Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Celebrating Memorial Day!
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-27-2009, 08:18 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,438,965 times
Reputation: 10726

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by PricelessReflections View Post
Ok well I just found (and joined) this forum tonight, but have recently made the move with my husband and chlidren from Cincinnati to Phoenix. Our initial thought was to purchase a home in S'dale, but it all boiled down to the question, "Do we want the zip code or do we want more house for our money?" We have quite a few kids (LOL) so we ended up in Chandler, w/ a great house and at least $100k smaller price tag. We love it here, for what it's worth. I drove to S'dale for dinner tonight w/ a friend, took 20 min's, and wasn't bad at all.

Just food for thought. I know you said you're renting - but if you do eventually want to buy, hopefully that info is helpful to you.

What a great forum. Glad I found it!
Welcome, to the Valley and the forum... stick around, and chime in!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-28-2009, 04:02 AM
 
10,719 posts, read 20,307,778 times
Reputation: 10021
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrooklynPitt View Post
I have to chime in. We are "empty nesters" - also from NJ, and ready to buy in the Valley as snowbirds (not ready to retire and move yet . . . will I ever be able to retire?). I agree with BBartlett and Ponderosa, and as an outsider have observed their views in practice. Scottsdale DEFINITELY has "brand name" appeal, or a higher status over the other communities. Now, regarding the so-called "snob appeal" of Scottsdale, it's no different any where else in the world. As a NJ guy, you'll understand that. If you buy a house in Englewood Cliffs, you'll pay much more than for a house in Englewood proper. Same reason that companies NOT in Princeton, NJ use a Princeton P.O. Box address (who outside of my county has ever heard of municipalities like Ewing, West Windsor or Plainsboro?). If you're a couple that must have a house in a community with immediate name recognition, just like you must drive a Mercedes - not a Ford - then your decision is already made. I just hope that it's worth the extra money you'll spend in housing costs.
In other states such as NJ for example, there is a clear reason why Englewood Cliffs is nicer than Englewood proper. In Arizona, many of the lesser "brand name communities" actually have nicer homes and neighborhoods than Scottsdale because they are newer and better developed. I don't mean to brag but I can essentially live anywhere I want to in the valley and I chose to live in Chandler. A lot of others like Captain Bill, Observer and others could also live in Scottsdale if they chose to do so. Scottsdale is a nice community and is more recognizable but comparing Scottsdale to Gilbert isn't like comparing Malibu to Chino Hills. And most cities in the valley are so close to each other that you don't need to live in Scottsdale to enjoy it. This is why people live elsewhere and then drive to Scottsdale to have dinner etc. I live in Chandler and can drive to Old Town Scottsdale (entertainment district) in 20 minutes, but I prefer Chandler because it has a younger, more diverse and educated population and I like the layout and structure of the city better than Scottsdale. The Phoenix metro is very nice overall unlike most large cities and even our worst areas are not so bad when compared to some communities in NJ or the East Coast in general. Seriously, our supposed crime area of West Phoenix and Maryvale looks nicer than Edison and many parts of Jersey. We are indeed spoiled in Phoenix

Last edited by azriverfan.; 10-28-2009 at 04:26 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top