Relocating to Phoenix - West Valley vs. East Valley - Pros and Cons (Glendale: school, restaurants)

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Colt AZ

Brown?

You must mean beige. Arizonans know that a lighter color on housing (and cars/trucks) reflects intense heat better. Therefore, the many beige homes out there.

I hate the brown, too. That's why I drive a black car and have a blue house

[Thomasaz]

I recommend West Chandler around the I-10 or 101. Good neighborhoods with good schools. The Kyrene School District is pretty good. Some say the Chandler district is now better, but honestly it doesn't make that big of a difference. School rankings are pointless imho. Higher income neighborhoods = better school. It's that simple. Chandler is also more family friendly, so it tends to have a better public school system than Scottsdale. School system in Arizona is for the most part underfunded, so don't bother listening to the Kool-Aid about picking one neighborhood simply because of a school district.

West Chandler will be cheaper than Tempe or Scottsdale, but more conveniently located than Gilbert. You'll have access to all the other cities because of the proximity to the I-10 and 101.

I think the West Valley will essentially be bland Chandler + Gilbert lite in the near future. That's great and all, but that's incredibly boring. At least the East Valley has Scottsdale and Tempe. It's more developed and there are more interesting things to do, even for an older couple like you guys. Plus the distance to Phoenix will be comparable. You'll save money with the West Valley. That's about it, but I think you could find a house within your budget in an established neighborhood in the East too. Your only real benefit then, is the possibility of getting a new build home for a much lower price, which I think isn't that big of a deal.

The East Valley isn't crowded. The people who chose the West because they thought the East was crowded are exactly the type of people you'll find in those boring non-descript WV cities. Keep that in mind.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I'm learning my way around PHX, so pardon the questions.

I've been to Westgate. It's nice. Has a good Dave and Buster's. We went on a game day in December. Traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.



Assume you mean Lake Pleasant. Been there, too.

Yep. Though I am down on it now because my boat got trashed in my slip there couple weeks ago.



Are you talking about 101? Is Deer Valley considered "north" of Phoenix proper?

No, 303. The 101 is on what I consider the eastern edge of the west valley. The 303 comes into 17 just south of Anthem, but thre is a secret way to get all the way to New River off of the 303.



Now you've got me -- I have to look up Harkins. Ah. Cineplexes.

I really like Glendale except for all the brown houses.

Not sure if that is satire or what, but there is no where in the metro that does not have all brown houses. At least newer areas in the west like Goodyear require that new build houses have to be painted different color schemes and not all Navajo White which was the rage at one time.

...

[KurtAZ]

The 101 is NOT the Eastern edge of the West Valley...that hits the 10 at what, 99th Ave? Avenues are West Valley, Streets are East Valley. Central is the delineation point.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I hate the brown, too. That's why I drive a black car and have a blue house

Black & blue? Perfect!

[asufan]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Avondale Man kills Mom

Avondale Murder-Suicide

Point being...it is everywhere...

It's kind of silly to compare Avondale or Goodyear crime versus Chandler anyway, as you're comparing a smaller city of 80,000 people versus Chandler at 260,000. To make a more apples to apples comparison, you'd have to include all of Goodyear, Avondale, Tolleson and about half of Maryvale and compare that to Chandler. A crime at 75th Ave and Thomas affects someone in Palm Valley as much as a crime in North Chandler affects me in South Chandler, that is to say not at all. In looking at crime stats or income levels or property values in a larger city like Chandler, I like to look at particular zip codes or even by square mile if possible. I don't think any of us live in high crime areas anyway, so these crimes are not a determining factor at all.

Having said that, based on the OP's price parameters, the West Valley may be the place to look. A price point of 250K does not get very much if anything at all in the more desirable parts of the East Valley, you would need to drive towards the fringes or look in a city like Mesa. I prefer the East Valley but the West Valley better fits the budget.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by asufan

It's kind of silly to compare Avondale or Goodyear crime versus Chandler anyway, as you're comparing a smaller city of 80,000 people versus Chandler at 260,000. To make a more apples to apples comparison, you'd have to include all of Goodyear, Avondale, Tolleson and about half of Maryvale and compare that to Chandler. A crime at 75th Ave and Thomas affects someone in Palm Valley as much as a crime in North Chandler affects me in South Chandler, that is to say not at all. In looking at crime stats or income levels or property values in a larger city like Chandler, I like to look at particular zip codes or even by square mile if possible. I don't think any of us live in high crime areas anyway, so these crimes are not a determining factor at all.

Having said that, based on the OP's price parameters, the West Valley may be the place to look. A price point of 250K does not get very much if anything at all in the more desirable parts of the East Valley, you would need to drive towards the fringes or look in a city like Mesa. I prefer the East Valley but the West Valley better fits the budget.

Right...the original point is that crime happens everywhere...then everyone jumped on me for using Avondale (yes I picked a random West Valley town as they are all the same to me and that one came to mind first). It wasn't really about the town...just that back a few years, when the news was reporting on violent crime, there was usually an Avenue attached to the crime scene. Now it doesn't seem to matter.

[pbenjamin]

I wouldn't live in either. The middle is where to be.

[More Rock]

Let's assume you mean west of Central or east of Central. I pick east : more to do, less crime.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

The 101 is NOT the Eastern edge of the West Valley...that hits the 10 at what, 99th Ave? Avenues are West Valley, Streets are East Valley. Central is the delineation point.

Technically I don't think Phoenix is part of the west valley. I understand the Ave/St and dividing line being Central way is often how it is discussed but everything I find about the definition of the west valley doesn't include Phoenix. That would put the eastern edge around the 101 as Ponderosa stated.