Phoenix AZ. Where to live/Not live.

[MDFA]

So potentially changing jobs to Phoenix AZ. Have to be within a 100 mile radius. What's the hive mind advice from those who live there on where to live. Schools are not an issue for my wife and I, we're retirement age, but not retired yet... Been checking on line, but was looking for info rather than what some real estate type would be putting out there. Thanks.

[donlapalma]

What kind of lifestyle do you want? What types of places or activities will be most important to you?

[Yung]

If you do end up coming over, welcome to the best of the Southwest. Please seriously consider joining the AzCDL and voting Republican, as we must be doing something right if everyone else keeps moving in.

You have a lot of options within one hundred miles if you don't mind commuting a bit. Anywhere from Queen Creek or Casa Grande all the way up to just outside of Prescott if I remember my day trips correctly.
Stay away from the Maryvale area. While a lot of the more affordable neighborhoods in Phoenix Metro have gentrified a bit, that area will remain unsafe even through your grandchildren's lives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryvale%2C_Arizona

Here are some previous links to local RFI threads:

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....I-Phoenix-Area

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....31-RFI-Arizona

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....hoenix-Arizona

[LtDave]

I live in Payson which should make your 100 mile limit depending on where they measure from. One hour drive to Fountain Hills, about 1.5 hours to downtown Phoenix, traffic dependent.

Payson is much better weather wise than Phoenix, not nearly as hot as the valley. Nice smaller town (15k or so population) so long as you are self employed or retired. Not many jobs available outside of service industry. Lots of retired folks live here. Excellent shooting range just outside of town. Housing ranges from single wides to multi million dollar homes. Decent local shopping for necessities, but if you want fancy shops or more choice in restaurants, you'll have to drive to the valley. Highly rated local hospital, but if you need trauma care you will almost certainly ride in a helicopter to the valley. Limited number of medical specialists in town, depending on your needs, you may have to drive to the valley or Flagstaff.

If I had to live in the metro Phoenix area I'd pick Scottsdale with Chandler as second choice.

[Doc_Glock]

Not an expert on Phoenix, but Cave Creek, North Scottsdale is quite nice.

[David S.]

Great public ranges in East Mesa, Casa Grande, North Phoenix just off I17. There’s a lot of Indian Reservation land around Phoenix, so you have to be careful where you shoot on “open land.” Less so north of the city.

[Paul D]

1) I would avoid living in the metro phoenix area enclosed by a box consisting of the Hwy 101 (north end), Hwy 51 on the east end, I 17 on the west end and I-10 the south end. Areas west of the I-17 and south of I-10 are rough.

2) If you anticipate needing regular medical care (especially specialist care), i would not live too far from metro Phoenix. Medical care in the outer cities like Payson, Prescott and far west Phoenix kinda sucks (especially for cardiac care).

3) Nice areas to live (suburban) include northern Peoria & Glendale; Anthem and areas along the Hwy 74 (Carefree Hwy); NE Phoenix and N Scottsdale; and the East Valley (Glibert, Mesa, Chandler, etc).

4) There are nice outdoor shooting facilities in N metro Phoenix (Ben Avery & Cowtown); several nice indoor ranges in Phoenix/Scottsdale area: and a bunch of places to shoot in the East Valley (Rio Salado club, etc).

5) If you predominantly tele-commute for your job; the outskirts of metro Phoenix should be nice to live and shoot.

[TCB]

If I was going to live in that area Prescott would be my #1 choice. Great little downtown with lots of good eats and close enough to Phoenix if you need to do city stuff. Great small towns like Cottonwood nearby and Sedona (one of the most beautiful places in the country) is just a short drive. Also significantly cooler than Phoenix and it’s surrounding cities (they had to shit the airport down a couple summers ago! It was to hot for plains to get airborne...).

[Sigfan26]

I’d look at Surprise, AZ. Just outside Phoenix, nice little city. I lived in Prescott and Prescott Valley for 3 years. If your job is in Phoenix, I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. Accidents past the Sunset Point rest area are not uncommon (and will make traveling 8 miles take over an hour). The other consideration living in Prescott and working in Phoenix is fires. They occurred on the 17/69 interchange all three years I was there (and can shut down travel completely between Prescott and Phoenix for days).


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[Cecil Burch]

Avoid Maryvale at all costs. As someone posted above, it has been a war zone for about 30 years. South Phoenix is a bit better, but nothing to write home about.

As Sigfan26 noted, Surprise is an up and coming area. Not so much towards the south part, but north (say Bell RD and the 303) is really coming along economically. As is north Peoria ( north of Union Hills towards Lake Pleseant). The city has done much to facilitate investment in the north part and houses are affordable but nice, and the schools are really good. North central Phoenix is another area moving up and getting nice. Based around Shea and the 51, there is a big boom there, both housing wise and retail. One of the trendiest hipster coffee cafes is building a flagship location right there. Houses are inexpensive and plentiful.

One thing to keep in mind. The traffic sucks. It’s not L.A., but it’s not that far behind. Plan on living within a 30 minute in rush hour drive of your job. More than that, and it won’t be long before you lose your mind. A lot of the push for the upscale gentrification of downtown was you g people working down there sick of an hour commute. Find a nice area with reasonable distance from your place of employment and look then.