Rental Homes and Great Schools (Phoenix, Mesa: for sale, real estate, crime rates)

[ShanMan72]

Ok..I'm from Wisconsin. I just posted my home for sale this past week and surprisingly, with the economy being ehhhh, it sold in one day. Now I'm in a rush to find some place to live in the Phoenix area. We've decided that we'd like to rent a house but have no idea who to talk to or what to look out for. We're a family of 5 so it's important that we relocate to an area that has great elementary schools. I've been checking the basic websites for rentals but then again there's the question of where to look given our childrens' ages (3, 3, and 6). Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[AZgarden]

Hi Shanman: Congrats on selling so fast !!!!! I sent you a personal message in case you need some more help with moving here.

[ivanabacowboy]

Congrats on a quick sale. Where will you and/or your spouse be working? That will in large part determine where is best to live and posters here can help you identify the better areas near there for schools and the like. Phoenix is HUGE and you or your spouse could end up with an absolutely horrific commute without ever leaving city limits. Toss in the surrounding burbs and you are looking at many many many square miles of real estate. To give you an idea, I am originally from Cleveland. Phoenix is approximately 5 times the size of Cleveland. And that is just the city itself-not including any burbs.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by ShanMan72

Ok..I'm from Wisconsin. I just posted my home for sale this past week and surprisingly, with the economy being ehhhh, it sold in one day. Now I'm in a rush to find some place to live in the Phoenix area. We've decided that we'd like to rent a house but have no idea who to talk to or what to look out for. We're a family of 5 so it's important that we relocate to an area that has great elementary schools. I've been checking the basic websites for rentals but then again there's the question of where to look given our childrens' ages (3, 3, and 6). Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

A great deal will depend on where you will be working, and how far you'll willing to commute.

There are some great schools in the east valley of Chandler and Gilbert. A part of East Mesa is in the Gilbert school district, and there are plenty of good homes for families to rent.

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by ShanMan72

Ok..I'm from Wisconsin. I just posted my home for sale this past week and surprisingly, with the economy being ehhhh, it sold in one day. Now I'm in a rush to find some place to live in the Phoenix area. We've decided that we'd like to rent a house but have no idea who to talk to or what to look out for. We're a family of 5 so it's important that we relocate to an area that has great elementary schools. I've been checking the basic websites for rentals but then again there's the question of where to look given our childrens' ages (3, 3, and 6). Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This would depend on your price range and where you and/or your husband will be working. You definitely want to live as close as you can to your place of work. That being said, I am very partial to the northwest valley as that is where I live. Northern Glendale and Northern Peoria have some really nice family friendly neighborhoods. I have heard that the Peoria school district and Deer Valley school district are good. Check greatschools.net. For instance the school in my neighborhood is Frontier Elementary.

Some neighborhoods to check out are

Vistancia
Westwing Mountain
Fletcher Heights
Sonoran Mountain Ranch
Sierra Verde
Hillcrest
Arrowhead Ranch

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by ShanMan72

Ok..I'm from Wisconsin. I just posted my home for sale this past week and surprisingly, with the economy being ehhhh, it sold in one day. Now I'm in a rush to find some place to live in the Phoenix area. We've decided that we'd like to rent a house but have no idea who to talk to or what to look out for. We're a family of 5 so it's important that we relocate to an area that has great elementary schools. I've been checking the basic websites for rentals but then again there's the question of where to look given our childrens' ages (3, 3, and 6). Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Congratulations on the quick sale. Some parts of the Milwaukee area are still good, although even there, some real estate has taken a hit. But not a colossal dump, like around here. Out of curiosity what area of Milwaukee did you come from? I live in the city part of the year.

Personally I'd avoid Gilbert and Chandler, and rent in Scottsdale. Good schools and a nice community. It's big though so you'd need to look at what part, and how much you want to pay.

Unless you came from the far suburbs of Milwaukee, Gilbert and Chandler are too far, are boring as hell, and have too many LDS people... which is worth another thread (and probably has already been).

Of course, the commute is another issue. I guess it depends on where you're working.

[jodypag]

I also recommend Scottsdale area its where we are heading to the 15th and it had the best schools (and of course close to hubbys work). I don't know what the previous posters issues are about LDS people but well they live pretty much everywhere and 9 times out of 10 you probably wont know unless they tell you :P

We also found our home on craigslist so i definitely recommend checking there too! goodluck!

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Congratulations on the quick sale. Some parts of the Milwaukee area are still good, although even there, some real estate has taken a hit. But not a colossal dump, like around here. Out of curiosity what area of Milwaukee did you come from? I live in the city part of the year.

Personally I'd avoid Gilbert and Chandler, and rent in Scottsdale. Good schools and a nice community. It's big though so you'd need to look at what part, and how much you want to pay.

Unless you came from the far suburbs of Milwaukee, Gilbert and Chandler are too far, are boring as hell, and have too many LDS people... which is worth another thread (and probably has already been).

Of course, the commute is another issue. I guess it depends on where you're working.

Gilbert and Chandler are great communities and have excellent schools, from elementary to high schools.

Scottsdale is also good, but much more expensive, and many people don't think the "address" is worth the expense. That is a decision that one's budget usually determines.

Boring is a personal opinion. I live in Gilbert and don't find it boring at all. And neither do any of my many friends and associates.

Complaining about LSD people is a personal bias against a religious group, and as you said, best discussed on another thread.

Comments like those do not help someone to relocate to the Phoenix area.

The first thing a relocating family needs to do is to determine where they will work, and how far they're willing to commute.

Then they need to learn facts about the various cities, and the schools, as well as the crime rates.

After they choose the city, then can zero in on the school district and then the house that is within their budget.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

Gilbert and Chandler are great communities and have excellent schools, from elementary to high schools.

Scottsdale is also good, but much more expensive, and many people don't think the "address" is worth the expense. That is a decision that one's budget usually determines.

Boring is a personal opinion. I live in Gilbert and don't find it boring at all. And neither do any of my many friends and associates.

Complaining about LSD people is a personal bias against a religious group, and as you said, best discussed on another thread.

Comments like those do not help someone to relocate to the Phoenix area.

The first thing a relocating family needs to do is to determine where they will work, and how far they're willing to commute.

Then they need to learn facts about the various cities, and the schools, as well as the crime rates.

After they choose the city, then can zero in on the school district and then the house that is within their budget.

Opinions absolutely help people relocate, although they may not shore up your business of trying to get new clients. Since you sell real estate, and I do not, we shall find few things, if any, that we see eye to eye on. Particularly ones that might impact your business, as slim a chance as they may have of actually doing so.

Telling people what and who they will find in a given area is critically important, both pro and con. If I was looking for help relocating, I might be asking where there are a lot of Jewish people. That is not something that's wrong, it's perfectly on topic and perfectly legitimate. While these things may not be legal or ethical for an agent to discuss when you're in the process of selling a home, I am not encumbered by any such requirements. I'm here to tell people what I think.

Now to keep things on topic with my original response, there are an estimated 100,000 Mormons living in the east valley, and the LDS church has selected a new temple site in Gilbert. That is something that I would want to know if I was moving there, so I've taken the time to express that to the OP--whether they need to know or not. Not everyone wants to live around or with people of a certain religion for many reasons. Besides that, Gilbert and Chandler--compared to Scottsdale--are boring, farther from the action, and have more LDS people. But, I'm not nearly as old as you are and I'm not LDS, so it is highly likely, that our opinions will be measured with a different stick.

Just so that the OP is aware, I am not here to sell real estate, just to give my opinion. You sell real estate, so your opinion is inherently biased, period.

Have a nice evening, Captain. And to the OP, I hope you have good luck finding what you are looking for.

[twixcookie]

Originally Posted by ShanMan72

Ok..I'm from Wisconsin. I just posted my home for sale this past week and surprisingly, with the economy being ehhhh, it sold in one day. Now I'm in a rush to find some place to live in the Phoenix area. We've decided that we'd like to rent a house but have no idea who to talk to or what to look out for. We're a family of 5 so it's important that we relocate to an area that has great elementary schools. I've been checking the basic websites for rentals but then again there's the question of where to look given our childrens' ages (3, 3, and 6). Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

You are in for a culture shock. Arizona schools rank the rankiest in the nation. Yeah, they all say the schools are great...those are people who think if their kid shows up everyday, just passes, doesn't get in trouble, doesn't do drugs or get pregnant, they're doing fine.
For me, the bar is set much higher. I moved here with a kid who was constant honor roll in schools back east. It has been a nightmare.