I live in NJ right now, and I'm making plans to moving to Phoenix. But I've been hearing that each town has good housing as far as apartments to live in, such as Goodyear, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, or Scottsdale. I work for Dell as a System Engineer, and an IT job down there would be great. So which town has the best community, cheap housing, places to shop; malls, groceries, etc.? And is the job market getting better in certain areas?
Phoenix - 5 Answers
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1 :
I live near Chandler and recommend it highly. There is a mall surrounded by restaurants and movie theaters. Transportation is excellent and there are many houses for sale, which could provide good value.
2 :
Just go to Monster.com and checkout the job openings in the cities you listed. Yes the job market is getting better. I have a personal preference for Goodyear, Buckeye and Verrado only because I like the openess of the west valley. If you could find work on the westside of Phoenix in your field that would be great. There are more hi-tech jobs in the east valley in Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Scottsdale and you would not enjoy the commute from the westside to the eastside. It would be a slow bumper-to-bumper drive. Now housing prices on the westside are great. After selling my property in California and moving here in 2007 I have chosen to rent. I have a 2000+ sqft house 4/2 with a 2 car attached garage built in 2004 for well under $1000/mo. in a nice area. In Goodyear you can live in a new 2500 sqft house in a gated community with your own pool for less than $1500. Anywhere you pick in the valley can provide you with a nice apartment, but keep in mind that a house is only a few hundred dollars a month more. The east valley offers more nightlife. That's partially because of the presence of ASU in Tempe. This school has over 60,000 students enrolled and obviously the business entities in the valley see them as a good revenue source and build their youth oriented businesses nearby. Shopping is also better on the eastside. More stores and more choices. One thing I find funny is that the incursion of big-box stores is common throughout the valley. Even Cave Creek. a segment of north Phoenix, has just voted to allow a Super Wal Mart in. This store will draw Scottsdale residents as well. I was going to buy a restaurant in Chandler last year until I saw several of the box-chains starting to build just down the street. People only have so much disposable income and these chains are hard go up against in the long run. Regular grocery shopping is available anywhere you choose to live. The bigger grocery stores here are Wal Mart, Fry's, Safeway, Albertson's and Basha's' Two types of good food here that are hard to find are Italian and to my amazement Mexican. So before you come to Arizona grab a couple of large pizzas to go.
3 :
Well, I'm only familiar with Goodyear, Tempe, and Scottsdale. Goodyear has an abundance of low-priced homes because it is a fairly new city. Although, it has less of the "homey" feel to its environs because the city centers are all concrete, industrial-sized buildings. Also, I do not yet know of a home in Goodyear that is not in the suburbs, so if you're that type of suburban fellow, then great. Lovely cotton fields, too. Oh, and it is about a half an hour drive away from Phoenix on a good day. Tempe is a college town (ASU). Therefore, it has a hip, bustling mood to it and you'll see a lot of young men and women. A major plus to this city is it's unique shops and bookstores. The most popular shopping center here is the Tempe Marketplace, which is where the last X-Men movie premiered last year. :) Scottsdale is known as the place where some of the most wealthy individuals in Arizona come to live. If you can afford a home here, it is beautiful. Close to the Camelback Mountains, you can usually look out a window and see the purple mountains majesty closer than many. There are lots of shops here, most common is the Scottsdale Fashion Square. A very uptown kind of place to shop. I'm trying not to stereotype anyone but I must say that the common preconception of those who live in Scottsdale is snotty and privileged. Also, you'll find great grocery stores here like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's (an Arizona natural foods store), AJ's (a fine foods store with gourmet wines, cheeses, pastries, so on) as well as the usual Wal-Mart and local grocery stores.
4 :
I love Gilbert and it was named safest city in Az. Lived here 6 months. moved here from Mesa, East mesa which is close by and that also is a good area. Gilbert is average, I think as far as price.
5 :
Well each person is going to suggest thier own city. I live in mesa, it has many malls lots of grocery stores and housing varys greatly. There are multimillion dollar houses in some areas and cheaper houses in others. Dobson Ranch is a master plan community (gigantic) it offers houses in the 100's-200's The schools are excellent. I don't know if you have kids. All parts phoenix are connected by freeways. Tempe is basically asu there is very few areas not dominated by the massive collage. Although Tempe has many attractions. Such as the tempe town lake. Mill ave. and Tempe marketplace. Scottdale is a rich area on the mountainside. But it has great food and shopping Chandler and Gilbert are very suburban residential cities. They have good schools and luxurious landscapes. Where ever the Dell plant is may have an impact.
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