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.*

Playful City, USA

Best Part About 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 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.*

 Antisocial Summers 

Worst Part About 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 of Chandler


Chandler has a mix of people that commute outside the city for work and those that 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, Microchip, and Rogers. 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.


Workstyle of Chandler

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?

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

What are the good and bad neighborhoods of Chandler, AZ?
Profile photo for Marcy Paz Soldan Andrew
Marcy Paz Soldan Andrew
, lived in Chandler, AZ
Answered Jun 28, 2017
Chandler has many great neighborhoods, and it all depends on what you are looking for. Ocotillo is a great established neighborhood that has everything from apartments to million dollar homes, a golf course and fantastic clubhouse and restaurant. Fulton Ranch, just down the street is newer and also has some great amenities. If you are looking for something with a little more space and no HOA, there is a Circle G down on Riggs, and there are also several county islands where you can get horse property, that still come with water rights. Most neighborhoods south of pecos are good, and generally the further south and east you go the newer the neighborhoods will be- research the builders for the neighborhoods you’re considering. Fulton and Maracay are two of the better quality builders in the area, but there are several that are good. Most of the neighborhoods around downtown are a bit rundown and smaller homes, but there are still some nice areas close to downtown as well. There is a gated community right behind the San Marcos Hotel and golf course that has some pretty fantastic homes, and mature landscaping. If you have your own plane, Chandler Airpark is a great neighborhood that has its own landing strip and hangar. If you're looking for something really nice, but a little more affordable, I would recommend looking in south Gilbert or Queen Creek- the further south and east you go, the more you can get for your money.

**What advice would you give to someone who is moving to Chandler, AZ?**

- Air conditioning is the most important thing to have. In your car, in your house/apartment/condo/whatever… You need that AC to keep working. Make sure you always have enough extra cash to pay for emergency AC repair.
- Avoid turning the AC completely off, especially for long periods of time during the summer. It might not turn back on again. Instead, set it to about 80 degrees every time you leave the house, and turn it cooler when you get home.
- If you have young kids, make sure they’ve taken swim lessons, or sign them up quickly, because just about everyone has a pool out here, and over 750 kids in Arizona have drowned since 2000. The risk of drowning in Arizona was twice the national average, as of 2016.
- If your car engine overheats, turn on the heat and open the windows. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s getting the heat out of the engine.
- Never leave your kids in a non-air-conditioned car for even five minutes (except during winter). You could get arrested, or your kids could die, or both.
- If it’s over 120 degrees out, avoid wearing flip-flops or crocs. Your shoes may melt.
Always keep extra water in your car, and carry at least one bottle with you. Refill it at drinking fountains or in sinks to save money. You should finish at least 1.5 of those regular-sized plastic water bottles a day in the winter time, unless you’re also drinking other beverages, and 3 is not unreasonable in summertime. You may also want to buy some water-flavoring, if you’re getting tired of the taste of water.
- Leave ice-packs on your seat-belt-buckles in the car during summer, if you want to avoid burning your hands. Also, put a towel over the seat while you’re gone. You do not want leather seats, unless they have that fancy seat-air-conditioner function. - If you have a car that lets you turn on the AC before getting into it, use that function.
- If you have asthma, and there’s a dust storm, pull the neck of your shirt up over your face.
- If someone says they saw a “huboob” they mean a huge wall of dust.


**Moving to the Phoenix/Chandler area. What should I know?**

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.

If you can get a place to live near the trolley system, you are set to go down town without relying on the car.

**Moving to the Phoenix/Chandler area. What should I know?**

Chandler is big, geographically. The Phoenix Metro area as a whole is pretty cookie cutter. Corner strip malls and gas stations abound. Avoid driving much by living close to work. Housing is cheap and plentiful with foreclosures very high. Deals can be had. May can be very hot, 90+ is not uncommon. Stay hyrdated. Park in the shade whenever possible. Pets need to be indoors and have plentiful water, never leave them in the car. You'll likely be miserable your first summer here. The heat sucks. You never really get used to it, you just deal with it. I've been here since 96 and I still despise the heat but I know how to deal with it. Public transportation sucks, we're a victim of car culture. The light rail goes nowhere near Chandler. Tempe and Scottsdale are the nightlife spots, Phoenix has small pockets of urban renewal but overall is lacking due to urban sprawl and migration out of the downtown area. Our state lacks the rich culture of the much older east coast cities and states. The political climate is a mess, we're much too conservative for my taste. Overall I'd say there are more cons than pros to Arizona, but that's just my opinion. I'd move but I'm stuck here for various reasons. I'd offer things to do, but I'm outdoorsy and they'd mostly fall in that spectrum.

If you're going to buy a house, I'd highly recommend one that has the following features:

A high efficiency air conditioning unit

Gas for hot water + cooking

An orientation that puts your bedroom and living areas on the north or south and most certainly not on the west where the sun sets as the afternoon sun is the worst

Passive cooling features such as shade trees, etc to block sun from the house

Double or triple pane windows

Lots of ceiling fans

A pool if you're so inclined

Xeriscape landscaping to reduce unnecessary water usage

Chandler, Arizona

Yes, Ostriches

Looklyloo Score: 76

We're on it!