Hi Sally,
I live in Phoenix, in an area called Ahwatukee. Whereas not a city it is part of Phoenix with a Phoenix zipcode, it is one of Phoenix's 15 urban villages, it spreads over a radius of 40 square miles with a population of about 85,000. It is bordered by South Mountain with hiking and biking trails, horseback riding and several golf courses.
Ahwatukee has been recognized by Money Magazine as one of America's best places to live. Most households are families, one reason for that is the exellent school system. K-8 are served by the Kyrene School District which is one of the best, only topped by Paradise Valley School District (but unless you have $ 1 Mio+ to plunk down on a small house - Paradise Valley won't be an option). The two highschools are operated by the Tempe Union Highschool District.
There are several charter schools (Keystone Montessori, Horizon Learning Center, etc) with excelling performance. There are also some fancy private schools which I think are far behind the Kyrene Schools, my kids attended one of them for many years and we found out that they were trailing far behind the public school system. My kids are 7 and 11 and now attend a Kyrene District Elementary School and Junior High School and LOVE it.
I moved straight to Ahwatukee from Germany a little over 11 years ago and it was a HUGE change for me, but definitely for the better! There is no other place that I would want to live.
All my favorite places are just a few minutes drive away. Lifetime Fitness is about 10 min from my house, this gym is very family oriented, they have a gazillion classes for children of all ages. My all-time favorite store IKEA, is right next to the gym - pretty hard on my credit card though }(
The City of Phoenix just built a brand-new community center with all kinds of classes for adults and children. It is a huge complex called Pecos Park Community Center with several soccer, baseball volleyball and basketball fields, tennis courts, a skate park, a pool and two dog parks.
The YMCA has one of it's largest facilities right here in Ahwatukee.
Trader Joe's is a minute from my house, there is a new Whole Foods store about 15 minutes away as is the Westcor Chandler mall. There are lots of restaurants, recreation, etc. just a stonethrow away.
There are several lakes for boating and water skiing around, however, it is about 1 hour drive from Ahwatukee. In the winter we go snow skiing in Northern Arizona, about 3 hours drive and you are in the snow.
I find people in Arizona are much friendlier and laid-back than in any place I had been to before. People are just not as formal here as in other places.
Part of it maybe the 360 days of sunshine every year. It's hard to be formal or depressed when you get up and have a beautiful sunshiny day
. One of the drawbacks for many people is the summer heat. I don't have a problem with it, it is really only 3 months out of the year that are pretty hot. In June and July the temperatures can hit 110 to 115 degrees, but it is a dry heat. In August the temperatures start dropping, however, due to the monsoon, it gets pretty humid (about 40 % humidity). The rest of the year is gorgeous, in the winter months temperatures average about 60 to 65 degrees, the spring time is my favorite time of the year, it's about 70 to 80 degrees and the whole desert is in bloom.
Whereas we had a housing boom in 2005 and 2006, and house prices almost doubled, we are now experiencing a down turn, price have become more affordable and it has definitely turned into a buyer's market. Maricopa county is doing their part with grant money, etc. to help people achieve home ownership and keep the market going.
Other than Ahwatukee there are many great areas, like Gilbert, Chandler, Scottsdale, to name a few but it would get too lengthy.
In any case, other than living here and loving it, I have also been a real estate agent for the past 10 years. I know and have worked in most of the areas in the Greater Phoenix Metro area and can get you more information, if you need/want it. Feel free to email me directly.
Hope this helps!
