Commuting from Glendale to Scottsdale

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by GSR13

What is the uniqueness of the areas and the homes in that area? Housing and neighborhoods are more uniform in Phoenix than perhaps ANY OTHER METRO in the US.

Is one corner's strip mall and beige stucco subdivision that much more special than the all of the others closeby that are just like it?

I mean, you aren't wrong

But schools are a huge factor in between neighborhoods.

Right now I live in an upper class neighborhood in north Scottsdale. The schools in this neighborhood are highly ranked on Great Schools.

My old neighborhood in North Glendale? Schools ranked about in the yellow range, so middle ground.

Down the street from me here in North Scottsdale are homes almost exactly like the home I lived in Glendale in terms of age and size and everything else controlled except location. My house in Glendale is worth about 200-265k something, just a ballpark figure (based off of other houses in the neighborhood selling for). In Scottsdale the same house? 340-450k. This is what I see for the houses on Zillow.

Other than schools, are amenities different? No, they aren't. Still the same grocery store chains, there are still parks, there are still hospitals, dollar stores, gyms, etc. One difference though, is that my commute would be longer from the Scottsdale neighborhood.

Are public schools worth the additional 150k on a mortgage? Maybe, if you have kids and are sending them to the public schools. But if you have kids that are homeschooled or private school, or no kids at all, there is zero reason to pay that much more on pretty much the exact same house. Only exception would be if you had some kind of hellish commute from Glendale but not from Scottsdale... in the case of OP, they fall within this exception.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by yourmuchness

I live in North Glendale (59th and Union Hills) and am considering taking a job in Scottsdale (Pima and McDonald). Without traffic the drive isn't too bad (28 miles, 30 mins). With traffic it is a different story. I'd be leaving in the morning around 6:30AM and driving back home anytime between 4-4:30PM. Is the 101 my best option? Or would surface streets be better?

My daily commute is similar in direction to what yours would be.

I drive from Avondale to Tempe and back on the 202 and I-10, it's a lengthy commute and the congestion both ways can be a nightmare but it's doable.

A lot of it depends on two things, are you happy living where you are and is this new job something you truly want?

If you answered yes to both then the commute will be more like a minor inconvenience.

[singlegirlinaz]

Originally Posted by Java Jolt

My daily commute is similar in direction to what yours would be.

I drive from Avondale to Tempe and back on the 202 and I-10, it's a lengthy commute and the congestion both ways can be a nightmare but it's doable.

A lot of it depends on two things, are you happy living where you are and is this new job something you truly want?

If you answered yes to both then the commute will be more like a minor inconvenience.

You have to be happy where you live and where you work, otherwise no sense in driving all that distance for a lousy or mediocre job.

[yourmuchness]

Originally Posted by vaporaze

I would leave before 6 so you can drive in the HOV lane. I do this commute everyday and I go from 51st avenue and 101 to Chaparral and Scottsdale road it takes me about 40 minutes I leave at 5:45AM and get in and 6:20AM.

On the way home I would take Mcdonald west to Tatum, north to Lincoln, West to I-17, to Union Hills exit; West to 59th. That should take Less than an hour Maybe 50 minutes.

Thanks for the suggestions. Is that the way you take home? What time do you leave to head home? How long have you been doing this commute for?

[Dewey59]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

I mean, you aren't wrong

But schools are a huge factor in between neighborhoods.

Right now I live in an upper class neighborhood in north Scottsdale. The schools in this neighborhood are highly ranked on Great Schools.

My old neighborhood in North Glendale? Schools ranked about in the yellow range, so middle ground.

Down the street from me here in North Scottsdale are homes almost exactly like the home I lived in Glendale in terms of age and size and everything else controlled except location. My house in Glendale is worth about 200-265k something, just a ballpark figure (based off of other houses in the neighborhood selling for). In Scottsdale the same house? 340-450k. This is what I see for the houses on Zillow.

Other than schools, are amenities different? No, they aren't. Still the same grocery store chains, there are still parks, there are still hospitals, dollar stores, gyms, etc. One difference though, is that my commute would be longer from the Scottsdale neighborhood.

Are public schools worth the additional 150k on a mortgage? Maybe, if you have kids and are sending them to the public schools. But if you have kids that are homeschooled or private school, or no kids at all, there is zero reason to pay that much more on pretty much the exact same house. Only exception would be if you had some kind of hellish commute from Glendale but not from Scottsdale... in the case of OP, they fall within this exception.

So true! But some people just HAVE to live in Scottsdale because they feel it is the Beverly Hills of Phoneix!

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by singlegirlinaz

You have to be happy where you live and where you work, otherwise no sense in driving all that distance for a lousy or mediocre job.

Quality of life matters and it's not all about how much money a person makes.

In my case I live where I do mostly because of family closeness and I like my neighborhood.

My job is very satisfying and something I look forward to, not a place where I have to be suffering for eight hours every day.

The only complaint I have is the horrible traffic commute, but it's doable and it's usually the only downside of my day.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by Dewey59

So true! But some people just HAVE to live in Scottsdale because they feel it is the Beverly Hills of Phoneix!

More like South Beach. In the New Scottsdale, Leave the Bolo Tie at Home - The New York Times

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by GSR13

Does anyone know the reason WHY there isn't a freeway cutting across where Northern is? It would be cheap and easy to build one from the 303 to the 51, and then have one paralleling the 51 until it reaches Shea, and then having this freeway run along Shea until the 101 in Scottsdale

At the very least you can have the freeway from the 303 to the 51 without too much NIMBY interference. And it would make getting to Westgate much easier.

Anyone know why this hasn't been done? It's absurd not to have anything going east-west for a good 12 mile stretch between the 10 and the 101, especially given the cost of land and the low density of the built up areas.

It's largely because of NIMBYs. They get their panties in a knot over practically any kind of development that will threaten "THEIR" way of life. They protest loudly & endlessly because they have nothing better to do. NIMBYs were largely responsible for halting the proposed Paradise Parkway in the '90s which would have been a nice crosstown freeway in approximately the same location as the Northern Parkway extension you suggested.

Originally Posted by ElleTea

What is the value of those homes? To the people that live in them and don't want to be forced to move, I'd guess pretty high.

That didn't seem to matter at all back in the '80s & much of the '90s when many homes were demolished to make room for the 51 freeway. My old neighborhood was torn up, and the house I grew up in was acquired & demolished for the right of way. I remember there was some opposition to it, but my parents accepted the pay out and moved elsewhere. It's called PROGRESS. Just because a neighborhood has been established for a number of years doesn't make it immune to eminent domain. It sucks, but it happens for a reason. More freeways are needed, and we can't be allowing these NIMBYs to always get their way & stop progress from happening.