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Old 05-03-2008, 09:40 AM
 
Location: San Diego originally
71 posts, read 211,378 times
Reputation: 17

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Planning to uproot and move to Arizona soon IF I can land a teaching job. Looks like Peoria is where I would ideally like to live. Is Vistancia really the place to live up there? I don't care where I teach (as long as the commute isn't too far) but I would like my kids in the Peoria school district. Can anyone tell me about Centennial High school? I see the test scores etc. I just want to know if anyone has personal experience there and want about the local middle school. I have one entering 6th grade next year too.
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Old 05-03-2008, 12:47 PM
 
611 posts, read 2,313,308 times
Reputation: 132
Welcome soon to AZ! I'm sure you'll be able to land a teaching job here because I know Peoria and many other cities here are hiring.

Yes, Vistancia is really one of the best places to live in Peoria and all of Phoenix for that matter. There are quite a few nice developments in/around Phoenix to live; Vistancia is definitely one of them. Vistancia is a premier master planned community with loads of amenities. Other nice developments in Peoria are Fletcher Heights, Silverton, Deer Village, Dove Valley Ranch, Parkridge, Casa Del Ray, Rock Springs, Westwing Mountain, Pleasant Valley, Cibola Vista, Sonoran Mountain Ranch, Camino a Lago, Terramar, and Westbrooke (I think it is 55+). Some are newer than others, but all are nice and safe. There is also a lot of land in Peoria that has very nice upscale homes that are not "inside" a specific named subdivision.

I've heard that Centennial High School is a good one, but don't have first hand knowledge to share with you. Our schools, Vistancia Elementary (K-8), Liberty (9&10), and Sunrise Mountain High School (9-12) are all "excelling" schools (the highest rating). Liberty is new and in a start up phase; each year they plan to add another grade and in 2 more years Liberty will be the 9th-12th grade high school for Vistancia and other nearby homes. I hear good things from parents and teachers about Liberty and Sunrise Mountain schools. Our kids attend VE, and we are very pleased. Good teachers and lots of parental involvement. I've met parents who purposely moved from other school areas just to get into the schools here. Due to the population growth, another elementary school is planned in 2009/2010 as well as another high school planned later.

An important thing to know about schools here is that most (all?) of Phoenix (maybe all of AZ?) does not have middle schools. Schools here are K-8 and 9-12 versus K-6, 7-9, & 10-12 in some other states. I wish AZ had 7th-9th grade middle schools because I think it helps kids develop better.

Here are some helpful links for you about Peoria.
Peoria school district website: Peoria Unified School District - Home (http://portal.peoriaud.k12.az.us/default.aspx - broken link)
Vistancia Elementary PTO website: Home (http://vistanciapto.com/index.htm - broken link)
Subdivisions map: Arizona Neighborhoods Map
Vistancia website: Arizona Real Estate - Vistancia - Peoria AZ - Master plan Community
A few links to presently occurring development:
Developers fill Peoria's hot corner (broken link)
Phoenix Commercial Advisors: Available Property
Phoenix Commercial Advisors: Available Property (http://www.phoenixcommercialadvisors.com/listings/info/lakelone.htm - broken link)
Phoenix Commercial Advisors: Available Property
Peoria city district map: City of Peoria, Council District Map page (http://www.peoriaaz.gov/council/councilmapf.htm - broken link)
Peoria city website: Welcome to the City of Peoria, Arizona
Official Peoria Tourism website: Visit Peoria Arizona : Home

Please let me know if you have any other questions as I'm happy to help. I'm not a realtor; just someone who cares for others and knows what is it like to relocate to a completely new area. We've moved quite a few times to different states, so we can relate.
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Old 05-04-2008, 09:03 AM
 
Location: San Diego originally
71 posts, read 211,378 times
Reputation: 17
Thank you. I did not know yet that there were no middle schools out there. We have moved a lot too. My husband retired from the military.
Not sure if I want to rent first and then buy. I went on the website for rentals/sales and it looks like trilogy homes are only 2 BD? Vistancia homes seem expensive to me. I will keep doing my research.
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Old 05-04-2008, 01:46 PM
 
Location: Oxygen Ln. AZ
9,319 posts, read 18,784,860 times
Reputation: 5764
We also live in Vistancia and have been very content here. I would suggest finding a good realtor to help with your search. The web sites can be outdated and very confusing at times. We see many homes here in the low $200K's and some rentals recently for as little as $1,100 a month. Best of luck to you.
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Old 05-04-2008, 09:08 PM
 
611 posts, read 2,313,308 times
Reputation: 132
Quote:
Originally Posted by LivinginSDagain View Post
Thank you. I did not know yet that there were no middle schools out there. We have moved a lot too. My husband retired from the military. Not sure if I want to rent first and then buy. I went on the website for rentals/sales and it looks like trilogy homes are only 2 BD? Vistancia homes seem expensive to me. I will keep doing my research.
You're welcome for my help. Since you have a soon-to-be 6th grader, Trilogy isn't a good fit for you as it is a 55+ community. Vistancia's other two sub-communities would be good fits for you....Vistancia Village (all ages) and Blackstone (private country club community). About Vistancia homes seeming to be expensive, maybe the websites are outdated or maybe you're looking at the $1 mil+ homes here? I agree with Motleycrew about working with a realtor because there is a large price range here, including even a few below $200K.
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Old 05-05-2008, 08:25 AM
 
Location: San Diego originally
71 posts, read 211,378 times
Reputation: 17
I didn't realize the trilogy was 55+ at first. I have a HS son as well. So, 2 BD would not work anyway.

Planning a visit out there next week.

Thanks again. I will direct you if I have more questions.
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