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. 

Many things 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 its 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. 

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 have your pool and entice new friends into hanging out at your place!



Playful City, USA

LookyLOO Review of Chandler

Chandler is a family friendly, safe area with a lot more activities than your typical suburb. Downtown you can find retail, restaurants, and movie theaters to keep you entertained on your off hours. Chandler is essentially a supped up suburb, so while there might not be the same amount of nightlife as neighboring Phoenix, it’s a perfect place to raise kids and you’ll see everyone out and about when the weather isn’t in the triple digits. Even then, locals say that the summers are tolerable, especially if you can find a home with a pool or friends with a pool so you can stay social and get outside even when the weather is blistering. 


Lifestyle

Chandler has a mix of people who commute outside the city for work and those who find work inside the city. Intel has one of the biggest presences in the city and is the top employer, ahead of Wells Fargo and the Chandler Unified School District. There are multiple headquarters in Chandler including [**Keap**](https://keap.com/), [**Microchip**](https://www.microchip.com/), and [**Rogers**](https://www.rogerscorp.com/). Despite being so close to Phoenix, the job market within city limits is excellent. The city has been growing job-wise steadily since 2003, even despite the 2008 recession.


Worklife

Chandler is a perfect place to move if you’re looking for a new city for your family or planning on starting one soon. It's kid-friendly, safe, and you’ll get way more bang for your buck when looking for a new home. Centrally located to; Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and Tempe with plenty of shopping, bars/restaurants, or kid-friendly activities, the people who live here love it because they can keep it smaller in their hometown but have access to these bigger cities in minutes. 

We don’t doubt for a second that some of the growth coming for places like Chandler are going to be the new work-from-homers who’ve historically avoided commutes but will now welcome the lower prices of a Chandler when they’re matched with some downtown lifestyle and the school and neighborhood benefits.


Family Life on a Budget

Why Move Here Now?

**mechaion**
4mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

It depends on your personal opinions and what you're looking for, so I can't really dictate where you should go to. I have lived in Chandler for more than a decade. I can provide some of my own insight based on my experiences:

Chandler has a good nightlife and downtown. You'll find your best bet in either DT Chandler or West Chandler, with Chandler Fashion Center. Tempe's downtown and nightlife is more bustling though. Chandler has a lot of destinations and attractions. It has a subtle city vibe in some places but mostly suburban. It's also pretty safe. Chandler's a sort-of mix of both Tempe and Gilbert in terms of lifestyle, with Gilbert being more family-centered and less diverse than Tempe or Chandler. If you're looking to socialize/date I'd suggest trying either Chandler or Tempe first. The majority of downtown Tempe is ASU, though, which you probably already know.

Downtown Phoenix is decent, it's been improving over the years but keep in mind the downtown's a lot smaller than you'd expect for a city with almost 2 million people. Try to avoid South Phoenix, at least at night. Mesa's downtown is quite.. boring. Some ghetto and run-down areas are in south Mesa too.

As for young professionals, Chandler is the 'Silicon Desert' (a spinoff of Silicon Valley,) with Intel, Northrop-Grumman, Wells Fargo and many other well-known employers in Price Corridor, with billions of dollars in investment. Other economic corridors include Chandler Airpark, Uptown, West Chandler, and Airpark Area. Chandler's up there with employment and was rated the best city in Arizona to work in 2023 by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.

For more reviews of what living in San Francisco is like from locals check out: [**The Reviews**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/san-francisco/reviews).

 Antisocial Summers 

Review of Chandler from Locals

Chandler has a quiet, laid-back, family feel. A majority of people own their own homes, but there are also an abundance of relatively affordable apartment complexes as well. One of the cooler things we like about Chandler are the neighborhoods like Ocotillo that have an ordinance that all developed property must have 60% dedicated to greenery(grass, trees, shrubs, etc.). While we want this greenery to be sensitive to water issues it is good to know these neighborhoods are less desert-vibe and more comfortable-neighborhood in look and feel. 


Neighborhoods

Chandler has historically been built much more for families than young professionals. That is definitely changing and you can see it with the growth in bars, restaurants and a boom in loft-style apartments and condos all within walking distance of the downtown scene. While downtowns are often the choice of young singles we also see plenty of retirees embracing the idea of living a short walk from a night out and the city's primary amenities. 
- Park Promenade
- Downtown


Young Professionals/Retirees

Downtown

If you’re starting a family soon, you’ll love Chandler’s family-friendly nature and the amenities it has that surpass the expectations of a typical suburb. These neighborhoods will give you a chance to find a great house, without sacrificing the feel of a city. Ocotillo in particular draws our eye for its regulations for greenery that make young families really feel like they’re living in a developed neighborhood. As the little ones grow up they’re going to want that greenery for play and shade. 
- Ocotillo
- West Chandler


Families

Ocotillo

One of the more popular neighborhood types in Chandler for those looking for big homes, mature landscaping and lots of community amenities, are the areas surrounding the area golf clubs. Ocotillo East and Fulton Ranch are good examples of these neighborhoods with; golf, community pools and clubhouses, communal parks, and everything else a growing family might be looking for. 
- Chandler Crossing Estates
- Sun Groves
- Ocotillo East
- Fulton Ranch


Families/Retirees

Chandler Crossing Estates

Chandler

**Pancakequeen29**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉

I live in Chandler and have 2 kids under age 5. We love it. Our neighborhood is full of young families, and there are lots of fun opportunities for kids. It obviously gets hot here in the summer - there are plenty of indoor spaces such as playgrounds, trampoline parks, kids museums and then a host of splash pads, public pools, and water parks. The majority of the splash pads are free to the public. As a family, we also love to go to the diamondbacks games during the summer. They are air-conditioned and they have a whole kids area with playgrounds, activities, and special events during the game. I was born in AZ, as others have said we are known for being a more conservative state - but nowadays we are considered more “purple” than ever. I rarely see anyone carrying a gun. My son was in kindergarten this year and the only way you could access the school was through the front office and the remainder of the school was behind a metal door.

**Cautious-Rule-7489**
4mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

I live due south of ASU main campus in west Chandler. We moved here almost 30 years ago (from an apartment in Tempe. I was working full time and attending ASU part time when we moved.

If it's dating atmosphere you're looking for, I suggest finding something near either downtown Tempe, downtown Chandler, or downtown Gilbert. Those places are where things be happening.

Before we bought this house, we lived for a little over 2 years in south Tempe in one of the apartment complexes around "Grove Parkway".

**Chucky_Cheesus**
4mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

I would agree with Cautious Rule's, take. I grew up out here, moved to LA for a decade and a half and moved back. Chandler has come a long way to becoming a more happening place to live with some decent restaurants and bars (though no real stand outs), but it's still very much a family suburban area and not the most exciting.

The downtown areas around Chandler and Gilbert are going to be the areas with more younger professionals living in some of the newer apartment developments. Downtown Tempe is similar. You're going to get more college aged kids but you're also more centralized to areas like downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale, Arcadia, and other areas that are more centralized and have much better options when it comes to finding good places to socialize.

To me, Chandler is a a little boring and while I found much better options in other parts of the valley, this area still gets the job done while also being a good area to raise kids.

**mechaion**
4mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

It depends on your personal opinions and what you're looking for, so I can't really dictate where you should go to. I have lived in Chandler for more than a decade. I can provide some of my own insight based on my experiences:

Chandler has a good nightlife and downtown. You'll find your best bet in either DT Chandler or West Chandler, with Chandler Fashion Center. Tempe's downtown and nightlife is more bustling though. Chandler has a lot of destinations and attractions. It has a subtle city vibe in some places but mostly suburban. It's also pretty safe. Chandler's a sort-of mix of both Tempe and Gilbert in terms of lifestyle, with Gilbert being more family-centered and less diverse than Tempe or Chandler. If you're looking to socialize/date I'd suggest trying either Chandler or Tempe first. The majority of downtown Tempe is ASU, though, which you probably already know.

Downtown Phoenix is decent, it's been improving over the years but keep in mind the downtown's a lot smaller than you'd expect for a city with almost 2 million people. Try to avoid South Phoenix, at least at night. Mesa's downtown is quite.. boring. Some ghetto and run-down areas are in south Mesa too.

As for young professionals, Chandler is the 'Silicon Desert' (a spinoff of Silicon Valley,) with Intel, Northrop-Grumman, Wells Fargo and many other well-known employers in Price Corridor, with billions of dollars in investment. Other economic corridors include Chandler Airpark, Uptown, West Chandler, and Airpark Area. Chandler's up there with employment and was rated the best city in Arizona to work in 2023 by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.

Chandler, Arizona

Yes, Ostriches

Looklyloo Score: 87