Nice areas to live within 30-40 min commute of Mayo Clinic hospital in Phoenix (Scottsdale: for sale, real estate)

[danno2084]

Hello everyone, just need any recommendations for some nice neighborhoods/areas to live within a 30ish minute commute of the mayo clinic hospital in Phoenix. We have some friends in Gilbert who love it there, but it looks like the commute might be a little long - is that the case? Any input would be great. Thanks!

[WriterDude]

I'd guess that the commute to Mayo & 56th in North Phoenix might be pretty long - on a Saturday with no real traffic, it can take 40 minutes to drive that route. Going to the Mayo Clinic out at Shea and 130th would be much quicker.

Neighborhoods? Desert Ridge is just north of the Mayo Hospital, but we found the houses there to be a little pricey for what you get, and most of the houses around the Tatum/Deer Valley intersection would need renovation. You could look into Fireside and the Villages at Aviano The Villages at Aviano: luxury new homes in Phoenix, AZ. You can see the area here on Zillow: Desert View Real Estate & Desert View Phoenix Homes For Sale - Zillow

North Scottsdale neighborhoods (Greyhawk, for example) would offer a short commute if they're okay with condos, but stand-alone houses might be too costly.

Builders are also opening up a bunch of developments north of the 101/17 interchange. If they're looking for a new build, that might be a great option, and it's about what, 20 minutes from 56th? Again, slightly more expensive than the same-same in Gilbert, but did I mention new?

[DetroitN8V]

Scottsdale. Nice, safe, easy short commute. 85255, 85260, 85254 (Phoenix/Sdale).

You don't have to "be okay with condos" to consider Grayhawk. There are lots of very nice SFHs in the area.

[observer53]

Agree with Scottsdale, another option would be in the Desert Ridge/Tatum Ranch area just to the west of the Phoenix hospital. Gilbert is too far to either, IMO.

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Scottsdale. Nice, safe, easy short commute. 85255, 85260, 85254 (Phoenix/Sdale).

You don't have to "be okay with condos" to consider Grayhawk. There are lots of very nice SFHs in the area.

Only reason for my remark was that someone currently living in Gilbert might find the single family homes costly. Does nice matter if you can't afford the price per square foot, or if it's 50% higher than a typical PPSF in Gilbert? For some people, maybe not.

For example, we found the entry point for a single family home in 85255 was the mid-$300s on up. And that's for under 1800 square feet. For comparison, you can get 2400+ square feet in a new build in Gilbert for that.

On the other hand, condos in the Greyhawk area (essentially the zips you listed above) would range upward from the mid 200s, and some are really big.

Of course, I'm often wrong, but from what I can gather, condos in that area offer a lot more, and would be more in line with Gilbert expectations. The location advantages of being in north Scottsdale are the only thing that justifies that price (location, location, location). :-)

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by WriterDude

Only reason for my remark was that someone currently living in Gilbert might find the single family homes costly. Does nice matter if you can't afford the price per square foot, or if it's 50% higher than a typical PPSF in Gilbert? For some people, maybe not.

For example, we found the entry point for a single family home in 85255 was the mid-$300s on up. And that's for under 1800 square feet. For comparison, you can get 2400+ square feet in a new build in Gilbert for that.

On the other hand, condos in the Greyhawk area (essentially the zips you listed above) would range upward from the mid 200s, and some are really big.

Of course, I'm often wrong, but from what I can gather, condos in that area offer a lot more, and would be more in line with Gilbert expectations. The location advantages of being in north Scottsdale are the only thing that justifies that price (location, location, location). :-)

The OP is not living in Gilbert, he/she has friends there. No budget was mentioned so there's no reason for the caveat.

[AZJoeD]

Originally Posted by danno2084

Hello everyone, just need any recommendations for some nice neighborhoods/areas to live within a 30ish minute commute of the mayo clinic hospital in Phoenix. We have some friends in Gilbert who love it there, but it looks like the commute might be a little long - is that the case? Any input would be great. Thanks!

I do not see where you indicated the type of property, budget or amenities required, which makes a huge difference. There are great apartments very close to to the hospital. Scottsdale Rd & Mayo Blvd. has several very nice complexes, Tatum Rd. & Deer Valley Rd. has nice complexes and Tatum Rd. & Bell Rd has several at a lower price point. All just minutes away.

Condos and single family homes are also available, but the price ranges may be extreme ($1M+ to <$200K) from N. Scottsdale to N. Phoenix. All well within 30 minutes.

More info please.

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

The OP is not living in Gilbert, he/she has friends there. No budget was mentioned so there's no reason for the caveat.

Does it help you to approach questions this way? Why are you responding to me and not the OP?

You're right - the OP said nothing about living in Gilbert. However, they clearly stated that they have friends in Gilbert. Do you think they just typed that because their keyboard looked lonely? I think it was a comment about their expectations context. They know something about Gilbert based on what their friends have said, so respondents could reply with "so and so is like Gilbert/so and so is not like Gilbert." The OP doesn't say anything about where they live, or even if they live in Arizona, but that observation provides a framework for a reasonable response.

We don't need to know anything about budget to talk in general terms about the area. However, if we're going to talk in general terms about the area, making observations about relative costs is useful.

And with an expectations context, qualifying statements are always useful. If the OP is indifferent to costs, more power to them; they can ignore that comment if it's not useful to them. Takes them about as much time to read and ignore as it takes for me to type it.

If the OP is of moderate means, the qualifying statement helps frame the housing markets I'm referring to. If the OP thinks they're going to get the same kind of living situation in the north valley that their Gilbert friends have, their expectations should be set properly.

In an exchange of ideas, it's useful to bring some.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by WriterDude

Does it help you to approach questions this way? Why are you responding to me and not the OP?

You're right - the OP said nothing about living in Gilbert. However, they clearly stated that they have friends in Gilbert. Do you think they just typed that because their keyboard looked lonely? I think it was a comment about their expectations context. They know something about Gilbert based on what their friends have said, so respondents could reply with "so and so is like Gilbert/so and so is not like Gilbert." The OP doesn't say anything about where they live, or even if they live in Arizona, but that observation provides a framework for a reasonable response.

We don't need to know anything about budget to talk in general terms about the area. However, if we're going to talk in general terms about the area, making observations about relative costs is useful.

And with an expectations context, qualifying statements are always useful. If the OP is indifferent to costs, more power to them; they can ignore that comment if it's not useful to them. Takes them about as much time to read and ignore as it takes for me to type it.

If the OP is of moderate means, the qualifying statement helps frame the housing markets I'm referring to. If the OP thinks they're going to get the same kind of living situation in the north valley that their Gilbert friends have, their expectations should be set properly.

In an exchange of ideas, it's useful to bring some.

It makes no sense to speculate, in this case, that "stand-alone houses might be too costly". That doesn't help. Many, many people live in SFHs in that area and it fits the few criteria that the OP provided. It's a pretty regular neighborhood and doesn't need to be painted as some elitist enclave where "common folk" live stacked on top of one another.

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

It makes no sense to speculate, in this case, that "stand-alone houses might be too costly". That doesn't help. Many, many people live in SFHs in that area and it fits the few criteria that the OP provided. It's a pretty regular neighborhood and doesn't need to be painted as some elitist enclave where "common folk" live stacked on top of one another.

If you honestly think that correctly describing the cost of real estate in an area is somehow painting it as an elitist enclave, I encourage you to reconsider that approach. I said nothing of the sort, and certainly said nothing that could be casually construed in that manner, so I think I managed to hit one of your pet peeves or defensive triggers. That's your thing, not mine.

In my opinion, if the only way someone can make a factual observation is to tiptoe carefully around your delicate sensibilities, YOUR approach is not helpful. Manhattan real estate is extremely expensive. San Francisco real estate is extremely expensive. Scottsdale is a bargain by those standards. However, it's expensive for this area. (See also: Biltmore, Paradise Valley, Ocotillo in Chandler, and so on.) You do realize that Scottsdale is a relatively high-end (and relatively high-cost) area?

Here, let me rephrase it to be more constructive:

Statement of fact: north Scottsdale prices per square foot for existing single-family homes can be much higher than Gilbert prices per square foot for new construction. North Scottsdale prices per square foot for existing single-family homes can be significantly higher than the prices for comparable homes in Gilbert.

Here are some new-build options in the north valley:

• Ashton Woods Estates at Ridgeview: Starts at $520,990 for 2738 square feet, or $190/sqft.
• Toll Brothers Saguaro Estates: Starts at $932,995 for 3927 square feet, or $237/sqft.
• Taylor Morrison Bridges in Gilbert: Starts at $289,990 for 1942 square feet, or $149/sqft.

The Scottsdale homes range from 26% to 58% more expensive.

Or how about exactly the same house, by the same builder, in the north Phoenix area, vs. the Chandler/Gilbert area?

• Ashton Woods Estates at Ridgeview Shasta Plan: Starts at $570,990 for 3375 square feet, or $169/sqft.
• Ashton Woods Belmont Estates in Chandler Santa Anita Plan: Starts at $416,990 for 3376 square feet, or $124/sqft.

The north Phoenix house is over 35% more expensive than the same plan in Chandler.

Or how about resale homes?

• I searched Zillow for the 85255 zip code. The first listed house is this one: 9166 E Kimberly Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 is For Sale - Zillow. It's a very nice house. 3bd/2ba, 1568sqft, and they're asking $359,000, which is quite reasonable. The price per square foot is about $229.
  
• I searched Zillow for the 85296 zip code. The first listed house is this one: 3715 E Jasper Dr, Gilbert, AZ 85296 is For Sale - Zillow. It's a very nice house. 3bd/2ba, 1363sqft, for $193,000. The price per square foot is about $142.

The Scottsdale resale house is about 60% more than the Gilbert house. Do I really have to trot out numbers for median home values in the Phoenix area now? Ah, okay... Zillow says that the median home price in the Phoenix metro is $169,900. Kinda puts the Scottsdale numbers in perspective, no?

Of course, it's much easier to just crank on someone than to do the 10 minutes of internet searches that it took to get this data. Does anyone actually believe for a second that homes in north Scottsdale aren't expensive? No doubt, someone could find outliers that would turn these numbers upside down, too - I'm not pretending this is authoritative. I'm making a point here.

Individuals can and will make their own decisions, based upon their own budgets. But trying to silence someone for pointing out the difference in price, when everyone KNOWS that Scottsdale & north Phoenix are more costly? That's priceless.