's only because my opinion of today's Arcadia is that the community is more vibrant than McCormick Ranch--which is also a beautiful area.
If commute to Phoenix or PHX Sky Harbor is a factor, Arcadia has an edge. I commute by air, so I care about the proximity to the airport. Some people could care less. If you commute to North Scottsdale, you might prefer McCormick Ranch.
For reference, I've lived in several areas of the valley. Both my mom's and dad's parents lived out here (Carefree and Scottsdale). Having been around here for some time, this is just my opinion.
My wife and I relocated to the valley 1.5yrs ago from LA. We bought a house in Arcadia proper (per your boundaries) about 6 months ago. Here are my views on your questions.....
1. Safety. Personally, I feel that Arcadia is extremely safe despite its proximity to some bad areas. We have not had any run ins with crime or theft nor have we heard about any in our area. I live right on the border between the Scottsdale and Phoenix part of Arcadia and I routinely see both Scottsdale and Phoenix PD patrolling the area.
2. Yes roof rats are still in the area....I know because we had them! However, it was probably our fault or the previous owners of our house. We had multiple trees touching our roof, including 2 orange trees. That's just asking for trouble. We called an exterminator and trimmed back the trees and have not had a problem since. I think overall, it shouldn't be too big of an issue in the future. Arcadia Water Company provides a service to all the residents for citrus tree gleaning. For $20 a tree (which I think is very reasonable) people come by and pick all your trees clean. All the fruit is donated to a local food bank. I think that most residents participate so there shouldn't be a huge problem with old fruit lying around the neighborhood.
3. Arcadia is very family oriented and very friendly. There are always families and kids walking or riding bikes through the neighborhood. I think there is a large population of young or middle aged professional families, and less retirees. I dont necessarily think that there is any major political or religious tilt.
Arcadia is a wonderful place to live. Its such a unique area to the valley.....Large lots, large lawns, mature trees makes it feel like an oasis in the desert. I wouldnt live anywhere else in the valley. I think it's a no brainer to seriously consider Arcadia, especially if you have a young family (BTW Hopi Elementary school is one of the best in the state). Hope this info helps. We had a hard time finding current accurate info about the area prior to buying as well.
Thanks for all the input. Based on the feedback from everyone here, which is the same feedback I have gotten from everybody I run into in the area, I feel like I need to (and want to) focus on Arcadia. Now the only issue is finding the right place. Some guy I ran into yesterday was giving me the following advice. "Don't buy on Lafayette, traffic is too fast and heavy", "avoid area south of Lafayette, homes aren't as nice there", "don't put your kids in Hopi, too much open enrollment hurting the school".
Can anybody agree, disagree or comment on this advice?
I've never seen heavy traffic on Lafayette when I've driven it. (which is not often any more, but a coworker I house sit for at times lives just one house off Lafayette). It's not as if it's one of those busy streets where that you have to back your car out of your carport or garage right onto the street because your house is so close to the road. The houses south of Lafayette are different, and mostly smaller. Smaller lots too.
The situation with Hopi I can't speak to. What someone considers as "hurting the school" could just be a bit of snobbery.
1. Being that it is relatively close to some higher-crime areas, are there many instances of crime in Arcadia? How would it compare to, say, McCormick Ranch area? I know it's not a high-crime area (I'm not an idiot so don't flame me) but I would like to know where it stands in this respect relative to other desirable neighborhoods in Scottsdale,Phoenix,PV. I will be traveling extensively and don't want my wife and 2 little kids to have to worry about crime, or at least and more so than they would have to worry about anywhere else in the valley. Any residents of Arcadia who could comment would be especially appreciated.
Arcadia is a much older area, but still very well kept & safe (despite being close to some less desirable areas). It's a nice greenbelt that reminds me of how Phoenix used to be a half century ago long before the bland cookie cutter/rock yard craze took over. The funny thing about Arcadia is the boundaries you stated are pretty much right on the money ... however, many businesses south of the true Arcadia along Indian School & Thomas Roads have the Arcadia name. That area is often defined as south Arcadia, which tends to be a less desirable area (although not necessarily a high crime area).
The McCormick area in Scottsdale is also older, but most of that area was developed in the 1970s, so it's not as old as Arcadia. One of the issues is money. The homes in both areas tend to be expensive, and for good reason: better quality homes. So you will be spending more on living there, but it will pretty much guarantee that you will be in a well built home in a safe area with low crime. You get what you pay for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iowastater
2. What is the latest with the roof rat infestation? I can read all sorts of posts on here from 3+ years ago where this was a big issue, is it still? Has the problem been reduced or has it simply become a fact of life for Arcadians?
Unfortunately, it's a fact of life. The reason it was a big issue several years ago was there seemed to be a pretty major infestation in Arcadia at the time. Good extermination has alleviated the problem somewhat, but not completely. More than likely, they have just spread into other neighborhoods.
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