A little background on Surprise, Arizona
Surprise, Arizona is located 20 miles, roughly 45 minutes, from downtown Phoenix. This community is filled with mountains, a regional lake and the Sonoran Desert. As of 2017, the population was just over 134,000 but back in the year 2000 the population in Surprise was just 31,000. This rapid increase in population has many reasons behind it. The first being that the cost of living here is somewhat cheaper than other areas of Arizona. Another reason is that Surprise has such a beautiful dessert landscape making it highly sought after. The city of Surprise was incorporated back in 1960. The city is approximately 108 square miles. There is also approximately 300 square miles that is set aside for future planning and development of some sort. It is still unclear what is going to be developing in this area at this current time. Back in 1938 the city was founded by a woman named Flora Mae Statler. She named the city Surprise because she “would be surprised if the town ever amounted to much.” One very interesting thing about Surprise is that for many years people thought that Flora’s husband, Homer C. Ludden, was the founder of the town since he was a state legislator and prominent real estate developer. But in 2010 property records were uncovered that actually listed Flora Mae Statler as the owner of the land. She purchased the land well before meeting Ludden.
Employment in Surprise
The major employers in Surprise are the Dysart Unified School District which employs 1,800 individuals and the City of Surprise comes in second with just under 1,100 employees. Walmart comes in third with just under 800 employees.
Climate in Surprise
The weather in Surprise can get a bit oppressive in the summer but if you don’t mind the heat, this dessert community is definitely for you! The summers tend to be very hot but dry. On any given summer day, the daily temperature can creep up to 106 degrees and fall to an average low of about 81 degrees. The winters are generally cool and mild. The average low for the colder months is around 42 degrees and the average high is a mild 64 degrees making this the perfect place to live if you want to escape the oppressive cold weather on the east coast.
Sports in Surprise
Surprise Stadium is a popular baseball venue that can be found at the Surprise Recreation Campus Athletic Facility. This stadium is the spring training facility for the Kansas City Royals as well as the Texas Rangers. This stadium opened back in 2002 and seats around 10,700 people. This facility is owned and operated by the City of Surprise Community and Recreation Services Department. There is also the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex which is also known as STRC. This complex opened up back in 2007 and has since received many accolades and awards including the Outstanding Facility of the year award. This complex also hosts several professional events throughout the year. The most notable was back in 2009 when the complex was the home for the Fed Cup Quarter Final between the United States and Argentina.
Recreation in Surprise
There are many parks to choose from if you’re up for a little outdoor activity. You can choose from the Mark Coronado Park, Asante Community, Community, Gaines Park, Bicentennial (Lizard Run), Heritage (Marley Park), Johnson Townhome, Section 10 Pocket, Sierra Montana, Stonebrook, Dick McComb City Park, Three Star and Veramonte. The city founder, Flora Mae Statler worried that the town wasn’t ever going to amount to much of anything, but boy was she wrong. There are more parks here in this community making it a great place to take your kids on any given day. These parks have everything from barbecue pits all the way down to softball fields. It all depends on which park you choose to go to. If you’re looking to get outside with your furry companion there are two different dog parks for you to choose from. There is also four recreation centers, two municipal pools and two libraries. There are plenty of things to do here in Surprise.
Summary
Surprise, Arizona is a beautiful dessert community filled with parks and even a sports complex. The weather here can get toasty but that is why it is the perfect place to relocate to if you’re looking to escape the frigid winters on the east coast. Consider checking out Surprise, Arizona if you’re looking to move around the Phoenix area.
