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Old 04-02-2014, 04:08 PM
 
9,196 posts, read 16,647,404 times
Reputation: 11323

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACazz731 View Post
Mainly because we want to be on the outskirts of Phoenix and I've read that it's a very affordable area for a young family to live in. I've read that it's a pretty safe city and more family oriented. And I generally want to be more northwest of Phoenix. And I don't really mind a commute if need be. I have options for work because I work in the auto industry.
Cool, sounds like you've done your research. I think you're on the right track as long as you're OK with being on the far edge of the valley. Being on the outskirts, housing prices do tend to be less though. You'll get a better feel for how massive this area is when you come to check it out.
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Old 04-05-2014, 07:48 PM
 
16 posts, read 35,630 times
Reputation: 19
Welcome to Surprise! Believe it or not the first time I came to know about Surprise, AZ was when this Boeing employee came to me one time at work seemingly excited about having bought a home in the area for $115K with a swimming pool! Those were the days of course when the housing market was in the doldrums. Fast forward 2012, I found myself doing the same thing and guess where I looked? Surprise! Surprise is nice, everything is convenient and accessible. But ssshhhh! don't go to IHOP Saturday or Sunday morning! LOL. Anyway, we bought a house here although we have not completely relocated, our daughter herself decided to burn the bridges and moved to Arizona. She occupies our place for now and hosts us whenever we have the opportunity to visit. Suggested places to see: Sedona, Jerome, Dobbins Lookout, Papago Park, Desert Botanical Garden. If you're into photography Arizona is heaven! This is Dobbins Lookout:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112331...n/photostream/
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Old 04-05-2014, 08:32 PM
 
Location: Surprise, AZ
18 posts, read 35,568 times
Reputation: 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seaflip View Post
Welcome to Surprise! Believe it or not the first time I came to know about Surprise, AZ was when this Boeing employee came to me one time at work seemingly excited about having bought a home in the area for $115K with a swimming pool! Those were the days of course when the housing market was in the doldrums. Fast forward 2012, I found myself doing the same thing and guess where I looked? Surprise! Surprise is nice, everything is convenient and accessible. But ssshhhh! don't go to IHOP Saturday or Sunday morning! LOL. Anyway, we bought a house here although we have not completely relocated, our daughter herself decided to burn the bridges and moved to Arizona. She occupies our place for now and hosts us whenever we have the opportunity to visit. Suggested places to see: Sedona, Jerome, Dobbins Lookout, Papago Park, Desert Botanical Garden. If you're into photography Arizona is heaven! This is Dobbins Lookout:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112331...n/photostream/
Awesome thanks! Are all of those places you named in Surprise or in that area? I've really only heard/read great things about Surprise...so there's gotta be something not so great right? I mean besides the commute into Phoenix cuz I've read that it can be a pain but I'm not too worried about that honestly. What are some of the better neighborhoods to check out while we're there?
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Old 04-05-2014, 10:58 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,422,460 times
Reputation: 10726
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACazz731 View Post
Awesome thanks! Are all of those places you named in Surprise or in that area? I've really only heard/read great things about Surprise...so there's gotta be something not so great right? I mean besides the commute into Phoenix cuz I've read that it can be a pain but I'm not too worried about that honestly. What are some of the better neighborhoods to check out while we're there?
The areas that poster named are either in northern Arizona or the other side of the Valley. The comment about convenient to "everything" didn't mean really "everything" except good basic shopping. Surprise is actually a pretty long drive to downtown and much further to anything east of downtown. I don't recommend it except to people whose work and important amenities are all on that side of the Valley. It's a nice town, but there are other nice areas of the Valley that are not so far from the rest of it. I know you want to be on the outskirts, and your budget (which I don't know what that is) might limit you, but there are other areas. You should definitely rent and not buy until you know the Valley much better than you do now.

Last edited by observer53; 04-06-2014 at 06:21 AM..
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Old 04-06-2014, 05:45 AM
 
Location: Mesa, AZ (via NY)
163 posts, read 207,037 times
Reputation: 255
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seaflip View Post
Welcome to Surprise! Believe it or not the first time I came to know about Surprise, AZ was when this Boeing employee came to me one time at work seemingly excited about having bought a home in the area for $115K with a swimming pool! Those were the days of course when the housing market was in the doldrums. Fast forward 2012, I found myself doing the same thing and guess where I looked? Surprise! Surprise is nice, everything is convenient and accessible. But ssshhhh! don't go to IHOP Saturday or Sunday morning! LOL. Anyway, we bought a house here although we have not completely relocated, our daughter herself decided to burn the bridges and moved to Arizona. She occupies our place for now and hosts us whenever we have the opportunity to visit. Suggested places to see: Sedona, Jerome, Dobbins Lookout, Papago Park, Desert Botanical Garden. If you're into photography Arizona is heaven! This is Dobbins Lookout:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112331...n/photostream/
Awesome pictures!
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Old 04-06-2014, 06:13 AM
 
Location: Seattle, Washington
2,533 posts, read 4,604,417 times
Reputation: 2821
Quote:
Originally Posted by adventuregurl View Post
I'd be smiling too if I was moving from the PNW to AZ, anyday, however you won't be outside too much in Aug. or Sept. (possibly May June and July too), it's too stinken hot. but come fall nowhere beats it! Good luck!
Hahaha... yeah OP needs to be careful what he wishes for. I moved to Seattle from southeast GA 3 years ago... and it's just as hot down there as it is in Arizona... with humidity which makes it 10 times worse.

I don't miss those 100 degree days with 100% humidity and a heat index near 115.

Seattle may be gray in the winter but come summer nowhere beats it. I love my sunny days in the 70s.


Quote:
Originally Posted by ArizonaGirl View Post
We pay $920 for a 4 bedroom house with a 2 car attached garage. There are a lot of walking paths and trails. No community pool. It's west of Cotton Lane, between Greenway and Waddell.
Wow... I pay $1500 for a 3BR with 2 car garage. Maybe I should move to Arizona!
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Old 04-06-2014, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
563 posts, read 1,787,794 times
Reputation: 534
maybe i missed it, but why did you pick Surprise? I think your GF will miss the greenery and fresh ahir more than anything.
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Old 04-06-2014, 11:53 AM
 
16 posts, read 35,630 times
Reputation: 19
ACazz731, for all intents and purposes, “everything” mainly refers to basic shopping like Observer53 mentioned with no humongous malls like we have in Alderwood, Lynnwood and the Southcenter. The basic goods and services that any household would need are all in abundance without one having to get on the freeway and drive distances like we do here in Seattle especially myself who lives in the boonies of Lake Stevens. The allocation of areas where one can do grocery shopping, go to a clinic, restaurants, parks, etc are spread evenly throughout the valley which in effect dramatically reduce concentration of cars in one specific area that can cause constant gridlocks. Think about our own Alderwood Mall, Tulalip Discount Stores, Southcenter where we fight for parking spaces and deal with voluminous slow moving traffic.

There’s no reason to be worried about commuting depending on the nature of the job that you do. If you are in the auto industry, there is a good chance you can find a job locally without the hassle of a long commute. The presence of several auto dealerships along Bell Road are within striking distance from Surprise. I don’t know what kind of work does your GF do but, the west valley has plentiful existence of various service related industries, from banking, health, real estate, restaurant to goods distribution. While exploring the town of Buckeye, just farther west of I-10 (Buckeye in AZ is our Marysville in WA) I bumped into this area where Walmart has one enormous distribution center that occupies several acres of land. The huge existence of 55-above population in the valley brings with it jobs for nurses, pharmacists, techs, medical technologists, etc. I tell yah, you will never be far away froma Pharmacy store wherever you go in the valley. My daughter who is in pharmaceutical distribution found a job in less than two weeks, so did the boyfriend who is the same type of work. But just like any job hunting process, resourcefulness, motivation, and beingself-driven sometimes make a difference.

All places that I mentioned in my previous post are outside of Surprise. Sedona and Jerome are a couple of hours away north of I-17 and the rest, local within the east valley. The Surprise Stadium by the way is the spring training home to Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. Most neighborhoods in the area I would consider safe bets and most have homeowners associations that strictly enforce covenants, conditions and restrictions. I get letters when weeds start to grow in spring, a car parked on the streets or even a trash can left in front of the house.

Word of caution, follow the speed limits and watch out for these photo enforced SPEED TRAPS. My daughter’s boyfriend and his buddy both got expensive tickets at the first month of their residence in AZ so they learned quick.


Hawkbiz, Thank you!!

Last edited by Seaflip; 04-06-2014 at 01:22 PM..
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Old 04-06-2014, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Surprise, Az
3,502 posts, read 9,607,287 times
Reputation: 1871
No more speed cameras in Surprise. El Mirage still has one on grand and a few mobile ones.
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Old 04-06-2014, 01:17 PM
 
16 posts, read 35,630 times
Reputation: 19
ibarrio, do you happen to know which of these are still active? I had not been keeping track of my speed while vacationing in Surprise last week and didn't notice the El Mirage and Northern cameras. Fortunately, anyone can call Photonotice.com, a company that handles photo enforcement processing for the City of El Mirage and at this point no records of the rental's plate number. The photo is subject to review by a traffic police officer before a citation can be issued and the time lag can take as long as two weeks.

El Mirage Road and Northern Avenue
El Mirage Road and Olive Avenue
Thunderbird Road and 129th Avenue
Grand Avenue (US 60) and Primrose Street
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