I'm moving to Arizona from Boston and not sure where to live Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Tuscon?? help!

Stay in the East Valley, Tempe or Scottsdale, so much to do.

Actually Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale are actually suburbs of the Phoenix metro area. I lived in Phoenix my whole life, grew up in north Phoenix and moved to Glendale when I was 11. I can try and give my take on each area.

Mesa - I don't spend a lot of time out there but from what I've seen there are some scary areas in this place. Crime rate is higher here, traffic is terrible and if you wanna get to know their community I hope you know spanish.

Phoenix - The city limits here are probably the most overrated of all, it's true what they say that most of what makes this city great lies in the suburbs but not a bad place to be if you don't mind the noise. Atleast it's affordable

Scottsdale - One of the nicer places in all of Phoenix featuring a great night life, award winning golf courses and so much to do you couldn't do half of it. I currently reside out here and love it to death, it's centrally located so anything you would need is just around the corner.

Tempe - Has to be my second pick to Scottsdale but only because of a few small differences. Tempe tends to be a constant on the go type of town, home to the Arizona State University Sun Devils. Tempe is another place like Scottsdale where the pricetag to live will be a hefty one.

Tucson - This further south city I have not spent a tremendous time around, however from what I've heard it kinda has that New York Yankee mentality that you either love it or hate it. Another big college town, home to the University of Arizona Widcats. However being from Massachussets one could grow to appreciate the more liberal minded community.

Tempe and the Phoenix area have a lot more to offer than Tucson. Mesa is a big city and parts of it, especially the outskirts of it, are trailer parks, but I live in a nice area of Mesa. Scottsdale is really nice but very expensive. I don't care for many areas in the city of Phoenix itself. You might also want to look into Gilbert or Chandler, those are newer areas that are pretty nice. But if you like the small town with a slightly ghetto feel, Tucson is the place to be.

I am not sure of what your budget is, but if you can swing it I would definitely recommend Scottsdale or Chandler. They are nicer areas with more family oriented people. Safer on the whole compared to Tucson or Mesa. I lived in Mesa for a few years and it was a crime ridden city. Had a number of break ins at my apartment (which was in a better area) My car was vandalized a few times and I had a rape attempt happen as well. It is not a good city as far as I can suggest but recently I moved to Scottsdale and it is much safer and much more suburban

This question gets asked in the Phoenix section often! Check out this similar question - the link is below.

Tempe - college atmosphere, moderately-priced, clean.

Mesa - depends on the neighborhood. Some high crime areas, it's not centrally located - very eastern and far south of the main part of the metro area.

Scottsdale - Probably the nicest area in the metro area. North Scottsdale (if you can afford it) is beautiful, clean, virtually no crime. South scottsdale is affordable, some crime but still nice.

Phoenix - stay away from south Phoenix or west Phoenix or Glendale - high crime & gang areas. North & east Phoenix are best. Central Phoenix has a lot of crime, but you can find nice neighborhoods there. Central Phoenix is unbeatable for convenience!

All the above cities are part of the metro Phoenix area. Tucson is in southern Arizona and is VERY different. Tucson is a country town, Phoenix is a major metro city (much larger than Boston!). ONLY move to Tucson if you like country, small town living, big pick-up trucks and cowboys! By the way, it's a misconception that tucson is a liberal town. It's not! It's rather conservative, much more so than Phoenix!

Phoenix

Depends on where you have a job.

Scottsdale is really nice but you are going to pay alot more. There are some really nice parts of Phoenix, but like I said find a place close to where you are going to work because the traffice is crazy EVERYWHERE.

That will depend on what type of job you need, type of climate, size of town. All these are fairly large cities. You may want to check out the elevation etc. Have you been to Arizona or other near by states to make your decision on? If you have never lived far from Boston the climate change could take some getting used to.

Move to Mesa it is better than any city. The services are 3exigence.

This go to www.cityofmesa.org for more info. There is no property tax either.

Tempe and Tucson are college towns. Tempe is more fast-paced.

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