Me and the family are really tossing around the idea of leaving Lincoln Nebraska and moving to Phoenix. Wanting to find out from fellow LS1tech members some of the areas to look at for housing. Budget for a house 300-350k, have been looking in the Goodyear and Litchfield Park as those seem to be good bang for the buck area's but some have said these are not good or safe area's. Some opinions from people we have got are from those that moved away 6-10 years ago. Everyone says Scottsdale or apache junction but those seems way over budget. We have been to Phoenix and loved it even in august lol.

Would love to hear from Arizona members on good, clean, safe family areas to live.

 

Hey,
I moved out to Gilbert, AZ in 2018. Phoenix metro area is huge so I would recommend living close to where you are going to work. If you work anywhere within a 5 mile radius of sky harbor airport, be prepared for a crappy bumper to bumper commute. Goodyear and Litchfield are on the west side of town and taking the 10 into Phoenix is probably the worst traffic of the commutes. However, if you are not working in central Phoenix, you won't have issues. I am not really familiar with Goodyear but there is not much on the west side and it is still growing. Be prepared to pay $190-200/sq foot in most of the area. If buying new, watch for the $150/month HOA fees and the multiple rules they have regarding what you can do with the property (some won't be car friendly). Older neighborhoods will have no HOA's or very low HOA's that are not as restrictive. All new neighborhoods will have very restrictive HOA's. Apache Junction is nice in some parts and not in others...it is the same in all the valley. You will know what are decent neighborhoods just by driving into them. I would stay south of the 60 and east of the 10 if you are looking for decent family friendly housing. Chandler is booming and will be costly. Scottsdale is very pricy and home to wealthy folks. Gilbert is nice and family oriented with decent schools but you might be stretching your budget if you want a large home. Mesa, Queen Creek, San Tan is nice as well. Again, stay south of the 60. If looking north or east, stay close or outside the 202 loop. I am still adjusting to the small lot sizes as I am used to an acre back east where I am from (large lots in Phoenix are 8000-1000sq ft.) but older neighborhoods will have a little more space as newer housing is all designated high density housing. In summary, I would look in the east valley, south of the 60 or close to outside the 202 loop (Gilbert, Mesa, parts of Tempe, Queen Creek, San Tan). If you are looking for more affordability, Maricopa and Case Grande are nice if you do not have to commute to central Phoenix. BTW, the real estate market is HOT in Phoenix. There are a lot of investors buying up properties for rentals and have been bidding up homes in the area so be prepared to pay over asking price. I would recommend renting at first to get a feel for the area before committing to buying. Hope this helps.

Matt

 

Thanks for the info!! Lot sizes are really similar to what are offered around me in Lincoln, NE. In a lot of the newer developments with houses selling for 450k+ you could literally open your window and have you neighbor open his window and shake hands lol, no thanks. I've seen HOA's can be tricky and expensive so that's something to watch. I get it that it's a huge city and things can change within a few blocks, but seems like Maricopa County is a good place to avoid unless you want to be on Live PD.

How about taxes? Where I'm at house is valued by the county at 296,000 and I will pay like $5635 in my yearly taxes. Doesn't Arizona or at least around Phoenix kinda do property tax different than a lot of places?

 

Maricopa county is basically all of the Phoenix metro area and then some (again huge area). All of the towns except Casa Grande and Maricopa are in Maricopa County. Property taxes are fairly cheap, For a $340k home, the taxes will be ~$1800-2200. No one tells you about the Arizona vehicle tax. You will be taxed on the value of your vehicle....the newer and more valuable your vehicle the higher the price you will pay per year. Tags on a $30k car will be $450/yr ($60k will be ~$800/yr). The tax is based off the vehicle MSRP sticker price when new. Used cars will be a lot less (My 96 Camaro is $60/yr).

 

Taxes are going to be a nice break from what we are used to in my area. My 01 SS was $200 and some change, have to pay a stupid $75 wheel tax on all motor vehicles. Depending on vehicle weight can be even higher. On my wife's old 2014 ML350 SUV MSRP was 50,290 according to Registration and for 2018 she paid $575 to plate it. I appreciate the information you've given. We've been talking about it moving for awhile now, I'm more excited to be able to enjoy car stuff year round. I've heard Phoenix area has some really cool cars and coffee spots and local cruise nights.

 

No problem about the info. It is very hard to know what you are getting into until you are in it. There is car stuff year round but the summers are usually a little too hot to do the car shows except for cars and coffee. There are multiple car shows every Friday night, Saturday and Saturday nights. The shows are all over the valley and you will see some very exotic cars. Pavilions in Scottsdale is one of the best on Saturday nights....so many different cars from classics to imports to hot rods etc. Word to the wise....if you have a nice paint job, you will want to get a clear bra if you drive on the highway. The rocks off of other folks tires will totally ruin your car's paint as well as your windshield. Comprehensive insurance will include $0 deductible glass coverage though. Sounds like the cost of living in NE is pretty high so it might be cheaper in AZ.

 

OP,

If you're still thinking about moving down to PHX, I'll have to disagree slightly with Nostang (no offense!).

I generally don't like the east side (I get a "posh and uptight" vibe whenever I'm over there... reminds me of when I lived in L.A. if that means anything to you; A LOT of our California transplants end up in Gilbert and surrounding areas). I prefer to live on the west side. The nicer areas on the west side include Peoria, Deer Valley, Happy Valley, North Phoenix and northern Glendale (Peoria, N. Phoenix and N. Glendale all kind of mishmash together). If you do consider the west side, try to stay north of Thunderbird... north of Bell if you can afford it. Old Litchfield Park is quite nice and Goodyear is not bad, but the immediate areas around it (mainly Tolleson and Avondale) are pretty seedy. Although there are some really nice areas south of the Gila River (Estrella Mountain Ranch, but it's kinda rich... not sure what properties are going for in that area lately).

If you like to be a little off the beaten path (but still with plenty of civilization nearby), consider Anthem or Cave Creek. Quick access to I-17 gives you easy access to east and west valley, as it intersects with all the major routes into and out of town.

Having said all that, all the good F-Body shops are on the east side. I just end up having to take a 40-minute drive once every couple of years to have major work done (the regular stuff I do myself).

Have you figured out where you'll be working?

 

Yeah me and my family are still looking/wanting to moving to the Phoenix area (slowly lol). I appreciate any and all advise as for us and most it would be a very big move. Old Litchfield Park has popped up on our radar a lot it seems, looks like you can get a lot of house for the money and reviews look to be decent. I've heard a lot of more negative with Goodyear and kinda surrounding then positive. Sounds like the far west part of the Phoenix area is looking to be a potential growing hot spot? Have a couple of older family friends that live in the heart of Scottsdale but most of the opinions from them are negative outside of there little area lol.

Cave Creek looks nice from the short time I've been around that area but looks to be fairly higher prices 500k and up, could have been a particular area I was in also. We stayed for a week in a rental house in the very far northern part of Phoenix, and was still in the Phoenix city part and that was a newer really nice area. I believe it was off of Happy Valley Road headed West of I-17.


My wife has her Bachelors as an RN and has spent the last 10+ years in a skilled nursing facility and recently for the last couple of years as a Directer Of Nursing position. So with her I think she'll find work easily but for me haven't looked terribly hard yet but I'm not against having to commute if it means making her and our two kids lives easier. I've worked in the NDT Non-Destructive Testing field for 15 years now with same company whole time. I work in the reports department basically calculating remaining life and corrosion rates for Tanks, Vessels, and Piping. I have my Associates degree in Marketing so finding something for me shouldn't be most difficult. I've actually thought about something like Lucid Motors that new EV car company. In my time working in my current field I've been to lots of car plants and the people that have a bit of drive and care for there jobs actually make a pretty good living but I know those are mainly the Union auto plants that pay really well.

 

Yes. The far west area (Buckeye, mainly) is supposedly the fastest growing city in the US right now. Kind of a drag, if you ask me. I would not consider Buckeye if I were moving now: it's getting way too crowded, and the people who live in the really good spots (non-HOA) have little incentive to sell/move.

When I first moved out here, I lived in Avondale. It's kinda a low rent area and the cops and paramedics are always super busy between there and Tolleson on Friday and Saturday nights... . We used to go for drives around Marcopa county looking at potential neighborhoods to buy a house. We oogled Old Litchfield a lot. It's still one of my favorite neighborhoods in the Valley. It is in the smack-dab middle of the Goodyear/Avondale area, though... if that matters to you.

I'm not too familiar with the RE market, but the impression I got was that the areas in Cave Creek I visited were outside of my budget, as well. I just assumed there were other more affordable spots, though.

It sounds like you have an industrial background?
I work for APS (one of the main utility companies in Arizona). I'm not sure whether your skill set applies (seems like it might) but it's a good company to work for (full benefits, good schedule--the unit I work for has a compressed schedule 4-day work weeks, 10-hour days). Check out the website if you're interested.
https://www.aps.com/en/About/Careers/Working-at-APS

I work at the power plant far, FAR west of Phoenix (about 55 miles from the airport and from my house... but drive is just under an hour so traffic is pretty reasonable), but there are field jobs and corporate jobs and satellite offices throughout the area (I was up in Page AZ, near the AZ/Utah state line and saw an APS truck on the freeway about 4-5 hours north of Phoenix).

Happy to help .

 

Phoenix native here. Let me know via PM if you need anything. Happy to help.

 

San tan Queen Creek is where you want to be. It was built up quick the last few years and property values are beginning to sky rocket. Pinal county is also staunchly conservative. The westside sucks, it's dirty and has stagnant growth. AJ can be nice but is mostly lower budget trailer homes. Lots of gun stores there though. Living in the NE Mesa or AJ area you will have to come to terms with Arizona wildlife and deal with the odd scorpion here or there in the home. Coyotes and snakes won't bother you. We have cordes performance out here for your go to LS speed shop and NICd is the go to guy for tuning. There are others but I haven't dealt with them.

Stay out of the westside Avondale Litchfield surprise area. Most of Scottsdale is decent and some of it is very wealthy. Fountain hills is Scottsdale for old people. I'd avoid Maricopa city, Chandler is okay, Santana and queen queen have some nice areas, Florence and Coolidge are a no go, AJ is nice if you get lots of land but is more trailer parky but if you like guns you can't walk 10 feet and not find a store. Mesa is a 50/50 NE is nice but not the west side of the 60 freeway. Tempe is a 50/50 it's mostly a party town being asu is there if you live close to Tempe you can engage in the party scene. South Phoenix sucks.

I deal with the public here going home to home so I have lots of experience with all of Phoenix.

 

Awesome, thanks for letting me know you're willing to lend some tips/knowledge my way as I do appreciate it.

 

Yeah seems like AJ is an area for the 55+ community snow birds? Could be wrong on that but watched a video of someone doing a tour of the area and he said basically everything you said regarding trailer parks in AJ. HAHA 37 here with kids and wife so my party days are over so ASU area would probably be no go. Yeah seems like Nicd is highly recommended among a lot around the PHX area. I've heard getting time for him to get to your stuff can be a challenge just due to him being very popular among the LS crowd.

 

My wife and I lived in Goodyear for 3 years. We still currently own the house but now rent it due to us moving out of the area due to my career. We LOVED it!! We plan on moving back to that house once I retire. Goodyear is a booming city. I don’t know why you heard such bad things about it. I would totally recommend Goodyear, Surprise and parts of Litchfield park.

Stay away from Luke Air Force base unless you want to listen to the jets flying around. I would stay 5-10 miles North of that base or south.

Avoid Avondale, Tolleson and Glendale. Super trashy areas.

again, we loved the west valley and didn’t like going to the East valley. Everyone has their opinions. Scottsdale is full of the rich doctor and ugly 50yr old plastic surgery woman that think there attractive. Avoid it.

We bought the house for 203,000 back in ‘16. HOA is 150/quarter. Taxes are about $2,000 year. Lots of stores and restaurants in the area. Spring training is big during that season. Lots of stadiums in the area. The nascar track is nearby in the Estrella mountains. Lots of new homes being built. It’s a booming city along with Buckeye.

With the Airforce base nearby it’s a very military friendly and Patriotic City. Lots of retired military folk, Airforce, Navy, marines...etc.