Gilbert, Arizona

What life in Gilbert, Arizona is like, explained by people who live(d) in Gilbert:

*Response format = Answer (Your name, How long you’ve lived in Gilbert)

Gilbert Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Gilbert?

Close to good shopping/dining. (Shay, 3 weeks)
Beautiful and clean. (Katie, 1 year)
Low traffic. (Stu, 2 years)
Pretty town, has everything you need. (Anne, 3 years)
Riparian Reserve and the people. (Jacqualin, 3 years)
Family oriented. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
The newness of everything, it has a very clean family friendly vibe!! (Amanda, 4 years)
Having horses. (Cissy, 5 years)
Bicycling along the canal. (Sherry, 5 years)
Family oriented/family friendly. (Catherine, 6 years)
Good people. (Chanda, 20 years)
Small town feel in the middle of a huge metropolitan. (Cameron, 25 years)
It’s very safe- no slums or dangerous part of town. (Patty, 25 years)

What’s your least favorite thing about living in Gilbert?

Unfriendly people. We just moved into a neighborhood and only two people came over to say hello :(. (Shay, 3 weeks)
Proximity to events in Phoenix, Glendale, etc. Too far. (Katie, 1 year)
It’s infested with Mormons. (Stu, 2 years)
Getting too crowded. Too many new homes being built without yards. Some areas smell like cow manure. Schools are very crowded. 30+ kids per class. (At least in my kids’ schools). It’s getting expensive. Too many chain restaurants. (Anne, 3 years)
All the bars in downtown Gilbert. (Jacqualin, 3 years)
The increase in crime. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
The cow smell. (Amanda, 4 years)
Development of farm land. (Cissy, 5 years)
Gilbert is close to EVERYTHING. (Sherry, 5 years)
Public transit. (Catherine, 6 years)
Overgrowth and empty buildings. (Chanda, 20 years)
Home prices. (Cameron, 25 years)
Restaurants close at 9pm. (Patty, 25 years)

What are fun things to do in Gilbert?

Shop/hike. (Shay, 3 weeks)
Go to Costco and spot the Mormons. (Stu, 2 years)
Downtown Gilbert. Riparian Preserve. (Anne, 3 years)
Parks. (Jacqualin, 3 years)
Downtown Gilbert. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
I love taking my kids to parks, splash pads, the library, there is also great shopping, and downtown Gilbert is lots of fun for date night! (Amanda, 4 years)
Ride horses, visit nice parks, locally owned shops and restaurants. (Cissy, 5 years)
Mall shopping, going out to dinner. (Sherry, 5 years)
Go to parks, bowling, Main Event, Top Golf. (Catherine, 6 years)
Shopping, Joe’s BBQ. (Chanda, 20 years)
Farmers market, downtown Gilbert, runs, ride/run the canals. (Cameron, 25 years)
Hale Theater. (Patty, 25 years)

What’s Gilbert known for?

What’s the crime like in Gilbert?

Seems higher in North Gilbert. (Shay, 3 weeks)
I haven’t encountered any. (Katie, 1 year)
I personally feel like there is more crime than statistics lead people to believe. I’ve heard of several incidents that were never reported about on the news. Pay close attention to local Facebook groups and what neighbors are talking about. (Anne, 3 years)
High in low income areas but low everywhere else. (Jacqualin, 3 years)
There seems to be an increase in crime in neighborhoods. Petty theft. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
Minimal. (Amanda, 4 years)
Low crime, police patrolled, low homeless rate. (Cissy, 5 years)
So far, no problems. (Sherry, 5 years)
Drugs have been an issue in my neighborhood before. (Chanda, 20 years)
Pretty low. Gilbert and Guad have more than southern Gilbert. (Cameron, 25 years)
Minimal. Mostly kids vandalizing. (Patty, 25 years)

Any advice for people moving to Gilbert?

Not yet… (Shay, 3 weeks)
Be prepared to have Mormon missionaries come to your door twice a day. (Stu, 2 years)
Rent first before buying. Many surrounding areas are just as nice, if not better. (Anne, 3 years)
Research areas. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
Be a good neighbor, help keep Gilbert safe! (Amanda, 4 years)
You will love it here! (Sherry, 5 years)
It’s nice, but still lock your car. (Chanda, 20 years)
Schools are all over- all good, get a pool in the backyard or community and know the commute is long if you work a 9am to 5pm in downtown Phoenix. (Cameron, 25 years)
Do it as soon as you can. (Patty, 25 years)

Share an experience you’ve had in Gilbert (fun, crazy, dangerous, etc.).

Eating out in downtown. (Shay, 3 weeks)
I love to have friends visit and show them around. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
I have made lifelong friends here, in my neighborhood and with my kids’ school. We love everything about Gilbert. (Amanda, 4 years)
Riding my horse in the Riparian. (Cissy, 5 years)
Great neighbors, lots of parks, trails for bicycling. (Sherry, 5 years)
Spending all day at FatCats. (Catherine, 6 years)
The so-long-to-summer fest used to be at Crossroads Park, we could see the fireworks from our house. My kids met the mayor. We didn’t go after they moved it. (Chanda, 20 years)
All the turkey trots have been a great fun tradition ever since it started 5 or 6 years ago. (Cameron, 25 years)

How do you think Gilbert will change over the next 10 years?

Residential boom. (Shay, 3 weeks)
Even more Mormon churches. (Stu, 2 years)
It will be way too crowded. Too much traffic. (Anne, 3 years)
Lots of people will move in. (Jacqualin, 3 years)
Gilbert will continue to grow. (Michelle, 3.5 years)
More growth! They are already widening lots of intersections. (Amanda, 4 years)
No more farm land, too many vacant shopping centers, overrun with apartment complexes. (Cissy, 5 years)
More people. (Catherine, 6 years)
Too many duplicate commercial locations and empty buildings either never filled or left over from the fall out of competition. I would much rather see responsible filling up of existing retail spaces first. Also, please don’t put commercial across from the LDS temple. Put a neighborhood or a cemetery, but not some lame, unneeded retail stores. Please. (Chanda, 20 years)
Home prices will increase. More condos and apartments need to be established. A cemetery would be awesome but I don’t think that will ever happen. (Cameron, 25 years)
More homes, more entertainment. (Patty, 25 years)

Any other interesting facts about Gilbert?