Phoenix Residents-If you were me...

[military spouse]

My prioritized list would be:
Old Litchfield Park (not the newer areas, but the part within the walls)
Goodyear (North of I-10) or Estrella Mountain Ranch (S. of I-10, but VERY nice)
Goodyear (South of I-10)
Avondale (North of I-10)
Avondale (South of I-10)

Of course, you will get many opinions because most of us like where we live and we tend to suggest it to others. I actually live in Goodyear, but love the older parts of Litchfield.

[military spouse]

I forgot to mention Verrado. Perhaps a bit more of a drive, but a lovely community.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by LeprechaunSean

I had been curious about peoria because it was rated 55th out of the hundred best places to live in the us this year, but alot of the houses seemed older, so where is the new area?

The further north you go, the newer it gets. I used to spend a lot more time out there when my sister lived there. Ten years ago, around the time she left, there was a lot of building going on from Cactus Road north. (she was in an older county island between Thunderbird and Greenway, due south of Arrowhead Mall) Now, it's spread even further north, but I don't think you have to go that far north to find a nice area (and, I guess it depends on how you define "older" home).

[Finger Laker]

I would suggest the following in order:

1 - Old Litchfield Park (I too dig the vibe)

2a - Goodyear - N. of I-10 around Palm Valley - great school district, nice new homes
2b - Goodyear - S of I-10 - school district not as good as the LESD, however I enjoy this part of town more - will be near the downtown goodyear development, the 3 private universities, shopping, etc
2c - Goodyear - Estrella - a little more secluded, but a lovely area

3 - Arrowhead - another great area of the city, but a little longer commute than goodyear

4 - Verrado - although in Buckeye, this development maintains in the LESD and schools that you would around goodyear - beautiful community, although a big secluded

5 - Avondale - there are some good value neighborhoods and most of it isn't as bad as people paint it - however, with young kids I would rank it last with the schools alone

speaking of schools, I would be shocked if at some point in the relatively near future we don't see some district consolidation - i know they fought it hard and it was voted down, but with the budget the way it is they're going to have to create scale at some point

[LeprechaunSean]

yeah overall I think I'm going to concentrate on the palm valley area north of the I-10, it seems like probably the best bang for your buck for housing prices/good neighborhood/close to work. thanks for all your input guys..

[omle]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

I would suggest the following in order:

1 - Old Litchfield Park (I too dig the vibe)

2a - Goodyear - N. of I-10 around Palm Valley - great school district, nice new homes
2b - Goodyear - S of I-10 - school district not as good as the LESD, however I enjoy this part of town more - will be near the downtown goodyear development, the 3 private universities, shopping, etc
2c - Goodyear - Estrella - a little more secluded, but a lovely area

3 - Arrowhead - another great area of the city, but a little longer commute than goodyear

4 - Verrado - although in Buckeye, this development maintains in the LESD and schools that you would around goodyear - beautiful community, although a big secluded

5 - Avondale - there are some good value neighborhoods and most of it isn't as bad as people paint it - however, with young kids I would rank it last with the schools alone

speaking of schools, I would be shocked if at some point in the relatively near future we don't see some district consolidation - i know they fought it hard and it was voted down, but with the budget the way it is they're going to have to create scale at some point

Interesting you mention Verrado. I was wondering how this community is doing. It certainly was well planned and I enjoyed my visit there a year ago. Liked a lot about it. That said, I'm not "into" master planned communities...but it was quite lovely.

After reading this thread I'm definately going to look at "old Litchfield". Love the older, interesting parts of the valley.