[longislandmom]

I am wondering what areas are AP friendly. I don't want to travel an hour just to get to a non-vax friendly dr. or a playdate with some MDC (or the like) moms. My DH has been looking for jobs in the Tempe area. His dad lives in Tempe and his brother is in Gilbert. I would like to be within 30 mins of them. Can anyone recommend the best place to look for a house? We currently send our 4.5 yr old to a Montessori school and our younger one will start in September. I would like to keep them in Montessori school at least until 1st grade. After that I would need a good school district or a good charter. I don't think we will be hoomeschooling but it is a possibility. I teach natural childbirth classes (Bradley) and hope to be in an area supportive of natural birth so I can continue teaching. Any suggestions on places to fit our lifestyle? TIA.

 

[LittleLlama]

It seems like there are pockets or AP and crunchiness, but I couldn't tell you what neighborhood would be the "most". Personally, I liked living in Gilbert. It seemed more neighborly and I liked the Ma & Pop shops and restaurants. Tempe has the "advantage" of being a college town and probably more easily influenced due to age, but that can also make it more transient.

I've also heard good things about the Gilbert and Chandler school districts.

As far as drive time, as long as you aren't having to cross through Phoenix, all the East Valley cities are within a fairly reasonable distange. Chandler, Mesa, most of Awatukee and Gilbert. Though there are some pretty and new houses, don't get sucked into Queen Creek or Maricopa, they are waaaaaaaay out there.

 

[longislandmom]

Thanks. We have been to AZ many times so we have a feel for where things are. We need help with what areas actually suit our needs. We actually had land in Fountain Hills at one time. We looked for a horse property in Queen Creek but it was too barren for us at the time. I went back last yr and could not believe how built up it was. Your are right that it is far though. DH's family in Gilbert is very different from us so it is hard to gauge the area. I can't expect her to be surrounded by "crunchy" people when she is mainstream herself.

 

[calicocj]

I agree w/ Sarah that there are a lot of AP moms in the Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa area. There is an east valley AP playgroup meetup group, and they are very active with play dates and events in that area. There also seem to be a lot of moms in the north west valley, but that is probably too far if your DH works in Tempe.

DH and I both work in Tempe, and live in south Scottsdale. There are not a lot of AP/MDC moms near where I live

but I do like the area for being very 'neighborhoody' and not too 'suburby' and because it is near so many parks and the zoo, and I can easily use public transportation or bike to get to work...

There is a Montessori school near me, but I don't know anything about it. Some other programs that I have heard about from people at work (but don't have any first hand experience with) are Desert Sun Child Development Center, Awakening Seed, Dobson Montessori, and the Desert Marigold School in Phoenix.

Good luck

 

[shelbean91]

We live in East Mesa, but are in the Gilbert school district- which is great. It's not too far from tempe with the freeways now open. We see a family practice doc in queen creek, about 15 min south of us- no problems w/not vaxing.

 

[longislandmom]

Thanks so much ladies. I think we are leaning towards Gilbert since his family seems to think the schools there are best. One other thing I have to consider is where I can get help for my youngest daughter. She has sensory processing disorder and will be getting occupational therapy and some other services next yr. That is the only reason we are starting her in school already. I guess I have to look into Special Ed next. She will be a a blended class. I have no idea how Special Ed in AZ works. Hopefully she will not need it in a few years.

 

[shelbean91]

Again, Gilbert is a great district for special ed, IME. We've had Jake in preschool since 3 b/c of his autism and Seth just qualifed based on speech delays, so he'll be starting in the fall. The great thing about where we live, is it's mesa address, but gilbert schools, so lower taxes. The 4 bedroom across the street from me is for sale- 325K and 3 bed across the other street is for sale around 240k.

We also have outside therapy for Jake and the center we use is about 8 miles north- we get speech and OT. THey also have PT and hippotherapy (horses, for anyone who might not know) and music therapy.

 

[~MoonGypsy~]

We just moved to Gilbert and the city itself does some cool things, like giving out compost barrels to anyone that asks.

 

[LittleLlama]

Dh knows someone who is/was? on the Gilbert Town Council and got to talking about some of the good things they've done. Like an area that was just turning into a gang and drug problem in a trailer park, the city just bought everyone out. The guy said he was worried going into it that it would be the classic case that they weren't paying people enough to move into somewhere decent, but it worked out really well, not even any hold outs. I've noticed a huge difference in the amount of graffiti in Chandler vs. Gilbert. Much less in Gilbert.

 

[longislandmom]

I would love to live in Gilbert since it would mean having my kids near their cousins too. Glad to hear such great things. I hope DH gets a job soon so we can move. It will not be for at least a yr. In th meantime we visit abut every 18 months. I will have to post here ahead of time so I can meet some of you at a playdate. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[twogreencars]

uh...Tucson?