I'm considering moving to Arizona. I was told that Gilbert or Tempe are great places to look into. I'm open to suggestions on where the best places to live are and/or where to stay away from. I'm a 28y/o pharmacist and so is my wife. We are looking for a place to start a family. Thanks in advance for the input.

Feel free to email me: danhrph(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

-Dan

 

...Not to be a pessimist, but my first suggestion would be to have a job lined up first...times are kinda tough around here...that said,

Tempe is the college town...lots of stuff (nite life) to do, younger average population due to ASU influnence...

Gilbert is more upscale upper/middle class...very nice community, homes in the 150's to start...however it is growing fast and the phoenix commuters have discovered it...

East Mesa is a mix...there are some nice areas, new developements and also growing fast...

Any new developemnt will have HOA's which can be a pain, shop around and make sure you understand the CCR's of the community before you commit...

A lot of growth in the valley around here...but the employment opportunities can be downright dismal...

hope this helps some...good luck

 

Thanks for the info. I have already spoken to a few employers and finding a job won't be an issue. Just for some background info. I am currently living in a very small town outside of a fairly small city. The town I live in has about 4000 residents. The city, Bangor, has about 30,000. That is a comfortable size for me. I grew up in a small town, 8000, in massachusetts so I'm not real keen on city life. That being said, what would your suggestions be now?

When Gilbert was recomended to me, the guy told me it was a small community. There are 126,000 residents.

 

danhrph,
You might want to check out the thread "went to arizona-wanna move", be sure to read all the posts. And If 126,000 in Gilbert bothered you, keep in mind that in Phoenix proper, there are over 2 million people. Can you say little Los Angeles!!!

 

Holy crap. I think there are only 1million in the whole state of maine.

 

...Something else to consider...
it's called "Phoenix and Metropolitian area"...there is really no discernible BOUNDARY between the cities...think Los Angeles Metro (urban sprawl)...from an airplane it all looks like one big city...especially if your from a smaller community from somewhere else.

I used to live in a place in NW washington called the Skagit Valley, it consisted of 3 towns situated in a valley of approximatly 50 sq miles, each town was more or less delinated by farm land or woods, so even though the population of the "valley" was 100,000 give or take you could still tell the difference...not so in Phoenix Metro area...

I believe Tucson, Yuma, Flagstaff and Prescott are more autonomus in their geographic structure...

I misqouted the local newspapers in the other thread that 79lariat spoke of...check the web sites for..."east valley tribune" (the mesa paper) or "the arizona republic" (phoenix)...

 

My suggestion is to do some research - and talk to several people who have been here. When I moved down and bought my house I made the mistake of not talking to different groups of friends. I bought my house out in Surprise. Nice place, nice house - just "way out west" and with limited road access at times it takes up to 45 minutes just to go the 8 miles to the freeway. Very frustrating!

Check out Peoria, Glendale and north Phoenix - and if you have the $$, Carefree and Scottsdale. It'll come down to finances and personal preference.

A good web site to check the price of housing:
http://www.azcentral.com/class/realestate.html

You can search new home builders, and existing homes for sale. If I remember correctly there is a link to community reports on schools, crime, tax rates, etc.

 

Just move to a small town. There are tons around, just not easy to get a good job. Safford is a nice place, I enjoy the relaxed life. I would never live in the Phoenix area again. The nice thing with Arizona is that you can live in different climates. The mountain towns are cool, or you can move to the valley. You have many options, it is up to you to decide what you are looking for.

 

i've lived in phoenix & tucson and have visited most of the state. i think you should travel all around AZ and find a town you like. phoenix area is too urban for me. tucson has more of an old west flavor but has a lot of borderline ghetto areas. the nicest parts of the tucson area are outside city limits- in the foothills and Oro Valley and Oracle. Prescott, Payson, Show Low, Flagstaff, Sierra Vista, Sedona, & Safford appeal to different tastes. there are few places in AZ that i wouldn't live, i think the whole state is awesome.
try getting a 6month lease in an apartment in phoenix or tucson, scope out the state and settle somewhere. happy trails!!

 

Arizona is a wonderful place to live, BUT IT'S FULL!!!!!

 

jjou812 is right, there are so many choices. I lived in Oracle for awhile and it is beautiful, rural, and still only 30 min. away from Tucson. Look around, and good luck!

 

Personally, I like the West Valley the best. For the most part it is a really good area. You might want to live near a freeway in such towns as Avondale, small town feel, but close to the freeway and city. Plus in that area you are near PIR, if you are into motorsports. My boss lives in Avondale and it only takes her 30 minutes to get to work (that's good since it's the Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix). I am looking at new homes, and one thing I have considered is Palm Harbor Homes (I have been looking long and hard) and found that I can get a really nice home for a lot less. If you want acreage then that might be the way you want to go. As you go farther west (as land becomes more open) land costs less. I have even considered Tonopah(but my Lord, is that a long ways away). But, then again if you like the small town feel, Tonopah is good. I would like a little less highway noise when I wake up in the morning.

 

I live in the city of "Bangor", now that's a funny name for a city. I don't mean to make fun of your town, but it's kind of a funny name!

 

Of course, you could move to Bagdad, AZ. Just hope the guys in their jets know their geography.

 

...Rumor has it that way back when, an old miner was coming into the as yet unamed community carrying a sack over his shoulder...
Some townsfolk seeing the old miner approached him and asked..."Whats in the Bag Dad...??"thus the name stuck...