Totally Confused. Hope someone can help! (Phoenix, Tucson: low income, transplants, real estate)

[Snow2Desert]

Hi everyone!! I am in the process of moving to Phoenix, AZ from Kalamazoo, MI sometime in December. I am looking for somewhere safe that does not have drug or gang activity. There are so many conflicting websites that I have found; what one says is great another says should be a no go to. Work commutes do not matter as I am also in process of finding a job once I know where it is I will be living. I read Chandler is a nice area but a little out of my budget. Also Scottsdale was another one that ranked high in safety. If you know of any other areas in Phoenix that would be a good fit for a family it would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance for any input!

[demtion35]

Originally Posted by Snow2Desert

Hi everyone!! I am in the process of moving to Phoenix, AZ from Kalamazoo, MI sometime in December. I am looking for somewhere safe that does not have drug or gang activity. There are so many conflicting websites that I have found; what one says is great another says should be a no go to. Work commutes do not matter as I am also in process of finding a job once I know where it is I will be living. I read Chandler is a nice area but a little out of my budget. Also Scottsdale was another one that ranked high in safety. If you know of any other areas in Phoenix that would be a good fit for a family it would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance for any input!

It may be easier to find a place near where you will work, so where will that be?

[demtion35]

Originally Posted by demtion35

It may be easier to find a place near where you will work, so where will that be?

I live in Northeastern Minnesota, next to Lake Superior. Winter is coming soon. There is a chill in the night, and fall feel in the air. Soon there will be the cold walks, and with it will come cold cold cold nights, with sometimes cutting winds, that makes breathing hard. The temps get cold, many times the lows will be -30F and colder. The coldest day on record happened a few years ago in Northern Minnesota, with -60F. That record still stands, -10 to -20F is normal.

Hope you find a nice place to live, I know I have,

Cheers.

[rcarbuilder]

Try looking in 85324. A few local jobs but plenty within 15 to 20 freeway miles. Good spot for a truck driver too.

[Snow2Desert]

Originally Posted by demtion35

It may be easier to find a place near where you will work, so where will that be?

Thanks for your reply. As for work we have money saved up and my husband is a truck driver. I will look for employment when we find a place to live.

[Snow2Desert]

Originally Posted by demtion35

I live in Northeastern Minnesota, next to Lake Superior. Winter is coming soon. There is a chill in the night, and fall feel in the air. Soon there will be the cold walks, and with it will come cold cold cold nights, with sometimes cutting winds, that makes breathing hard. The temps get cold, many times the lows will be -30F and colder. The coldest day on record happened a few years ago in Northern Minnesota, with -60F. That record still stands, -10 to -20F is normal.

Hope you find a nice place to live, I know I have,

Cheers.

Southwestern Michigan gets cold but not that cold. Lol, I can’t handle the frigid temps so might as well as move to a different time zone and a complete different weather pattern. So important to love where you live, and I’m glad you are enjoying the Northeastern part of Minnesota.

[GBPACKERS1200]

I would recommend the Deer Valley area of North Phoenix or North Glendale

[grmi66]

One of the toughest things for transplants from the midwest to figure out is how both Tucson & Phoenix are laid out. Unlike midwestern cities where the worst crime is in the center of the bullseye and it gets progressively better as you move outwards, it's not like that in Arizona. It's quite possible to have million dollar homes in the same zip code (often blocks from each other) as low income multi-tenant dwellings prone to crime. You really need to do your homework on the ground out here.

As an example, before I moved to Tucson our family looked at a house near Cave Creek & Dunlap. A few blocks away it's pretty sketchy and the local park is full of homeless people. But the house we looked at was up on a giant hill and from chatting with the neighbors they told us that essentially it's too tough for the homeless people to push a shopping cart up that incline. A night and day difference in crime, property values and overall neighborhood all within half a mile.

Another example from living in the west valley in Avondale. Lived in a newly built subdivision with a strong HOA that looked pretty nice. Only downside is that all of the subdivisions had built around an older neighborhood first established for migrant farm workers 50+ years ago. The people that lived in that neighborhood included a lot of gang members who viewed our subdivision as a prime place for property crime and auto theft.

Get a short term rental while checking the place out and don't be afraid of talking to potential neighbors. Your real estate agent has their hands tied as to what they can & can't say.

[Mike from back east]

Look at Peoria, the northwest part of the metro area.

I'm way up in Vistancia and there is NOTHING sketchy up here, we're also in a gated 55+ community and there are communities for all ages that are not gated.

Search realtor.com for zip code 85383

[KurtAZ]

Really depends on which company he is working with or is he an owner/operator? Swift is in the SW valley, i.e. Tolleson/Phoenix area. Knight is up off of I-17 and the 101 Loop. Most of the warehouses are out in the Avenues along I-10.

As far as safe neighborhoods...you really can't pin down certain areas as being "bad" per se...run down, poorer areas sure but your rental budget is going to determine the kind of folks that surround you. Gilbert is rated one of the safest cities in the US, Chandler, East Mesa (stay out of West Mesa) Tempe, North and central Phoenix, North Glendale...I mean all of these areas are fine. For a family with kids, I would be looking at the school districts though as well.