Relocating to Phoenix, what areas are good to live in, and where should I avoid?

Question

I'm going to be moving to the Phoenix area later this year and was wondering what areas are good to live in, and where should I avoid (crime, etc.). I'm hoping not to go much higher than 650/mo rent for a 1 bedroom apartment.

Answer 1

When I lived in Phoenix, which was about 12 years ago, the better areas were Scottsdale, N.E. Phoenix around Paradise Valley Mall, Ahwatukee, and Tempe. The areas to avoid were Phoenix west of I-17, and Phoenix south of the Salt River.

Since then, the suburbs have grown dramatically. You can probably find reasonable apartments in Chandler and Gilbert, but commuting to Phoenix from those areas is a bear.

I would suggest making a separate trip before you move, and scout it out.

Answer 2

when we moved away from Phoenix in 2003, $650 a month rent wasn't much in the way of a one bedroom apartment.

I can't imagine rents have gone down since and the tales I've heard about price increases in houses rather suggest rents have gone up.

Do such places exist? sure. I'm afraid they'll all be either student housing or low income though, both of which are not known for being low crime areas.

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As you'd guess, you'll get the best deals on the far fringes of the developed area. Which kinda suggests that you'll want to choose an area near the transportation artery [freeway] that is convenient to where you'll be working.

You may forget the Sun City and similarly named areas unless someone in your family is over 55 and no one is under 18. Those cities are entirely age restricted housing.

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Absent further information about your personal situation [we do not know if you're single, married, family, student, age, etc.] I can't help much more.


GL

Answer 3

I can't answer your question specifically. But wanted to share the web site I have been using to look up info on area's I am considering. Part way down the page you should find Q/A about the area. Good Luck

http://www.city-data.com/city/Phoenix-Arizona.html

Answer 4

The general demographics site that Peace gave you give you a good idea of the general issues and here are some other links you might want to check out
DEA Website on methamphetamine homes all states http://searchjustice.usdoj.gov/search?q=National+Clandestine+Laboratory+Register&q=site%3Awww.usdoj.gov%2Fdea&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=iso-8859-1&oe=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=default_collection
Information on any city in the USA: http://www.bestplaces.net/
Information on any school: http://www.greatschools.net/
Locating Sex offenders and other felons living in your area http://www.familywatchdog.us/Default.asp
FBI: Crime reports for each State: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_08.html
Good luck on your move we'll be neighbors on your way to Arizona, stop in NM if you can't; wave.

Answer 5

Tempe is where you want to be..