What is the most family friendly city in Arizona to move to?

Question

I am looking to move to Arizona with my wife and young daughter and am looking for a great city to live in (work, entertainment, great schools, safe, etc). I want to be within 45 minutes of Scottsdale. We are from a mid-sized Minnesota town, so places that would fit our lifestyle would be great.

Answer 1

I live in Tempe, Arizona which incidentally is pretty close to Scottsdale, less than 45 minutes away.  I always recommend where I live since I have lived in the area my entire life and I absolutely love it.  There are a large number of places to work that aren't very far away, there's great entertainment including Mill Avenue, basketball, baseball, ASU, restaurants, malls, you name it we've got it.  Overall I would say what's great about the Phoenix area is it is a large city and so are the surrounding cities but it doesn't really feel that way.  It is completely safe and the neighborhoods are very safe and have a lot of families so your daughter would be able to find lots of friends.  

Overall Tempe is my pick for you and since the housing prices are going down you might be able to get a good deal on a house here, usually in the Tempe area houses are pretty pricey.

Other great alternatives are Mesa, Chandler, or Gilbert.  These are great cities too and are pretty close to everything as well so if you can't find something in Tempe, try finding something there.  With the freeways, getting to Scottsdale or downtown Phoenix will take you 30 minutes or less, but beware of rush hour traffic later in the afternoon.

I hope this helps you!