Gilbert's Counterpart in the West Valley?

[miamiman]

How about Litchfield Park? Still a very small town relative to Gilbert, but it has the second highest median income of any suburb in the Valley (Paradise Valley is number one). Your husband would just have to take Camelback eastbound in the morning. Your son would have to take the eastbound 10 to school everyday, which would be be brutal.

I don't know of any malls/lifestyle centers in the Litchfield Park area. Your closest malls/centers would be Westgate and Arrowhead in Glendale. The closest everyday shopping would be in Avondale closer to the freeway.

[andrzejn]

Originally Posted by miamiman

How about Litchfield Park? Still a very small town relative to Gilbert, but it has the second highest median income of any suburb in the Valley (Paradise Valley is number one). Your husband would just have to take Camelback eastbound in the morning. Your son would have to take the eastbound 10 to school everyday, which would be be brutal.

I don't know of any malls/lifestyle centers in the Litchfield Park area. Your closest malls/centers would be Westgate and Arrowhead in Glendale. The closest everyday shopping would be in Avondale closer to the freeway.

Agree Litchfield Park is very nice but that commute to downtown Phoenix would be brutal. I'm pretty sure that the worst freeway in the morning.

[Finger Laker]

really not much worse than arrowhead

[observer53]

Originally Posted by andrzejn

Arrowhead Ranch is located in northwest corner of loop 101. Its located in Glendale on a border with Peoria. I know your hobby is set on Gilbert but what specific things that he likes about town of Gilbert?

Arrowhead is EAST of the 101, essentially between the 101 and 59th Ave, and north of Bell. Areas of Peoria, to the west of there, would also be very nice.

Gilbert is a large bedroom community-type suburb, with a nice shopping area, (Chandler Fashion Center doesn't count, it's in Chandler ) nice parks, a lot of new construction. The described areas of the northwest Valley are essentially the same as Gilbert, with all the same amenities. (And, if anyone in your family is a baseball fan, the northwest Valley is pretty much spring training central now, with the new Dodgers facility at Camelback Ranch joining the Peoria and Surprise complexes.)

The commute to downtown will be tough from far southeast or far northwest. No difference. Do the ASU buses run from ASU West to downtown, or just between downtown and the main campus? Maybe he could do that some of the time. A lot less stressful!

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by observer53

Arrowhead is EAST of the 101, essentially between the 101 and 59th Ave, and north of Bell. Areas of Peoria, to the west of there, would also be very nice.

Gilbert is a large bedroom community-type suburb, with a nice shopping area, (Chandler Fashion Center doesn't count, it's in Chandler ) nice parks, a lot of new construction. The described areas of the northwest Valley are essentially the same as Gilbert, with all the same amenities. (And, if anyone in your family is a baseball fan, the northwest Valley is pretty much spring training central now, with the new Dodgers facility at Camelback Ranch joining the Peoria and Surprise complexes.)

The commute to downtown will be tough from far southeast or far northwest. No difference. Do the ASU buses run from ASU West to downtown, or just between downtown and the main campus? Maybe he could do that some of the time. A lot less stressful!

Actually, our entire family loves baseball. I didn't realize that so many of the spring training facilities were in the NW Valley, I thought they were more in the SW areas like Goodyear. Good information to know, since our son is a baseball player and would greatly appreciate living in "spring training central"!

If the commutes are virtually equal, that is very good to know too. What our son was planning on doing was driving to the Tempe campus and taking the light rail into downtown. I need to check to see if the light rail services the West Valley out to the Glendale campus, because then he could do the same thing there. If not, I'm fairly certain that there is a shuttle from the Glendale campus to downtown. I'll check into it, and that's a good idea too.

I know that Chandler Fashion Center Mall is in Chandler, but the area of Gilbert where we were looking was only a couple of miles from it,and it is really a nice mall, and we especially loved San Tan Village too. Gilbert just appealed to our suburban side, I guess, and we can't afford the amenities that we want in a house any closer in like in Tempe or Scottsdale. I really wish that we had visited the NW Valley when we were out there, but we had no idea that Hubbie would get hired in Glendale.

Thanks again for all of the advice, everyone!

[Ponderosa]

If your son would be driving to downtown in non rush hour the commute from Goodyear to downtown would be a breeze - roughly 20 minutes from some parts - and faster than from Arrowhead or Gilbert for that matter. I-10 gets hammered during rush hours, but other times it's wide open.

Goodyear is the west valley's premier town of the foreseeable future. It is a Chandler/Gilbert clone (with baseball) but it is 15 years behind in terms of growth and development.

It probably won't help your son, but ASU has expressed interest in a campus in Goodyear. There were two private universities, Franklin-Pierce and Incarnate Word, that had plans to build campuses in Goodyear as well, but Incarnate Word has pulled out on news of the ASU interest.

[canudigit]

Thanks for the info on Goodyear. Our son actually has to attend the downtown Phoenix campus of ASU, as he is enrolled in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and all of their facilities are downtown, but at least Goodyear gives me another idea of where to look. It doesn't hurt that his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, just opened up a brand new spring training facility in Goodyear!

[Finger Laker]

also pending class times the commute to downtown wouldn't be that bad - for a 9am class he could be out of the house by 8:15 and make it most days

[observer53]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Actually, our entire family loves baseball. I didn't realize that so many of the spring training facilities were in the NW Valley, I thought they were more in the SW areas like Goodyear. Good information to know, since our son is a baseball player and would greatly appreciate living in "spring training central"!

If the commutes are virtually equal, that is very good to know too. What our son was planning on doing was driving to the Tempe campus and taking the light rail into downtown. I need to check to see if the light rail services the West Valley out to the Glendale campus, because then he could do the same thing there. If not, I'm fairly certain that there is a shuttle from the Glendale campus to downtown. I'll check into it, and that's a good idea too.

I Thanks again for all of the advice, everyone!

As baseball fans, you are in good shape in the NW Valley!

The light rail only goes to 19th and Montebello (just s of Bethany Home) right now. I'd look at Valley Metro to see if one of the express buses from the NW Valley would work all the way to downtown for him or will stop at the light rail station at 19th so he can go the rest of the way on the rail. Since the express buses only run during rush periods, he could drive to 19th and take the rail from there, too. So, with the ASU bus as well, he has options to driving all the way every day.

[Finger Laker]

there are express busses that go from the goodyear park and ride and the arrowhead mall area (hitting the glendale park and ride) - however, they are on commuters hours

the local busses from arrowhead to downtown are brutal

i've never done it from goodyear