Best all around area to move to in Phoenix (Mesa: sales, real estate market)

[crowns05]

My wife and I are dentists and are thinking of moving to Phoenix. What towns are the best to move to now? best schools?safest?most to do?growing?economy?any help be appreciated.

[sablebaby]

I'd say Scottsdale is good as it has the least depreciation. I'd also recommend N. Glendale over in Arrowhead Ranch. But, there are many great places to live it's hard to go over them all.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I am not a resident as of yet, just a casual observer and regular visitor over the past 5 years of parts of the valley, a regular contributor to this forum, and someone that is having a home built now. My opinion is limited to that. As such I prefer the city of Surprise for the ability to get a lot of home for a little money. Also Surprise has been listed as one of the safest areas in the state. There are just over 100,000 residents to the city and growth hasn't stopped although it has slowed down. There is a lot to do within the city and area. Surprise has a spring training facility for the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins I think. I always get the Texas Rangers correct and mess up on the other team. That part of town has a lot to offer. Across the street from there is an aquatic facility, with a pool area, water slides, and other things. 4th of July is fun there. You can hang out at the water park and watch the fire works show at the training facility. The White Tank mountains are just west of the city and there is a great recreational area to explore if you like the outdoors. Not too far away in Glendale is the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals Football team. If you watched the Super Bowl you had a glimpse of that great place. Maybe if we are lucky the Cardinalls can get a chance to be in the game someday. I would say that most shopping within Surprise is off of Bell road. Within the valley Bell road connects most of the Northern side of the valley. Most of your upscale shopping can be done in the Arrowhead area not to far from Surprise, near Bell road. Within the next few years there will be a regional mall, auto mall, office complex built. Also within that area of Surprise you will find upscale housing being built. I have to tell you that most of the long time residents will say that the commute times from Surprise are killer. I am from Southern California and have no problem with commuting problems in the area. I finally made some time to be out there during rush hour traffic and I didn't have an issue with it. Just depends what you can live with. Also as Dentists, I doubt you would have a large commute time if your plan is to open your own practice. Another thought to that is remember that most of Surprise is new. Chances are there is a need for dentist in the area. Even with a slowdown in the real estate market, over the next 10 years there will still be growth within the area. As far as schools, all the schools that I have seen in Surprise are fairly new. They are building more schools. I am not an expert on the quality of the education in Surprise or in Arizona. Next year I will be a better source of advice for that.

There are great areas in other parts of the valley. My other recomendations are North side of Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale, and I have heard Gilbert is very nice. I like these other cities as well. They are more established and have a lot more in the way of shopping, business, and infrastructure. Also most of them probably have established dental practices. I guess you may need to decide if you are going to open your own practice, or are you planning on joining a practice. I know that the Surprise are could really use some good dentist. Then again I am an outsider looking in, and my oppinions only reflect my limited knowledge.

[ibarrio]

I would say Surprise....because you have a new city with new opportunities, Scottsdale is an established community and I'm sure it is full of established Dentists.

Surprise growth is not really slowing down. Home sales may be slower but growth is very evident. New developments include Prasada, Asante, and Stadium Village.

Here are some links for you...

Prominent Projects in Surprise (http://www.surpriseaz.com/index.asp?NID=1177 - broken link)

Surprise Economic Development Department

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by crowns05

My wife and I are dentists and are thinking of moving to Phoenix. What towns are the best to move to now? best schools?safest?most to do?growing?economy?any help be appreciated.

The Kyrene school district is one of the best. It is in part of South Tempe and Ahwatukee. This is in the east valley. Also in the east valley is South Chandler with good schools and Gilbert, whose school district is similar to Kyrene.

There are many more locations for medical offices in the South Chandler and Gilbert areas. There are two new hospitals in Gilbert, the Mercy Gilbert hospital on Val Vista at the 202, and Banner Gateway at Highley and the highway 60.

I live in Val Vista Lakes in Gilbert, which is a master planned community, and one of the best in the area, with the most amenities. Three of the neighbors on my street in my small gated sub community are doctors, one is a pharmacist, and another is a dentist who has his practice located about 5 minutes away.

Gilbert has a good reputation as being one of the safer and very friendly family oriented towns.

[hts]

We love Anthem, as it's a very unique community (and unlike some other areas of the metro--it really has that 'village' community feel to it, for better or worse). Scottsdale, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, etc. all pretty much blend into one another, but you *know* when you're in Anthem.

You might not like it as a place to live unless your practice is up that way, as it's a bit removed from the metro at-large (an additional benefit to us, but not to others).

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by crowns05

My wife and I are dentists and are thinking of moving to Phoenix. What towns are the best to move to now? best schools?safest?most to do?growing?economy?any help be appreciated.

Hi Crowns05. There are lots of good places to consider around Phoenix. We like Goodyear, Surprise, Cave Creek, northern Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Anthem, northern Glendale, and northern Peoria. We chose northern Peoria because of the great schools, work commute, safety, growth, etc. We're glad we did because we love living here. Best wishes to you in your search.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by crowns05

My wife and I are dentists and are thinking of moving to Phoenix. What towns are the best to move to now? best schools?safest?most to do?growing?economy?any help be appreciated.

There is really no one best place in the Phoenix Metro Area. The region is so large and varied that it depends on your tastes and priorities. You've let us know that schools and safety are a priority, but there are other things to consider:

What types of recreation do you wish to be near? -- hiking trails, bike paths, etc.

Is it important to be near cultural amenities? -- museums, galleries, the zoo, etc.

Do you like a desert look, or would you prefer an irrigated neighborhood with grass, citrus, trees, etc.?

Do you want to be near independent shops and restaurants, or are you content with chain restaurants and big box stores?

What price range are you looking at?

[Finger Laker]

it really depends what you are looking for - sounds like you would both be able to afford most areas

litchfield park and the section of goodyear immediately surrounding it could be a nice fit - good schools, estabilished community, etc

you could also look at places like verrado and the rest of goodyear if you are looking for a growth environment

i love the arrowhead area as well

fountain hills is still very nice and I know people who swear by chandler/gilbert

all depends on what you are looking for

[hts]

DC Ranch in Scottsdale has a real nice vibe to it. It's pricey, in the flightplan, and they have overground power lines, but other then that, it's great. We actually had a lot deposit, but withdrew it.

Verrado is also very nice (developed by the same outstanding company as DC Ranch), but it's out there's a way. I suspect housing prices have been crushed given its location.