Surprise, Arizona

Do you live in Surprise???

Maybe 3 degrees cooler at most than Downtown. Surprise is good for family life, since it’s a bit less of the busy life. With that said, it is growing a bit.

North of Bell Road and West of Reems Road, it’s a huge retirement home community. South and East of those roads are where the families generally are. There’s not really a middle ground here.

It has all the amenities of a normal suburban community. Like 2-3 Walmart’s, a wide variety of grocery stores, a movie theaters and bowling place, a lot of community parks. Closest hiking is about 20 mins out towards the White Tank Mountains.

There’s a few chain restaurants nearby, and a few local places for coffee/ mom and pop shops.

I previously lived closer to Central Phoenix and Tempe, so I quite enjoyed having a wide range of bars, concerts, sports teams, movie theaters, restaurants, night out, etc within close distance. Since this is about 35-60 mins from the city center, if you enjoy those things, you’re gonna be driving a lot.

Overall great if you’re 65+, or have a young family where you can settle down in a quiet area. Surprise was rated as one of the safest places to raise a family last year.

I can continue to answer anything specific I might’ve missed.

Do you live in Surprise???

I live Surprise adjacent in El Mirage, but I'm in Surprise all the time so I'll throw in my two cents. Overall we like it. The downside is you're far from downtown/east valley and all the cultural stuff that way (museums, zoo, restaurants, concert venues, etc) but you are relatively close to Westgate for Cardinals/Coyotes games, concerts, and some nightlife options. On the plus side it's relatively cheap, convenient to a lot of stores, and there's a surprisingly decent variety of restaurants. As far as outdoor stuff, Surprise aquatic center has a lot, and the community park is pretty nice, plus you're pretty close to the White Tanks and Lake Pleasant.

For your specific questions there are definitely a lot of families/kids. It may be a degree or two cooler than central Phoenix, but nothing really noticeable. If you get out beyond the 303 there is some decent star gazing but that would be wayyy out there.

Do you live in Surprise???

I have lived there for a little over 6 years. Sierra Montana neighborhood (Cotton between Waddell/Greenway). I have 2 kids, 6 year old boy, 4 year old girl. Our neighborhood is great! Lots of kids to hang with, and the city of Surprise has great rec programs (kids are currently in karate and soccer through the city, and they love it!). They always have local gatherings for the major holidays down at the park near the Stadium and in our neighborhood (Halloween decorating contest, Christmas decorating etc. Everyone hangs outside during Halloween handing out candy etc). The 303 is right there so you can dip out to North Phoenix or down to catch the 10 whenever you want. Restaurants aren't the greatest, but they are improving with time. Brand new Costco which is nice, and a Sams Club, too. Crime is very low, and there aren't many/any homeless or transients due to lack of public transportation (could be good or bad depending on how you look at it). Hot as everywhere else in Phoenix.

Do you live in Surprise???

I lived in Surprise for over 10 years. Here are my thoughts.

If you're working in North Phoenix, like Norterra area, you can look at the Asante community in Surprise since they are close to the North 303, which connects to the I17. You will also still be close to Glendale, too.

In that area (Asante) you have a lot of opportunity to experience the outdoors. There is even a small hike called Veteran's Way (I believe) that's around 5 minutes from it. There are plenty of space to bike, walk, and still have a peace of mind.

Stars, yes. If you plan to live in the homes that are a little further out of the Asante community, you can see more stars.

Living in Surprise Arizona - Everything you need to know