Relocating to Phoenix - What area? - WFH Job, early 30s, twins on the way (Chandler: rent, health insurance)

[SoCal_To_Where]

I've been ruminating on moving out of California, where I've lived in San Diego my entire life, for the past 5 years or so. At a point now where we are looking to move in 4 - 9 months.

TLR - I work from home. Wife will is an elementary teacher. Looking for family friendly, very affordable. We believe living on the fringe areas like Surprise or Queen Creek could be a good fit due to our work situation with likely low commute load and cheaper housing.


My wife and I are getting out of southern California in pursuit of a place where we feel we can thrive and start a family. Phoenix being 5 hours away from a lot of our family and a much lower cost of living in some specific areas seems a fitting place to try. We've both been to Arizona a number of times either visiting family or vacationing. With the wife pregnant with twins, we are honestly looking for bang for our buck. I know that can mean a multitude of things so I'll try to clarify. By working from home I'm not really worried about commute. I'm hoping the wife will be able to find near by work where ever we end up as a teacher (25minute commute?).

We will rent first for a year or two before we decide to buy, but when we do our budget will be around $200-260k for a house. With twins and the need for a dedicated office space, we want a 4br house in the 1800-2400 sq ft range if possible. Prefer a safer, family friendly area. My comparison are those coming from southern California where I'm used to seeing pockets of neighborhoods go from bad to good real quick and to avoid certain areas. If I can get a larger lot and a nice yard and pool that would be fantastic, but I'm trying to keep my expectations reasonable with our budget.

We enjoy getting out and doing all types of things and hobbies, but don't go out at night much outside of dinner and a movie (which is about to never happen again in a few months). Parks, museums, and day time / evening family friendly entertainment is big for us to get us out of the house. Again though, with the minimal work commute I think we'd be willing to drive further to some of these things. We also enjoy the outdoors, exploring and camping, so we will have fun out of the city regardless of where we end up, but easier access is always nice too. We can also be home bodies a lot.


Given that I won't have a commute and my wife's will hopefully be sane if not minimal, the desire for a decent house at a lower budget, no need for a big night life but do want family friendly activities, where should we really consider?

[Finger Laker]

I would probably look towards the SW Valley up into surprise. You can cross a few different elementary districts within that 25 minutes, homes are a good value and you can find what your are looking for in that price range. Family oriented communities and you don't have to cut across the metro if you are looking to head back to CA to visit.

[KurtAZ]

Just be aware that we are in the bottom 5 of worst places to raise a child:

These states are best, worst for raising children - CNN.com

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Just be aware that we are in the bottom 5 of worst places to raise a child:

These states are best, worst for raising children - CNN.com

Yep. I wuz raised here, and I'm a real head case.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

I would probably look towards the SW Valley up into surprise. You can cross a few different elementary districts within that 25 minutes, homes are a good value and you can find what your are looking for in that price range. Family oriented communities and you don't have to cut across the metro if you are looking to head back to CA to visit.

Generally speaking, I'm a much bigger fan of the east valley, but I absolutely agree with Finger Laker in your situation. I'd probably cross queen Creek off the list, if only because it will add an hour to get to SD.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Generally speaking, I'm a much bigger fan of the east valley, but I absolutely agree with Finger Laker in your situation. I'd probably cross queen Creek off the list, if only because it will add an hour to get to SD.

People in the SE Valley generally take the shortcut through Maricopa and Mobile to I-8 at Gila Bend, they wouldn't take I-10. It's incredibly quick and easy and probably would only add 30 minutes from Queen Creek versus Goodyear. Where I am in South Chandler I could probably be in SD at the same time or slightly quicker than someone in Surprise for instance. To me, the distance to SD us negligible and shouldn't be the deciding factor.

[KurtAZ]

If we take similar routes on I-8:

SD - QC: 5H 48 min
SD - Surprise: 5H 17 min
SD - Buckeye: 4H 50 min

[SoCal_To_Where]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Just be aware that we are in the bottom 5 of worst places to raise a child:

These states are best, worst for raising children - CNN.com

I appreciate the link! Of the 16 key indicators of child well-being in the study, most are largely impacted by the parents. I'm fortunate that my wife and I are well educated with good jobs, so we can avoid most of the problems, even if they are affecting a larger population of children in Arizona. Hopefully my family can have a positive impact in the local society in some way in the years after we move. Other areas I believe have a direct impact of parents involvement when it comes to education. We will be very hands on, and my wife has a masters in child development and I have a STEM degree so I think we will be able to sufficiently supplement what our kids aren't getting in school.

For those interested without reading the study, the 16 metrics are percentages of:

1. Children in poverty
2. Children whose parents lack secure employment
3. Children living in households with a high housing cost burden
4. Teens not in school and not working
5. Young children not in school
6. Fourth graders not proficient in reading
7. Eighth graders not proficient in math
8. High school students not graduating on time
9. Low birthweight babies
10. Children without health insurance
11. Child and teen deaths
12. Teens who abuse alcohol or drugs
13. Children in single-parent familes
14. Children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma
15. Children living in high-poverty areas
16. Teen births

So with that listed, another big item is that the areas we go are low on the poverty scale. That will help tremendously in the areas we can't control as much (like who their friends are and the types of families their friends have).


What's the poverty like in Goodyear, Surprise, Queen Creek, and other areas that we should be considering?




Thanks for all the other replies too! Being somewhat closer to SD would be nice but not a deal breaker if we would be happier or find a better fit on the SE end of town.

[Finger Laker]

You really aren't going to run into poverty in any of them, QC has parts that can get a bit more rustic

[asufan]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

If we take similar routes on I-8:

SD - QC: 5H 48 min
SD - Surprise: 5H 17 min
SD - Buckeye: 4H 50 min

I'm getting Goodyear being 38 minutes faster than QC, using I-8. Of course it could be more or less depending on the part of town. I just wouldn't make a decision on where to live based on that small difference in time That being said, Goodyear is a good option for the price range. I wouldn't even consider Buckeye at all, despite being the closest.