Phoenix, AZ... What areas to live, and to stay away from?

[427Windsorman]

I have some questions about Phoenix for those that live there.
How are the schools?
What are some decent areas to live?
What areas should be avoided?
What is the cost of living like?
How are taxes? property, sales, etc...

Any information would be appreciated :beer:

 

[Jefe]

How much are you looking to spend?

 

[sonic_mike]

stay away from south phoenix and from I-17 to around 50th ave. north phoenix(Peoria,Glendale,also) is nice as is east side of phoenix & Scottsdale.if you dont mind a commute avondale and Goodyear are in the out skirts.

 

[DRTHV8R]

hey 427 i am in the same boat as you. I am looking into moving to the phnx area as well. i don't know the cost of living in TX but i know it is a lot cheaper than California. I liked ahwatukee area and scottsdale.

 

[ON D BIT]

the nicer areas are california expensive now. 600k+ for 2.4k sqft 3 bed 2 house.

the best advice that i have is to find a job first, and look accordinly! the valley is so big 60 miles+ in both directions, it could be an hour and half to drive across with no traffic. double that time with traffic. there are a lot of nice areas with resonable housing, but generally they are on the outskirts such as gilbert, power ranch, octotillo, peoria, surprise, cave creek.

the further outside the city you go the better the housing pricing. i am in maricopa or 15 minutes south of firebird raceway and chandler, and there are tons of nice houses up to 4k square ft for under 300k.:beer:

i also have a good realtor/contractor friend of mine in scottsdale, played minor league ball for the yankees. let me know if anyone wants to talk with him?

 

[427Windsorman]

This is for my brother. He works for Symantec, and may be transferring to Phoenix very soon. I may also look in the area. I am an I.T. Manager with HP, and have seen a few good opportunities in the Phoenix area I might just look into.

Thanks for the replies :beer:

As far as what he is looking to spend, not sure. He has a 3600 sq ft home in a very nice area of Houston now, and will likely want to get something similar in the Phoenix area.

 

[JoePac]

In order if you got da cash...1.Scotsdale(most call it snobstale) 2. Cavecreek(carefree) 3.Gilbert 4.Chandler 5.Surprise 6.Verado
Stay away from phoenix entirely unless close to Scotsdale. The rest of AZ is pretty nice, I live in Surprise I'm single when I get married in a couple of years I might try Scotsdale.
Lowest income you have to make to live 1. 200k 2. 175k 3. 150k 4. 150k 5. 100k 6. 80k

 

[Rochard]

I lived in Glendale, which was a pretty nice.

However, the weather was downright silly. When you go three months and it doesn't go below 100 degrees even at night.... That's hard to deal with. I couldn't wait to move.

 

[logan_yomtov]

my inlaws live in queen creek. its south east of pheonix and is developing. They got a pretty nice house, about 2500sq ft for about 175k.

I've always liked arizona weather and the geography of the state, so i'm considering buying a house out there since its so cheap. i could buy a house twice the size of what i'm living in now, and be paying less on a mortgage than i am paying rent at the moment.

 

[427Windsorman]

His office will be at:

2575 E Camelback Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85016

He already commutes about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours each way (depending on traffic) in Houston, so if he has to do so there, he could.

 

[Jefe]

I lived in Glendale, which was a pretty nice.

However, the weather was downright silly. When you go three months and it doesn't go below 100 degrees even at night.... That's hard to deal with. I couldn't wait to move.

thats the problem with Phoenix. Summers suck donkey balls. In Tucson, 99 miles South of Phx, theres a 40 degree temp diff between night and day. Its awesome:rockon:

 

[AkGirl]

His office will be at:

2575 E Camelback Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85016

He already commutes about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours each way (depending on traffic) in Houston, so if he has to do so there, he could.

wow that sucks. Takes me 5 minutes to get to work. I cant even image driving that long to get to work.