Moving to Phoenix from DC (Scottsdale, Gilbert: appointed, 2013, apartment)

[Athomas11]

Hi Everyone,
I am relocating in a month to Phoenix. I plan on renting initially, but still want to be in a decent area. I will be coming down in a week or so to house hunt. I will be working near the paradise valley mall. I have the following questions.

1. With a budget of 1300-1700 (preferably under 1500), where is a good area to live if I don't mind a 30 minute commute. I need the following

#1 Priority: Safety, wife and kids will be alone a lot in the beginning as i have go travel around lot.
#2 Priority: Amenities: Parks/ Public Pools/ Libraries/ Shopping (family stuff)
#3 Priority: Schools: Does not really have to be great, but not crappy either. I plan on buying a house after a couple years anyway when my kids will be in 1st grade.

2. I have seen a lot of threads on this, but still really confused. Is there a correlation between good schools and safety in Phoenix? For example everyone says Scottsdale is great but lots of schools have horrible ratings.

3. How is Anthem as an area, both in terms of commute and amenities? Also North Peoria (some areas that I liked but seem too far)

Again my biggest concern is safety, and would like to be on budget.

Thank you

[BigDaddyCane]

I moved here a few weeks ago from Maryland, so I can't offer too much insight on 1 and 2. But I work in Anthem and can tell you it's great for families and very safe. The community park is unreal:

Anthem Community Park | Online At Anthem

Your commute would be pretty long but it would be a dream compared to what you've probably experienced on the Beltway!

[Athomas11]

I don't deal with beltway a lot, but yeah things suck when i do have to get on the free way, and hour to get 30 miles. I don't mind a commute of 30 minutes. How are the amenities in Anthem? Is the commute into downtown phoenix crazy on the weekends?

[azdr0710]

first, a little aside about safety: common sense is the best protection against crime....I presume your family stays aware of its surroundings and follows the basics about locking doors, not drawing attention to yourselves, not being flashy, all that....just wanted to confirm all that....crime can happen anywhere, you know....

you mention the commute to downtown Phx just above, but mention your work will be near PV Mall.....they're about 20 miles from each other.....if you choose Anthem and commute to PV Mall, you'll have mostly freeway (I-17, AZ 101, AZ 51), but, in rush hour, it will be very busy....maybe 30-40 minutes each way, door-to-door??...the transition to the 101 from the 51 headed toward Anthem is particularly rough in rush hour as two lanes merge to one and many drivers are "me first" and race ahead in the lane that's ending (we've all seen that somewhere!!)

though Anthem is a great suburban spot, it has little soul and is a ways out there....you can find great spots within just a couple miles of PV Mall.....stay east of 40th St

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Athomas11

Hi Everyone,
I am relocating in a month to Phoenix. I plan on renting initially, but still want to be in a decent area. I will be coming down in a week or so to house hunt. I will be working near the paradise valley mall. I have the following questions.

1. With a budget of 1300-1700 (preferably under 1500), where is a good area to live if I don't mind a 30 minute commute. I need the following

#1 Priority: Safety, wife and kids will be alone a lot in the beginning as i have go travel around lot.
#2 Priority: Amenities: Parks/ Public Pools/ Libraries/ Shopping (family stuff)
#3 Priority: Schools: Does not really have to be great, but not crappy either. I plan on buying a house after a couple years anyway when my kids will be in 1st grade.

2. I have seen a lot of threads on this, but still really confused. Is there a correlation between good schools and safety in Phoenix? For example everyone says Scottsdale is great but lots of schools have horrible ratings.

3. How is Anthem as an area, both in terms of commute and amenities? Also North Peoria (some areas that I liked but seem too far)

Again my biggest concern is safety, and would like to be on budget.

Thank you

The Paradise Valley area should be first on your list to be looking since it will be close to your work. The area around PV mall is highly suburban and middle class, so you shouldn't have too much of a problem finding a place that's in a safe neighborhood with plenty of parks & shopping close by. Some of the other areas you mentioned like Anthem and north Peoria are too far, and will be a rather long commute. If you want to avoid the traffic & commuting hassles, try to look closer to your place of employment. Your budget would be a lot less strained if you drove less.

[PHX2013]

Would recommend checking out the Arcadia and Central/Midtown Phoenix areas. Not sure you would be able to rent a house but condo/apartment could be an option. Central/Midtown neighborhoods is a large radius but would include Uptown, Woodlea, Windsor Square, Sunnyslope, Encanto and others.

My wife and I moved here in 2013, rented a two bed condo for $1,000 for two years in Arcadia to learn the neighborhoods and eventually bought in Central area.

My best advice is find a realtor who will drive you around for a few hours to show you all the areas, find a one year rental and then offer their services when you're ready to buy.

[i'm not a cookie]

I moved out to Phoenix with my family from DC back in the 90s, and my sister and her husband moved out here a couple years back, every person in my family likes living in Phoenix over DC so you won't be disappointed with the move! Scottsdale has some great schools.As another poster stated I would highly suggest Arcadia or central Phoenix (has more of an East coast feel, to a certain extent, due to the green yards and multitude of trees) if Scottsdale is not your cup of tea.

[Athomas11]

Thanks for the suggestions, will look. Scottsdale is a bit pricy, but will check out other areas

[PoppySead]

There are a few in your price range in PV but North Scottsdale has some newer subdivisions you could look into. Cave Creek has some newer areas going up. Also there is Fountain Hills. All of these are within about 40 min. to PV. I'm not sure what's the best place as far as traffic and commuting goes though. Someone could chime in on that but, all those areas have some nice neighborhoods. Welcome to the Valley of the Sun.

[PHX2013]

You may want to research Gilbert too. It's rated one of the safest places to live in the U.S. Also very cost effective and family friendly.

Personally I think it's too far away from downtown and the neighborhoods I prefer. And I'm not sure the commute would be ideal. But if safety is number one on your list can't go wrong here.