Are you considering moving to Surprise, Arizona? If so, you have come to the right place! Keep reading to find out the reasons you should move to Surprise, Arizona.
1. Numerous Golf Courses
Ok, so if you don’t like golf, this is not a big plus for you. But if you do enjoy playing golf, you can play at any number of golf clubs and resorts in the area. There are a ton of them in this city thanks to the prevalence of retirement communities on the north side of Surprise. (Many of these communities are right next to these golf courses.) Some of these golf courses include:
- The Arizona Traditions Golf Club
- The CA Golf Academy
- The Cimarron Golf Course
- Desert Springs Golf Course
- Granite Falls Golf Club
- Corte Bella Golf Club
- Briar Wood Golf Course
- Hillcrest Golf Club
- Coyote Lakes Golf Club
- Willow Creek Golf Course (technically adjacent to Surprise but not in it, but it is incredibly close)
- Sterling Grove Golf+Country Club
- There are also several golf courses in Sun City Festival, located adjacent to Surprise on its Northwest end.
Many of these courses have super beautiful landscaping that features a lot of desert plants and water features as well as interesting course layouts.
2. Beautiful Homes
Both the retirement communities up north in the city and the family homes in the southern parts of the city feature a lot of gorgeous suburban homes. Many of them are newer developments, and a good portion of homes in the area have swimming pools in their backyard! They tend to have a lot of amenities as a result of their recent construction, and many are on purely residential drives. While this may make finding your house quite difficult for your pizza delivery driver, it also reduces the amount of traffic that goes through the residential areas of the city.
These homes also have unique desert lawns with cacti that are a big change from your typical lawn in many other states. The mountain range visible from the city also really adds to the views from your window here. The only downside when it comes to housing in Surprise is that it is relatively expensive, and the cheaper options are going to be pretty limited here.
3. Lots of Land for Sale
There is a lot of land for sale in and around the city of Surprise, providing lots of opportunities to build one’s own home or possibly build their own business on said land. You could also resell it later when the city has grown considerably larger in a few years, as it will be extremely valuable. Whatever you want to do with it, there are numerous lots of varying sizes for sale within the boundaries of Surprise, especially in the North Eastern part of the city (although there are some lots in other areas of the city as well).
Considering that the city of Surprise is growing quite quickly, these plots of land represent an opportunity to become a landowner in a large city, an opportunity that is not available in many older cities that have already had every foot of land picked over.
4. Large Selection of Restaurants
So there isn’t exactly a large amount of family-owned restaurants in the area. However, if you are a fast-food or casual food enjoyer, there is no shortage of different franchises to choose from. This plethora of fast-food restaurants also provide a lot of jobs for high schoolers, which is a big plus if you have high-school-aged kids in your family.
Otherwise, these restaurants just mean that you will always have someplace new to try when you want a quick, cheap meal. Some of the restaurants, pubs, and casual chains in Surprise include:
- Texas Roadhouse for steak
- Carrabba’s Italian Grill
- Angela’s Kitchen for American bistro fare
- Olive Garden Italian Restaurant & Pub
- Irish Wolfhound Restaurant & Pub
- Little Sicily Pizza
- Uni Sushi for Japanese food
- Booty’s Wings Burgers & Beer
- Amigos Authentic Mexican Grill and bar
- and many more
If you want to go to a fancy restaurant or busy club or bar, you can always make the 45-minute drive to Pheonix, which has as many classier restaurants and bars (as well as some great dessert places) as anyone could want.
5. Several Big Box Retailers
This may not seem like a big deal to some people, but most people that live in Utah or Arizona love Costco for some reason. If you’re one of those people, or if you’ve had to live your whole life deprived of the privilege of having one near you, then you know that a town or city must be especially blessed to have not just one, but two Walmart supercenters, a Costco, a Sams Club, a Kohl’s, and a Target. So, whether you want $1.25 hot dog combos from Costco or any kind of bulk food or other goods you could need, you are in luck in Surprise, Arizona.
In addition to the big box retailers in Surprise, there are several smaller stores and shopping areas in Surprise, such as:
- Surprise Towne Center
- Surprise Marketplace
- Surprise Village Shopping Center
- Grand Bell Center Plaza
These shopping centers feature a mix of locally owned boutique stores and chains like Barnes and Noble, so there is a good chance that anyone can find whatever they’re looking for when they go shopping in Surprise. And of course, there is always Pheonix nearby if something is missing in Surprise.
6. Good Schools and School Districts
Surprise has a great public school district. The Dysart Unified School district is the #38 best school district in Arizona (which puts it in the top third of school districts in the state then). The graduation rate lies at a fantastic 93% and the schools score high when it comes to diversity.
In addition to the public schools in Surprise, there are also several charter schools in the area, including the Legacy Traditional School and Calibre Academy, which provide additional choices of where to send one’s kids to school.
7. Nice Community Parks
There are 13 parks
owned by the city in Surprise. These parks offer a wide variety of different amenities. This is, of course, in addition to the playground that the local elementary schools allow the public to use after school is out and the HOA-owned parks and playgrounds in some of the suburban communities. Thus, there is no shortage of places to go for families with kids or those without. Some of the city-owned parks include:
- Gaines Park with facilities for barbecuing and a multi-purpose field
- Mark Coronado Park with 8 acres of grassy fields perfect for playing any sort of pick-up sport
- Marley Park/Heritage Park with a Splash Pad, Picnic Tables, Barbecue facilities, and softball fields
- Veramonte with multi-purpose, softball, and planned future soccer and softball fields, as well as a splash pad, playground, barbecue facilities, and picnic tables
- Bicentennial Park/Lizard Run with a half-basketball court
- Dick McComb City Park with a Dog Park and a Lighted Skate Park and 4 softball fields
As you can see, there is a large number of recreational facilities within Surprise, and the vast majority of them are designed for young families and allow older children to play sports and enjoy picnics and barbecues or just enjoy the beautiful landscaping.
8. Local College
Surprise is home to a university, specifically Ottawa University (OUAZ). Not only does this mean that college students have a local option to possibly attend if their parents live in Surprise, but it also means that the community can enjoy watching college sports held at the university. College baseball in particular is really big here.
Of course, there are also a lot of other universities nearby such as the University of Pheonix, Grand Canyon University, and the Arizona State University Downtown Campus. It is always convenient for those looking to attend college or who have kids planning on attending college to have local colleges where one can receive discounted in-state tuition rates.
9. Relatively Short Commute to Pheonix
Surprise is far enough away from Phoenix to have a small-town sort of feel, which is a boon to some people that prefer to not be right in the middle of the city. However, it is still close enough to Pheonix to make commuting there a possibility if one has work or goes to school there. This proximity also means that Phoenix is always a good option when one wants to expand their options for entertainment.
Phoenix is home to all sorts of delicious restaurants, varied shopping opportunities, unique museums, theatres, bars, and much more, including Chase Field where Arizona’s Major League Baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, play. If there is anything that is lacking when it comes to things to do in Surprise, one can always just make the short drive to Phoenix.
10. Places to Hike/Enjoy the Outdoors
Located adjacent to the Sonoran Desert, Surprise is close to a lot of great outdoor recreation opportunities. Located near Surprise is the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, which offers both beautiful mountains and desert scenery and great hikes, in addition to some petroglyphs. Also nearby is the Lake Pleasant Regional Park, which offers fishing, camping, hiking, picnicking, and even boating opportunities. Other places within about a two hours’ drive of Surprise include:
- Estrella Mountain Regional Park
- South Mountain Park and Preserve has unique wildlife and great trails
- McDowell Mountain Regional Park
- Prescott National Forest offers about 450 miles of trails and beautiful campgrounds and fishing+boating
11. It Ranks as One of the Safest Cities in Arizona
According to safewise.com, Arizona is the 8th safest city in Arizona. It is a relatively safe place to raise a family, and its residential neighborhoods are pretty peaceful and quiet. It gets a C+ on the Niche grade card, which is not exceptional but not exceptionally bad either, especially considering the size of the city.
12. Beautiful Weather
Fans of hot and warm weather are in luck in Surprise. The city never really gets below freezing, and it has great beach/pool scores for the majority of the year, barring the winter months (which are still really mild, and are great times to go outside and enjoy the outdoors). The sun is almost always shining in Surprise, as there are very few overcast days and a lot of clear, sunny days year-round.
13. Spring Training Location of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers
Fans of the MLB will be stoked to hear that both the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers MLB teams play spring games in Surprise. These games make for a fun event to attend all spring long, all right at the Surprise Stadium. Surprise Stadium was ranked by USA Today as the number 1 spring Training Stadium in Arizona.
14. It is a Growing City with Potential
Surprise is a growing city and is growing quite fast. In 2021, the number of people coming to Surprise rose by 10%. As a result, there is a booming housing market and ever-growing communities popping up all over the place in the city. The city still has a lot of room to grow in the Western parts of the town, however, that means that this growth will likely continue for a long time. With this growth can come a lot more opportunities in terms of jobs, new housing developments, amenities, and more.
15. Very Family Friendly Area
Residents of the Surprise area will tell you that it is very family-friendly, as the suburban areas are pretty safe, and there are a lot of young families there. Many of the events that are held year-round are designed for families. This means that it is a very famly-friendly area, so it is a perfect place for you to move to with your family.
16. Close to a Huge Airport
Surprise, Arizona is located within about 1 hour’s drive of the airport in Phoenix, providing a great gateway to both national and international travel destinations. If you like to travel often, you should move to this city.
17. Huge Tennis and Pickleball Complex
With over a dozen courts, the tennis and pickleball complex in Surprise is huge. Whether you want to play in the morning or the evening, the courts are lit during their hours of operation. They are in really good condition and make for a great perk of living in Surprise if you are a fan of playing either sport.
