Mesa, Arizona

Hey Phoenix, I have a few questions about Mesa…

I live in mesa, it's not that bad at all, maybe in downtown Phoenix it is. In mesa there are some place to stay away from but most of north east mesa is really nice but kind of pricy. I live in south east mesa currently and there are a lot of nice neighborhoods, my apartment complex is small and can get dark/creepy at night but I've never felt in danger.

TL;DR East mesa is the nicest, especially the farther north you go.

Edit: also I work in Tempe it takes me 10 minutes to get there on the freeway, go to asu 30 minutes with morning traffic, going to ufest in April trip there will take about 20-25 minutes, Chandler mall is about 20 minutes away by freeway, sky harbor 20-30. Just don't use the freeway during rush hour. I've noticed a lot of exaggerations about commute time, this is accurate from someone who lives in mesa and commutes across the city daily.

Hey Phoenix, I have a few questions about Mesa…

I have lived here most of my life in some of the better and worse parts. Central and west mesa north of the 60 is generally much poorer until you get north of Brown. There are some very nice areas around Gilbert Rd and anywhere east of there. The benefit is that you also have easy access to the 202 which gets you into Phoenix in 15min and scottsdale in 10min. South East mesa (60 east of Lindsey) also generally nice, but almost nobody in this sub knows that it even exists.

I live in the north east mesa. Power and Mckellips. (Not LaSendas) It is nice. good houses, low crime, lots of diversity, lots of families. It's not a heavily mormon area, like Mesa used to be so there are wine bars, and sports bars if you like to hang out. That part of mesa also is SUPER close to hiking and mountain biking trails. Its easy to get out and go camping, or to the river (5 miles).

I personally like it better than Gilbert because it is a bit more accessible even though its far east and has some more character because its not as new.

Mesa is a nice place, the city puts good money into parks, has amazing libraries, low taxes, a really nice downtown that they are putting some serious work into. There are some poorer pockets, but not as big as anyone makes it out to be.

Mesa is actually a very good city. I am by no means a fanboy of the town, but I hate how people so blindly disregard it. I would be happy to answer other questions if you want to PM me.

What is it like to live in Mesa, AZ?

It would depend on who you are and what you like/dislike, where in Mesa you live, and pretty much what you look like. The summers are beyond hot so if you like sweating in 115 degrees, then that would be Plus for you. If 115 degree heat, sweating profusely every time you step outside and 250 dollar air conditioning bills bother you, then that would be a vote against living here.
Now, if you are black, Mexican, or you are under 40 years old and don't live in the higher class areas, be prepared for the crooked, out of control, and in some cases illegal activities of the Mesa Police Department. If a cop sees you and doesn't care for the way you look, or if you happen to live in an area of Mesa considered to be lower class, they will stop you and detain you with no reasonable cause. They will ignore your rights and the law and will search you without your consent, harass you, and even make up reasons (including planting drugs on you) to arrest you. And I know this because I've seen it and experienced it more than once. And I assure you, for those who will likely say "if you aren't doing anything wrong then they won't have reason to stop you" and that is not the case. They do in fact harass people who have committed no crime and have done nothing to warrant being stopped.
Other than that, it's just lovely

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

Well it depends on what their question is? First off, BE PREPARED FOR THE HOT WEATHER! The year I moved here, out home ac unit went out during 100+ degree weather and our “home warranty” would only replace the faulty part on it rather than the whole unit. That I understood, but was highly agitated when they stated it would take two weeks to get said part from the manufacturer! They refused to get it from the ac repair company that they'd sent to do the work for cost reasons. We ended up staying in a hotel room for the second week…. But keep in mind its only that warm a couple of months a year? The rest of the year its glorious here! Much better than -10°f with a foot of snow…you don't have to shovel sunshine…

Now if its a question of where to buy/rent a place to live, stick with the east side of town for the most part. Lower crime, nice neighborhoods and convenient access to both the 202 and 60 making it a twenty minutes to anywhere in Mesa, and about 40 minutes to downtown Phoenix…..provided its not rush hour…lol

Living In Mesa Arizona Pros and Cons