Relocating from Chicago to AZ and need input on Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert areas (Phoenix: transplants)

[lil ms. sunshine]

Hi, I am going to be relocating to start grad school this summer and am trying to get as much valuable information as I can about some areas to move to. I have narrowed it down to Scottsdale, Tempe, and Gilbert areas, but do not know enough about the areas yet. What specific neighborhoods are good for a single, grad student, would like things conveniently located but not to downtown/city traffic neighborhood and of course safe and possibly dog friendly? Any suggestions? Any specific gated communities etc to recommend looking at or staying away from?? Thank you for any input.

[observer53]

Tempe is a very safe city. I don't think you need to confine your search to gated communities there (and there aren't many).

Scottsdale covers a very broad land area, with south Scottsdale being older and perhaps somewhat less desirable, central to north central Scottsdale being generally older but with some newer apts. Gilbert's fairly large in terms of area, too, and would be probably the furthest from campus. Pet friendly in terms of rentals, in all three cities, depends on the size of the dog and varies from location to location. Sharing a house might work better for you.

[ivanabacowboy]

Where will you be going to school-ASU? I live in the NE Phoenix/North Scottsdale area, as does my sister. She owns, I rent.

Do you plan to rent or buy? If you plan to buy, this part of town is still exceptionally overpriced in my book, but rentals are reasonable. My son goes to ASU and makes the commute everyday-I would suspect takes him 25-30 minutes depending on traffic straight down Scottsdale Road. There is a bus that takes this same route as well-tho it all depends exactly where on Campus you would need to be-it wouldn't be too fun walking a block from the bus stop when it gets 110', but is nice that the option is there if your car ends up in the shop or something. If you find a freeway map, this is generally the area at the top northeast corner of the 101 give or take where it "turns" from cutting north/south to going east/west.

Will you be making a trip out here before moving so that you can "see" the neighborhoods? That's always preferable. That way you can sort of get an idea of which "vibe" you like better. I would never buy sight unseen even with the best realtor in the world, but if you will be renting, there are a lot of nice properties and many will do short term leases that will give you a chance to "get your bearings" before making a longer term commitment. Generally all of the apartment rentals in this part of town will vary from "nice" to "high end"-I can't think of one that is truly "dumpy" for lack of a better word. And many of them are gated if that is important to you.

I really like this part of town. It is convenient to anything I want but still quiet. I can walk to a great deal of it. The name of the game in this part of town is convenience. Most of this area is newer to still under construction and it is very clean and well maintained (tho I originally came from Cleveland where well nothing we newer, clean or well maintained...).

This is generally the area around Kierland, Desert Ridge and "Airpark", on a map north of about Shea or so and east of Tatum. Tho there are other nice places in the valley as well-don't get me wrong. But what I know best is where I live. This is far enough "out" that it isn't as congested, but close enough "in" (and with good freeway access) that I can get to other places pretty easily and fairly quickly. Airport is about 20 minutes give or take varying on time of day, traffic, weather, and which freeway you take.

I can walk to more restaurants than I can count, grocery stores shopping, furniture stores, a couple movie theaters (one is very close which is a really nice theater, the others would be a bit more of a walk but still doable if it was under 110' lol!)-even a hospital if I so needed. And then if I decide I really dont like walking, I can walk and buy a car. Or I could just walk myself to Scottsdale airport (private small flights, not a "big" airport so not a ton of noise or traffic or anything like that) and get out of Dodge.

[lil ms. sunshine]

thank you for the info. I don't have to be in a gated community, I was just trying to describe the type of housing that seems best suited for me. I won't know anybody, so a place that caters to single, young professionals/grad students is appealing. I would like a place with a workout area and pool, not a huge party scence, but some social events to get to know people. Oldtown scottsdale area has been mentioned quite frequently, but I am trying to do as much research as possible before visiting so I can set some appointments up for places. I will be going to Southwest College of Naturalpathic Medicine in Tempe. Thank you for any additional information.

Originally Posted by ivanabacowboy

Where will you be going to school-ASU? I live in the NE Phoenix/North Scottsdale area, as does my sister. She owns, I rent.

Do you plan to rent or buy? If you plan to buy, this part of town is still exceptionally overpriced in my book, but rentals are reasonable. My son goes to ASU and makes the commute everyday-I would suspect takes him 25-30 minutes depending on traffic straight down Scottsdale Road. There is a bus that takes this same route as well-tho it all depends exactly where on Campus you would need to be-it wouldn't be too fun walking a block from the bus stop when it gets 110', but is nice that the option is there if your car ends up in the shop or something. If you find a freeway map, this is generally the area at the top northeast corner of the 101 give or take where it "turns" from cutting north/south to going east/west.

Will you be making a trip out here before moving so that you can "see" the neighborhoods? That's always preferable. That way you can sort of get an idea of which "vibe" you like better. I would never buy sight unseen even with the best realtor in the world, but if you will be renting, there are a lot of nice properties and many will do short term leases that will give you a chance to "get your bearings" before making a longer term commitment. Generally all of the apartment rentals in this part of town will vary from "nice" to "high end"-I can't think of one that is truly "dumpy" for lack of a better word. And many of them are gated if that is important to you.

I really like this part of town. It is convenient to anything I want but still quiet. I can walk to a great deal of it. The name of the game in this part of town is convenience. Most of this area is newer to still under construction and it is very clean and well maintained (tho I originally came from Cleveland where well nothing we newer, clean or well maintained...).

This is generally the area around Kierland, Desert Ridge and "Airpark", on a map north of about Shea or so and east of Tatum. Tho there are other nice places in the valley as well-don't get me wrong. But what I know best is where I live. This is far enough "out" that it isn't as congested, but close enough "in" (and with good freeway access) that I can get to other places pretty easily and fairly quickly. Airport is about 20 minutes give or take varying on time of day, traffic, weather, and which freeway you take.

I can walk to more restaurants than I can count, grocery stores shopping, furniture stores, a couple movie theaters (one is very close which is a really nice theater, the others would be a bit more of a walk but still doable if it was under 110' lol!)-even a hospital if I so needed. And then if I decide I really dont like walking, I can walk and buy a car. Or I could just walk myself to Scottsdale airport (private small flights, not a "big" airport so not a ton of noise or traffic or anything like that) and get out of Dodge.

[observer53]

There's some nice apartments/townhouses/other residential very near where you are going to school. Northeast Phx, north Scottsdale are nice places to live, but I don't know that you need to go that far. I've lived in Tempe a long time, and while I travel all around the Valley, and work in downtown Phoenix, I wouldn't have to go out of Tempe to find most of what I need in terms of shopping, entertainment, etc.

[traveler26]

My husband and I just relocated to Tempe from Chicago 2 weeks ago. We are renting an apartment at Pinnacle Grove since we needed a short term lease and this apartment complex offers discounts for certain employers and my husband's company was one of them. Most of the apartments were recently renovated, there is a workout room, pool and hot tub with all new lounge furniture and a gas grill by the pool. There is a range of tenants from old to young, and many transplants. Everyone here has been really friendly so far and it is a dog friendly complex. There are orange and grapefruit trees on the property and you can pick the fruit off. The management has been super nice, and maintenance comes within 24 hours to fix something. We had a closet rod fall off and they came withing a couple hours to fix it. The rent is reasonable and you can purchase a carport space for $10.

My only complaint is we live on the second floor. The people above us have two very noisy dogs that howl at all hours. I love dogs, and I have never hated ones as much as I hate these. We only hear noise from above so I wish we would have selected the 3rd floor unit. Luckily, we are only here for one more month.

Living in AZ has been an adjustment, but my husband and I both really like living here so far. Best of luck to you!

[dus22]

Hey lil ms sunshine! I too am from Chicago and moving to tempe at the end of May, kinda weird... But I would recommend tempe north of the river or old town scottsdale. It is by far the best area for people our age (I feel). I don't drink or party much so all that is just an added bonus if you do, but I love having ASU 5 min away and downtown Scottsdale less than 10 min away. Without drinking there is still A LOT to do. I will be living by the 202 also so you can just jump on and get downtown in about 15-20 min and the 101 is also right there, I visited my buddy who is north in scottsdale and it only took about 30 min to get there.

I would say take a look at the north tempe area as for being 22 (or about) I don't know any place I would rather be... I could tell you some of the places i've been looking at but they vary in price quite a bit...

[synapse]

For a single grad student I'd recommend either Old Town Scottsdale (just south of Scottsdale and Camelback) or Tempe (around Mill Avenue and 5th.) Those areas are both young, walkable, vibrant, and interesting. Tempe gives you the additional advantage of being on the light rail route so you can easily get to downtown Phoenix.

The problem with Phoenix as opposed to Chicago is that it doesn't have much in the way of a walkable urban feel. There are little areas that are like that, but they're scattered. Still, it's improving rapidly, and those areas are ones you'll likely feel comfortable with. I'd avoid Gilbert. Nothing wrong with it, but it's really designed for families.

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by lil ms. sunshine

Hi, I am going to be relocating to start grad school this summer and am trying to get as much valuable information as I can about some areas to move to. I have narrowed it down to Scottsdale, Tempe, and Gilbert areas, but do not know enough about the areas yet. What specific neighborhoods are good for a single, grad student, would like things conveniently located but not to downtown/city traffic neighborhood and of course safe and possibly dog friendly? Any suggestions? Any specific gated communities etc to recommend looking at or staying away from?? Thank you for any input.

Awesome! Please stay after you graduate.

Synapse hit the nail on the head for both cities (tempe, scottsdale), considering you are sngle and a grad student. If I had to say one of them, with the info you gave, I'd say the old town scottsdale area is better.