Chandler, Arizona

Chandler has been recognized in the Playful City USA programs for ten years running. Playful City USA was a recognition program that ran for ten years honoring cities and towns that ensured kids in their communities were getting the balanced and active play they needed.

There are many things that contributed to Chandler’s recognition as a playful town, including the completion of Roadrunner Park, Centennial and Valencia parks and the city’s commitment to expanding their parks program for years to come. Amenities in these parks include shaded playgrounds, lighted pathways for nighttime play, sporting courts, and more! Families who’ve always lived here or moved in more recent years LOVE what these parks have added to the communal play aspect of the city. Suburban yards are fine and dandy but getting kids and families together in these booming parks is the best part about living in Chandler.

Review of Chandler from a local: Engineer living in Chandler, although I have three kids. Plenty to do for what you're looking for. Lots of good bars/restaurants in the downtown Gilbert and Chandler areas. Downtown Gilbert has regular food truck festivals. Decent hiking 20 minutes to the west at South Mountain. Superb hiking 45 minutes to the east in the Superstitions. Camping in the pines 90 minutes to the north. If you're into cycling, you can do it year round (provided you get up at 4:00 AM in the summer). I honestly wouldn't live anywhere else, but I also despise cold weather.

Let’s be real, we’re talking about the southwest here, so there’s no real escape from warmer months. In Chandler you’re in for very, very hot summers. We’re talking consistent triple digits and seatbelt buckles that could give you second degree burns. Unfortunately for recent transplants, this can mean that making friends in the summer, especially in the time of COVID, can be tricky. Most locals go from an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned store, back to an air conditioned home (or a friend’s) with a pool on repeat until the temps drop again. Your best bet is to rent an apartment with amenities so you can be social there or to have your own pool and entice new friends into hanging out at your place!

A local on the heat and how they cope: *It is going to be far hotter than you will imagine. You will need a towel to cover your steering wheel and seat, plus a sun shield in the window. You will need to drink far more water than you are used to. You may find yourself shifting your grocery shopping to the early hours to get away from some of the heat.

You can be in cool weather in the mountains within an hour or so. There are gorgeous parks even in the city. I think you will find it very different and quickly fall in love, especially as it begins to cool off next winter, and the rest of the nation is buried in snow and ice.*