I'm thinking of taking a job at General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale. Can anyone tell me about the area? We've been looking for housing in the Mesa/Gilbert/Chandler area.
I have 3 kids, 2 in elementary school, so school and neighborhood info would be great.

 

Hey congrats on the new job! Scottsdale is nice, but WAY overpriced. There's several areas nearby which are a better buy. As you probably know, there's TONS of houses for sale in the Gilbert/ Chandler area. Personally though, if the drive isn't too big of a deal I'd recommend looking in Ahwatukee. It's considered the "Young Scottsdale", or "New Scottsdale". It has VERY good schools, reasonable housing costs (now that the bottom fell out) and is close to all major highways to Scottsdale. It's EXTREMELY family oriented. The "true" suburbs! Are you already working with a realtor? If not, my realtor has sold me my house in Tempe, and my parent's house in Ahwatukee Foothills. He's VERY nice and will take as long as it takes to find you EXACTLY what you and your family are envisioning. Let me know if you have any questions. I've lived in Ahwatukee and Tempe, and my Grandparents live in Scottsdale, so I'm pretty knowledgeable of everywhere in between! Either way, welcome to AZ and hope to see you at some events!

 

have you been to 'tukee recently? I grew up there ( Las Lomas  Centennial ) and let me tell you its certainly not what it was before. If by "young Scottsdale" you mean the giant coke ring that has seemed to grab the lives of children and all of the "OC" drama from around there then yes. The houses however are nice and the schools are mostly Kyrene which is good. If your looking in a “Scottsdale ish “ budget id suggest looking into the houses in the equestrian community which are some of the nicest houses in all of the valley.

However, I believe Chandler is more family oriented while still being in the Kyrene school system which is one of the better ones in the valley while having fairly priced houses for the market. A lot of Chandler is “cookie cutter” houses but the ones in Circle G and Warner Ranches are custom houses with nice lots.


As far as schools,

Public schooling you really want to stick with the Kyrene district its one of the better ones in the valley.

Private schools include: Phoenix Christian, Brophy (HS men), Xavier (HS women) , Montessori ( younger kids) and a slew of others that provide a “better” education than some of the public schools in the valley. Most of them, however, are religiously oriented.

I went to Tempe preparatory academy for school, which is 7-12 and is the highest rated test scores for all of Arizona and is a charter school so it’s free. But it’s also a very small school and about 15 min from Chandler and about 30 min from 'tukee and Scottsdale

 

Scottsdale, Carefree, Cave Creek pretty spendy overall but nice areas

Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert the next step down

Mesa, from what I know it depends on where in Mesa. Its huge city...

Good lucka nd hope u move down here. We always need more Scions in teh group

 

It's all relative IMO on the pricing, anything you find will probably be cheaper then what you are currently paying in Georgia. The closer to Scottsdale, yes, the more you will pay, but if you look at Mesa/Chandler or some of the other outlining areas you will save a few pennies(as everyone else has said).

As far as schooling goes, like BJ said....Kyrene is one of the best in the valley and Chandler would probably be a great place to look. Not so centrally located with the rest of the valley, but with how this place is growing...it probably will be in just a few years. Also, you have easy freeway access to and from work.

GD is right off of the 101 and McDowell...freakin huge facility...my ex worked there for a while before she went to Raytheon in Tucson. Congrats if you take the job and good luck on the hunt!!! Let us know if we can be anymore help!!!

 

Thanks for the info so far. We currently own our house here in GA. We'll probably go back to renting for now. When we got here, we thought we'd be here awhile. Atlanta is a tech-oriented city, and there are jobs available. However, there are also thousands of people wanting those jobs. Rather than become un-employed in a month and a half, I'm trying to transfer with my company. Plus, I make very good money at what I do, and other jobs in this area don't pay nearly enough. I could take a 30% cut in pay and find a job, but I'd rather move than do that.
The other plus is that both my wife and I have family out west. My dad and step-mom live in Yuma, BTW. Her entire family is in the Los Angeles area, and I have a brother and sister in San Diego. So it'll be much easier to visit everyone.

Now, traffic here in Atlanta is atrocious. I don't even work downtown, and I still get stuck in it, 20 miles outside the city. If we were 10 miles away, say in Mesa or N Gilbert, what's my commute going to look like up 101?

 

Well let's pick somewhere in the middle. Let's say you live around the 101 & 202 (Santan Freeway-South version of 202), then I'd say during 7:00 rush hour up the 101 to McDowell would take about half an hour. If you live in Mesa however, then it gets tricky due to having to take the 60. Either way, I don't think either should take you longer than about 30 minutes in average rush hour. If you have to be in earlier, then this is actually better. I go into work sometimes at 6:00, and traffic hasn't gotten bad yet. Let us know if you have any other questions. We'd be glad to help you out!

 

I just moved to Ahwatukee from the Detroit area, and I must say that I love it here. It's quiet with EVERYTHING you could want close by. You can get to anywhere too with all the freeway's around. Since I've been here, I've driven all around the Phoenix Scottsdale, Chandler area, and I must say I like it here best. Check it out.

 

One step closer. I got a verbal offer yesterday. And I get a raise.

A childhood friend of my wife lives in Mesa, near Alta Mesa Country Club IIRC, and actually found a couple houses in her neighborhood. Her kids went to school there, and she said they're great.

 

Well, we're moving. In Mesa, near Alta Mesa CC.

We're driving two cars, with three kids and a cat.
Look for us around the 8th.

 

Hey There. Congrats on the new job offer. we all look forward to meeting you out at one of the meets after you get all settled in.