Everywhere in Phoenix is good. Mesa is pretty cheap land wise, but far from the "main" city. You have to remember that Phoenix is really spread out, almost like L.A., just not on such a large scale. I would stay away from Scottsdale area. Glendale is okay, but a little "rough" if you get my drift. Surprise is too far IMO, especially for a business. Central Phoenix is actually pretty decent for a shop location.

Hey Charles, if you open a shop, how about a job??!!!

 

You'll do fine Boomer.

 

oic, i will shoot pools a pm. thanks for the heads up

 

I don't think it's the overpriced houses and the cougars that get you to go to Scottsdale all the time.

 

Wow. My ears are burning.

Snobsdale, uh, er, Scottsdale is a place to visit, not a place to live - unless your social roll model is Thurston Howell III.

 

Hi Charles and welcome to the AZ 8 Owners! Can you PM me your email addy, year/color of your 8 and a cell # if you don't mind sharing it w/the other 8 owners? You'll be on our email dist list from here going forward.

Shop location - I'd recommend Tempe area and central phoenix.

Living location - Chandler, Tempe, Camelback Corrider in Central Phoenix, North Central Phoenix (Tatum & North Loop 101 area; I'm at Cave Creek & North Loop 101 and *love* it here!). Map those out and you'll see that they're all close to highway access, key for this ever growing town. I'd recommend against moving to the far reaches of the valley just because of the commute hassle (my opinion) including Gilbert, Surprise, east Mesa, Queen Creek, Avondale, etc.

I, too, am an AZ transplant. Moved here from Oklahoma 14 years ago (no I don't have an accent :D ) and echo what everyone else has said: It's the best damned thing I ever did! I tire of the summers after all these years but the payoff the rest of the year is oh so very worth it!

Boosted - I didn't get your PM yet?

 

Charles,

Balancing out all of the options for a shop, my humble opinion is that you would probably do pretty well in SW Tempe or Chandler (just East of I-10 and Ray or Warner), or possibly a location near Arizona State University. The reason I say this is that (IMO) these locations are probably the best (balancewise) of rental costs and proximity to YOUR customer base in the Valley. The SE valley has a pretty high concentration of RX-8s and other performance cars, plus the resident base is middle to upper middle class (hence some disposable income for mods). There are a couple of shops already in the Far East Valley (Gilbert area), and near ASU, but nothing really in the I-10 coridor on the South side of the city. Again, Jeff (Maniac) may have some additional insight to add, but Glendale would not be good (IMO). Higher crime, wrong demographic, and already quite a few shops that cater to the Honda community. Suprise is too far West (why do you think they call it Suprise? 'cause it takes SOOoo long to get there when you finally arrive, you're hosts say "Suprise"). Scottsdale (again, good demographic for the kind of business you're thinking of, but VERY cost prohibitive on rent).

Sorry.... getting long winded. These are my suggestions on location (in a nutshell).

 

lol, i agree with this to a certain extent. Now i cant say much simply because i live in n. scottsdale. YES there is a lot ot snobs in my area, BUT overall i enjoy living in scottsdale. House prices are insane, i rent a townhome and i pay out the @$$. its more then what my house payment was back in texas! Im not complaining by any means, my place is 3 levels and is very roomy BUT im throwing money away by renting this place. For me its about convenience to and from work and the ability to find everything i need right here near me.

 

Phoenix (Central is good, south can get a little ghetto near the I-10, I like the North side too)
Queen Creek (nice area. Fun windy roads and really quite)
Avondale (Housing boom right now. Cheap properity and a few buisness' are capitlizing)
Mesa (Another housing boom area. Cheap properity as well. Good area)
Glendale (Most good places in Glenny are too far West and near the new stadium, in the middle of nowhere. Most of Glendale is gehtto. Yes, I live there)
Tempe (College area of town [ASU]. Lots of buisness and parties. You will be souping up Civics and wagons all day. You can get shafted on properity prices unless you hunt carefully)
Surprise (Way too far North west for a business IMO. For a house, it's good. A big retirement area full of 55+ neighbords)
Tucson (well, we can forget Tucson)
Sedona (Wow, that's Flagstaff area. Beautiful but in the middle of nowhere. And high elevation)
Scottsdale (Rich snoob area. Properity prices are ridcilous. Please stay away)
Chandler (Nice area. Nothing negative to say. Housing prices are around the same as central/north Phoenix corridors, so I would recommend Phoenix over Chandler just because of more stuff to do)
Gilbert (Another nice area like a Chandler or Mesa. Nothing outstanding)


I too am a transplant into Phoenix by way of Pittsburgh. I would say 50% of the residents in Phoenix are from somewhere else, mostly cold climates.

 

Each arrow-to-arrow represents approximately what can be driven in about 45 minutes in typical traffic.

 

I'll have to go with the Chandler/Mesa /Gilbert/Tempe areas. These are the fastest growing areas and the income is a bit higher than in the Phoenix/north/west area at the moment.
A lot of growth at the moment especially in the Gilbert/Mesa/Chandler areas. Two new HUGE Automalls being built on the new Loop202 freeway.
I have to recommend the SouthEast Valley.

 

Anything East of the I-10 and South of the northern part of the Loop 202. Pretty much everything down on the lower right of this map. The Metro Phoenix area is pretty much divided in 4 sections N,S,E,W. The I-10 as it runs East and West seperates the town North and South. And the I-17 is kinda the midpoint for East and West. But you'll notice the I-10 goes South to Tuscon wich they call East bound. And the US -60 goes East at that point and continues the seperation between North and South. Hope that's confusing enough for ya. It is for me.
Tempe ,Mesa ,Chandler, Gibert (the fastest growing area around here right now) and Queen Creek are considered SE Valley.
So anything East of I-10 and South of US -60 is SE Valley. I got to quit while I can still think straight.

 

that's a nice area. Home prices are good. I have a friend who's a reilator who could send you some home listing in that area if you wish


Dave

 

Thats (Queen Creek) where I live and it is way out in the boonies. I drive 35 miles one way to work every morning. It is quite out here, and the houses are very affordable at this time.
There is a lot of new builds going in right now too. Just consider the commute in your endeavor to find a home.

 

289Shelby
Phoenix
06 Grey Mica

 

Cool. Welcome to the cult 289Shelby.

We have a drive coming up on the 6 of May to Tortilla Flats.

 

Actually Charles there is a place called Tortilla Flats that is a nice winding road near by to Queen Creek. We do runs with RCCAZ and AZMC a couple of times a year. We actually have one coming up on May 6th with RCCAZ. I'll be sure and post some pics for ya.
And one must not forget MINGUS MOUNTAIN. That is the best set of twisties in the state. I think it's one of the top ten in the country also. I think. We do that one a couple of times a year also. Plan on a day for the trip, it's worth every mile. Oh and don't forget SOUTH MOUNTAIN in south Phoenix. It's a great uphill climb, dodging tourists. And a spectacular view of the entire valley. I have a feeling your gonna love it here.


And WELCOME "289shelby" to the madness. Glad to have you aboard.

 

I live close to Queen Creek and it is really nice, a lot of nice homes and its getting built up.

 

Great news on the progress Charles! QC really is a haul; you need to come out here and drive to these places to get your bearings about you.

List is updated to add Hotrodcoupes to the AZ8's of 2007! Welcome Hotrod with your VR 8!

 

Ray - You NEED to visit before you start getting your head wrapped around one neighborhood or another.
Phoenix is huge and quite diverse.
Let me know when you are in the boarding area, I'll start the grill....

 

Ray, to get the size of the valley, my drive to Tortilla Flats, according to Google, is 115 miles. And I do not live on the outskirts of the West side, but rather kinda 'near' westside.

It it a rather spread out metro area.

You can see why Chickenwafer was reluctant. But Easy does it all the time. I should make the effort now and then too.

 

Ray, sorry. I got my threads crossed.

I was discussing crossing town to Tortilla Flats which is this weekends drive (that is another thread). Easy crosses town to the west side from the Queen Creek area all the time. Chickenwafer and I live in Glendale and the drive is impressive from our view.

I only brought that up to illustrate the scale of the valley.

I hope that clears that up. I should probably quit and go to bed before I totally lose the message.

 

Its not unusual for some of us to do a 120 mile round trip to go on a 15 mile run with the club.

 

I think evryone is refering to the size of the Phoenix Metro area. It is 100 miles East to West and about 75 North to South. Add that up and it's a big area. Kinda like a desert Los Angeles. People are just concerned about the long drive s that they, and I do on a regular basis. I drive about 80 miles to visit the Grandkids, one way. But if you don't mind driving, then put roots down anywhere you want. I think no matter where you park your car you will be happy.

 

Oh boy ,,,something to look forward to!!!