That's funny. The "metro area of Phoenix" includes the West Valley, East Valley, Central, etc. There are just as many appraisers that solely work the West Valley as the East Valley. The Phoenix metro area is roughly 1 1/2 hours drive time from Far West Valley to Far East Valley without traffic and just a bit less from the N Side to the S Side. Most of us stay on our sides of town just because its a time killer to drive. The SE Valley people will try to tell you to try the West valley and vice versa just to keep people away. There's an oversupply of appraisers here to start with just like most metro areas. I live in Surprise and it works well for me but there is not that much work and thankfully I don't need to work too hard anymore. If you think you will come here and be busy you are wrong. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting at least one appraiser and several realtors wherever you are. It just depends what part of town you want to live in and what your price range is.