Phoenix and surrounding towns????? (Mesa, Glendale: apartment, renting, condominium) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

Stuckonaz · 03-13-2007, 02:28 PM

It seems to me that phoenix is the #1 area that you live near if you're looking for more job opportunities. I don't want to live in the "city" of phoenix. Maybe in a nice town 30-40 min. away? I was thinking of renting a house, or getting an apartment or a townhose or a condo ($100-$1200 in renting per month). Not buying a house though!

I would LOVE a nice area, friendly people, amazing views, mountains preferably close by-i love biking, hiking, etc. Something to do in the town-safe town preferably. I was thinking maybe Gilbert or Glendale or Surprise or Sun City. Can anyone tell me anything about those four towns? Or, maybe another town i could be intrested in? Also pet friendly. That's a must! I'm single at the moment, I do hope to get married some day...so an area thats good for singles and families in the future?

Thanks in advance for any information you might have

irwin · 03-13-2007, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuckonaz

It seems to me that phoenix is the #1 area that you live near if you're looking for more job opportunities. I don't want to live in the "city" of phoenix. Maybe in a nice town 30-40 min. away? I was thinking of renting a house, or getting an apartment or a townhose or a condo ($100-$1200 in renting per month). Not buying a house though!

I would LOVE a nice area, friendly people, amazing views, mountains preferably close by-i love biking, hiking, etc. Something to do in the town-safe town preferably. I was thinking maybe Gilbert or Glendale or Surprise or Sun City. Can anyone tell me anything about those four towns? Or, maybe another town i could be intrested in? Also pet friendly. That's a must! I'm single at the moment, I do hope to get married some day...so an area thats good for singles and families in the future?

Thanks in advance for any information you might have

Not sure where you are from, but one thing you have to remember here is that the surrounding burbs of Phoenix (i.e. Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, etc) are basically the same as Phoenix. They are all one big burb. It's not really a "town" feel you would get from, say, a town on the main line outside of Philly. It's more like LA where it is one big sprawl all merged together. In fact, some of the burbs are more city-like than Phoenix. Tempe for example (a burb) is more dense than Phoenix.

That being said, if that is what you want, you can find some new, developments for fairly cheap out here. If you are single, personally, I would avoid Gilbert or Glendale They are your stereotypical suburban neighborhoods. Not sure you are going to meet a lot of people out there. Sun City is age restricted where you have to be over the age of 55 I think. You DO NOT want to live there.

If I were you, I would look into Scottsdale or Tempe. Places around Old Town in Scottsdale or places around Mill Ave in Tempe. You will find something in your price range.

Stuckonaz · 03-13-2007, 02:53 PM

I'm from a suburban town in upper NY. Tempe sounds nice, but the crime rates scare me. I really want to feel safe when I walk out at night. Not the type of feeling I have here in NY.

irwin · 03-13-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuckonaz

I'm from a suburban town in upper NY. Tempe sounds nice, but the crime rates scare me. I really want to feel safe when I walk out at night. Not the type of feeling I have here in NY.

Well, just a warning that crime is generally worse here than back in New York. People are going to jump on me for that, but that is simply the stats.

That being said, although the randomness of the crime does shock me, I think if you are smart you'll be fine. There are a lot of gangbangers and WT/rednecks but if you mind your own business people will generally leave you alone.

One other thing, "walking" is not something people do a lot out here. Again, this is basically a micro-LA. It's sprawling and EVERYONE drives EVERYWHERE. The few exceptions would be Mill Ave and Old Town Scottsdale. I think they are also building some "urban village" out by the football stadium but there is no transit out there so you will have to drive to leave anyway.

Again, with your price range, you can find a decent place on the edge of Old Town. There is some random crime there (and a decent amount of property crime) but it's generally ok. You'll be close to a lot of the entertainment of Old Town and you'll be able to walk around every once in awhile (trust me, you will appreciate that). The other option is Mill Ave. in Tempe. It has better transit options (light rail coming), better shopping, and more relaxed than Old Town, but there seems to be more random violence (at least recently).

One other thing to think about is where you are going to work. Traffic is really pretty terrible here and unfortunately there really isn't any other reasonable options at this point.

Good luck.

sablebaby · 03-13-2007, 03:10 PM

I agree with Irwin. We don't have town feeling unless you move up north or something. I always considered every suburb as Phx, and not really the actual city. It will be very different than upstate NY.

I would live pretty close to your work, where ever that will be.

exit2lef · 03-13-2007, 03:31 PM

I'll let others fill you in on the details of Gilbert or Glendale or Surprise or Sun City since I don't know any of them particularly well (except a bit about Glendale), but let me offer a few general observations:

-Although Phoenix is a large city, most parts of it do not have a stereotypical urban feel. In fact, without looking carefully at street signs, it's quite hard to know when you have crossed the border between Phoenix and its various suburbs.

-You should certainly consider crime rates, but it would not be accurate to think of entire cities and towns as safe or unsafe. Crime does not stop at municipal boundaries, so it's better to think in terms of neighborhoods or zip codes instead of cities and towns when deciding about neighborhood safety. When you look at crime at a micro, rather than macro, level, you'll discover that there are numerous low-crime neighborhoods well within the borders of Phoenix, as well as some dangerous areas in the suburbs.

For those reasons, it's not necessary to live far out in order to enjoy a suburban lifestyle. In fact, access to trails for hiking and mountain biking is generally better in Phoenix and Tempe than in outlying suburbs. The main reason that many move farther out is for lower housing costs. If cost is not the overriding factor, I would encourage you to be flexible about living inside or outside the city. Pick a neighborhood that works for you without worrying about stereotypes of urban living or city crime.

Stuckonaz · 03-13-2007, 09:07 PM

Surprise and Gilbert sound nice.
Tempe as well, but I'm kind of worried about high crime rates.
I know the key factor is being smart and not getting involved in gangs, but it still worries me.

Do you know of any nice towns? Maybe a gated community or a gated condominium, etc. in Phoenix, Tempe, Surprise, Gilbert, etc. around Phoenix (where I'm hoping to work). Safest zip codes?

sablebaby · 03-13-2007, 11:45 PM

It's very difficult to recommend any particular gated communities as this place is HUGE! I would say wait until you come out and visit to see what you will like. Drive around for a few days. Find the school you'll be working at and drive a around to see the area. Once you see something then you can come on here and ask our opinions. This is not like any town you have experienced in upstate NY.

I spent my summers in upstate NY (my family lives up there) so I know that those are small towns where you could recommend certain places to live. Here we are talking cities, not towns. I don't know how to compare it with what you have experienced. It's just BIG, with TONS of people and cars everywhere. It's fast paced, everyone wants to get home now, or get to the store now. So much different than anything I have ever experienced in upstate NY.

I still know people in upstate that still don't lock doors. It's so very safe up there. It's so not like that here. We get concerned if we find our front door is unlocked during the day when we are home. Everything gets locked here all the time. We rank number one for car thefts in the country. So lock your car! If you live in a nice area you will be a little less concerned about your safety, but you will still think about it. If you live in a questionable area then it will be your number one concern.

I don't mean to scare you, I just want you to understand the differences between these two worlds.

By the way, what town do you live in? My family is in Ilion, so I know that town and Herkimer.

Stuckonaz · 03-14-2007, 04:00 PM

i live in St.Lawrence, nice area.
Any *nice* towns around phoenix?

Gretchen B · 03-14-2007, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuckonaz

i live in St.Lawrence, nice area.
Any *nice* towns around phoenix?

Stuckonaz - I think you'll be surprised when you come for a visit. Phoenix and its many suburbs are so very different from upstate NY. Think of Glendale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and all the Phoenix suburbs as the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, etc. They're just all part of one big metropolitan area.

Plus, there aren't trees in Arizona like there are in NY, which kind of separate the outlying burbs from one another. Around here, you'll just see miles and miles of one suburb after another.

To get out of the metropolitan area, you pretty much need to go about 60 miles + in any direction from the Phx airport before you feel like you're not in Phx.