Northwest Phx vs Southeast Phx (Phoenix, Mesa: home, living in, restaurants)

[rb4sc]

My wife and I will be retiring to the Phoenix metro area in a couple of years, and we are in the midst of deciding on a location. We seem to have narrowed it down to Surprise or Queen Creek/San Tan Valley. We have stayed in Cave Creek a couple of times, and driven around, but we have not been south of Chandler yet. We love the amenities of the Surprise area, but like the prices in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley. Commuting will not be an issue, but traffic patterns will play a part, as we like to do things in the city. Museums, sporting events, etc. I am a big sports fan, and I anticipate many trips to Glendale, Chase Field, and ASU. I also notice that haboobs/dust storms seem to be worse to the south of downtown than north of the city. Which area is a better commute to Tempe and downtown in off peak times? I know Surprise is closer to Glendale. I would appreciate comments, recommendations, and anything else that would contribute to our decision making, including any other location in the metro area. Thanks.

[kitshipp]

Surprise is closer to the Cardinals Stadium, about 40 minutes to downtown and an hour to Tempe with good traffic. I personally find Queen Creek to to be much more 'out there' than Surprise. What amenities about the Surprise area do you like? I live there and it's great for families and retirees. Marley Park has community amenities such as a rec center, multiple pools, etc. Is that what you mean by amenities?

[rb4sc]

i can't compare it to Queen Creek, because I have not been to QC, but in our online research, there seems to be more restaurants, shopping, parks and such in Surprise. We drove through Surprise once a few years ago, so it is probably more developed now. Are San Tan and QC really out there? How far is it to Chandler from there? Also, Is it a big deal to be in Maricopa county, as opposed to Pinal Cty? We are concerned about the distance from civilization in QC; Surprise seems to be more metro.

[kitshipp]

QC is still 30 minutes from Chandler with good traffic. Surprise is much more developed in terms of basically everything. I'm not really sure if there are any disadvantages to living in Pinal County vs. Maricopa.

[Ponderosa]

Surprise has much more of the "amenities" because of Sun City. There is everything in Sun City. It is non-stop shopping, banking, eating, doctors etc all the way along Bell Road from Cotton Lane in the west to the 101 freeway. Also, Surprise has a non congested (for now) freeway running right through it that makes getting places easier than San Tan where you still have to run a gauntlet of red lights and all-way stop intersections to get to the highway. If you are not going past downtown much Surprise is the better choice.

[DetroitN8V]

“Amenities” in Surprise?

[MrsMac]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

“Amenities” in Surprise?

Yes, amenities in Surprise. We have seven professional golf courses, a 10,000+ sq ft aquatic center, a Tennis & Racquet complex where you can play tennis, racquetball and ping pong (and the US Tennis Association rated it as one of the best tennis centers in the nation), pickleball courts, lots of parks (including two dog parks, a park with a huge lake, a park with lighted fields, etc.), two excellent libraries (including the beautiful 20,000 sq ft, $5.5 million Northwest Regional branch), the Surprise Stadium complex (spring training home to the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers), tons of community events (like Sundays in the Park, the Taste of Surprise, the holiday Surprise Party, St. Patrick’s Day parade, 4th of July fireworks, etc.), the West Valley Arts Council headquarters and gallery, the West Valley Symphony, and the Surprise Pops Band. Lots of restaurants, from chains (like Ono Hawaiian BBQ, Salad ‘n Go, and In ‘n Out Burger, which is opening soon) to mom and pop places (such as Vogue Bistro (consistently voted one of the Phoenix metros best French restaurants), Mom’s Fixin’s (great southern comfort food), Rosie’s (Italian food like Grandma used to make), and two excellent Pho restaurants). Surprise is also located at the foot of the White Tank Mountains just steps away from the White Tanks Regional Park, the largest regional park in the county.

We chose to move to Surprise because it’s close to all of the above (plus great medical, including Banner Del Webb Hospital), its only 40 minutes or so to the airport, and a quick drive up Bell Rd takes you to even more shopping and dining in Glendale and Peoria. Once we found Marley Park (a master planned community in Surprise with diverse architecture, 18 parks, 6,000+ trees and incredible community events and engagement) no place else we looked in the valley came close! Three years later and we are still happy with our choice and thrilled with all the new restaurants and stores that have gone in lately.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by rb4sc

My wife and I will be retiring to the Phoenix metro area in a couple of years, and we are in the midst of deciding on a location. We seem to have narrowed it down to Surprise or Queen Creek/San Tan Valley. We have stayed in Cave Creek a couple of times, and driven around, but we have not been south of Chandler yet. We love the amenities of the Surprise area, but like the prices in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley. Commuting will not be an issue, but traffic patterns will play a part, as we like to do things in the city. Museums, sporting events, etc. I am a big sports fan, and I anticipate many trips to Glendale, Chase Field, and ASU.

In that case, why not look in a more centralized location? The Phoenix metro area is very large, and the commuting part can & does play an important factor in where one chooses to live. I would say that if you prefer the suburban amenities and want to stick to more of an adult oriented area, the NW Valley would be perfect for you (northern Peoria, Sun Cities, Surprise). But there are also choices for retirees near central Phoenix & Tempe, especially if you'll be going downtown to Chase Field, and to Tempe quite often.

Originally Posted by rb4sc

I also notice that haboobs/dust storms seem to be worse to the south of downtown than north of the city. Which area is a better commute to Tempe and downtown in off peak times? I know Surprise is closer to Glendale. I would appreciate comments, recommendations, and anything else that would contribute to our decision making, including any other location in the metro area. Thanks.

The "haboobs" do tend to have a bigger impact on the SE Valley, and there's a reason for that, which can be a whole different topic. Those dust storms mainly occur during monsoon season (July, August, part of September), and aren't so much of a factor during the rest of the year. Keep in mind that the entire metro area feels some kind of impact from the summer dust storms, so you won't be completely dust free anywhere.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

In that case, why not look in a more centralized location? The Phoenix metro area is very large, and the commuting part can & does play an important factor in where one chooses to live. I would say that if you prefer the suburban amenities and want to stick to more of an adult oriented area, the NW Valley would be perfect for you (northern Peoria, Sun Cities, Surprise). But there are also choices for retirees near central Phoenix & Tempe, especially if you'll be going downtown to Chase Field, and to Tempe quite often.

I was wondering the same thing, but I'm guessing that these extreme locations have been narrowed down to because of price. It's a bit more expensive in central Phoenix than in San Tan Valley. He didn't say he wanted an "adult oriented area" or "choices for retirees". Some retired people like myself have zero interest in places like Sun City.

[SarcasticPhxDude]

A lot of it depends on your budget, age of home you are looking for. If price is irrelevant, I wouldn't worry too much about haboobs-most areas get hit, microbursts can happen in East Mesa, N Phoenix, and the West Valley. North Phoenix offers a great "central location" to what you described.