U.S.A. Arizona
Published Jun 15, 2007
flowerchick
111 Posts
Hi all. I'm an RN in Illinois. I graduated last May, so I just am finishing my first year. We sold AND CLOSED on our house here in record time (just over a month) so we are in an apt with all our stuff in storage waiting for our pre-planned visit to AZ the first week of July for house hunting. We've narrowed down three major areas: Gilbert, Chandler and Buckeye
We based this on what we can find data-wise about house prices and types, (We want new construction and prefer immediate delivery as we'd like to close in 30 days or by the very beginning of August to get our 9 year old in school on time) school districts and all the basic info one can gather. We've been out every year for the last 5 years and stayed in Tempe/Scottsdale/Flagstaff.
Anyways, I have seen lots of good info here over the last months about Chandler and Gilbert, but none about Buckeye. I really love what I've read/seen about some of the new subdivisions, such as Verrado, but I'd love some first hand info about neighborhoods, schools, traffic, oh, and hospitals. (Although, I will not be starting my job search until we are settled..hubby can transfer with his current position, so the heat's off me, thankfully.)
Thanks a ton in advance!
Collin
Never Moving AGAIN! :beercuphe
sassiebaz
614 Posts
It really depends on what you are looking for. I'm partial to the "westside" but I personally would not move to buckeye. For me it's just too far out there and seems so desolate. I hear there is alot of developement out that way though. I hear Chandler is better than Gilbert but I don't have info as to why. I think one of the nicer areas is Peoria. Have you looked there? They have one of the best school districts in the valley! What are you looking at as far as housing prices?? The truth is it's all relative. Anyside of town you live on will have your resturaunts, movie theaters, and other entertainment. Now where do you plan on working?? That will make a difference in some of the area. some of the major hospitals are centralized so you can live somewhere else but hop one of the major freeways and be there in 20 minutes(but not everywhere). Also if you need a home loan, my husband works for the number one lender in the country....you can PM me if you need a referral...
Thanks for your input!
I will definitely research Peoria. We are looking to stay within the 250-350 range. We finally decided to send hubby out next weekend on a reconnaisaince (sp?) mission. We'll all go out together the next weekend as planned.
I know I want to get/have a pool and I would love to be able to see the mountains. I don't have plans on working anywhere specific. Right now, I live 45-60 mins from my job depending on traffic and that's fine. I won't focus on where I will work until we are moved, settled, daughter is in school, etc. Once I get settled, then I'll start asking the questions about hospitals!
Thanks again for the info.
ariannasmom
16 Posts
I agree Peoria is a nice town. You should also look at Surprise. It's a little newer and a great place to raise a family. Good luck!
No offense to surprise, I know a ton of people have moved out that way. However, isn't there basically one way in and one way out?? That's the reason we didn't move out that way. Also, the schools were so new there wasn't a lot of good stats.....has that changed?? I have friends that live out there and they like it. Peoria has a new area as well. I don't live in either city, I'm in Phoenix. We are in one of the top school districts so that's why we stay where we are. There are many good cities throughout the valley, all filled with families and kids(and nurses)!!
azhils
9 Posts
Another vote for Peoria! I live in north Peoria. about 15 minutes further up the road is Vistancia and a lot of other new communities. Nearby hospitals would be Boswell and Del Webb in Sun City, Banner Thunderbird in Glendale and further south on the 101 is Banner Estrella. Even John C Lincoln Deer Valley is only about 20 minutes from here. We picked this area mainly to be in the Peoria Unified school district.
pm me if you have any ?'s
I agree Buckeye is way out there, the only things I have heard about the other towns you mentioned is that the traffic is horrible in the east valley, although it is getting pretty bad on this side of town also!
Hoozdo, ADN
1,555 Posts
t Gilbert, Chandler and Buckeye
Buckeye? That is not even a suburb of Phoenix, honestly. Buckeye is some place you pass on the freeway on the way to California
I have lived in Phoenix all my life and have never, ever met anyone that lived in Buckeye. BTW, all of my life is pretty close to 50 years.
Gilbert is nice. It is a fairly new suburb.....used to be really rural about 15 years ago. Chandler has been a suburb a long time.......used to be really rural about 30 years ago. They are both on the far east side of town.
On the far west you have Peoria and Surprise. These might be better housing for the dollar choices, (price per sq foot).
Welcome to AZ! Bring your bathing suits, swimming season is April - October.
zoo*moon, BSN, RN
66 Posts
Hey Flowerchick!
We just got back from a week in Buckeye! I'm wondering how you came to choose Buckeye, how you heard of it. I heard of it only because my cousin moved there from California. She has a huge house in Buckeye- (Tartesso). The bedrooms are huge with huge closets. I was so envious! But it is almost in the middle of nowhere. The post office is half an hour away, have to get on I-10 and go east. There is a new Walmart going up 2 or 3 (I forget) exits east. Where she lives there are no services. She is only 3 miles from I-10 but 30 minutes from anything. We walked through some houses in Verrado- awesome place- but they were much smaller bedrooms than she's got. Buckeye is huge- 600 square miles I was told. Lots of growth, new houses. So I imagine in 5 years there'll be services at her exit. Anyway, get ready for HOT. Email me if you want to talk. I couldn't believe it when I saw this post today.
Good luck to you!
RainDreamer, BSN, RN
3,571 Posts
If you don't mind a long drive, then go for it! Seriously though, if you want newer housing and no traffic .... well then the Phx area is not for you.
I'm an east valley girl myself. 1 thing to remember though is "you can't have it all". I'd love to have a new house, out away from the city so I can see the stars and not hear all the traffic. But then that means I have to drive 1-2 hours to work! No thanks. I live in Tempe, so I'm close enough to Phx which makes my commute not too long. And there's plenty to do here. You don't have to live IN Phx to be around everything ..... but if you move out to a suburb of a suburb, then traffic will be HELL because the freeways are way outdated, they weren't made to accomadate all these newer communities.
I wish you the best of luck! Welcome to the valley! And you're coming at just the perfect time of the year. Hasn't got too hot yet, only 104 today!
Wow, you guys are very, very, very helpful!!!
Well, we started doing some research in Peoria and were very pleased with the existing (not new construction, which is a totally new for us) houses we found online. We also are still sending DH out next weekend for three days on his own to do some really hard-core searches without the females in our family (me included) clouding up the big picture. He'll come home Monday, then we all leave together the following Sunday for 6 days.
Hubby found Buckeye during his research of communities. I believe it was Verrado that caught his eye initially.
Well, I work the next three straight, but I wanted to say thanks again for all the fantastic input. This was exactly what I was hoping for!
Calzonan RN
515 Posts
I've lived in Gilbert for the past 9.5 years and absolutely love it. When I moved here it was very rural (we're talking dairy farms everywhere and corn fields) but now it is a growing area full of new families. There's a brand new hospital just down the street from me (so no freeways) and they're opening up two or three more in the next couple of months, all of them within easy driving distance. If you want to work at one of the more established hospitals your morning commute (if you work nights) is very easy 'cause everyone is going the other way. I commute to St. Joes right now and it only takes me about 30-45 minutes either way, I miss all the traffic working nights!
I would tell anyone to move out to Gilbert, Mesa or even north Queen Creek, there's lots of new builds and a lot of already built homes for sale.
Good luck in your search,
Keli
Again, thanks for all your input. Hubby went out last week and really liked Verrado in Buckeye. We are currently 'in the middle of nowhere' here in Illinois, so driving 30/45/60+ mins to get places is our norm. We are going out Sunday and hopefully finding something we'll all like. We've made the decision (much to my elation) that I will take off the first half of the school year to help settle the house, kid, get to really know the area. Then, I'll start looking after Jan 1 for a job. I'm still working now and probably will right up until we move.
I'll report back next weekend! Wish me luck.
Oh, BTW, he sent me pics of the dashboard showing 113 degrees. Although, coming back to Chicago to 96 and humid, he said AZ was much more comfortable, you just be sure to stay out of the sun during the day this time of year! I figured I could just put my crockpot in the back of the car before work during summer and Voila! Dinner comes home with Mom!!