Thinking of moving to Arizona... where is the best place to raise a family?

Question

I live in California in a WONERFUL community and school district. I just can't afford to buy a home and for the money I pay in rent I don't get much. We are thinking about moving to Arizona to be closer to family. What neighborhoods are best for familys and schools? What is the crime rate in AZ? Any info would be VERY helpful

Answer 1

i have lived in arizona for 15+ years now and have lived in several cities...

for starters-the serial shooters that everyone has been talking about were arrested and charged last week-so you're safe as far as that goes.....

central phoenix,far east mesa and guadalupe are the place to avoid-high crime rates and run down housing developements will be found there. central phoenix is the heart of the city as well so it's not safe by all means.

avondale is nice but the further south you go-the more rundown it becomes. surprise is an up and coming city and considered a nice area-it's far west of phoenix (about 45min out)

glendale and peoria are smaller cities and not my favorite areas-i was raised in glendale-lots of crime issues.

best places to be are east of downtown phoenix

i live in chandler now and love it-its quiet,safe,and i love the school my 3 daughters attend (although it is a montessori). there are lots of shops and the mall is close by and safe. we also attend a wonderful church in chandler-i love it here and plan on staying to raise my children in this city.

gilbert is a nice area too but developing quickly so expect alot of construction and new businesses to pop up.

stay away from tempe-this is home to arizona state university-big time college town. lots of people,traffic, and parties. i lived there for 3 years and hated it!!

mesa is an older city and not the best overall.
queen creek is a very rural area and far from the city-about an hour away.

prescott,payson and flagstaff are very small towns. Flagstaff is home to Northen arizona university so it's basically a college town and used alot by travelers who are passing through or camping. same goes for payson and prescott-very rural areas-lots of travelers and campers.

best family places for me personally would be chandler,gilbert,or awahtuhkee in the east valley or surprise in the west..i've attached some links for you-hope they help.....

http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/

http://www.chandleraz.gov/

http://www.ahwatukee.com/

http://www.surpriseaz.com/

Answer 2

Phoenix has a high crime rate and the schools are ranked 49th in the country. I live in Surprise and commute to Phoenix everyday (40 miles each way). The neighborhood is nice, but the traffic is so bad that I changed my work hours to 5am-130pm to try and avoid the worst of it. The surrounding suburbs aren't too bad - the nicer ones are Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Queen Creek. The further away from the city you go, the better it is, and the less expensive it is. Summers suck - the kids really can't go outside and play because it's too hot. The nice thing about the Phoenix area though is that you can drive for an hour and be in much cooler temps. It is nice in winter (although Christmas is kind of surreal). Everyone who moves to Phoenix also forgets how to drive, and apparenlty loses the finger used to turn on blinkers. HIGH rate of car theft no matter where you are, so the insurance rates are outrageous, but coming from California you might not think so :)

Answer 3

I'm in Phoenix. Unless you've spent a couple of weeks during the summer here, don't move here. It's hotter than hell. The average cost of a home is $150,000+. And that's for a lower end home. A very small one-bedroom apt is about $650+. It's become very expensive to live here. Drugs are an issue. And if you haven't been reading the news lately, there have been a couple of people on a shooting spree.

A little north, in Payson or Prescott, you might fare a little better.

Answer 4

Arizona is a great state to live in.I use to live in Apache Junction.But I think you would like Snowflake, it's up in the White Mountains, very pretty area.As for the crime rate, Phoenix is getting real bad with the gangs.

Answer 5

I've never been there but was researching Lake Havesue City AZ years ago to remember that it was very impressive sounding. I'd check it out if I were you!

Answer 6

The Phoenix/Scottsdale area is AWSOME! Tuscon is also nice.

Go here for more info: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108181.html

Answer 7

i use to live in avondale AZ... it was nice and so is Phoenix.. hope you like it there.. ist hot but its a dry heat though...

Answer 8

Look up Flagstaff on your computer.

Answer 9

pagosa springs ,Colorado

Answer 10

DO YOU KNOW ARIZONA IS THE HELL