Moving to Arizona

[NorthernUte]

I’m more than likely going to be making a move down south to the Phoenix area in the next couple of months. Just looking for any fellow Ute fans in that area with insight on best places to live! Or literally any other helpful information, hoping to hear it all! Thanks in advance!

[Tony (admin)]

I hear it can get warm there in the summer.

[AZUTE]

I’ve lived in the Gilbert/Mesa area for the last 25 years.

What do you want to know?

[NorthernUte]

Just some of the safer areas, Google is giving me mixed answers. I’ve got a small family, but we would like to find a community that is similar and still a relatively safe!

[AZUTE]

There is an east side vs. west side mentality here. I’ve spent 25 years in the east valley. That is Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, and Mesa.

I’m sure the west side has some very good areas but I have no need to go over there so I can give you any advise to those cities.

The east side is growing so rapidly the infrastructure can’t keep pace especially in the San Tan valley, Queen creek. Roads, stores, restaurants are always crowded.

East valley is very family oriented and very safe.

Stay south of the US60. Some good family subdivisions are Eastmark and Barney farms but if you work in phx plan on a 1 hour commute from these locals.

Arizona is hot and getting hotter. With all the building and expansion the concrete and blacktop retain the heat and nighttime temp in the summer are 90+ while daytime highs will hit 110 regularly.

If you have a two story house with 2 A/C units plan on $500-$700 electric bills in the summer especially if you have a pool.

You will go through at least two car windshields a year. Arizona is the only state in the nation where the road are lined with rocks.

[NorthernUte]

Thank you!! That is all good info, glad you gave me the heads up about the potential electric bills, did not think it would get that high!

[NarfUte]

[AlohaUte]

If i were to move there, I’d aim for the Paradise Valley area, not sure i could afford it yet, but I love it. It is alone of the rich rich area.

[MehMEH]

Lived in Willow, Encanto, and North Central Phoenix (Central and Glendale area). Liked North Central the best. Lots of places to walk to for dinner/lunch. Really good public elementary school.

You mentioned safety a few times. In any city there’s generally a price point above which safety is a given. Phoenix is a pretty safe city so anything in a middle to upper middle class price point is going to be fine and it’s a matter of what positives you value most. All the places I mentioned are above that price point (but not paradise valley high).

If you have a lower price point, then there are still tons of safe areas but safety could come at the expense of convenience or things to do. Also, just because an area isn’t Utah white and delightsome doesn’t make it unsafe (not trying to cast aspersions, but Utah people do be like that). If that’s your vibe, Gilbert is said to be more Provo than Provo.

Phoenix is pretty sprawling and unfortunately I don’t think there’s any area that is fully sufficient alone, so you’ll be driving around some to find your interests. At baseline I think it’s a sort of inconvenient city, so adding to that with a long commute would be off-putting to me.

That’s why I liked North Central. Having a few go to spots that were walkable compensated for having to drive the kids all over the valley for activities.

[AZUTE]

Gilbert is Provo south but most of the east valley is.

Heavy LDS presence

[NorthernUte]

I like it, thank you!

[MehMEH]

Most convenient IMO is Phoenix proper. If you look in central Phoenix a good rule of thumb is to look “between the 7s” (7th St (E) and 7th Ave (W). There’s sort of a central corridor that’s nice with activities and still proximity to highways to get you out to all the different areas of the valley.

Things drop off more quickly going West whereas you run into the nicer Biltmore area going East.

[AZUTE]

But not below(south)of Glendale Ave.

Not what I’d call a family area.

If you were a young urban adult yes but not if you’re looking for family friendly areas.

If you want to be centralized go a little farther north to Desert Ridge area. Top of Interstate 51 and North 101. Newer homes less than 10 years a lot to do. North Scottsdale, Desert Ridge, and Paradise valley is a more affluent area.

[arizonaute]

if you are moving for work where is your work ???

if you want to live on the west side of the valley lots of warehouses and amazon building along 1-10 and 303 you probably want to be in north Glendale or Litchfield park –don’t live under the flight path of luke air force base.
big developments going out in buckeye and at the base of the mountains by phoenix raceway as well. Past 85 you two hours from California anyway. that side and part of town is being filled with California refugees escaping Gavin Newsome. Makes diamondback/ dodger games kind of fun.

todays az consists of neighborhoods where the houses are right on top of each other in hoa communities. Queen Creek /highway 24 are full of these. They are also full of traffic as they took lessons from West Jordan on how to allow developers to build houses ever where and then figure out how to get water/sewer/two lane roads with lights on them .
ALso queen creek is growing around the San tans and soon Florence and Coolidge will be part of it.

if you are happily endowed with money, Paradise Valley has lots of cool houses that are expensive but with big plots of land. Arcadia north of Thomas and 44th going towards Camelback has some nice digs for the not as wealthy but still got full pockets. North Scottsdale is the same.

east valley las sendas on the hill you would need baller money but east mesa up and around the mesa falcon field area has pockets of gated communities. East mesa also has lots of trailer developments

the newly done i-10 corridor is nice but there are still lots of cars.

The valley of the sun is the number 5 in terms of space used and number 11 in tv market. When you fly in it is amazing to see how far the area stretches with people and houses. From Pinal county line /Apache junction to hiway 85 can be betwen 1 and half to two plus hours ( depending how fast you drive)

Picture driving in Utah county between ut 92 and Orem and double it for how people drive here. You will get used tot he phoenix offramp cross all five lanes from hov to exit in a straight line maneuvers.

also from mid May to end of September it will be warm. it takes a couple of years to get used to planning to park in shade everywhere and run from ac to ac.

the bonus is Utah is still in the same conference as Scum Devils so we get football every other year and basketball, softball, baseball soccer, and gymnastics

[AZUTE]

lol! The “Arizona exit” is a truth. Also Arizona freeways are littered with debris. I’ve seen couches ladders logs car fenders chairs sinks suitcases full of clothes mattresses cinderblocks hoses and many many other items on Arizona freeways.

Nothing like watching someone doing 80 mph and fly across four lanes of traffic in the last 100 yards to make their exit.

US60(east valley freeway) running east and west from Apache Junction to Tempe resembles something out of days of thunder. “Rubin’ is racing”. If you are doing 80 you better be in the slow lane cause those are rookie numbers for the 60.

[MehMEH]

Big ooof on the “urban adults” phrase.

People who are hyper aware of the threat of violence by random “urban” adults (nice dog whistle) are the same ones oblivious to their kid getting groomed by the Sunday school teacher.

Being an “urban adult” and having a family isn’t a conflict unless you’re someplace like Memphis that is still violent and segregated.

For any decent city, including Phoenix, it’s a great way to raise kids who have at least some awareness of life outside a gated community and who are equipped to engage in society outside those gates as adults.

[AZUTE]

WTF are you talking about????
When I said urban I meant the city of phoenix has gone a long way towards revitalizing and reinvigorating that area. New modern apartments and architecture. It’s become very hip and modern.

[MehMEH]

Hard, hard disagree with this assessment. That’s sort of an LDS/white flight opinion IMO.

To make some SLC comps, McDowell north to Thomas is Willow and Encanto which is sort of a Sugarhouse/Harvard Yale equivalent but a little more expensive and generally smaller and inferior (Sugarhouse park >>> Encanto Park).

Thomas north to Camelback is a slightly akin to Liberty Park area but with more business development and multifamily housing. Sketchier but also much hipper.

Camelback north to Glendale doesn’t have a great equivalence with SLC. Maybe the foothill area (same time period of suburban expansion). If you look at how the Foothill village shopping area is being upgraded, applied that across all the business development, and then added a pedestrian/bridal path lined by mansions as the focus you’d have an idea.

[MehMEH]

PS: for Phoenix, declutter, downsize, and put your money into pool maintenance instead of AC bills.

You’re going to spend more time in the pool than your house.

[mesovanhorny]

when your pool hits the 90’s, folks usually stay indoors. we had an AC unit on an old pool in PHX. it made that $600 electric bill hit $800+.

nothing refreshing about a pool in PHX in July, sadly.

[ThurstonW]

Don’t worry about the 110+ summer temps… I hear it’s a DRY HEAT!!!

[stbone]

https://elguerocanelo.com/

You can thank me later.

[D T]

Born in Phoenix, raised in Tempe/Mesa…..The East Valley is definitely more LDS-friendly, IF that’s what you’re looking for…..Ironically, I’m in the process of relocating from Mesa up there to UT…..I’m an AZ Desert Rat at heart, but being up there means I’m closer to my school & with more opportunities to attend games.

[NorthernUte]

Thank you all for the responses!! Glad I’ve got this place to go to and get good info!

[cj13]

Don’t move to San Tan Valley even though it’s cheaper. I moved there a year ago and am moving to Mesa literally tomorrow. Traffic is terrible and there’s not great access to the rest of valley. You’ll live far away from everything

[Author]

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