uhh....i live here. in queen creek, i pay $1000/month for a brand new 3 bed house, it's alright, but it's cheap cause of how far out it is. Phnx sucks, stay away from it. Mesa has some nice parts, the futher east you go. Apts run about $700-$1000 for a nice 2 bedroom. $600 or less for a "decent" 2 bed apt. Like Deek said, Gilbert is nice and it's close to everything, priced about the same as above (nice areas).

tempe has too many car thefts, so i would stay clear...plus it's overpriced because of being a college town.