Apartment advice for Tempe? (Scottsdale, Chandler: apartment complexes, rentals, condominium)

[spacemonkey701]

Hi, I just relocated here from DC for a new job and am looking for a place to live in the Tempe area. My wife and I are early 30's, no kids and are looking for a central area with things to do that will help us beat the homesickness for our concrete jungle.
I've read that South Tempe is nice, close to places like Mill ave, but more upscale (read: not ratty college apartments). Can anyone suggest streets or neighborhoods that will be good to check out (young and lively, but not dominated by drunken college freshmen)? Also, are these large mega-complexes the norm, or is it easy enough to find nice, unique, privately owned, etc...rentals?
Thanks

[spacemonkey701]

actually just passed through mill ave on a friday night. not so keen on that area anymore...

[vegaspilgrim]

Yeah, I hate Mill Avenue too-- it is full of drunk college students, trashy people, homeless, and riff-raff. And I'm saying this as an ASU student! I think downtown Scottsdale is lot classier, if you want a place to walk around. Although, keep in mind, you mentioned renting in South Tempe-- which I consider to be anything south of Guadalupe Rd. South Tempe is a really nice and new part of town, far enough from the college to avoid those problems, for the most part. If you can afford the higher rents, the South Tempe, western strip of Chandler, and Ahwahtukee areas are an excellent part of town to live in. There are many newer, gated, luxury apartment complexes in this area. You'd have to just drive around to get a feel for the area. As for the concrete jungle phenomenon... you're going to have to find a whole different city if you want to escape that.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey701

Hi, I just relocated here from DC for a new job and am looking for a place to live in the Tempe area. My wife and I are early 30's, no kids and are looking for a central area with things to do that will help us beat the homesickness for our concrete jungle.
I've read that South Tempe is nice, close to places like Mill ave, but more upscale (read: not ratty college apartments). Can anyone suggest streets or neighborhoods that will be good to check out (young and lively, but not dominated by drunken college freshmen)? Also, are these large mega-complexes the norm, or is it easy enough to find nice, unique, privately owned, etc...rentals?
Thanks

While there are rowdy student complexes east and west of Mill Avenue and the ASU campus, Mill Avenue and its immediate neighborhood have actually become quite upscale in terms of housing lately. In fact, the housing in the immediate vicinity of Mill is now more upscale than southern Tempe, which is very nice but has a more of a solid-citizen middle class feel to it. Right now, there are several condominium buildings already available on Mill and many more under construction, including 30-story high-rises. These will be pricier than the older apartment complexes, but generally geared toward a population in your age group and up.

These articles summarize the changing feel of Mill Avenue:

http://www.getoutaz.com/story/1815

http://www.azcentral.com/home/home2/articles/0410coolhome10.html (broken link)

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/87403 (broken link)

[spacemonkey701]

Thanks for your responses. I gave Tempe another another try, but wound up renting a place in Scottsdale. No reason for picking one neighborhood over the other. We just really liked the apartment. Scottsdale itself seems nice. Not much diversity which is kind of weird, but we'll see how it goes.
Thanks!