[Ohio Mike]

Hey Zonies,

I've been following the AZ forum for a while. You may remember a while back I posted a typical "Where to live and work in the valley" thread.

Well, my wife and I are almost ready to pull the trigger. We're looking hard at a couple jobs and houses in Ahwatukee (zips 85044 and 85048). So, I'm here trolling for information. What do you know about Ahwatukee? Love it? Hate it? What do you know about the schools? Crime? Local food? Real estate values? Anything else?

Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks!

-Mike

 

[tried2live]

Hey Mike, I just moved out here from Cincy in May myself, and I'm in an Apt in Ahwatukee right now. I love the area, and would love to try to stay here when I buy a house if I can afford it. The real estate prices out here blow me away. Plenty of places to eat, shop, ride, etc. I know nothing about the schools, but aside from what seems like a decent amount of car theft, there doesn't seem to be much crime in the area.

-Paul

 

[Crash_FLMB]

Hey Zonies,

I've been following the AZ forum for a while. You may remember a while back I posted a typical "Where to live and work in the valley" thread.

Well, my wife and I are almost ready to pull the trigger. We're looking hard at a couple jobs and houses in Ahwatukee (zips 85044 and 85048). So, I'm here trolling for information. What do you know about Ahwatukee? Love it? Hate it? What do you know about the schools? Crime? Local food? Real estate values? Anything else?

Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks!

-Mike

How about this..another fellow Ohio guy here! Of course, the last 8 years was in Seattle but I just moved here in October. We live in Chandler and it's a great area. Ahwatukee is on one side of South Mountain and you can ride to the trails there. It seems like a nice area but I've only ridden/driven through it. Sorry I can't help much more but I'm new myself. Us Ohio brethren need to ride together!

 

[Bgrafk]

'Tukee's great

Mike,

I live in Awhatukee as well, its a great place to live. There are plenty, and I mean plenty of places to eat. Pick your poison.
As far as crime, not bad at all, like tried2live said.
It can get crowded during rush hour, as everybody tries to get on and off of I-10.
But it doesn't bother me, thats the point of rush hour isn't it?
There are also plenty of places to ride at nearby at South Mountain and plenty of other local trails within a 45 min. drive.
As far as schools go, the Kyrene school district is a good district to be in.
Or if your talking about High Schools, there are also 2 great high schools in the area, Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista.

 

[tried2live]

How about this..another fellow Ohio guy here! Of course, the last 8 years was in Seattle but I just moved here in October. We live in Chandler and it's a great area. Ahwatukee is on one side of South Mountain and you can ride to the trails there. It seems like a nice area but I've only ridden/driven through it. Sorry I can't help much more but I'm new myself. Us Ohio brethren need to ride together!

I'd love to go for a ride. To be honest I don't have a bike here yet, but should have one within a month or two... just deciding on which one I want to buy. I left my old Jamis hardtail back in Cincy, so I'm going nuts without wheels. It's even worse being a block and a half from the 48th st entrance to south mountain.

 

[El profeta negro]

From the AZ Republic 10/23/05...

85044 Median home: $280K +40% over LY and +80% 00-05

85048 Median home: $350K +49% over LY and +84% 00-05

IMO other good zips if you are interested are...85254, 85255, 85268, 85018, 85249

 

[Bgrafk]

If you are looking for a less expensive home than Awhatukee, I would check out Chandler, and Gilbert. Not sure if those are some of the zips that el profeta ***** included. They have some very nice communities and schools and are close to Awhatukee, if thats where you are working.

 

[Ohio Mike]

From the AZ Republic 10/23/05...
85044 Median home: $280K +40% over LY and +80% 00-05
85048 Median home: $350K +49% over LY and +84% 00-05

Profeta,

Care to elaborate on the 85044 and 85048 info above? I mean, I understand the stats, but are you saying that those numbers are good? Bad? Awesome? Are you implying we can do better or get the same house cheaper somewhere else?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[El profeta negro]

Not really sure why I've held on to that section, but if you want to post a target home price, or PM me, I'll get you some zips in that range. Dont worry I'm not a realator.

Hell, did I even spell it right? Looks funny to me.

 

[El profeta negro]

Profeta,

Care to elaborate on the 85044 and 85048 info above? I mean, I understand the stats, but are you saying that those numbers are good? Bad? Awesome? Are you implying we can do better or get the same house cheaper somewhere else?

Thanks,
Mike

Those were just ro show you how much homes in thoses zips have appreciated. I think they are very good. In the last 5 years only 3 zips have gone over 50%, while 15 have hit between 40-49%. Thats out of appx 100 zips in the PHX metro area.

Im not trying to persuade you in any way, just trying to provide some usefull info! I'd hate for you to make a decision based on info in a 3 month old newspaper that I held on to.

 

[DurtGurl]

Hey Zonies,

I've been following the AZ forum for a while. You may remember a while back I posted a typical "Where to live and work in the valley" thread.

Well, my wife and I are almost ready to pull the trigger. We're looking hard at a couple jobs and houses in Ahwatukee (zips 85044 and 85048). So, I'm here trolling for information. What do you know about Ahwatukee? Love it? Hate it? What do you know about the schools? Crime? Local food? Real estate values? Anything else?

Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks!

-Mike

Hi Mike,
I moved to Ahwatukee from Columbus, Ohio in Spring of 2000. I have a 1740 sqft house with pool, hot tub, and a 3-car garage in 85044 and continue to marvel at this paradise I am so lucky to call my home. I am less than 1 mile from 3 different trailheads and since I live only 10 miles from my work in Tempe, I often commute by bike (more recently I'm enjoying the carpool lane on my new motorcycle!) I don't have kids, but hear that the Kyrene school district is top notch. I did have a bike stolen from my garage this past summer, but such is life in any community. I'd say crime is overall quite low in my area. Food and shopping are abundant in Ahwatukee, and there's a great bike shop too! I love living here and would be glad to answer any other questions you may have.... Sure beats Ohio!

Kathleen

 

[wookalar]

I just moved to Gilbert in June so I don't know much about the Ahwatukee area except that there have been some hot debates over the proposed alignment of the San Tan Freeway which looks like it's going to take out some houses in/around the Ahwatukee area no matter where they end up putting it.

I have no idea what zip code the proposed freeway alignment areas are in...maybe DurtGurl or another Ahwatukee local can chime in on that. I just thought I'd mention that since no one else has yet.

BTW, when we were researching schools the Kyrene schools were on the top of the list.

Good luck with the house search.

 

[DurtGurl]

Hey Zonies,

I've been following the AZ forum for a while. You may remember a while back I posted a typical "Where to live and work in the valley" thread.

-Mike

Just wanted to Welcome Ohio Mike and his significant other to the neighborhood!!! I met the couple at the Walgreen's after last weekend's Hawes ride... They have successfully relocated to Ahwatukee from Ohio and are out exploring. I'm sure they are feeling right at home with our recent monsoon humidity. Looking forward to having you all join up on some of our MTBR rides!!!

 

[Ohio Mike]

Thanks...

Thanks, Kathleen. It was a pleasure meeting you. Yes, I was the guy with the bloody knee and elbow.

It was purely coincedence that Carol and I were riding Hawes on Sunday morning. The humidity was rough, but we're used to it. The temps haven't really bothered us too much, yet.

We met a guy on Saturday at Somo who gave us directions to javelina. This guy was also at Hawes on Sunday. I think it might have been Dirdir (Geoff??). Anyway, it was nice to meet you, and we look forward to joining some rides, getting back into shape, and meeting more of you.

-Mike

 

[harky]

OM...if you can muster the courage (enthusiasm) to ride Az in Jun, Jul & Aug, and enjoy it...then you will LOVE riding AZ Sept thru May!!!
Welcome.

 

[CactusJoe]

Here's a tip if you do move here...renounce any allegiance to the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU is the second most evil empire behind the New York Yankees, zonies are particularly sensitive to both.

 

[waltaz]

We met a guy on Saturday at Somo who gave us directions to javelina. This guy was also at Hawes on Sunday. I think it might have been Dirdir (Geoff??).

Nope, that was SoCal Jim (aka, cycljunkie) that you saw on both Sat. and Sun.

Dirdir has not been riding - he is coming to terms with his sexuality...:eekster:

 

[azbikerbrewer]

Welcome

Welcome to AZ! It is much nicer then Ohio. I grew up in Canton, OH but have been here for 8 years now. I live about 5 minutes from Ahwatukee and ride at SoMo all the time. Hope to see you out there some time.

Oh-- Buckeyes RULE!!

 

[Jodiuh]

My sister leaves in Ahwatukee and the real estate continues to go up and up. It seems like shopping centers pop up overnight.

I remember dirt biking on a nice trail just southwest of 48th and Ray 10+ years ago.

 

[u2metoo]

I've been very happy with our decision to move to the Ahwatukee area. My wife and I moved into the 85044 in June. My biggest concern was the commute into work, but luckily I have a bus stop a couple hundred yards away from my house that takes me the 11 miles into work. The transit system is pretty good here. Although its been kinda hot, I've had a blast getting to know the trail system at South Mountain.