While other Phoenix suburbs like Glendale and Scottsdale are known for their large military operations or billion dollar tourism industries, Chandler, Arizona is remarkable for how unremarkable it is. Rated as one of the most boring cities in America by Forbes magazine, Chandler is considered a safe, friendly community by the 247,000 who call it home. Chandler has enough technology jobs to keep its residents in work and earn the nickname "The High Tech Oasis of the Silicon Desert" without being taken over by industry. Also known for its annual ostrich festival, Chandler has just enough going on to keep you occupied but not so much that you are invaded by mobs of tourists.

Chandler is one of the most recently established of the Phoenix suburbs, which means its housing styles tend more toward the modern than the historic. The city's first inhabitant was a veterinarian who arrived in 1891 to study irrigation. He managed to acquire several thousand acres of land known as the Chandler Ranch, and by 1913 there was a town center, a high school, and a golf resort. The city weathered the Great Depression well and received its first population boom in 1941 when Williams Air Force Base was established. Gradually the air force base became a municipal airport and the early farms became suburban developments, helping to make Chandler Arizona the city we know today.

Since Chandler is primarily a bedroom community for nearby Phoenix rather than a stand-alone city, most of its neighborhoods are suburban rather than urban. Even the downtown area is largely devoid of tall office buildings and condo towers. The most popular neighborhoods tend to be pre-planned developments like Fox Crossing, Sun Groves, and Windmills West, where the houses are designed to be fairly uniform. Single storey Spanish Colonial-influenced homes are the best suited to the climate and therefore the most pervasive, but there are developments like Old Stone Ranch that deliberately eschew beige desert stylings in favor of a more East Coast feel.

New developments are still being constructed, even though Chandler has reached the limits of its outward expansion. Things are slowing down, however. Two years ago permits were issued for more than 1,000 new homes, while last year the number was only 361. The average price for a single family detached home in one of these communities is $387,328. Town houses are slightly cheaper on average, coming in at $251,216. Average prices for condos depend on the size of the building, ranging from $153,138 to $225,000. If you're considering renting an apartment while you shop for your home, you'll be looking at paying around $1,000 per month.