We’ve been saying it for years- and now Money Magazine is too; naming Mesa as the Best City in the Southwest!
Money, a partner of CNNMoney, evaluated urban cities all over the US and the results brought Mesa to the top of the list – top 5 that is.
Criteria for this accolade included a robust job market, affordable housing, and factors such as accessibility to excellent health care, culture and open space.
While sure, Mesa may not be the *biggest* city in the state, but Mesa holds its own against Phoenix, Tucson and Scottsdale any day of the week and beats them hands down in one very big way – It’s an affordable (and awesome) place to raise a family.
Money cited the top notch education in Mesa as a keystone in what makes Mesa so great for families, commending the city’s 9 Arizona Educational Foundation A+ designations awarded this year (more than any other district in the state). They didn’t forget to mention the ASU Polytechnic campus and the prime proximity to Arizona State in Tempe.
The city’s healthy housing market was also recognized by Money. Houses in Mesa are incredibly affordable (the median home price less is than half of swanky Scottsdale) and home values are on the rise, up 5% than last year.
The golf in Mesa is pretty spectacular too, according to Money. With courses like Augusta Ranch, Las Sendas and Longbow, Mesa’s golf game is strong.
While we could probably come up with about a million more reasons why Mesa is the best city in the southwest, we’ll give you our top reason why – Mesa just feels like home.