Considering Glendale

254,500

Population

Sunny Days: 294

90100 Affordability

80100 Schools

95100 Diversity

80100 Safety

See all the facts!

LookyLOO Review of Glendale

Better Price Tag

Glendale offers many of the advantages of Phoenix and Scottsdale are without the price tag. And they have lots and lots of antique shops. People are surprised when they visit and get a more historic vibe than much of the Phoenix area.

The biggest downside to Glendale? Unemployment is high (but Phoenix is close-- 20 minutes). So, let's go with the insufferable Arizona desert heat.

Lifestyle

Glendale is part of the Phoenix Metro Area so you’ll be just outside of Phoenix..

North Glendale is home to what are considered the good neighborhoods. These are affluent, suburban neighborhoods near parks, shopping and job hubs that draw many families, business executives and professional athletes. It’s a higher-education hub as well. This neighborhood is centrally located on metro Phoenix’s west side. Freeway access is easy.

West Deer Valley, Union Hills Drive, College Park, North Litchfield, and West Augusta are some of the safest neighborhoods in the Glendale, AZ area.

Arrowhead Ranch, West Pinnacle Peak, and Sunset Vista are some of the best neighborhoods in Glendale for education.

Westgate, Arrowhead Ranch, and Arrowhead Lakes are considered prime locations and upscale. Westgate has some nightlife and is better for younger people. Arrowhead Ranch and Arrowhead Lakes are planned communities that are known for being family friendly. Arrowhead Ranch is one of the West Valley’s most sought-after addresses. Built on acres of orange groves, the community has million-dollar homes and a country club and golf courses. A large shopping center and hospital can be found here, too. Loop 101 runs through this area.

Westgate Entertainment District, is a bustling complex with casual restaurants and sports bars, plus open-air shopping at specialty stores. Rock concerts and NHL hockey games take place at Gila River Arena, while the neighboring State Farm Stadium hosts the Arizona Cardinals NFL team.

Hillcrest Ranch is sandwiched between two large preserve areas. Homes are newer here and on bigger lots. There’s still room for new development here.

There are complaints about Downtown seeing rising crime and homelessness but the historic districts, Old Town and Catlin Court are charming and popular areas where antique shops and boutiques are plentiful. Downtown Glendale also boasts a Broadway theater, space center, and botanical garden.

We highly recommend visiting Glendale and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

The Schools

It's one of the more affordable places to live in Arizona and Phoenix is 9 miles away.

One of the reasons that so many people love living in Glendale is the school system. There are many high rated schools -- 10/10 on Greatschools.com. Some of the popular ones are Legend Springs, Sierra Verde, and Copper Creek, which are all elementary schools. For middle school, Hillcrest Middle is rated well. And for high school, Mountain Ridge High School is a popular one.

Reviews of Glendale from Locals

Desert Heat

Strong__Lioness
10mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

I’m in that area, and I love it. Check out the neighborhood between 59th Ave./67th Ave. from Union Hills to the 101. It’s just west of Midwestern University, so there are a lot of MU students in their 20s who live in that neighborhood and also hang out at the park at 63rd Ave./Utopia to play volleyball, basketball or just play with their dogs in the large grassy part of the park. The neighborhood also has a lot of walking paths, and a pedestrian bridge that goes over the 101, which is nice if you want to walk or bike to the grocery stores (Fry’s at 59th, Safeway at 67th). There’s also the Skunk Creek Trail that you can access from the neighborhood to walk/bike over to the Arrowhead Towne Center /Peoria 83 area or beyond to Rio Vista Park in Peoria without having to go along the main roads.

There are a lot of great local restaurants in the north Glendale/Peoria area too. They get overlooked by local media, which believes that anything west of Central Avenue is not worth talking about, but that’s fine because we get them to ourselves that way. Some recommendations - Fabio on Fire at 83rd/Lake Pleasant (he also just opened a panini/gelato shop near Lake Pleasant/Happy Valley), The Haymaker, Bottega Pizzeria, Arrowhead Grill, Over Easy, Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers (there are several around the Valley now, but they started locally with one restaurant), Campbell’s, Twisted Italian, Top Shelf Mexican, etc. Those are just a few off the top of my head.

For more reviews of what living in Glendale is like from locals check out: The Reviews.