Wendy Ayala

What makes Anthem, Arizona different from other Arizona communities? Anthem has all the best of everything that a small town and big city have to offer. Small towns have the advantage of neighbors knowing each other and a family’s school, grocery store, post office, and doctor are not more than five miles away. Large cities on the other hand offer much in the way of art and culture with shopping malls, movie theaters, and night-life. These are the best offerings for both large cities and small towns.

There is also a flip side to small towns and big cities. Small towns can be limited in art and culture, the shopping may be confining and the schools and doctors may not meet the needs of a diverse population. Large cities bring crime, traffic, and air pollution, just to name a few general disadvantages of city-life. Anthem, Arizona takes the best of the small town and big city perks and concentrates it all into one family-oriented community, which makes it one of the best places to live in the U.S.

One of the best things about Anthem, Arizona is the choice of schools available to families. Each one of the schools is either walking distance to home, a short two - three mile bus ride , or is accessible by riding bicycles or driving oneself. There are public schools that are a part of the Deer Valley Unified School District including: Anthem Elementary, Boulder Creek High School, Canyon Springs Elementary, Diamond Canyon Elementary, Gavilan Peak Elementary, New River Elementary. There are charter schools for those who have a particular preference for a particular educational approach or philosophy with the advantage of not paying private school tuition including: Anthem Preparatory Academy, Westwind Preparatory Academy, Caurus Academy. In addition there are still more private school choices, each with its own focus on religious preferences or individualized instruction including: North Valley Christian Academy and the Caepe School. So many great choices that offer our children the best educational options in the state of Arizona.

What’s next in priority when it comes to picking out a community? We all need to eat and good food is necessary to making a healthy lifestyle complete. There are many excellent restaurants in Anthem, but I will save those comments for another day -- another writing session. Personally, a grocery store with a great produce section that offers good prices is vitally important to me in the maintenance of my growing family. Here in Anthem, we are fortunate to have two of the best all-service grocery stores in the entire state. The Anthem Safeway boasts a beautiful produce section that includes a large organic section and a full-service deli and bakery. The atmosphere is excellent with a Starbuck’s contained inside. The Fry’s Signature store is a another store of distinction. It’s produce section is beautiful with a large organic section, gourmet prepared entree counter, olive bar, extensive wine and beer section as well as furniture and home decor. There is also a Tully’s coffee bar with a beautiful seating area complete with a flat-screen television and cozy leather sofas.

Schools and groceries are the two priorities for any growing family. The choices are superior to many other areas in the Valley and what a blessing it is to have them right in my own community. Many areas across the U.S. have tried to imitate what has been done in Anthem, but I have yet to see a community that has done it this successfully.

It would almost be easier to write about what is not great about Anthem than to attempt to list all of the reasons that my husband and I have decided to call Anthem, Arizona home for the past 12 years. Along with the other 30,000+ people who live in Anthem, we have taken full advantage of the amenities and community perks that have enriched our lives and driven toward a healthy and active lifestyle. It is quite a list of positives, so for this introduction, I will limit my description to the top three: community, proximity, and family.

A sense of community is largely disappearing in urban America today, but this is the biggest plus to Anthem living. Community is thriving through the relationships among neighbors. It is one of the few places left in the U.S. that can boast of neighbor relationships the way it used to be. Children play outside with neighbor children as their parents supervise and exchange conversation with each other. Most of us have made a conscious choice to live in Anthem because we crave relationships with our neighbors and community. Neighborhood events, pot-luck get-togethers, co-op’s of various kinds are prevalent in this active community.

Anthem lies about 5 miles north of the metropolitan sprawl of Phoenix. We are set apart just enough to give Anthem the feeling of having its own identity separate and distinct from Phoenix. The best part of it is that all the schools, churches, and businesses that a person needs are right here within a 5 mile radius. One of the best grocery stores, with one of the most beautiful produce sections I have encountered in all of Phoenix, is walking distance from my home. An outlet mall with upscale retail clothing stores is a part of the shopping options right here. Our community takes great pride in our schools and the choices available including private and charter schools satisfy the needs of the diverse student population.

Living in Anthem is a deliberate choice that most of us have made. We have searched for a community in which to raise our families where we have the ability to know who are children are hanging around with. Anthem, Arizona is a community where many of us work together to protect and support one another in the raising of our families. Our common goal is to raise our children to be moral and productive citizens in the larger community and we realize that this happens best when we work together and live by the adage, “It takes a village...” Active participation is one key to success for any endeavor and life in Anthem is no exception. It just so happens that the attraction of the healthy lifestyle that Anthem provides has attracted a large number of active community participants. I am proud to be a part of this Anthem, Arizona community with its great families, neighbors, and amenities.