West Valley area advice (Phoenix, Scottsdale: HOA, home, neighborhood)

[Prickly Pear]

Only in Arrowhead Ranch was I robbed in the 20+ years I've lived here. Lots of those nice homes are still in fast driving distance to lower income areas and not gated, making them targets. I lived near a wash which is how the people robbed me took my stuff, so they didn't even use a street. The wash happened to be in the backyard of a police station too oddly enough...

[LBTRS]

I live in Goodyear and don't know what the cop was talking about. It is very safe and nice here. You need to be careful of the commute if you're not going to be working in this part of the valley.

I'd pick Goodyear, Surprise, Litchfield Park if I were moving to the west valley. Too much traffic in the arrowhead area for my likes.

[wase4711]

actually, if you go just a bit north of the arrowhead area, a little closer to jomax rd, there are alot of nice complexes over there; "terramar", "eagle ridge" "stetson valley", and a few others; take a look at this map

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7161...12.1679202,15z

we live in Eagle Highlands North, gated, very safe and nice, and its less than 10 minutes to either I17 or 101, and,you are about 15 or 20 minutes from Surprise via 303

We are close to the Arrowhead area, but are also close to North Peoria, and there are tons of newer, moderate priced homes there too

Personally, I like the fact that we are up against several mountains, and not only is there really cool scenery around here, you're also really close to everything Phoenix/Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and more, yet far enough away that the traffic isnt that horrendous, most of the time.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by wase4711

actually, if you go just a bit north of the arrowhead area, a little closer to jomax rd, there are alot of nice complexes over there; "terramar", "eagle ridge" "stetson valley", and a few others; take a look at this map

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7161...12.1679202,15z

we live in Eagle Highlands North, gated, very safe and nice, and its less than 10 minutes to either I17 or 101, and,you are about 15 or 20 minutes from Surprise via 303

We are close to the Arrowhead area, but are also close to North Peoria, and there are tons of newer, moderate priced homes there too

Personally, I like the fact that we are up against several mountains, and not only is there really cool scenery around here, you're also really close to everything Phoenix/Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and more, yet far enough away that the traffic isnt that horrendous, most of the time.

I don’t think so. 35 minutes to downtown Phoenix and 45 minutes to Old Town Scottsdale with no traffic. It may be a fine place to live, but “really close” is untrue.

[Finger Laker]

I've lived in all 3 of those general areas - they are all nice in their own way.

Goodyear continues to really develop. If you don't have kids/school concerns, there are still some good values south of I-10 and near estrella pkwy on west. I wouldn't worry about crime, etc there. Most of the city is pretty quiet. There is crime everywhere - it is part of being in a city - however, a lot of the SW Valley is still relatively quiet.

Litchfield Park proper is a complete gem - I live in an unincorporated area near LP that has an LP address - I really like it. The planes don't frequently fly east of the base, so there isn't a ton of jet noise. There is definitely some - I work from home on occasion and it's never really been an issue.

All 3 locations are very livable - it will come down to preference. One thing I didn't like living in Arrowhead was the congestion - it seemed that everything was packed all the time. There is a ton of stuff in that area though and it's easy to find quiet fairly quickly.

From my place near LP it's 25-30 minutes to the airport and about 40-45 minutes to old town scottsdale without traffic ..... it's becoming much more difficult to find w/out traffic.

I work in old town and driving during commute hours will be at least 1:15 - frequently more than that - I avoid this as much as possible

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I don’t think so. 35 minutes to downtown Phoenix and 45 minutes to Old Town Scottsdale with no traffic. It may be a fine place to live, but “really close” is untrue.

I knew what he meant. If you want to get technical, it takes 45 minutes with no traffic from Scottsdale to Scottsdale. i.e. from the tip of North Scottsdale to near the 202 (near Tempe). Furthermore, from Old Town Scottsdale to Downtown PHX it takes 20 minutes without traffic. So by definition, everything is spread out. So technically, living in Old Town isn't "really close" to Downtown PHX either. But sure, it's more central and that goes without saying.

His point was that he is closer to the highway and therefore more central. Therefore, he can get into a lot of areas of PHX and Scottsdale quickly. IMHO, if I see Old Town Scottsdale once every two years, I'm full. I'm with wase4711.. Cave Creek has a cool vibe and I prefer it to Old Town by a mile. I might have moved in wase4711's area. One reason that I like that area (and it is on my short list) is that it's close to the inner loop highways. As he said, the backdrop is also impressive. My biggest beef with Surprise is that it is so flat. Topography adds a lot of beauty to the desert landscape. I'd also agree with Ponderosa in that Goodyear is arguably the nicest area on the West Valley. But again shy of Estrella Mountain area, it's flat like Surprise.

If I make another move (and I am sure I will), I am going to be on water.

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I knew what he meant. If you want to get technical, it takes 45 minutes with no traffic from Scottsdale to Scottsdale. i.e. from the tip of North Scottsdale to near the 202 (near Tempe). Furthermore, from Old Town Scottsdale to Downtown PHX it takes 20 minutes without traffic. So by definition, everything is spread out. So technically, living in Old Town isn't "really close" to Downtown PHX either. But sure, it's more central and that goes without saying.

His point was that he is closer to the highway and therefore more central. Therefore, he can get into a lot of areas of PHX and Scottsdale quickly. IMHO, if I see Old Town Scottsdale once every two years, I'm full. I'm with wase4711.. Cave Creek has a cool vibe and I prefer it to Old Town by a mile. I might have moved in wase4711's area. One reason that I like that area (and it is on my short list) is that it's close to the inner loop highways. As he said, the backdrop is also impressive. My biggest beef with Surprise is that it is so flat. Topography adds a lot of beauty to the desert landscape. I'd also agree with Ponderosa in that Goodyear is arguably the nicest area on the West Valley. But again shy of Estrella Mountain area, it's flat like Surprise.

If I make another move (and I am sure I will), I am going to be on water.

You are 100% correct, MN, since we both live out this way, we definitely know how things really are out here!

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I knew what he meant. If you want to get technical, it takes 45 minutes with no traffic from Scottsdale to Scottsdale. i.e. from the tip of North Scottsdale to near the 202 (near Tempe). Furthermore, from Old Town Scottsdale to Downtown PHX it takes 20 minutes without traffic. So by definition, everything is spread out. So technically, living in Old Town isn't "really close" to Downtown PHX either. But sure, it's more central and that goes without saying.

His point was that he is closer to the highway and therefore more central. Therefore, he can get into a lot of areas of PHX and Scottsdale quickly. IMHO, if I see Old Town Scottsdale once every two years, I'm full. I'm with wase4711.. Cave Creek has a cool vibe and I prefer it to Old Town by a mile. I might have moved in wase4711's area. One reason that I like that area (and it is on my short list) is that it's close to the inner loop highways. As he said, the backdrop is also impressive. My biggest beef with Surprise is that it is so flat. Topography adds a lot of beauty to the desert landscape. I'd also agree with Ponderosa in that Goodyear is arguably the nicest area on the West Valley. But again shy of Estrella Mountain area, it's flat like Surprise.

If I make another move (and I am sure I will), I am going to be on water.

Being close to freeway access is not the same as “you're also really close to everything Phoenix/Scottsdale”. That's simply untrue. It’s a real hike to both central Phoenix and central Scottsdale from way up there. Stating erroneous information like that as fact could be a real disservice to a newcomer to the area. If the point was that there is good freeway access, then state that. Trying to claim that some fringe area is centrally located because you can hop on the northern edge of a highway is just silly.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Being close to freeway access is not the same as “you're also really close to everything Phoenix/Scottsdale”. That's simply untrue. It’s a real hike to both central Phoenix and central Scottsdale from way up there. Stating erroneous information like that as fact could be a real disservice to a newcomer to the area. If the point was that there is good freeway access, then state that. Trying to claim that some fringe area is centrally located because you can hop on the northern edge of a highway is just silly.

You really like that word "fringe". It is a huge metro area, there isn't anyplace that is "fringe" unless you're talking about Tonapah or something detached from the metro area. Goodyear, Surprise and Litchfield Park are cities in a large metro area and close to many things. "Fringe" doesn't really apply and sounds silly every time you use it.

This isn't the middle of Montana or something...

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Being close to freeway access is not the same as “you're also really close to everything Phoenix/Scottsdale”. That's simply untrue. It’s a real hike to both central Phoenix and central Scottsdale from way up there. Stating erroneous information like that as fact could be a real disservice to a newcomer to the area. If the point was that there is good freeway access, then state that. Trying to claim that some fringe area is centrally located because you can hop on the northern edge of a highway is just silly.

your obsession with criticizing and critiquing every single thing I post is weird and creepy...