Tempe is in the Phoenix Metro Area and is home to ASU. It’s a short drive up the highway to Scottsdale but a world away in terms of demographics. It’s college kids and university staff and the residents like the nightlife, they like to party. Tempe, Arizona is a college town smack in the middle of one of the United State’s most sprawling metropolitan areas, Phoenix, Arizona. It has its fair share of hip urban things like nice coffee shops, delicious craft beer, and excellent local, affordable dining. Politically, Tempe is considered to be a liberal enclave within the valley, otherwise the Phoenix area is visibly conservative.

Frank Loyd Wright designed some of the University’s buildings and nearby Papago Park is very near campus for recreation and beautiful visages. The “main drag” in Tempe leads directly into the heart of Scottsdale just a fifteen-minute drive away and Scottsdale is a hub of upscale shopping, golf resorts, and horse riding locations.

It’s pretty easy to get around the city without a car. The light rail ferries students and professionals around with ease. North of Route 60 is good public transport, South of Route 60, not so much. It’s a young town filled with young people doing young people things. Also, you’d better have a pool. 

LookyLOO Review of Tempe

Tempe is built all around Arizona State University and its 90,000 students and employees so if you want to attend classes there, people there are attracted to the college style of living; sports, etc. It’s easy to be from out of town here as many of the city’s residents are.

South Tempe appeals to those who like to be just out of reach of the college scene but close enough to partake should the spirit move them. If you’re a student look at renting a house with some roomies west of campus. Alternatively, there are several apartment complexes close to the light rail along Apache. Stay west of McClintock to avoid overpriced student-oriented complexes. 

If you want to know what's happening year-round in Tempe check out the [calendar of events](https://www.downtowntempe.com/explore/events-calendar).

We highly recommend visiting Tempe and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) 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](expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ) as well.


Lifestyle 

The Phoenix Metro Area (known as The Valley) is hard to beat for value and comfort. Tempe is the most walkable part of Arizona, and the cost of living here is quite low for a young person just starting out -- it's not difficult to get by in Tempe,


Walkable Arizona

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**FenderMoon**
6mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

It’s technically a suburb, but it doesn’t really feel or act like one. It’s very urban, it’s actually the most densely populated city in the Phoenix area. Downtown is very built up with lots of skyscrapers and its own streetcar/tram, as well as the regular light rail. It’s not very far from downtown Phoenix, so it sort of feels like the “other downtown” of the Phoenix area (and has a very lively urban-center feel.)

Tempe Town Lake is a really big deal on the north part of town, there is a lot of stuff to do in that direction. North Tempe also has ASU, so it definitely has somewhat of a college-town/young-professional vibe. South tempe is less dense and generally more family oriented, more single family homes down that direction.

For more reviews of what living in Tempe is like from locals check out: [**The Reviews**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/tempe/reviews)

Reviews of Tempe from Locals

**The Good, the Bad and The Ugly**

Tempe is in the Phoenix Metro Area and home to ASU. It’s a short drive up the highway to Scottsdale but a world away in terms of demographics. It’s college kids and university staff and the residents like the nightlife, they like to party. Tempe, Arizona is basically a college town smack in the middle of one of the United State’s most sprawling metropolitan areas, Phoenix, Arizona. It has its fair share of hip urban things like nice coffee shops,, delicious craft beer, and excellent local, affordable dining. Politically, Tempe is considered to be a liberal enclave within the valley, otherwise the Phoenix area is visibly conservative. 

Frank Loyd Wright designed some of the University’s buildings and nearby Papago Park is very near campus for recreation and beautiful visages. The “main drag” in Tempe leads directly into the heart of Scottsdale just a fifteen minute drive away and Scottsdale is a hub of upscale shopping, golf resorts and horse riding locations. 

**The Best Thing About Tempe?** 

It’s pretty easy to get around the city without a car. The light rail ferries students around with ease. North of Route 60 is good public transport, South of Route 60, not so much. 

**The Worst Thing About Tempe?** 

Unless you’re 18 to 22 years old, you are bound to feel somewhat out of place. It’s a young town filled with young people doing young people things. In ASU’s case, this means throwing up on Mill Ave. Also, you’d better have a pool. 

**How You Living?** 

Tempe is built all around Arizona State University and its 90,000 students and employees so if you want to attend classes there, people there are attracted to the college style of living; sports, etc. It’s easy to be from out of town here as many of the city’s residents are.
South Tempe appeals to those who like to be just out of reach of the college scene but close enough to partake should the spirit move them. 
If you’re a student look at renting a house with some roomies west of campus. Alternatively, there are a number of apartment complexes close to the light rail along Apache. Stay west of McClintock to avoid overpriced student-oriented complexes. 

**Why You Should Move Here Now?** 

The Phoenix Metro Area (known as The Valley) is hard to beat for value and comfort and Tempe is probably the most walkable part of Arizona and the cost of living here is quite low for a young person just starting out -- it is not difficult to get by in Tempe,


Downtown Tempe is home to Arizona State University which means that both college students and young professionals overlap in this neighborhood. Proximity to school, offices and tons of restaurants, bars and all of the culture and arts offer both play and thoughtful experiences for all!
- Downtown
- McClintock


Students/Young Professionals

Downtown

The Lakes is a suburban-style neighborhood in the city with shopping, hiking, biking, and the huge Kiwanis Park offering a huge lake, playgrounds, sports fields and an indoor recreation center with a wave pool and water slides for the scorching summer months. Young families in particular flock to Lakes. South Tempe is another good family option with luxury homes, big yards and the best schools in the area. It is also home to the ASU Research Park which makes commuting for many incredibly simple. 
- The Lakes
- South Tempe


Families

The Lakes

Tempe

**mahjimoh**
6mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

I love being 15-20 minutes from the airport, downtown, and hiking (outside of summer). I like that being so close to the university there are a lot of people from other parts of the US and other countries around. I love that there are plenty of interesting places to eat, the canal system is great when I used to ride a bike, and if I needed it there is a lot of public transportation (and some of it is even free). It feels quite safe in my neighborhood.

I also like being so close to the Superstitions and Payson/Mogollon Rim area.

I wish it were more walkable, with fewer enormous roads to have to cross.

**FenderMoon**
6mo ago
🦉🦉🦉

Edited 6mo ago
It’s technically a suburb, but it doesn’t really feel or act like one. It’s very urban, it’s actually the most densely populated city in the Phoenix area. Downtown is very built up with lots of skyscrapers and its own streetcar/tram, as well as the regular light rail. It’s not very far from downtown Phoenix, so it sort of feels like the “other downtown” of the Phoenix area (and has a very lively urban-center feel.)

Tempe Town Lake is a really big deal on the north part of town, there is a lot of stuff to do in that direction. North Tempe also has ASU, so it definitely has somewhat of a college-town/young-professional vibe.

South tempe is less dense and generally more family oriented, more single family homes down that direction.

**Escapeism**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Born and raised in Mesa. Tempe is the best city in the Phoenix metro area imo, especially for someone your age that’s active. The heat absolutely will limit what you can do outside for most of the year. It gets to 120+ while extremely dry, so being outside is not fun, especially if you don’t have a car to get between air conditioned places... The whole Phoenix area is also very spread out as opposed to much of the east coast, so getting around is tough without a car but you can always Uber anywhere. The light rail is a big benefit to get to downtown Phoenix for concerts, sporting events, etc. There’s even driverless Waymo cars operating there from the airport to downtown, pretty cool. Anyway, be prepared for the heat, but also know that you can drive up north an hour or 2 and be out of it. People from the east coast don’t often realize how much of AZ is higher elevation forested areas. Good luck!

**nmonsey**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

You can be active here all year, you just have to change the time when you do your outdoor activity.

During the summer, there are thousands of people outside biking, jogging, hiking early in the morning before it gets hot outside.

During the winter, you can exercise outside in the afternoon.

Today, I went riding at 4:00 pm and its was 65°F at the start of the ride and just a few degrees colder after sunset.

When I ride through parks in the Scottsdale Greenbelt, there are usually hundreds of people walking, jogging, roller skating.

Tempe, Arizona

You're Already Saying It Wrong

Looklyloo Score: 90

Reviews

What's it like to live in Tempe?