Tempe, Arizona

Questions about moving to Tempe

As a Tempe resident I want to make sure the OP knows the Tempe homeless should not be called homeless. They are transient beggars who come from poor areas of the valley, some of them do camp out and stay and others go to the shelters. But this issue is only around Mill ave trying to get money form gullible students. ASU keeps them off campus and the Tempe police have laws on the book to help control them.

Tempe is landlocked around everyone, its a very nice location to live. Living in Tempe = being near to most of the major freeways. Gilbert is more of a bedroom community where people live and commute way to work and play similar to how South Tempe is where the middle/upper class live and raise families.

Living around Tempe north = college students and noise. South Tempe is very quite as is Gilbert.

Overall North Tempe/South Scottsdale has had a lot of new apartments built, but again college students. South Tempe is more residential, if you go to chandler just below it and around the chandler mall they have build a lot of apartments, same with Gilbert.

Overall Gilbert will get you more bang for the dollar when it comes to living, you pay to live in North Tempe for ASU and quick access to entertainment. Downtown Gilbert and chandler have grown a lot tho and will continue to grow in terms of food and entertainment.

Moving to Tempe Area… Advice Please?

In general, if you live near downtown Tempe or the light rail, you will be in an area with lots of college students. This is because ASU is near downtown Tempe and many students take the light rail to get to campus. This does not mean you will have to stay in a place with lots of loud frat bros, however.

The light rail runs along Apache Blvd / main st east of campus. If you go east of the 101, you're far enough from campus to avoid the party scene. But that's also not the nicest area of town in all honesty. There's a place in this area called Midtown on Main that has nice units.

West of campus is mostly houses instead of apartments. There can be some great deals for renting in these houses and they offer much more privacy from the party scene, but it might be difficult to rent a whole house on your own. These places are easier to rent with friends.

There's a place called willow creek apartments that is pretty nice, and not far from the light rail. It is just south of Apache on Broadway. Slightly nicer area imo.

I lived in a complex called Red Mountain Villas which is northwest of downtown and the campus. The units were nice but some were a bit dated. I enjoyed living there; it was quiet and had lots of families instead of students. 24 hour hot tubs, small gym, racquetball court, heated pool. And the price was in your range. I would check that place out. It was within walking/biking distance of the light rail too. The only problem I had there was that the prior tenant of my room was a smoker and I never could fully get rid of the smell. If possible, insist on walking through the actual unit you'll be living in rather than just looking at the model.

Moving to Tempe Area… Advice Please?

I would stay out of the main college area. I hate college kids (this is coming from a 25 year old girl) lol. A couple miles away from campus is pretty quiet. My suggestion is to stay away from Baseline and Broadway areas though. I prefer to drive so I don't need to live near the lightrail but there are quite a lot of nice (read expensive) apartments that way.

If you want a safe area you're cutting it thin on $700/mo. The place I live in is gated and it's around $850/mo for a one bedroom. It's really nice though, two pools, hot tubs, gym, tennis courts. We also have a washer/dryer in our apartment which is somewhat hard to find in this area. It's what you would call affordable out here.

There's some really small older places you can find for around $700 a month but you really have to search.

Our transit is decent in Tempe so you should be okay most places you search in that respect, too. The closer to campus, the better the transit usually. We even have a free transit called the Orbit which goes around to different neighborhoods in the area.

What is it like to live in Tempe, AZ?

Obviously, it can be very hot. That is the first thing you should know about living in Tempe. More often than not, it is warm and sunny, with no real weather to speak of. Seldom cloudy, it hardly ever rains, occasionally it will get a little windy outside. You can expect high temps in the 90′s from April-October. In July-August, you can expect high temps to exceed 100 (daily), and low temps in the 90′s at night. There is no “real” winter in Tempe. The winter weather is cool and cloudy here, rather pleasant to be honest. Generally speaking, a car is needed to get around town (as is true in most places in the valley). The presence of ASU makes for a higher density of young people as compared to other places in the valley. Urban sprawl, and the problems it creates, are a feature of the landscape. In my opinion, (I’m from the east coast) the cost of living here is quite low, and for a young person just starting out with financial independence, that’s probably the best thing about living here- it is not difficult to get by in Tempe. To be honest, there is not all that much to do for people who do not attend the university. Of course there are families in Tempe who are busy with their own endeavors, but likewise, Tempe is rather suburban in character- take away from that what you will. On a positive note, Tempe can be quite diverse. It is easy to be from out of town here- as many of the city’s residents are. I also feel like its worth mentioning that the police in Arizona are known to be rather aggressive. Politically, Tempe is considered to be a liberal enclave of sorts within the valley, otherwise the Phoenix area is visibly conservative. Don’t expect many urban attractions or excitement that you might find in a place like NYC, Chicago, or LA.

TLDR: It is hot and boring. But not a bad place to go to college.

What its Like Living in Tempe Arizona