I am moving to the Phoenix area in late November. I need some suggestions on where would be a good area to live. My husband will be working in downtown Phoenix and we are military and will be assigned to the medical facilities at Luke, so keeping that in mind, where would be a prime place for us to look. I have a daughter who will be entering 9th grade and a 4 year old son. Of course I'm concerned about a good high school for her to attend as well as a good elementary school for my son when he turns 5 and can go to kindergarten. I've heard that Millenium HS in Litchfield is good, but I need more options than that. I would love to live east of Phoenix, but it's not an option since it won't be close to Luke. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
Just to clarify - your
Just to clarify - your husband will be working in Phx, not at Luke??
Just asking because my husband and I both work at Luke and live in Surprise.
I can give you info about Luke AFB and the area if you need.
jesshod is a mommy to 2 girls (ages 6 and 1) and is an arizonamoms.com discussion leader living in Surprise.
He will be working downtown
He will be working downtown at the Naval Recruiting District, but of course, we will be "attached" to Luke for medical purposes and such. I would love info about Luke and the surrounding area. Would the Surprise area be a good choice for my husband to commute downtown? What is a good high school to be looking at, as well as an elementary school?
Thanks for responding.
I live in Surprise and love
I live in Surprise and love it. Lots of family activities. Schools are okay and getting better - my son attends Valley Vista and we have had a very positive experience. And if you like baseball you will love the Spring Training facilities for the Royals and Rangers.
I live in Buckeye... which
I live in Buckeye... which is a little fartherthan surprise, and both towns are awesome.
I live in Goodyear, 10
I live in Goodyear, 10 minutes from luke from where I live... We are apart of the Avondale school district but Litchfield is much better.. The High School we have in my area is Desert Thunder, I heard it is a very crowded school but I have never verified that so I am just talking hearsay... My son goes to Agua Fria because I attended that school as a HSler ;) I like the school, he has had no problems. Millenium I haven't heard anything about the school, but I have heard great things about the district itself... The homes are less pricy for the quality in Goodyear the further west you go the bigger for your bucks... PS I am a native to Gdyr/Avondale
Maricky M Abril
marickyabril@hotmail.com
Just to warn you, if your
Just to warn you, if your husband is going to be driving from the area around Luke to downtown Phoenix... the drive is HORRIBLE. I used to make the drive from Avondale to downtown and I could guarantee an hour. But that is only if he works an 8 to 5. Traffic is horrible at that time.
I went to Millennium High School (graduated 2003) and it was a great high school then, but I've heard a few stories about fights, sex tapes, things like that since, but I think fluke things like that can really happen at any high school. The kids at Agua Fria at that time were a little rougher than at Millennium, but not as rough as Tolleson, I would strongly recommend to avoid Tolleson.
If you'd rather try and move into the downtown area, the historic neighborhoods can be really great as long as you get into the right district (i.e. FQ Story, Willow, Encanto and Coronado are all great districts.) They are a little pricey for the size, but its definitely a Buyer's market right now so you can get a great deal.
If you do end up buying in the downtown/historic area, I work for a title company and we actually offer a 20% discount on title fees for historic properties. No pressure, just trying to help out :)
If you have any questions about the area around Luke (I spent 5 years out there) or Downtown (I currently live there) feel free to e-mail me at nleonard@stewartaz.com.
Good luck to you and your family!!
"Family is not an important thing, its everything." - Michael J. Fox
I would definitely stay
I would definitely stay around the downtown area for living and commute out to Luke when needed. As people said the rush hour traffic is horrible going from Luke to downtown. I live in El Mirage, which is by Surprise and it can easily take an hour and tons of stress to get to downtown during peak hours.
The Laveen area is newer and southwest of the downtown area. Tempe, Awahtukee, and Paradise Valley are also a little away from downtown but the commute is tolerable. The areas around the central corridor and Encanto are also very nice and you might be able to find some killer deals right in that area. The Central corridor is the area south of Dunlap to about Highland along Central avenue between approximately 7th ave and 7th street. I saw a 4 bedroom on a huge lot for 250K recently.
Housing east of the corridor is also nice. You eventually get in to the biltmore and arcadia areas.
A lot depends on your price range. I used to live in the area, but I went to private school so not too sure about the schools.