Neighborhood convenient to north Phx & east valley? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: fit in, to rent)

[cherrylimeade]

My husband and I are continuing our Phoenix-area research with the intention of moving out there in the next several months... Can I bounce our current thinking off people and get some feedback?

We both work in IT but his resume is strong in healthcare/health insurance, so he's targeting Blue Cross, United Health, Banner, etc, mostly around north Phoenix.

I'm expecting I'll likely wind up working in the east valley unless I can manage to secure a telecommuting arrangement with my current employer.

So we're trying to figure out where to focus our housing search. We're thinking of trying to rent first (less than a year if possible) and then buy. Parameters:

• Our house budget will be $200K. Not a whole lot of room to go higher. We want to keep living expenses manageable. We'd like a 3BR or 2BR+den. Don't need a huge amount of square footage.
• It's important to us to live in a low-crime area and feel safe.
• We like newer houses, we're enamored of the stucco-and-tile-roof look, we like desert landscaping, and we don't mind a very small yard. No kids, no dogs.
• School districts don't matter to us - no kids.
• We're not looking for nightlife or culture. Takeout and Netflix are more our speed.
• We'd both like to keep our commute manageable--the shorter the better. Anything past 30 minutes would wear on me.
• I would love having the option to run some errands on foot, like light grocery shopping, but it's not a must-have.

Tempe seems relatively centrally located, but in our price range, the single-family housing stock looks kind of shabby. We're not keen on buying a condo/townhouse.

Ahwatukee seems safe and quiet. We've read that traffic is congested getting in and out of the area and don't know what the commute to north Phoenix would be like. There are some places within our budget there (not a HUGE number, but enough).

Chandler is an option we'd consider but we're concerned about commute length for him. I get the impression there are good shopping and food options there, which is a plus.

Gilbert, we've pretty much given up on--we like the housing stock (and prices) and how quiet and safe the town is supposed to be, but that sounds like a long commute.

South Mountain: we don't know what to think. It seems like the area's reputation is very iffy but I've read the area south of Baseline has gentrified considerably in the last several years, and there are a number of really nice houses in our price range. I searched the forum pretty heavily and found opinions ranging from "it's a great area" to "there's a reason the communities are gated."

We're visiting in February to scope out neighborhoods (and sightsee). We'd be grateful for any feedback on these options.

[kytoaz]

I would suggest south Scottsdale. Centrally located, plenty of things to do and safe. I can't chime in on housing costs there but I'm sure others can help. Ahwatukee would be a nightmare commute to north phoenix, imo.

[DetroitN8V]

$200k will be very tough in Scottsdale for a SFH, even the southern part. You will have a few houses to choose from in the neighborhood of 1000 sq ft. That's not a bad suggestion if you're willing to go that small.

Other than that, I'm not sure what to recommend based on the budget but it's clear you've done your research and this is a well-written thread. I hope someone chimes in with more substantial advice. Best of luck!

[sargeant79]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

I would suggest south Scottsdale. Centrally located, plenty of things to do and safe. I can't chime in on housing costs there but I'm sure others can help. Ahwatukee would be a nightmare commute to north phoenix, imo.

A single family home in South Scottsdale isn't likely going to be in the $200K price range the OP is looking for unless it's in rough shape. Completely right about Ahwatukee...that commute would likely be very long.

To the OP - You're likely going to be stuck a little bit without bending on some of your parameters. Geographically, Tempe or central Phoenix would likely be your best bets, but most of those homes tend to be older and not the style you are looking for. Plus, there will be very few options in your price range that don't need a ton of work. There are plenty of newer-style stucco houses all over the valley, but they tend to be located more in the newer parts of town, which means the outskirts. If you were looking in North Phoenix or the east Valley, you would have plenty of SFH options, but then you have the commute issue for one of you.

You mentioned the area near South Mountain, and that may honestly be your best bet based on what you're looking for in terms of house, location, and pricing. South of Baseline is indeed generally safer, but there are still a few pockets you have to watch out for. Most of the neighborhoods south of Baseline though are very nice and very safe. I think many of the posters here have a bit of an outdated opinion of much of South Phoenix or they tend to incorrectly lump the area south of Baseline in with the areas near Southern and Broadway, which do indeed have crime issues. A valid point is that you will often be sharing shopping centers and parks with some of the folks who give other parts of South Phoenix a bad name, but if you mind your business and aren't engaging in criminal activity yourself, you have nothing to worry about. This is honestly an area my wife and I are strongly considering when we buy in about 6 months.

Good luck on the search.

[JTW2013]

I'm not in the area yet so I can't give you advice on neighborhoods but one thing I learned during my recent home search is that many houses are overpriced so I wouldn't go off the prices alone to determine what areas you can afford.

I'd recommend finding a realtor and asking him/her about pricing. Also look at the time it has been listed. I think you could find something small in north Chandler or Ahwatukee for less than $200K. Since you don't care about schools, look east of 101. West of 101 is in the Kyrene school district which is a good district so houses are more expensive. East of 101 is in Chandler schools which are generally pretty good but their worst ranked schools are east of the 101 so prices are lower in that area.

There are parts of Ahwatukee that are really beautiful but it seemed pretty congested to us and I thought it looked a little dumpy. North Chandler, IMHO, is nicer than Ahwatukee unless you can get something with a view in Ahwatukee.

[AZJoeD]

I am confused as to if you have a job already in the east valley or are just looking there? I think you mentioned in a previous post that you have UX expertise. If you are still looking why not look in the north valley as well There are dozens of high tech employers in the north as well. Jobing.com, Pegausus, Discount Tire, Go Daddy, Honeywell, just to name a few and dozens of smaller companies like CyberCoders, etc.

Have you looked at job sites like indeed.com, Jobing.com or Monster.com? Search for UX jobs, you may be surprised what you find.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

I would suggest south Scottsdale. Centrally located, plenty of things to do and safe. I can't chime in on housing costs there but I'm sure others can help. Ahwatukee would be a nightmare commute to north phoenix, imo.

South Scottsdale is too long of a commute from north Phoenix ... and besides, the OP stated their preference is for newer homes. South Scottsdale consists of mostly older homes, and generally a working class area compared to other parts. Scottsdale might very well exceed the $200K price limit anyway, even in the south part. My suggestion would be the NE Phoenix/PV area ... or perhaps somewhere close to Kierland which is a little more walkable.

[cherrylimeade]

Thank you all for your replies! I want to respond in more depth when I'm at a computer (I'm on my phone) but to answer a couple of things - I don't have a job lined up yet - but threads I've seen on the forum suggest there are more tech jobs in the east valley. I'd like us to be located convenient to there to minimize the likelihood of a terrible commute in the future.

Does that seem an accurate assessment? I realize there are some tech jobs everywhere, but I'm hoping to find an area with a good amount of them. (for example, in the Twin Cities where we are, most tech jobs seem to be south or west burbs - there are a couple of exceptions, but a tech worker faces a better chance of a livable commute by choosing to live in those areas).

I've been assuming Scottsdale will be out of our price range for a move-in-ready, decent single-family home.

Any thoughts on Camelback East?

[AZJoeD]

Originally Posted by cherrylimeade

but threads I've seen on the forum suggest there are more tech jobs in the east valley. I'd like us to be located convenient to there to minimize the likelihood of a terrible commute in the future.

That is absolutely untrue. Of course if you want to consider Intel, which is one of the largest high tech employers, or Microchip, etc. But most of those are manufacturing jobs. Unless you design circuits and semi-conductors, I doubt you would fit in there.

But in your line of work you can work for many companies that have a large internet presence that are not computer/internet companies. PayPal, Jobing.com, American Express, Move.com, etc. all have a demand for expertise to interface with their clients. I think you need to focus on where the demand for your expertise resides. I think you will find that it is well spread out and may find more in the central core and northeast valley than you think.

The point is, I think I would start looking for employers that have a demand for your expertise and see where they are located, rather than believe what you read on this forum (that goes for this post as well).

[asufan]

Originally Posted by AZJoeD

That is absolutely untrue. Of course if you want to consider Intel, which is one of the largest high tech employers, or Microchip, etc. But most of those are manufacturing jobs. Unless you design circuits and semi-conductors, I doubt you would fit in there.

But in your line of work you can work for many companies that have a large internet presence that are not computer/internet companies. PayPal, Jobing.com, American Express, Move.com, etc. all have a demand for expertise to interface with their clients. I think you need to focus on where the demand for your expertise resides. I think you will find that it is well spread out and may find more in the central core and northeast valley than you think.

The point is, I think I would start looking for employers that have a demand for your expertise and see where they are located, rather than believe what you read on this forum (that goes for this post as well).

There is a lot more in the way of high tech employment in the SE Valley, but Scottsdale is no slouch as it has some decent employment as you mentioned.