All About Mesa (Gilbert: high school, to live, centers)

[Azalea City Man]

Originally Posted by RiverRat1964

My parents live in the Mesa/Apache Jct area, as does my sister, they all love it there.... We're all from Illinois, I want to move there but my wife (Born in South Dakota, raised in Minnesota) can't do without 2' of snow on Christmas..........Any suggestions on the snow issue close to Mesa?
*Crime rate doesn't bother me, being from a big city in Illinois*

You can drive a couple of hours, stay in a nice hotel, and have a family Christmas in Flagstaff over the holidays.

[jonna30]

Originally Posted by markas214

Do they have a large Mormon population or is it diverse? I don't want my kids ostracised for not belonging to the Mormon Religion.

There is not a HUGE mormon popluation for the Shepherd/Red Mountain High boundaries. My family is in that attendance area althought my kids do not attend Shepherd we know several that do. I would take a guess that it is less than 25%. Mountain View would have a much higher concentration.

[jonna30]

Originally Posted by markas214

What can you tell me about Red Mountain High School/Shepard Middle School/?

They generally have decent test scores etc. Red Mountain had 800 kids in their graduating class. A good source for information is the AZ Dept. of Education's web site. They will have a "school report card" for all public schools - including charters. Although the information is a year behind it is helpful. Of special note for me, not for everyone, is the number of times that the police have to be contacted. Keep in mind that most junior/senior highs also have resource officers on campus. Presumably dealing with the smaller stuff. Anyway, last time I looked Red Mtn. High had over 60 incidents. So, on average one out of every three school days the police had to be contacted. It depends on what your comfort level is. That was a major factor in our decision to pursue other options. Most people here would say they feel like it is a great school. Also, most parents seem to be pleased with Shepherd. My niece & nephew attended both and graduated in the last four years. Unless parents are specifically pushing kids there doesn't seem to be a push for a four year college education. The high school does have ap classes and college counseling but...the reality is most seem to attend MCC or ASU for about a year & 1/2 then drop out to work full time. There does seem to be a "club" for just about anything your kids would be interested in. I am probably not the best one to comment since my kids don't go there. Sorry!

[markas214]

Originally Posted by jonna30

There is not a HUGE mormon popluation for the Shepherd/Red Mountain High boundaries. My family is in that attendance area althought my kids do not attend Shepherd we know several that do. I would take a guess that it is less than 25%. Mountain View would have a much higher concentration.

Realistically is there an attitude among Mormon children that seperates them from others or are they pretty much like all other kids? I hate to sound bigotted but I do have concerns for my children who are very sociable not to feel left out.

[jonna30]

It just depends. It isn't intentional, but as the kids get older the seperation becomes more important. Most mormon families, like any other religious families, want their kids to date within their faith. There are dances, socials etc. Also, most wards run their own boy scouts and something like girl scouts (but not affiliated with the national organization). Our neighbors that are mormon do invite my kids to attend certain functions with them. The issue for me would be if my kids were the minority which they are not. It's like anything if you are the one person out of 20 that is different there "could" be some issues. However, if out of that 20 there are four groups of five it isn't that big of a deal. We haven't felt any issues arising from a mormon population where we live. In fact, for us, the lds in our neighborhood seem to be some of the best neighbors to have. They take care of their house, aren't having crazy parties at 2 in the morning and would do just about anything for you - they are very nice people. FOR US, we wouldn't live in Mountain View's boundaries simply because of this issue. It's not a big deal if you choose the right neighborhood. A good clue is how many churches are in the vicinity. Some parts of north Mesa have 3 lds churches within a mile of each other. Pretty significant lds population. There is one in our neighborhood and the next closest one is about 3 miles away. Not so significant. Note - there are lds churches next to or very near all high schools in Mesa. They are used, in addition to normal church, for their seminary classes that all high school age lds children take during normal school hours.

[jonna30]

Originally Posted by oscottscotto

You can drive a couple of hours, stay in a nice hotel, and have a family Christmas in Flagstaff over the holidays.

Also, Payson is only 45 minutes away from Northeast Mesa. They get less snow than Flagstaff, but still do get snow.

[mesaiscool]

Originally Posted by markas214

Do they have a large Mormon population or is it diverse? I don't want my kids ostracised for not belonging to the Mormon Religion.

I went to these schools, and they were great. there are alot of mormons at these schools, usually there are at the "richer" schools in mesa. But they are very nice people, and i had lots of mormon friends who never ostracised me for being catholic. there are missionaries, but they usually dont harrass you, and will leave if you just say your not interested. hope this helps.

[silvermountain]

For all of you that don't like Mormons, Gilbert is getting a new LDS Temple (Pecos & Greenfield I believe) as is Phoenix and Safford/Thatcher area. Looks like they'll be filling those areas up to. So anyone who didn't move to Mesa because of the Mormons might want to consider leaving Phoenix metro. Tucson and El Paso are a couple of large southwestern cities without many Mormons / and or temples I can think of.

[silvermountain]

400,000 Mormons in Arizona, 260,000 of them in Phoenix Metro.

[dc1225]

Originally Posted by Amberyl

I have been getting so much great advice here, i thought i would return the favor! I have lived in Mesa for years now and know a lot about it.

HARD FACTS:
Population: around 396,000
The average rating for schools in Mesa is a 7. But there are several 10 rated schools here. They are hard to get into if you don't live in the area.
The weather is HOT. Gets 90-100 in the summer. But it is a dry heat so you don't sweat much. Sometimes it feels like your skin is burning off tho, especially when you first get into your car that has been baking all day in the sun!

Mesa Community College is one of the largest community colleges in the nation. So many people from all over the world go to school there. They have a great program. I really loved going there.

People here are friendly enough once you can get them to slow down. Seems like most people are in a hurry to get done, whatever they are trying to get done. I have always attributed it to the intense heat.

There are LOTS of great malls here. And Mesa is only about 30 mins from Phoenix, and there you have the reputed Arizona Mills Mall. It's BIG. Lots of dance clubs and excitement to be had in Phx as well. Fun night life there. Not a very safe place to live in a lot of areas tho. But that is just based on what i have heard from friends and family. Never lived there myself.

Mesa is connected at the hip to Gilbert. Meaning you can start driving through Mesa and if you drive long enough you will soon be driving in Gilbert. It's really connected to many cities. But Gilbert is a very pretty, quaint looking city. From what i have seen of it. Mainly if you drive down Gilbert Rd. I like it. I would live there myself if it had 4 seasons.

Well, that's all i can think of for now. If you have any more questions, just ask! I will be happy to take pictures, and also to give anyone as in depth information as they would like. If i don't have the answers myself, i will find them out, since i currently still reside in Mesa.

I will also be willing to check out requests for info in surrounding cities but i prob won't be able to get as in depth info, since i am a stay-at-home mom of two toddlers. And i run my own business. My time is often limited.

But let me know if i can be of help!

Hey Amber,

Good job....Now can you please do this for all of Phoenix area? If not all, at least Scottsdale and Phoenix Metro and East Valley...Thanks in advance....