Hey Heather!

I Found some Web Sites that May be of Interest to you.

http://phxnorth.com/
http://www.onescottsdale.com/
http://www.citynorthaz.com/
http://www.weknowurban.com/

These pretty much will give you a good indication of the up and coming areas here in Phoenix.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance to you.
Thanks,

Ryan

Thu Nov 15 2007, 12:04

Heather,

Being a Phoenix native, I am becoming an increasing minority in our ever expanding "Valley of the Sun". Phoenix is an amazing place to grow up and now I can share my area expertise with my clients looking to own a piece of the Arizona dream. I am very familiar with the Valley and the current buyers market that we are experiencing here, and I would love to help you find that perfect neighborhood for you to raise your family.

Please let me know if I can be of any help and best of luck to you!

Sun Oct 21 2007, 11:55

The best thing about buying in a market like we have is that is a Buyers Market, and there is an abundance of homes for sale. The hardest part of buying a home in Phoenix is going to be choosing where to live. There are homes for sale everywhere on almost every street.

The next thing to do is go get Pre-Approved, not Pre-Qualified. Pre-Approval is where you actually are ready to receive the loan, Pre-Qualified, is just an opinion of what you may get.

Anyway, after your approval you should sign up with a REALTOR®. Speak to a few to get an idea of what they can do for you. Then you go out and hunt for you home.

If and when you find a home, then its time to negotiate the price. A good Agent will facilitate this. Finally you go to Escrow, and cross your fingers that things go smoothly.

I have more questions for you than answers, only because it is important to find out what your looking for in a home. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or visit my website.

Thu Oct 11 2007, 17:15

It all depends on what you like. I'm in the same age group as you and have a family. I like N. Phoenix, and live near desert ridge. I have other friends that like cenral phoenix, scottsdale and chandler. I think that there are so many nice places to choose from that it all depends. I hope that is helpful

Thu Jul 12 2007, 15:11

"Best" certainly pertains to what you feel is best. There are many many fantastic neighborhoods in the Valley. Do you currently live in the area and/or have you had the opportunity to visit? What is your time line for purchasing a home? A great start may be to meet with a Realtor (one that your are comfortable working with and who has your best interest at heart) and discuss your wants and needs. Creating an action plan with help you navigate to the right neighborhood and home for you.

Thu Jul 12 2007, 08:49

My first recommendation would be to visit the different cities websites. Each one will have an area with parks and recreation giving you an idea of parks and programs available for the children. If a particular town sparks your interest, visit citysearch.com for entertainment ideas in that area. Lastly, you can visit my website and utilize the MLS/IDX search capabilities to get an idea of what an area's cost of home might be. I also provide free of charge email updates as to available homes within a particular neighborhood or area. as they become available so you don't have to keep checking. Just email me and I can get that started for you. To get information on crime statistics visithttp:// www.faxnet1.org and sex offender information visithttp:// www.azsexoffender.org. There are many wonderful places for a young family to live in Arizona. Best of luck in your search.

Tue Jul 10 2007, 19:43

Tough question to answer. There are a lot of other variables to take into consideration. There are many nice areas of the valley. What might be important to you may not matter to someone else. I would say to only work with an agent who is truly an expert in the area you are looking, as opposed to an agent who will show you a home anywhere in the valley. I live in Gilbert and personally love it. I have a community in mind that I think is awesome. It is Power Ranch. I have put together a website for just that community. The link may be clicked below. From my Power ranch site you can access my Gilbert site athttp:// www.eGilbertArizona.com

Tue Jul 10 2007, 16:06

Nancy - just some friendly advice, your response to Heather is *really* pushing the FHA/EHO "Fair Housing" laws against steering.... "Please stay on the East side if you can" crosses that line in my opinion. Please be careful!!!

Tue Jul 10 2007, 09:43

Heather:

Love your picture, you look like your in Love. Depending on your affordability, definately East Valley, I live in a neighborhood in Gilbert that is said to be one of the safest anywhere in Arizona. Please stay on the East side if you can. I have three children and would not be anywhere else in the valley. contact me anytime with questions.

Tue Jul 10 2007, 09:25

Hi Heather,
There are many great areas in the Phoenix area to buy. There are quite a few master planned communites that have the school in the neighborhood along with parks for the kids all within walking distance. There are so many things to do in the valley that being close to a freeway is a great way to get the best of all worlds. Fortunately there are lots of new freeways in the Southeast valley where you can get a home that is priced well and be able to go where you would like to fairly quickly. Many of the communities also have movies, restaurants, and shopping close as well so you never have to go to far for what you would like to do. Feel free to contact me with any furthur questions. Good luck!

Fri Jul 6 2007, 09:58

I recommend South Tempe 85284 zip because of the #1 kyrene school district. Best education in the nation. Also everything is so perfectly located, I guess they learned from all the mistakes they made creating Phoenix, which is under all kinds of renewal and transformation. I am a native of 47 years, it gets better every year. You are within 5 miles of South Mountain Park, the largest municipal park at 16,000 acres, and Tempe Kiwanis Park, (Google that for link), it is a big park with lots of activities, indoor wave pool, fishing rental bikes and paddleboats. Then there is the Tempe Town Lake waterfront about 10 miles North, with a big lake to fish and rental boats. Lots of upscale shopping on Mill ave, and the new Mesa Waterfront a few miles east of the Tempe Town Lake has the new Bass Pro Shop and everything else going in new too. I strongly recommend Tempe, later on there is ASU for the kids, I know lots of people sending their kids there from other states spending a mint on dorms. You will have it all.

Thu Jul 5 2007, 13:03

Heather,
I always ask people where are you moving from, and what are your expectations, ideas, and goals, once you arrive in the Phoenix area. What do you envision for you Arizona Experience? Have you been here, do you know people here? What is your Arizona dream?

Coming from the East coast 14 years ago, I had to move a couple of times before I hit my "niche". Once I got to my little corner of paradise, I found 1/2 of my neighbors were from the East coast! Funny but true.

Now, all my friends and family come out to visit, a few times a year...and I never have to shovel snow again!
I would love the opportunity to find out about you and your Arizona dreams. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance. Hopefully, I can welcome you to the "Valley of the Sun!"
Kind Regards,
Nancy Parana

Tue Jul 3 2007, 18:37

Jay makes some excellent points. Please contact me and share your specific needs information. The Marriott Group will then try to offer you options of which there are many which fit the criteria you need of price, culture and safety.

Tue May 29 2007, 13:22

Thanks Jay - very helpful answer and I appreciate you sending me to multiple resources!

Tue May 15 2007, 15:01

A real estate agent has to be very careful when answering questions like this as there are numerous laws and regulations that prevent us from "steering" people to or away from particular areas.

Another part of the problem is "best" means different things to different people. Even if you specify "best" as say "the best schools" then does "best school" signify lowest student:teacher ratio, highest test score, most extra-curricular activities, etc?

To your specifics... Phoenix is a large metropolitan area, and as such, parks and entertainment are never very far away. "Cultural" type entertainment (museums, theater, etc) tends to be focused near city centers. But keep in mind that many cities make up the Phoenix area, so "city center" doesn't restrict you to downtown Phoenix proper. Parks and play areas are abundant, and many neighborhood HOAs (Home Owner Associations) provide small parks and play areas for their residents.

"Suburban sprawl" can be somewhat of a problem, though again, there are many master planned communities that specifically design to combat this.

Crime is best answered by going to sites that compile crime statistics. I've compiled several such sites at the site listed below.

I hope this helps!

Jay

Fri May 11 2007, 06:55