Chandler vs. Gilbert - what's the difference?

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by ILuvAZ

Since you mentioned religion... you'll find a higher concentration of Mormon families in Gilbert. We are not mormon and have experienced no issues with this, they are wonderful to share a 'hood with. Having said this we have no Mormon familes on our street but several Catholic familes.

From what I read on here, both Gilbert and Chandler sound like nice places to live. However, you may want to give more thought into potentially moving into a heavily populated LDS area, especially since you have children. As adults, we can be stronger to stand up for ourselves and our beliefs. Speaking from experience, we would not live in a heavily populated LDS area again.

In AZ, I've only heard of large LDS populations in SE Phoenix and along the northern border of AZ. We now live in AZ, but we also lived in Utah for awhile due to a job transfer. At that time in UT, we were a married couple without kids and lived in a heavily populated Mormon area. We found it difficult to make friends because upon meeting the first thing they'd ask is, "What "ward" do you belong to?" At first I didn't even know what a "ward" was. Once the Mormons found out we were non-LDS, they didn't want to associate with us. Non-LDS children and adults are shunned/avoided by most Mormons. Ex-LDS are also shunned by LDS, even in their own families. Our non-LDS friends with children said it was very difficult for children because they had few friends. LDS kids are not allowed to date or play with non-LDS kids. Most local activities, events, sport programs were planned by or sponsored by the LDS church so if you were not a member of that ward you couldn't go. Or if you were invited and went, they would try to convert you. I remember one of my co-workers crying at work one day. She was crying because her son was converting to Mormonism, and he was going to be married in the "temple". Under Mormon rules, she was not allowed to attend her son's wedding or even enter the temple because she was non-Mormon. I felt so sad for her. Interestingly, I recently learned that was also true for Mitt Romney's wife since her parents were not allowed to attend their wedding ceremony.

Living here now in NW Phoenix where there is a mixture of different religions, I've met and become friends with a few Mormons. They are nice, so apparently the "shunning" isn't done by all LDS. And, it is also good here that children and familiy activities/programs are not organized by the LDS church. I haven't lived in Chandler or Gilbert, so I'm unable to say if this is true for SE Phoenix; however, I've read mixed posts on this subject. Here's a link to a thread about it: Mormons?????

[matto]

Good posts, captain bill. I'm always amused by people when they complain about a city's police "harrassing" them for no reason and it's obviously because there is no "real" crime. Generally your safer cities are safe for a few reasons, and generally one of those reasons is a police department being proactive. Yes, that means stopping cars, making contact with the people on the street, etc. If you find yourself getting pulled over all the time or being "harrassed" by the police, maybe you should look in the mirror sometime.

[onlyonedonna]

I actually have a quesiton about the cities of Gilbert and Glendale. Not sure if I should be posting on a reply page or not but hardley seemed right to post a thred on this

Does any one know about programs - living, social and recreational and vocational in Chandler and /or Glendale for the developmentally disabled? \

We are looking at both places to move to in Feb. so if you have any invo please let men knowq.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by onlyonedonna

I actually have a quesiton about the cities of Gilbert and Glendale. Not sure if I should be posting on a reply page or not but hardley seemed right to post a thred on this

Does any one know about programs - living, social and recreational and vocational in Chandler and /or Glendale for the developmentally disabled? \

We are looking at both places to move to in Feb. so if you have any invo please let men knowq.

Are you trying to compare Glendale to Gilbert or Chandler? Glendale is nothing like either. The city in the East Valley most like Glendale is Mesa, while there really isn't any city in the West Valley that is like Chandler nor Gilbert, although if you had to choose one the city most similar would probably be Peoria.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Are you trying to compare Glendale to Gilbert or Chandler? Glendale is nothing like either. The city in the East Valley most like Glendale is Mesa, while there really isn't any city in the West Valley that is like Chandler nor Gilbert, although if you had to choose one the city most similar would probably be Peoria.

I was going to say Surprise...

As far as programs for the Developmentally Disabled...what are you looking for exactly and what age range? Chandler and Gilbert have pretty good SPEDS programs in the schools but they are only offered at specific campuses...I know Tarwater just eliminated theirs but Bogle Jr. High still has a program.