Well its pretty hard to find anything  "Santa Monica" type in Phoenix
but scottsdale and paradise valley have some areas that fit your what looking for
good luck with your move and
Welcome to Az.



-- Modified on 1/19/2011 3:28:10 PM

Oh LORD!  Dear Angel... Have you been to Phoenix before?  In July?  



HalfHour

Old Town area of Scottsdale. Not far from Tempe (10 min drive). Lots of fun restaurants & shops. One of the nicest malls a few blocks away. Several popular nightclubs. Upscale area. Most important: close the hotel I stay at when I visit the area and am looking for someone to play with - lol!

If you are studying at ASU Tempe you could find what you are looking for in Tempe.  The downtown area does have shopping and dining in a concentrated area but not sure about prospects for places to live since I have never looked.  Since Tempe is a college town I would consider it more of a Venice type of area than Santa Monica.

Scottsdale is up the road and offers a downtown similar to Tempe but on a higher end more in the line of Santa Monica.  

Phoenix and Mesa are close but don't have the small walkable downtown areas that the two cities above do.  Fly down for a weekend and check it out before you decide.  Phoenix is like LA in that it is spread out.  There are many cities that offer different type of things but Tempe and Scottsdale sound more like what you are looking for.

that are right off of the light rail are most excellent, very Santa Monica - at least to this girl who lives and breathes Santa Monica from  time to time..

Check out the Willow District, I live near there and a LOT of houses are for rent.  DIRT CHEAP....

Also, if you're going to ASU, the train will take you very close to campus...

Good luck,
Jazz

Sounds to me.........

Sure sounds like we want you here !!!   Can't ya feel it !

...would be the closest analog to Santa Monica, where you can walk to many bars, restaurants, retail and city services. If you are athletically inclined, the GreenBelt is a great venue for walking, skating and riding a bike. As someone who moved from SoCal and then spent 15 years in Phoenix/Scottsdale, I would advise doing as much as possible outdoors and getting used to the heat. Drink at least 64 ounces of water *everyday*, winter and summer (more if you're doing any kind of outdoors activity) and try to have a life that's not completely dependent of A/C.

Tempe could be good, but it is very neighborhood specific and be aware of the density of student population anywhere near ASU. Not that it's a bad thing, but it might impact your hours of business, getting sleep on the weekends, etc. Not quite as "walking friendly" unless you're living right near Mill St.

Take the time to make a trip over to Phoenix, spend 3-4 days driving about and familiarizing yourself with the lay of the land and getting a feel for where you might like to live. There are lots of fun things to do in the Valley of the Sun -- good luck!