Peoria, Arizona

The absolute explosion in population across the south central and southwestern states is driven by one most critical characteristic. The housing and cost of living being much lower as compared to wages for Peoria than the cities of the west coast and the northeast. People come here and are able to buy a home. If they remained in San Francisco, or Los Angeles or New York that was/is unfathomable. This makes Peoria, and cities like it, the new center for the American dream.

Here's a local on living in Peoria/area:
Lived in Glendale & Peoria for 10 years. Generally, southern/eastern Glendale/Peoria is much older and areas can be a bit rough. Northern/western areas are very nice. We like the area, schools, neighbors, traffic, shopping, recreation, and house prices. Don't like the fact most restaurants are chains (though not all). If you like night-life, there are few places. Typically Glendale & Peoria are families with kids, and older people.

For more reviews of Orlando from locals check out: The Buzz

Suburbs like Peoria handle their growth by constructing homes and apartment buildings at a torrent pace. That means duplicating styles for speed of construction and reduction in costs. The apartment buildings give singles/couples or young families a soft landing and the inexpensive housing is the next step up the ladder. While the designs might not reflect extremely creative design thinking they do make it possible for working class families to own their own homes. Once you're past the starter options Peoria does move into more custom developments so if you can hold out it does get better!

A local gives their pov on the area:
I grew up in Scottsdale suburbs until I went to Flagstaff for college, and then moved to where I am now in 2018. I couldn't drive until I could provide the resources to get one myself in college, so my experience would be biased, but there's definitely more things to do on the east side. It feels more like a city. The west side still feels rural and/or like suburban sprawl than a city. Even up to Glendale, Peoria, and surprise. It's getting better, especially in Glendale, but there's still a lack of hang-out spaces like the malls or entertainment districts like there are on the east side.

Peoria is a highly rated suburban city and so you can expect tons of family activities, parks, pools, good schools, and all the things a growing population of families needs to get through a week. Downtown Peoria is in the midst of an effort at creating a more dense social experience for locals and Old Town is leading the way. While Phoenix remains your destination for big nights out there are more casual restaurants and bars available in town so you don’t always have to hit the road to enjoy yourself here. Perhaps most importantly for baseball fans Peoria is also is home to spring training for the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners who play at the Sports Complex so expect to hit up some games if you move here.

If you want to see what's happening in Peoria check out the calendar of events: https://www.eventbrite.com/d/az--peoria/events/