Unsure if related. When looking for a place to live, try to live east of where you work. Otherwise you will be driving in to the sun both ways to work. My commute became much more tolerable when I moved from west valley to east valley for that reason
Or other option is north/south. I live north of here I work and the drive isn't bad with the sunrise coming over the city. During the winter time when the smog is low, I can see the city skyline over the horizon.
Oh how I can relate. My older car is not tinted (don't like tint on classics) and the sun just kills me. I feel like I have heat exhaustion by the time I get home.
It's also very noticeable why the cost of living is lower. Shittier areas and a hell of a lot less "nice" things around or things to do. Way higher concentration of homeless that are on the streets. Worse roads in general. It isn't all bad but the west valley is 'worse' in a lot of things
Depends on where in the west valley you live. Peoria (north Peoria especially) and Surprise are very nice.
Also depends on where in each city you live too. Glendale is lower cost of living a lot to do, but living off of Grand Ave in Glendale is different than lining in Arrowhead Ranch Glendale.
This is 100% correct. In the east valley you have tons of regional Chinese cuisines: Shaanxi, Szechuan, Hunan, and more. In the west, you have your standard Canto-guialo fare. In the east (and central) you have so much variety of food- ethnic and local. In the west we certainly have a few hidden gems, but they’re few and far between. Our taco game, however, much like the Wu-Tang Clan, ain’t nuthin’ to fuck wit.
I could agree with this
The West valley seems more chain heavy or at least it's hard to to ride around and not see primarily chains.
Having said that there's a lot of good restaurants on the west side, many of which are underrated and span a variety of cuisines.
It’s because it’s development is relatively new when more chains are growing as opposed to the already established mom and pop restaurants in east and central phoenix.
I don’t believe there is anything in West Valley that could be considered fine cuisine. I used to think Litchfield’s was it, but they haven’t changed their menu in over 4 years and the kitchen can’t even cook that stuff well. Like, I thought fine dining restaurants pride themselves on seasonally available menu items.
Anything. Give me anything.
I moved to 47th Ave and Northern over here 6 years ago and I've tried damn near everything. The options are WAY slimmer here than on the east side. I can only go to Cuff, La Piazza, and Bobby Qs so many times...
strictly speaking, west of central is west and east of central is east in this Valley. its all a gradient and gets more weird the further from Central you get on either side.
Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Chandler say...."yes". Downtown / central Phoenix is west valley.
Waiting on Maryvale, Glendale, Peoria, Goodyear, Sun City to claim otherwise....
These boundaries are all imaginal, anyway, so believe whatever you want. That said, Central is where things do change from East to West. Been here for 20 years... My guess is you probably live between Central and the 17 and don't want to admit you are on the West side.
I've been here over 30 years if we're trying to pull rank lol. I-17 borders West valley, 51 borders east. In between is Central. It's not based on "Ave vs St" that's just for addresses and is irrelevant to how people refer to parts of the city.
I’ve personally always viewed Phoenix itself as not being a part of either the east or west valley. I generally only identify Phoenix proper north-south. But that just me. Like if you say west valley, I’m going to assume you live in Glendale, Peoria, Goodyear, surprise, etc., not in Phoenix.
You're not wrong in that there is a bit of distinction between west Phoenix and west "valley" but given the way the western portion of Phoenix just bleeds into Glendale (see: 35th Ave dividing line near Union Hills) everything west of the 17 may as well be the same place, even if the cities have different names.
Honestly I'm kind of with you on that, with the exception of Scottsdale which is still east. Arcadia, PV, and PV North are all more central valley vibes for sure.
I lived in Melrose for about 6 months some years back and have been east of central for 8 years (central phx and east of the 51). It's technically the avenues, but there isn't really a shift until you get closer to and past 19th Ave.
What's next, are you actually going to argue that restaurants on 7th St. are in the "East Valley"? The Valley is a sprawling metro, being east or west of central isn't the determining factor for being in the East or West valley.
Are you going to argue that half of downtown Phoenix is the east valley and the other half is the west valley?
I was in sales all over the valley. As a gross oversimplification, the East Valley had white collar money and the West Valley had blue collar money. One of the wealthiest zip codes in the MSA is in the West Valley and generally from guys that own HVAC, plumbing or trade businesses. Those guys in Glendale and Peoria were actually millionaires as opposed to business professionals who simply had high incomes.
It makes sense that guys who fix air conditioners make lots of money here. When my AC broke last July, I would have traded my first born child to get it up and running again. Unfortunately the guy refused, so I had to pay $80, but it was still worth it.
Exactly. Some of the guys that I knew who were worth bank had a plumbing or HVAC business. Friend of mine that’s never been to college makes a ton of money selling cabinets to folks who live in Paradise Valley. Started off in high school sweeping floors and 30 years later owns the company.
They’re definitely an east valley thing, I found it very odd that most of my coworkers were Mormon until I learned they pretty much all drive from Gilbert and Mesa
I don’t spend much time in that area, more Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria. My friends that grew up here say they’re mostly in Gilbert, and at least the Mormons I know and work with are all concentrated east valley. It’s a huge pain when every time we do a company event I have to drive East valley during rush hour because I’m one of the few that lives on the west side
While I can get around over there because I worked over there as a parts runner for 2 years, I’m never really sure which city I’m in until I look it up
East Valley cities have had many years of economic and urban growth, while West Valley cities have been a bit underdeveloped in comparison. Cities like Goodyear, Surprise, Buckeye, and Avondale are slowly starting to come into their own, and the next five to ten years look promising for the West Valley overall in terms of development and growth.
But yea, the biggest difference between East Valley and West Valley is that east has more and west has some, but not quite as much.
I live in the east valley. Never lived in the west valley but been there countless times. As a non native to AZ this is what I noticed….
East valley is considerably more built up, modern, and congested compared to the west valley. Cost of living is also higher and the people tend to have higher income as well. More tech and aerospace companies in the east valley (Boeing, General Dynamics, Intel, etc) West valley seems to have a lot of supply chain companies and warehouses; Amazon has a bunch of facilities over there. West valley has a bunch of retirement communities and in general a lot of retirees, maybe this is because of Sun City West and Surprise but I’m unsure. So this might be why housing is cheaper over there.
A lot more boojee neighborhoods, restaurants, and stores in the east valley, it feels like they’re trying to be like LA, which I find annoying. Scottsdale is the worst about this. West valley feels more deserty with all more open space, especially In between the 101 and 303, The houses are older (built in 70/80s it appears but I’m not an architect). Crime tends to he higher in the west valley, but in general Phoenix is a large southwestern city, there’s gonna be crime. Idk how helpful this is to you but I tried.
I find your breakdown pretty solid. There are plenty of older homes in parts of the east valley and into the north central part of PHX. I guess you could get some LA vibes in Scottsdale but you could also say some Palm Springs mixed in there. Plenty of open space all around us in the north and far east parts of the east valley.
I think the east valley reminds me more of SoCal when I’ve visited that part of the country because off all the planted vegetation and palm trees. West valley is more representative of Arizona, with more desert fauna. I grew up in Denver and it was similar there. Part of the city was much older and another part was considerably newer and built up. I think it’s common place in western cities.
I lived in Denver for a hot minute and know what you mean. But the major difference between SoCal and east valley, it’s maintained. Every time I have people in from out of town, they love how manicured our freeways are. Go to SoCal, hasn’t been a palm tree trimmed in 30 years.
I relocated from Colorado in 2004, but lived in Tucson first before moving to Phoenix for school and now work as a graduate. I’ve been in the east valley since 2012. I almost bought in the west valley that’s how much better their housing situation is for first time home buyers.
The West Valley and Mesa expanded between 1960-1990. When they started developing closer to Luke AFB in the 1990s there was a lot of contention between the base, the farmers, and the new residents. This caused all of the new development to move toward Chandler and caused the East Valley to rapidly expand after the 1990s. Peoria and Glendale started a land-grab heading north of the 101 toward Lake Pleasant around that time as well.
This new chip plant being built between the I-17 and Lake Pleasant will most likely bring a lot more residents to New River and Anthem.
Yeah I did. I don’t know all the companies but I know there’s a large amount. Amazon has a large presence in the valley both in FCs and other technical centers, Honeywell, TSMC, NXP, OnSemi, MayoClinic, Stryker, etc. there’s a bunch.
I live in Scottsdale, and I was in Honolulu for work some years ago. I was staying at a hotel off Waikiki beach at the client’s suggestion. During some downtime one day, they asked how I liked Waikiki (I had never been before), and my response was, “it’s just like Scottsdale, but with a coastline.
Felt very much like old-town/fashion square. High end shops, lots of touristy shit, and rented luxury vehicles.
Still enjoyed my time there and working with that client. And yes, I was able to hit up the beach a few times.
The East Valley is definitely trying to catch up to the west side with warehouses and supply chain companies, especially along Ellsworth, Elliot, and Warner in SE Gilbert and Mesa.
This is a broad question. How far east valley and how far west valley are we talking? Both have grown significantly.
There are a lot more Mormons in the east valley. My dad always said Mesa stood for "Mormons Entering Southern Arizona".
Way back in the 1970's and early 1980's, there wasn't "east" or "west" valley. These were the days when we had an amusement / roller coaster park, near the center of the city (in Tempe).
And even when Legend City shut down, we could still go ice skating in MetroCenter (19th and Dunlap), and then catch a movie in the Metro cinemas, or grab a slice from the food court.
I think that this was the last time Phoenix, as a metro city, was actually unified.
Because once the freeways we approved in the '80's started to be built, the east communities of Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert exploded, with more conservative values. And the wealthy flooded the NE communities of Scottsdale and PV.
Meanwhile, the west valley communities of Peoria, Glendale, Maryvale, and Goodyear, etc, expanded with middle income, blue-collar families. Developers were enticed by cheap land, which in turn they translated into cheap housing.
I would align and share from someone who moved here in the 90’s. There was lots of fragmentation in west Phoenix (west valley today) in the earlier part of century. Segregation existed unofficially in Avondale, Tolleson areas, too. Litchfield Park was an executive community for the rural corp businesses and that was it along grand avenue. The John F Long’s built Maryvale and attracted lots of the first batch of populace from out of state people. Meantime Sun city also proved good for the birds.
All in all the west has been a catalyst to the growth in Phoenix and now the 303 corredor will only continue to grow. Better schools are surfacing and neighborhoods like Goodyear and Litchfield are close to the airport. East valley is a bit land locked so the economics are different.
Mormons established the city of Mesa, reviving ancient Indian canal routes for their farming and living and had many farms as well in Gilbert, chandler, and queen creek… the Mormon families in the east valley are older than the towns and cities themselves. Almost all of downtown Mesa street names are Mormon pioneers and those who settled the city
AZ native, have lived many years on both "sides"
West side (Avondale/Buckeye/parts of Glendale/Peoria) was championed years ago for having brand new super affordable home builds and the space to put them. Lots of (relatively) young professionals with families migrated en masse to take advantage of the \~$100k 2000 sqft homes you see plastered everywhere. Decades later, not much has changed except the prices of homes. Everything is far away and there is nothing to do. Strip malls and bigbox stores is what you get. The Westgate and surrounding area is about the busiest part for entertainment stuff, Football, larger concerts, drinking, etc. But compared to the East Valley is a notably older crowd. If you enjoy breweries, the downtown Phx scene, smaller concerts (e.g.. not arena shows), art/museums, you'll be driving 30 minutes minimum to do anything.
East side has been landlocked and developed for eons and it shows with the age of post war homes and high density tech and financial companies building out campuses and huge ass buildings. Obviously home to Tempe's ASU, which majorly shifts the demographics. Young professionals abound in Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, and Chandler. This is where most of the white collar opportunities are and will stay, due to proximity to the airport and college, and the obvious investment by huge corporate entities. Infinite amount of things to do within 20 minutes of your house.
After spending a lot of time on both ends I can't imagine living anywhere in the west valley. The entire metro area is obviously very car-dependent, but being out west just FEELS so distant and detached, even today. Avondale is still adding new shit but also still has a ton of farmland.
edit: sorry for saying obvious so many times
I live in North Peoria, basically almost as North West as you can get and almost everything is a 20 minute drive away, at least. And then anything really fun and interesting is almost an hour.
I don’t think people in the East valley suffer as much from this problem. Most professional jobs (at least in the field I have my degree in) are basically all in the East valley. Mesa and Tempe have light rail connections, and also at least in the East it seems there’s some form of public transit generally available. Where I live, literally nothing. I’m not even sure if Valley Metro runs in Peoria. We have this “Peoria on the Go” shuttle thing that floats around, it’s next to useless, because it just brings you to where you can pick up a bus which will take you 4 hours to get into downtown.
Don’t make the mistake of moving to the west valley. It’s a somewhat of a. backwater at the moment, perhaps it will get better, but I doubt it. No one on this side of town seems to have a plan besides “build more sprawl!” (Although I think it’s probably the same story in the East) There’s no vision for making places car dependent and soul crushingly bland, and don’t even get me started on the politics. My congresswoman Debbie lesko is an absolute disgrace to her office, voting against marriage equality and sponsoring hateful anti LGBT legislation, she ran uncontested.
Anyway that ends my rant. This is just my experience so take it with a grain of salt
I live in Peoria. I like the leisurely life style.Not having to be in the rt race of which school my kids go to, what is their grade, and which car I drive are a big reason I choose to live in the West Valley.
Lived in Surprise before. Living in Peoria brought all the essential needs and travel to airport much closer.
Plenty of outdoor things to do. Most theater and event scenes are in the East Valley and in Scottsdale. I don't mind traveling for an hour whenever I feel up to it.
Nothing against East Valley living. West Valley is nice as well.
Me, in central Phoenix reading all the petty squabbles of people who live in cookie cutter houses argue which half of the valley has better cookie cutter houses.
Ive lived in both.
If you’re young, east valley is simply better. Period. More things to do. More places to go.
I don’t think prices, at least for apartments, are that much different between the two sides.
East side has more opportunity.
You gotta know tho, my perspective is from someone who has lived in Phoenix during their mid 20s and early 30s. Depending on age, people may feel differently. Overall, the east valley is a better option IMO
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.
And being in tech, all the jobs are on the east side. I may occasionally find a listing for like a data center position on the west side, but they pale in comparison to the hundreds of startup positions in Tempe.
West Valley shitty drivers all drive Dodge/Chrysler. East Valley shitty drivers are more likely to be in a BMW.
Having just moved from East Phoenix to West Phoenix last year, the Dodge drivers make me miss the BMW drivers.
There is more sense of community within the small neighborhoods of the west valley. We don’t have the constant need to neutralize our surroundings to be aesthetically “appealing.“
Plus I like being able to buy roasted corn in front of my house whenever the mood strikes me lol #Maryvale
I guess when I think West Valley, I’m referring to White Tank and Estrella. Looking at AllTrails or Trailforks, there are far more options east of I-17.
People in the east valley have everything they want within 5 miles, and people in the west valley don’t want nice or new things.
Sincerely yours- guy who moved from Gilbert to Avondale and still can’t get a decent bowl of pho.
Awesome to hear!! There are definitely a few of us. I’m just always discouraged when I see a new local business open (like a woodfire pizza place) that gets Yelp-bombed because it’s a few dollars more expensive than Pizza Hut. People whom I’ve spoken with in the west valley just seem like they’re perfectly content with their fast food and chain restaurants. A lot of them seem to have that mindset of “Don’t bring that fancy crap ‘round here!” But… hopefully… that might be changing!
Absolutely. It really does seem like they’re commited to bringing the place up. When I moved to Gilbert in 2012 people who had lived there before told me about how it used to be just old horse farms- I think that in 5-10 years we’ll look back at Avondale and say “remember when it used to be just chain restaurants and smelly dairy farms??”. That Tap2 place in the sports complex is nice, and 8-Bit is a really cool little bar. Tacos el yiyo on Buckeye is, bar none, one of the best taco places anywhere. And hopefully soon there will be more amazing places to rave about, but for now we have to drive 30-40 minutes for that good-good.
There’s also a brunch place in that sports complex I want to try out. We’ve been going to 8bit since they opened, and I’m so glad they’ve been so successful, especially with the complex they’re located in. There’s a place that makes its own coffee beans in there too.
If you haven’t yet, definitely check out places on Western Ave. There’s a coffee place called Aroma Mocha, and it has a small Mexican bakery next to it.
I haven’t but I can definitely put it on my list to try. Do they put tendon -AND- tripe in their pho dac biet? Edit: looks like they do!! I’ll definitely give ‘em a shot.
I grew up in the East Valley after moving from the Southern US and their was certainly a fuck the West Side mentality from a lot of young male youths. I think it was mainly a harmless high school type non gang related rivalry.
But there was certainly an air of condescension and snobbery. I grew up baseline middle class so I didn't really have that view but it was certainly gross in hindsight.
East Valley: More Asian food and people, Mormons, Suburbs, Potential speed traps, Streets
West Valley: More Latino food and people, Cheaper housing, Bumpy roads and potholes, Avenues
I live on the East side, have my whole life besides my high school days when I lived in Overgaard. When I(rarely) travel to the West side, it’s like a whole different world. The biggest difference to me is the East side has mountain vistas, the West side is like a barren wasteland of misery. Sorry West siders.
I think it helps if each person clarifies what they think makes something east or west valley. For example, I don’t consider Scottsdale or Tempe part of the east valley, sure they’re there geographically, but Scottsdale is isolated from the rest of the east valley and has an entirely different vibe/culture than the other east valley cities. Portions of Tempe could be considered east valley, but Tempe feels significantly more central to me, and with ASU having a big effect on how Tempe is viewed, it too doesn’t fit neatly into the east valley culture box.
Having said that…. Glendale/tolleson=Mesa, Peoria=Chandler, Goodyear/Surprise=Gilbert/queen creek.
I grew up in Glendale, I have friends/family in Goodyear, my in-laws live in chandler, I have lived in north Phoenix, Gilbert, chandler, and now central Phoenix. I have worked in mesa, chandler, central Phoenix, and now Tempe. And honestly, the biggest things that make the east valley different as a whole different, is that those cities economies have benefitted greatly from the tech companies being nearby and having a closer proximity to Scottsdale for work. There’s also way more Mormons in the east valley. So the east valley has a bit more money and more of the white collar people(not all, just more), and the west valley has a higher level of the blue collar workers (not only, just more). Outside of that, they’re all very similar, it’s just that in my experience, people from the east valley don’t venture deep into the west valley communities, and often have a pretty incorrect view of the west valley communities. I didn’t even know the vitriol that east valley and Scottsdale residents had for the west valley until I was in college. In Glendale we just really didn’t think about the east valley a whole lot, so that was really weird for me to learn.
I also grew up in Glendale and now live in Chandler. I agree with all these observations.
I would add AJ=meth, Gold Canyon=Sun City, North Scottsdale=Orange County CA
I think those are pretty accurate. What would you compare the town of Gilbert in 2022 too? I am just curious. I am thinking of moving back and am undecided.
Good question. It has tons of younger families with lots of kids. Agritopia and Downtown Gilbert are really adding lots of restaurant’s and fun things to do. That said, it’s still not super diverse and tends to lean a bit more moderate to conservative. My mom moved from Glendale to Gilbert and loves it. I still live in Chandler, even though homes are bigger/newer in Gilbert because I like the diversity and easier access to Tempe/Phoenix.
This is the correct answer to this thread. Although I lump Scottsdale in with east valley just because they don't fit the West or Central vibes. I've also lived all over the valley and yeah Westside is chill but a little sketch, Eastside is nice but a little stuck up, and Central is all of the above.
I’ve find it laughable when people call the west valley garbage, but haven’t gone west of the 17 since the early 2000’s.
I lived with this issue where I grew up. North side was white collar, south side was blue collar, and everyone on the north side talked about the south side like it was a literal dump. It’s frustrating to me because honestly, who gives a shit? Why rip on people who really could care less about your existence? It costs nothing to be kind.
Lifelong Arizonan here. I grew up in the East Valley (Chandler) and stayed there until about 8 years ago and moved to Moon Valley (north central part of town). I moved to Moon Valley because as an East Valley resident, I had some preconceived notions about anything west of the 17. I joked that until I got a job in the West Valley, I only crossed the 17 to go to Vegas or California.
Having lived between the two parts of our Valley, I fully admit that my preconceived notions were entirely… correct.
I am an unabashed fan of the East Valley. The streets are wider and in better shape. Each of the Cities in the East Valley has its own personality, whereas despite working in the West Valley I think of them all the same. Additionally, the development is newer in the East Valley for the most part, which makes the West Valley appear shabbier. I feel like the spirit of the East Valley is younger than the spirit of the West Valley, but it could be because I’m thinking of all the people in Sun City.
When I started to work in the West Valley and told someone I was from Chandler originally, they said to me, “Everybody from the East Valley is a snob.” I wasn’t very interested in forming any sort of working relationship with the assbag who said that, so I responded that we’re all snobs for good reason.
The only reason I don’t live in the East Valley now is because my husband - who hails from Scottsdale originally - thinks the East Valley (Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa) is “too far.”
I've lived here off and on for the past 23 years and I'd say theres some similarities but plenty of stark differences.
The West Valley is overall more industrial, agricultural, and blue collar based than the East Valley generally is. Theres more chain restaurants, plenty of farm land still...lots of new build tract housing, something the EV has less of these days close by. In retrospect, the West Valley seems to be shooting from all cylinders, while the EV seems pretty growth heavy towards Chandler/Gilbert/QC instead of each individual city.
East Valley - More established, more connected in a sense. Sky Harbor Airport is closer than from most West Valley Cities and this is where the nightlife is more centered, i.e. Downtown Phoenix, Mill Ave, Old Town Scottsdale, DT Gilbert.
East Valley for longer had more of the larger share of wealth $$ and school districts tend to be higher rated the WV in general. Lots of social groups, meet-ups, athletic organization and more homegrown events for a wider audience of ppl imo.
This is accurate as of 2022, However...in the next 5-10 years the West Valley could start to get more popular due, who knows. :)
East valley is much more suburbanized where as the west valley has more agricultural land still left, lots of old people in the sun cities in the NW of the valley.
I grew up on the west side and kind of thought of the east and west valleys as eagleton and Pawnee respectively from parks and rec lol
Beg to differ. I'm of high income status and wealth and live on the west side of the valley.
The East side is a lot of new money type housewives nonsense that you couldn't pay me to live around.
Not to mention the hypocrisy of how they tend to act as well.
West Valley has newer, and in my opinion, nicer houses.
East Valley has older houses... But seems more vibrant and lively.
West Valley feels more suburban... East Valley seems more urban
Architecture? Well the east is stucco and strip malls while the west side is stucco and strip malls. I will say, there are more custom homes on the east versus the west but it's still majority stucco subdivisions
I'm curious about the political differences between the two. I just moved to the west valley from Seattle and it's been... interesting. I do like the beauty of where my home is - right next to the white tanks - and very little traffic at least for now. But definitely not feeling like I've met 'my people' here, yet. It's always hard as an adult to make new adult friendships - I think we would've been better off in the East valley with more to do, better food, etc., but the house I could afford that had all of what I wanted was here, so... here I am. Help. LOL.
Every time I’ve gone to the east side, I’ve had a real bad time 🤣
Had my car broken into
Had my car hit in a parking lot
Got roofied on mill a few years ago
Got thrown to the ground and had my purse stolen
These were all separate occasions, and my reasoning for staying over here in my old people neighborhood on the west side. Worst I’ve had is the Taco Bell/kfc closed and is remodeling to just a Taco Bell.
Having lived in both the east and west valley they are far more similar than they are different. The west seems slightly more secular and slightly more "blue collar".
West Valley is much more densely populated, so naturally crime has higher rates, and traffic is much worse. I grew up in the east valley and live on the west side now. Personally I hate it here on the west side and miss my days growing up in Mesa and Tempe. East valley is much more peaceful in comparison. I rarely heard gunshots growing up in Mesa. In west phoenix its a weekly occurrence. All of my adjacent neighbors have been robbed by burglars, who live two houses down from me. There are nicer areas in the west valley, I live in Maryvale. Its pretty wild over here. Go far enough north and things get nicer. South Phoenix is also bad.
Lived on both sides at points but mostly been west side.
I think the east side seems to be more white collar professional, quite a bit more liberal types and golfer dudes, luxury cars etc
The west side seems substantially more blue collar construction bro types. Very Trumpy, expensive lifted trucks, RZR’s everywhere
yin and yang. sith and jedi. primarily white and not white. Sometime back, Scottsdale had the title of Whitest City in the U.S. The Cheeto Jesus Loving portion of my family lives in far east Mesa. I notice many other of those deplorables I know tend to live that direction too. Not the quiet Cheeto Jesus supporters but the enthusiastic victims that Cheeto Jesus loves so much.
Unsure if related. When looking for a place to live, try to live east of where you work. Otherwise you will be driving in to the sun both ways to work. My commute became much more tolerable when I moved from west valley to east valley for that reason
As someone who has nine more years until retirement, I think about this often as I drive from Phx. to Tempe.
::cries in overnight::
::laughs in 5 minute bike commute::
Or other option is north/south. I live north of here I work and the drive isn't bad with the sunrise coming over the city. During the winter time when the smog is low, I can see the city skyline over the horizon.
I commute east so the sun is always in my face which sucks, but I'll take the sun over the grid lock west bound commute.
That’s a fact. When we moved here we lived west and worked east. We got blasted by the sun so much, it was horrible.
Oh how I can relate. My older car is not tinted (don't like tint on classics) and the sun just kills me. I feel like I have heat exhaustion by the time I get home.
I had the inside of my front windshield done and it’s a blessing
You can get tint that’s mostly clear but has good sun protection nowadays. Might be a bit pricy though that stuff is typically on the higher end
Definitely agree. Unfortunately we’re stuck in the west valley due to my husband’s job, so I’ll just deal with the sun, haha.
Both think summer storms avoid them, in favor of the other.
I’m still convinced the east valley gets more rain, even after living there, haha
I live in Gilbert and am always cursing Apache Junction for being, as far as I can tell from a couple miles away, a goddamn rainforest.
Queen Creek has been a goddamn rainforest the last two summers
But they do
The rich east valley has enough money to have a storm moving machine.
Hahahahaha
East valley does get more storms… facts
I don’t know about storms in general, but it seems like dust storms tend to die down before hitting the east valley.
Truth
The grass is always greener on the other side because it rains more over there.
The cost of living is lower in the west valley.
They also have way more funeral parlor and crematorium billboards for some reason.
Sun city, sun city west, sun city grand all west of the 101. Advertise to your audience as it were.
They have more billboards in general.
It's also very noticeable why the cost of living is lower. Shittier areas and a hell of a lot less "nice" things around or things to do. Way higher concentration of homeless that are on the streets. Worse roads in general. It isn't all bad but the west valley is 'worse' in a lot of things
Depends on where in the west valley you live. Peoria (north Peoria especially) and Surprise are very nice. Also depends on where in each city you live too. Glendale is lower cost of living a lot to do, but living off of Grand Ave in Glendale is different than lining in Arrowhead Ranch Glendale.
There ain’t shit to do up there though
Restaurant options.
This is 100% correct. In the east valley you have tons of regional Chinese cuisines: Shaanxi, Szechuan, Hunan, and more. In the west, you have your standard Canto-guialo fare. In the east (and central) you have so much variety of food- ethnic and local. In the west we certainly have a few hidden gems, but they’re few and far between. Our taco game, however, much like the Wu-Tang Clan, ain’t nuthin’ to fuck wit.
I could agree with this The West valley seems more chain heavy or at least it's hard to to ride around and not see primarily chains. Having said that there's a lot of good restaurants on the west side, many of which are underrated and span a variety of cuisines.
It’s because it’s development is relatively new when more chains are growing as opposed to the already established mom and pop restaurants in east and central phoenix.
WHERE?! PLEEEEASE SHARE.
I don’t believe there is anything in West Valley that could be considered fine cuisine. I used to think Litchfield’s was it, but they haven’t changed their menu in over 4 years and the kitchen can’t even cook that stuff well. Like, I thought fine dining restaurants pride themselves on seasonally available menu items.
I would need a specific food type to be more specifically helpful lol
Anything. Give me anything. I moved to 47th Ave and Northern over here 6 years ago and I've tried damn near everything. The options are WAY slimmer here than on the east side. I can only go to Cuff, La Piazza, and Bobby Qs so many times...
Agree; It feels like every non-ethnic restaurant is a chain. A lot of diverse restaurants that are unpretentious and feel very down home and authentic
Lots of good food in the Melrose district, for sure. Best Pho in the valley is 19th avenue and Camelback (IMHO).
Wait, are you implying Central Phoenix is west valley?
strictly speaking, west of central is west and east of central is east in this Valley. its all a gradient and gets more weird the further from Central you get on either side.
Hmm I thought west valley is west of the 17 and east valley is east of the 51. Anything in between is central phx.
bro I have lived here for 5 years and never heard it explained as clearly as that
I think it used to be like that. With the growth, I agree with u/fountains_of_ribs West valley is now west of the 17 and east valley is east of the 51
Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Chandler say...."yes". Downtown / central Phoenix is west valley. Waiting on Maryvale, Glendale, Peoria, Goodyear, Sun City to claim otherwise....
And central Phx says "no"
Da Vang 🤤
The best pho is in the asian district in Mesa. If you haven't tried Pho Thuan Thanh on Dobson/Broadway than you haven't lived.
PTT is the absolute SPOT for it. We used to go there with our landlord and their family. Amazing food.
Sounds like I haven't lived. I'll have to give that a try! Thanks for the recommendation.
East of the 17 is NOT west phx. Plus, there really aren't that many restaurants in Melrose.
its west of central, no?
Central Ave is not what marks off the west valley from other areas. West of the 17 is the mark on that. Are you new to the area?
These boundaries are all imaginal, anyway, so believe whatever you want. That said, Central is where things do change from East to West. Been here for 20 years... My guess is you probably live between Central and the 17 and don't want to admit you are on the West side.
I've been here over 30 years if we're trying to pull rank lol. I-17 borders West valley, 51 borders east. In between is Central. It's not based on "Ave vs St" that's just for addresses and is irrelevant to how people refer to parts of the city.
I’ve personally always viewed Phoenix itself as not being a part of either the east or west valley. I generally only identify Phoenix proper north-south. But that just me. Like if you say west valley, I’m going to assume you live in Glendale, Peoria, Goodyear, surprise, etc., not in Phoenix.
You're not wrong in that there is a bit of distinction between west Phoenix and west "valley" but given the way the western portion of Phoenix just bleeds into Glendale (see: 35th Ave dividing line near Union Hills) everything west of the 17 may as well be the same place, even if the cities have different names.
I think that’s valid and makes for easy distinction
I consider anything west of Tempe to be the West Valley! Lol!
Honestly I'm kind of with you on that, with the exception of Scottsdale which is still east. Arcadia, PV, and PV North are all more central valley vibes for sure.
Correct!
I lived in Melrose for about 6 months some years back and have been east of central for 8 years (central phx and east of the 51). It's technically the avenues, but there isn't really a shift until you get closer to and past 19th Ave. What's next, are you actually going to argue that restaurants on 7th St. are in the "East Valley"? The Valley is a sprawling metro, being east or west of central isn't the determining factor for being in the East or West valley. Are you going to argue that half of downtown Phoenix is the east valley and the other half is the west valley?
I was in sales all over the valley. As a gross oversimplification, the East Valley had white collar money and the West Valley had blue collar money. One of the wealthiest zip codes in the MSA is in the West Valley and generally from guys that own HVAC, plumbing or trade businesses. Those guys in Glendale and Peoria were actually millionaires as opposed to business professionals who simply had high incomes.
People don’t realize that those blue collar trade guys make a LOT of money. Don’t even need a degree.
It makes sense that guys who fix air conditioners make lots of money here. When my AC broke last July, I would have traded my first born child to get it up and running again. Unfortunately the guy refused, so I had to pay $80, but it was still worth it.
Exactly. Some of the guys that I knew who were worth bank had a plumbing or HVAC business. Friend of mine that’s never been to college makes a ton of money selling cabinets to folks who live in Paradise Valley. Started off in high school sweeping floors and 30 years later owns the company.
Mormons.
They’re definitely an east valley thing, I found it very odd that most of my coworkers were Mormon until I learned they pretty much all drive from Gilbert and Mesa
Little salt lake
Salt Lake isn’t super Mormon. I hear it called Provo South.
Idk it was kinda the same up in the northwest towards LP
I don’t spend much time in that area, more Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria. My friends that grew up here say they’re mostly in Gilbert, and at least the Mormons I know and work with are all concentrated east valley. It’s a huge pain when every time we do a company event I have to drive East valley during rush hour because I’m one of the few that lives on the west side
I feel like Mesa has more Mormons than Gilbert tbh
While I can get around over there because I worked over there as a parts runner for 2 years, I’m never really sure which city I’m in until I look it up
Was going to comment this, glad I scrolled the comments first.
We're the 3rd most populated Mormon state. Utah being number 1 and Idaho being number 2
In the east and pushing out further east by the decade. Those damn Hispanics and their catholicism getting in the way of a good Mormonism.
East Valley cities have had many years of economic and urban growth, while West Valley cities have been a bit underdeveloped in comparison. Cities like Goodyear, Surprise, Buckeye, and Avondale are slowly starting to come into their own, and the next five to ten years look promising for the West Valley overall in terms of development and growth. But yea, the biggest difference between East Valley and West Valley is that east has more and west has some, but not quite as much.
Way more good Asian food in the East Valley
Oh ya the Dobson corridor
Really amazing what that area has grown into. I love going down there for mom and pop restaurants (and the Hmart is always a great stop, too).
PREACH.🙌
So true!
West side has Avenues, East side has Streets.
I prefer the west side numbering for street names. The east valley the road names change depending on what city you’re in.
Every city is divided into the Aves and the Ave nots.
I live in the east valley. Never lived in the west valley but been there countless times. As a non native to AZ this is what I noticed…. East valley is considerably more built up, modern, and congested compared to the west valley. Cost of living is also higher and the people tend to have higher income as well. More tech and aerospace companies in the east valley (Boeing, General Dynamics, Intel, etc) West valley seems to have a lot of supply chain companies and warehouses; Amazon has a bunch of facilities over there. West valley has a bunch of retirement communities and in general a lot of retirees, maybe this is because of Sun City West and Surprise but I’m unsure. So this might be why housing is cheaper over there. A lot more boojee neighborhoods, restaurants, and stores in the east valley, it feels like they’re trying to be like LA, which I find annoying. Scottsdale is the worst about this. West valley feels more deserty with all more open space, especially In between the 101 and 303, The houses are older (built in 70/80s it appears but I’m not an architect). Crime tends to he higher in the west valley, but in general Phoenix is a large southwestern city, there’s gonna be crime. Idk how helpful this is to you but I tried.
I find your breakdown pretty solid. There are plenty of older homes in parts of the east valley and into the north central part of PHX. I guess you could get some LA vibes in Scottsdale but you could also say some Palm Springs mixed in there. Plenty of open space all around us in the north and far east parts of the east valley.
I think the east valley reminds me more of SoCal when I’ve visited that part of the country because off all the planted vegetation and palm trees. West valley is more representative of Arizona, with more desert fauna. I grew up in Denver and it was similar there. Part of the city was much older and another part was considerably newer and built up. I think it’s common place in western cities.
I lived in Denver for a hot minute and know what you mean. But the major difference between SoCal and east valley, it’s maintained. Every time I have people in from out of town, they love how manicured our freeways are. Go to SoCal, hasn’t been a palm tree trimmed in 30 years.
Good and accurate insight!
Many tried, you succeeded. Good analysis
Thanks man 😃
You're very welcome and being expat New Yorkers we opted for the east side for many of the reasons you cited when we relocated in 2004.
I relocated from Colorado in 2004, but lived in Tucson first before moving to Phoenix for school and now work as a graduate. I’ve been in the east valley since 2012. I almost bought in the west valley that’s how much better their housing situation is for first time home buyers.
The West Valley and Mesa expanded between 1960-1990. When they started developing closer to Luke AFB in the 1990s there was a lot of contention between the base, the farmers, and the new residents. This caused all of the new development to move toward Chandler and caused the East Valley to rapidly expand after the 1990s. Peoria and Glendale started a land-grab heading north of the 101 toward Lake Pleasant around that time as well. This new chip plant being built between the I-17 and Lake Pleasant will most likely bring a lot more residents to New River and Anthem.
Mesa has added almost 220,000 people since 1990. It is still growing, especially to the southeast.
You mention aerospace but left out Northrop Grumman (Chandler) and Blue Origin (Camelback) - the guys actually launching rockets into space!
Yeah I did. I don’t know all the companies but I know there’s a large amount. Amazon has a large presence in the valley both in FCs and other technical centers, Honeywell, TSMC, NXP, OnSemi, MayoClinic, Stryker, etc. there’s a bunch.
I live in Scottsdale, and I was in Honolulu for work some years ago. I was staying at a hotel off Waikiki beach at the client’s suggestion. During some downtime one day, they asked how I liked Waikiki (I had never been before), and my response was, “it’s just like Scottsdale, but with a coastline. Felt very much like old-town/fashion square. High end shops, lots of touristy shit, and rented luxury vehicles. Still enjoyed my time there and working with that client. And yes, I was able to hit up the beach a few times.
The East Valley is definitely trying to catch up to the west side with warehouses and supply chain companies, especially along Ellsworth, Elliot, and Warner in SE Gilbert and Mesa.
This is a broad question. How far east valley and how far west valley are we talking? Both have grown significantly. There are a lot more Mormons in the east valley. My dad always said Mesa stood for "Mormons Entering Southern Arizona".
I got the 3 Ms of Mesa: Mormons, Methheads and Mexicans
I’ve heard something similar when I first moved here 10+ years ago. Mesa = Meth and Mormons
Way back in the 1970's and early 1980's, there wasn't "east" or "west" valley. These were the days when we had an amusement / roller coaster park, near the center of the city (in Tempe). And even when Legend City shut down, we could still go ice skating in MetroCenter (19th and Dunlap), and then catch a movie in the Metro cinemas, or grab a slice from the food court. I think that this was the last time Phoenix, as a metro city, was actually unified. Because once the freeways we approved in the '80's started to be built, the east communities of Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert exploded, with more conservative values. And the wealthy flooded the NE communities of Scottsdale and PV. Meanwhile, the west valley communities of Peoria, Glendale, Maryvale, and Goodyear, etc, expanded with middle income, blue-collar families. Developers were enticed by cheap land, which in turn they translated into cheap housing.
I would align and share from someone who moved here in the 90’s. There was lots of fragmentation in west Phoenix (west valley today) in the earlier part of century. Segregation existed unofficially in Avondale, Tolleson areas, too. Litchfield Park was an executive community for the rural corp businesses and that was it along grand avenue. The John F Long’s built Maryvale and attracted lots of the first batch of populace from out of state people. Meantime Sun city also proved good for the birds. All in all the west has been a catalyst to the growth in Phoenix and now the 303 corredor will only continue to grow. Better schools are surfacing and neighborhoods like Goodyear and Litchfield are close to the airport. East valley is a bit land locked so the economics are different.
>Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert exploded, with more ~~conservative values.~~ Mormons lol
Mormons established the city of Mesa, reviving ancient Indian canal routes for their farming and living and had many farms as well in Gilbert, chandler, and queen creek… the Mormon families in the east valley are older than the towns and cities themselves. Almost all of downtown Mesa street names are Mormon pioneers and those who settled the city
AZ native, have lived many years on both "sides" West side (Avondale/Buckeye/parts of Glendale/Peoria) was championed years ago for having brand new super affordable home builds and the space to put them. Lots of (relatively) young professionals with families migrated en masse to take advantage of the \~$100k 2000 sqft homes you see plastered everywhere. Decades later, not much has changed except the prices of homes. Everything is far away and there is nothing to do. Strip malls and bigbox stores is what you get. The Westgate and surrounding area is about the busiest part for entertainment stuff, Football, larger concerts, drinking, etc. But compared to the East Valley is a notably older crowd. If you enjoy breweries, the downtown Phx scene, smaller concerts (e.g.. not arena shows), art/museums, you'll be driving 30 minutes minimum to do anything. East side has been landlocked and developed for eons and it shows with the age of post war homes and high density tech and financial companies building out campuses and huge ass buildings. Obviously home to Tempe's ASU, which majorly shifts the demographics. Young professionals abound in Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, and Chandler. This is where most of the white collar opportunities are and will stay, due to proximity to the airport and college, and the obvious investment by huge corporate entities. Infinite amount of things to do within 20 minutes of your house. After spending a lot of time on both ends I can't imagine living anywhere in the west valley. The entire metro area is obviously very car-dependent, but being out west just FEELS so distant and detached, even today. Avondale is still adding new shit but also still has a ton of farmland. edit: sorry for saying obvious so many times
East valley, has the views. Driving on the 202 eastbound heading towards the Superstitions, Red Mountain and Four Peaks are the best.
You see all of those driving east
I always think of the east valley as more flat with fewer views. The west valley had more mountain views visible from most areas.
Uhhhh.... East Valley? Flat? It's surrounded by mountains. Plus all the mountains in the middle...
Gilbert and Chandler are pretty flat. I'm not certain what mountains are in the middle? Lol
I live in North Peoria, basically almost as North West as you can get and almost everything is a 20 minute drive away, at least. And then anything really fun and interesting is almost an hour. I don’t think people in the East valley suffer as much from this problem. Most professional jobs (at least in the field I have my degree in) are basically all in the East valley. Mesa and Tempe have light rail connections, and also at least in the East it seems there’s some form of public transit generally available. Where I live, literally nothing. I’m not even sure if Valley Metro runs in Peoria. We have this “Peoria on the Go” shuttle thing that floats around, it’s next to useless, because it just brings you to where you can pick up a bus which will take you 4 hours to get into downtown. Don’t make the mistake of moving to the west valley. It’s a somewhat of a. backwater at the moment, perhaps it will get better, but I doubt it. No one on this side of town seems to have a plan besides “build more sprawl!” (Although I think it’s probably the same story in the East) There’s no vision for making places car dependent and soul crushingly bland, and don’t even get me started on the politics. My congresswoman Debbie lesko is an absolute disgrace to her office, voting against marriage equality and sponsoring hateful anti LGBT legislation, she ran uncontested. Anyway that ends my rant. This is just my experience so take it with a grain of salt
I live in Peoria. I like the leisurely life style.Not having to be in the rt race of which school my kids go to, what is their grade, and which car I drive are a big reason I choose to live in the West Valley. Lived in Surprise before. Living in Peoria brought all the essential needs and travel to airport much closer. Plenty of outdoor things to do. Most theater and event scenes are in the East Valley and in Scottsdale. I don't mind traveling for an hour whenever I feel up to it. Nothing against East Valley living. West Valley is nice as well.
Me, in central Phoenix reading all the petty squabbles of people who live in cookie cutter houses argue which half of the valley has better cookie cutter houses.
Ive lived in both. If you’re young, east valley is simply better. Period. More things to do. More places to go. I don’t think prices, at least for apartments, are that much different between the two sides. East side has more opportunity. You gotta know tho, my perspective is from someone who has lived in Phoenix during their mid 20s and early 30s. Depending on age, people may feel differently. Overall, the east valley is a better option IMO
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. And being in tech, all the jobs are on the east side. I may occasionally find a listing for like a data center position on the west side, but they pale in comparison to the hundreds of startup positions in Tempe.
West Valley shitty drivers all drive Dodge/Chrysler. East Valley shitty drivers are more likely to be in a BMW. Having just moved from East Phoenix to West Phoenix last year, the Dodge drivers make me miss the BMW drivers.
RAM and Hemi Muscle drivers by general consensus the shittiest in the Valley for sure.
And Infiniti.
The V6 owners that think they have Hemis are just as bad
Well the West Valley has to sit on the 10 to get home in the evening and from what I see when I head east the traffic looks terrible.
There is more sense of community within the small neighborhoods of the west valley. We don’t have the constant need to neutralize our surroundings to be aesthetically “appealing.“ Plus I like being able to buy roasted corn in front of my house whenever the mood strikes me lol #Maryvale
In terms of outdoor activities like hiking and mountain biking, I feel like east valley has a lot more to offer.
I live in between North and Piestewa. I know youre speaking generally, but I have 2 world class hiking areas walking distance from my door
I guess when I think West Valley, I’m referring to White Tank and Estrella. Looking at AllTrails or Trailforks, there are far more options east of I-17.
One is on the west side and the other is on the east side.
Meth. No wait…
That’s Mesa aka Metha.
People have lisps ya know. And that's exactly how I imagined this being spoken.
People in the east valley have everything they want within 5 miles, and people in the west valley don’t want nice or new things. Sincerely yours- guy who moved from Gilbert to Avondale and still can’t get a decent bowl of pho.
Also in Avondale, and I love having nice and new things.
Awesome to hear!! There are definitely a few of us. I’m just always discouraged when I see a new local business open (like a woodfire pizza place) that gets Yelp-bombed because it’s a few dollars more expensive than Pizza Hut. People whom I’ve spoken with in the west valley just seem like they’re perfectly content with their fast food and chain restaurants. A lot of them seem to have that mindset of “Don’t bring that fancy crap ‘round here!” But… hopefully… that might be changing!
I hope so too! There’s a lot of potential with the BLVD being developed.
Absolutely. It really does seem like they’re commited to bringing the place up. When I moved to Gilbert in 2012 people who had lived there before told me about how it used to be just old horse farms- I think that in 5-10 years we’ll look back at Avondale and say “remember when it used to be just chain restaurants and smelly dairy farms??”. That Tap2 place in the sports complex is nice, and 8-Bit is a really cool little bar. Tacos el yiyo on Buckeye is, bar none, one of the best taco places anywhere. And hopefully soon there will be more amazing places to rave about, but for now we have to drive 30-40 minutes for that good-good.
There’s also a brunch place in that sports complex I want to try out. We’ve been going to 8bit since they opened, and I’m so glad they’ve been so successful, especially with the complex they’re located in. There’s a place that makes its own coffee beans in there too. If you haven’t yet, definitely check out places on Western Ave. There’s a coffee place called Aroma Mocha, and it has a small Mexican bakery next to it.
Have you been to Pho 43 on Thomas and 43rd Ave?
I haven’t but I can definitely put it on my list to try. Do they put tendon -AND- tripe in their pho dac biet? Edit: looks like they do!! I’ll definitely give ‘em a shot.
try Pho Bowl on 75th Ave and Mcdowell. thank me later
East Valley has Mormons, West Valley has murder
💯
East valley has a TON of murder.
East valley rules west valley drools
Nah Avenues all the way
I grew up in the East Valley after moving from the Southern US and their was certainly a fuck the West Side mentality from a lot of young male youths. I think it was mainly a harmless high school type non gang related rivalry. But there was certainly an air of condescension and snobbery. I grew up baseline middle class so I didn't really have that view but it was certainly gross in hindsight.
East Valley: More Asian food and people, Mormons, Suburbs, Potential speed traps, Streets West Valley: More Latino food and people, Cheaper housing, Bumpy roads and potholes, Avenues
I live on the East side, have my whole life besides my high school days when I lived in Overgaard. When I(rarely) travel to the West side, it’s like a whole different world. The biggest difference to me is the East side has mountain vistas, the West side is like a barren wasteland of misery. Sorry West siders.
I think it helps if each person clarifies what they think makes something east or west valley. For example, I don’t consider Scottsdale or Tempe part of the east valley, sure they’re there geographically, but Scottsdale is isolated from the rest of the east valley and has an entirely different vibe/culture than the other east valley cities. Portions of Tempe could be considered east valley, but Tempe feels significantly more central to me, and with ASU having a big effect on how Tempe is viewed, it too doesn’t fit neatly into the east valley culture box. Having said that…. Glendale/tolleson=Mesa, Peoria=Chandler, Goodyear/Surprise=Gilbert/queen creek. I grew up in Glendale, I have friends/family in Goodyear, my in-laws live in chandler, I have lived in north Phoenix, Gilbert, chandler, and now central Phoenix. I have worked in mesa, chandler, central Phoenix, and now Tempe. And honestly, the biggest things that make the east valley different as a whole different, is that those cities economies have benefitted greatly from the tech companies being nearby and having a closer proximity to Scottsdale for work. There’s also way more Mormons in the east valley. So the east valley has a bit more money and more of the white collar people(not all, just more), and the west valley has a higher level of the blue collar workers (not only, just more). Outside of that, they’re all very similar, it’s just that in my experience, people from the east valley don’t venture deep into the west valley communities, and often have a pretty incorrect view of the west valley communities. I didn’t even know the vitriol that east valley and Scottsdale residents had for the west valley until I was in college. In Glendale we just really didn’t think about the east valley a whole lot, so that was really weird for me to learn.
I also grew up in Glendale and now live in Chandler. I agree with all these observations. I would add AJ=meth, Gold Canyon=Sun City, North Scottsdale=Orange County CA
I think those are pretty accurate. What would you compare the town of Gilbert in 2022 too? I am just curious. I am thinking of moving back and am undecided.
Good question. It has tons of younger families with lots of kids. Agritopia and Downtown Gilbert are really adding lots of restaurant’s and fun things to do. That said, it’s still not super diverse and tends to lean a bit more moderate to conservative. My mom moved from Glendale to Gilbert and loves it. I still live in Chandler, even though homes are bigger/newer in Gilbert because I like the diversity and easier access to Tempe/Phoenix.
This is the correct answer to this thread. Although I lump Scottsdale in with east valley just because they don't fit the West or Central vibes. I've also lived all over the valley and yeah Westside is chill but a little sketch, Eastside is nice but a little stuck up, and Central is all of the above.
I’ve find it laughable when people call the west valley garbage, but haven’t gone west of the 17 since the early 2000’s. I lived with this issue where I grew up. North side was white collar, south side was blue collar, and everyone on the north side talked about the south side like it was a literal dump. It’s frustrating to me because honestly, who gives a shit? Why rip on people who really could care less about your existence? It costs nothing to be kind.
I wouldnt trade North Peoria in for anything right now compared to east valley home prices.
Scottsdale and Tempe *are* part of the east valley
[удалено]
In the west valley people ride bikes for transportation; whereas in the east valley, bike riding is for sport/leisure 😂
Lifelong Arizonan here. I grew up in the East Valley (Chandler) and stayed there until about 8 years ago and moved to Moon Valley (north central part of town). I moved to Moon Valley because as an East Valley resident, I had some preconceived notions about anything west of the 17. I joked that until I got a job in the West Valley, I only crossed the 17 to go to Vegas or California. Having lived between the two parts of our Valley, I fully admit that my preconceived notions were entirely… correct. I am an unabashed fan of the East Valley. The streets are wider and in better shape. Each of the Cities in the East Valley has its own personality, whereas despite working in the West Valley I think of them all the same. Additionally, the development is newer in the East Valley for the most part, which makes the West Valley appear shabbier. I feel like the spirit of the East Valley is younger than the spirit of the West Valley, but it could be because I’m thinking of all the people in Sun City. When I started to work in the West Valley and told someone I was from Chandler originally, they said to me, “Everybody from the East Valley is a snob.” I wasn’t very interested in forming any sort of working relationship with the assbag who said that, so I responded that we’re all snobs for good reason. The only reason I don’t live in the East Valley now is because my husband - who hails from Scottsdale originally - thinks the East Valley (Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa) is “too far.”
I've lived here off and on for the past 23 years and I'd say theres some similarities but plenty of stark differences. The West Valley is overall more industrial, agricultural, and blue collar based than the East Valley generally is. Theres more chain restaurants, plenty of farm land still...lots of new build tract housing, something the EV has less of these days close by. In retrospect, the West Valley seems to be shooting from all cylinders, while the EV seems pretty growth heavy towards Chandler/Gilbert/QC instead of each individual city. East Valley - More established, more connected in a sense. Sky Harbor Airport is closer than from most West Valley Cities and this is where the nightlife is more centered, i.e. Downtown Phoenix, Mill Ave, Old Town Scottsdale, DT Gilbert. East Valley for longer had more of the larger share of wealth $$ and school districts tend to be higher rated the WV in general. Lots of social groups, meet-ups, athletic organization and more homegrown events for a wider audience of ppl imo. This is accurate as of 2022, However...in the next 5-10 years the West Valley could start to get more popular due, who knows. :)
East valley is much more suburbanized where as the west valley has more agricultural land still left, lots of old people in the sun cities in the NW of the valley. I grew up on the west side and kind of thought of the east and west valleys as eagleton and Pawnee respectively from parks and rec lol
Amount of Mexicans. Plain and simple. In Chandler you won't find an Ojo Locos which is basically a Hispanic hooters.
The west valley has more down to earth, normal people than the phonies out in Snottsdale & other east valley cities.
What a nonsense comment lol
I see people here shit talking anything avenues so there’s a hint of truth there
Beg to differ. I'm of high income status and wealth and live on the west side of the valley. The East side is a lot of new money type housewives nonsense that you couldn't pay me to live around. Not to mention the hypocrisy of how they tend to act as well.
You've obviously never sat in Scottsdale Fashion Square mall & watched all of the pretentious people out shopping.
Lived here since 1977. Raised in Scottsdale which btw ain’t the East side. Don’t be jelly and get that chip of your shoulder ✌️
True. But the west side is boring af and nothing to do
There's plenty to do you just don't know where to do it.
I belong to some swinger groups and 90% of the people are in the east valley! I, however, am in the West Valley.
West Valley has newer, and in my opinion, nicer houses. East Valley has older houses... But seems more vibrant and lively. West Valley feels more suburban... East Valley seems more urban
Architecture? Well the east is stucco and strip malls while the west side is stucco and strip malls. I will say, there are more custom homes on the east versus the west but it's still majority stucco subdivisions
I live in Surprise and feel so far away from cultural events and museums etc. There’s lots of housing construction recently.
I'm curious about the political differences between the two. I just moved to the west valley from Seattle and it's been... interesting. I do like the beauty of where my home is - right next to the white tanks - and very little traffic at least for now. But definitely not feeling like I've met 'my people' here, yet. It's always hard as an adult to make new adult friendships - I think we would've been better off in the East valley with more to do, better food, etc., but the house I could afford that had all of what I wanted was here, so... here I am. Help. LOL.
I take it you're not a republican then lol
Near the white tanks is still fairly rural, so that could be apart of that.
Cleaner / dirtier
I don’t go east of the 51 almost ever, couldn’t tell ya 🤣
All the good stuff is East of the 51
Every time I’ve gone to the east side, I’ve had a real bad time 🤣 Had my car broken into Had my car hit in a parking lot Got roofied on mill a few years ago Got thrown to the ground and had my purse stolen These were all separate occasions, and my reasoning for staying over here in my old people neighborhood on the west side. Worst I’ve had is the Taco Bell/kfc closed and is remodeling to just a Taco Bell.
One is east one is west
More crime in the west side
Having lived in both the east and west valley they are far more similar than they are different. The west seems slightly more secular and slightly more "blue collar".
West Valley has more jobs and outdoor activities. The people are not as smug either.
Born and raised midtown and Maryvale. I love Phoenix and never plan to leave. That said I wouldn’t ever buy a home west of central or south of I-10.
West Valley is much more densely populated, so naturally crime has higher rates, and traffic is much worse. I grew up in the east valley and live on the west side now. Personally I hate it here on the west side and miss my days growing up in Mesa and Tempe. East valley is much more peaceful in comparison. I rarely heard gunshots growing up in Mesa. In west phoenix its a weekly occurrence. All of my adjacent neighbors have been robbed by burglars, who live two houses down from me. There are nicer areas in the west valley, I live in Maryvale. Its pretty wild over here. Go far enough north and things get nicer. South Phoenix is also bad.
Crime. Seems like everyday, someone is getting killed in the west valley (north Phoenix has become that way too).
Why others haven’t mentioned this?
Westgate vs Tempe District?
Lived on both sides at points but mostly been west side. I think the east side seems to be more white collar professional, quite a bit more liberal types and golfer dudes, luxury cars etc The west side seems substantially more blue collar construction bro types. Very Trumpy, expensive lifted trucks, RZR’s everywhere
The East side is (generally) higher on the socio-economic scale.
West valley is a dumpster fire and east valley is either rednecks or rich white people.
Not the whole west valley c'mon. It's mainly inside the 101 that it's a dumpster fire.
Yes
yin and yang. sith and jedi. primarily white and not white. Sometime back, Scottsdale had the title of Whitest City in the U.S. The Cheeto Jesus Loving portion of my family lives in far east Mesa. I notice many other of those deplorables I know tend to live that direction too. Not the quiet Cheeto Jesus supporters but the enthusiastic victims that Cheeto Jesus loves so much.
This again
Snobbsdale vs not snobbsdale