Parents who live in Phoenix, can you give me the lowdown on the city......?

Question

We may possibly be uprooting and moving to Phoenix for my husbands job. I know nothing about the place. If you live there can you tell me how kid friendly it is, farmers markets in the area, recreational activities and what not?

Answer 1

I used to live in Tucson, I moved the second I found out that I was expecting.  I love Arizona it trully is beautiful, but there is always a down side to everything, and for me that was phoenix.  It's kinda like new york in some spots so you really have to be careful where you are putting your kids.  it is a really busy town with a lot of good and bad qualities.  I mean really who doesn't love the climate there and you don't have to worry to much about frost bite.  But then you got all the snakes and scorpions that some how always got into my house.  have you ever woken up in the morning and had a clear scorpion ready to strike your face?  But that's something you learn to except.  Like bee's in the northern states you know.  As far as living in the city goes I really couldn't tell you much, common sense is key.  Living in tucson there was a ton of gun shots constantly right in the apartment below mine it made me very nervous.  Also watch people maybe take a vacation before you decide to move check it out see the sights then decide if it is all gonna be worth it.  good luck on your journey.

Answer 2

I live in Yuma(like 3 hours away from phoenix), I hate Phoenix, even visiting there, people do not know how to drive. In certain areas there is a lot of crime depending on where you live. My aunt has 2 kids and they live in El Mirage...and its a pretty good area. The area zoo is cute, and Scottsdale/Tempe is pretty nice...Scottsdale is where the "rich" people live. Tempe is where ASU is so a lot of college kids live there. Summer is fun...of course its hot, but there is a lot to do, I love tubing on the salt river....like I said I am not from there this just what I am aware of

Answer 3

I'm not a parent but, I have lived here for almost half my life:

It kind of depends where exactly you will be moving to...when most people reference "Phoenix" it encompasses the following cities:

Scottsdale

Mesa

Tempe

Chandler

Avondale

Glendale

Awahtukee

Laveen

Peoria

Arrowhead

Gilbert

So, in general...

Weather: Right now, we are beginning what's called our "Monsoon" season. So, although it's the middle of the summer, we get evening showers in some parts of the state.

http://www.azcentral.com/weather/

School Systems: well, that's a toughy....like everywhere else, our teachers are underpaid and under-appreciated. What's worse is that because of the shortage and the necessity for bi-lingual teachers, our public school rankings are in the toilet.

http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

Kid Friendly: Well, it depends on where you move. I suggest not moving into Central Phoenix...although there are beautiful areas in Central Phoenix, there are those pockets of areas that are very demographically unpleasing.

Because of the heat there aren't really many farmer's markets around.  

Recreational Activities: Now, that is in abundance. There are lots of new community centers and parks. Lots of people in AZ like to be outdoors so there is always something going on...