Moving to Phoenix-neighborhoods or areas to avoid? (Glendale: real estate, apartment complexes)

[Rogueromulan]

I am moving to Phoenix, VERY soon for work. I'm looking for a small studio where I can live for about a year until I can buy. I want to be close to work, which is on W. Monroe in downtown.
I'm looking for something primarily in downtown/Glendale, but I've heard mixed things in terms of safety. I'm a single male, and I used to live in North Hollywood, so I don't need Beverly Hills and I'm don't want to spend a lot each month on rent. By the same token, I don't want to pay $400 a month and live in the ghetto either.

Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Cj81]

Well if you are going to work in downtown Phoenix and you want to live close to work then you probably don't want to live in Glendale. I wouldn't consider Glendale "close" to downtown Phoenix. I would suggest looking for something in or near downtown Phoenix. Just so you know, there is tons of construction going on downtown, so it can be difficult to get around. Try this website as a resource, it lists all the rental properies in Copper Square (downtown) http://downtownphx.org/livinghere/ (broken link). Another good resource for apartments http://www.apartmentguide.com/, you can search the different areas of Phoenix through that website. You should also consider renting a condo, there are a lot of them for rent due to all of the investors that purchased them during the recent real estate boom. You can often find better deals renting a condo than you would through an apartment complex. I don't know of any exact resources for condos, but if you do a google search for "condos rent phoenix" you might come up with something, or you could always contact a local realtor who could help you.

[exit2lef]

I'm not sure if "downtown / Glendale" means "Downtown Glendale" or "Downtown Phoenix or Glendale." Downtown Glendale has a nice antiques district and hosts several nice festivals every year. Nevertheless, the residential neighborhoods surrounding it are in transition, and some of the apartment complexes nearby are somewhat dodgy. As Cj81 suggests, I think you'd do better to focus on Central Phoenix, but I would expand your search beyond Downtown to include Midtown, North Central, Biltmore, etc.

One warning: Quality studio apartments are fairly rare in Phoenix. Usually to get into a higher-quality apartment complex, it's necessary to rent a one-bedroom. As suggested above, condo rentals may be a viable alternative, but again there are very few studio condos. Without knowing more about your price range, it's hard to be much more specific.

[sablebaby]

Well, he said no more than $400 a month. That will be VERY difficult! And YES it will be ghetto. The rentals out here are going up in price. We don't have luxury studios for $400/month. More like $1000/month. No seriously, you would need to bump that by double to not be "ghetto".

[Rogueromulan]

I should have been a little more specific. I'm working downtown on West Monroe in 85003. I had been looking at places as close as 85008, but then from reading further saw that that area is probably exactly where I want to avoid. I'd ideally like to spend no more than $700 per month. I'm looking for a place where I can sleep, prepare meals, enjoy some downtime and get to work in half an hour. I'm not looking for a place to settle into, because I'll likely be moving into something permanent a year later.

Any additional feedbacl is appreciated.

Thanks!

[exit2lef]

I'd try zip code 85004. A long time ago I live in the Monte Vista Apartments at 302 E Monte Vista Rd. The nearest cross streets were McDowell and Central. There are some other modest complexes nearby, particurlary along Third St. The complex was not luxurious or upscale by any means, but it was well maintained and felt reasonably safe. The other complexes nearby seemed about the same -- old and modest, but in reasonably good shape. You might want to consider this option because although the apartments themselves are quite modest, they are near the historic districts, the Phoenix Art Museum, and the Heard Museum, all of which upgrade the neighborhood. It looks like current rents at the speciifc complex mentioned are still less than $700.

[Cj81]

You should try 85016, it will get you out of downtown but not to far away, probably about a 15 - 20 minute commute. You could probably find something reasonable in the Biltmore area. However there are still some very nice places along central. A few you could search for on apartmentguide.com
would be
Roosevelt Square, located at central and Roosevelt, its a very nice place with retail on the ground floor.
The Pavillions on central, located at central and campbell, also very nice.

These are just a few located along central and there are several others, they are all very nice, luxury apartments, but not priced to bad. I would use the Apartmentguide.com website and you can input all of your requirements for an advanced search. And like I said 85016 is a pretty good one too, well try to stay north, it gets a little ghetto to the south , near Mcdowell.

Try the website and come up with a few places, post them back on this site and I will give you my opinion of the area and the complex. I am very familiar with the area and most of the apartments in the area.

[a40oz2free]

i live in 85014 which is directly west of 85016. the neighborhood isn't the newest or greatest but i don't feel like i'm in danger ever. besides, i'm only about a mile from the biltmore and about 10 minutes up 7th street from downtown. i pay $700 for a 2 bedroom apartment in a small gated complex with my own private YARD. it's the nicest unit in the complex as well. stay away from the huge apartment complexes with high crime and shoddy construction and dig a little deeper into the smaller ones. you'll pay a lot less and get a lot more.

[BeachBumOre]

Please consider a leson I have learned from my many travels! If the town, city whatever has . .. Hard ground, then you will have a more than likely . . . Hard life and be living around hard people. (like sheriff Joe)

So many seem so wounded. . . here;
and wait to leave,

[Rogueromulan]

I really appreciate everyone who took they time to give me their advice and insight. I'm coming out to Phoenix to look at some places that I found thanks to the input from everyone.

I'm probably going to go to The Biltmore area, 85013-85016, which sounds safe, but not overly expensive or fancy.

Thanks again so much!!!