i rented a house in gilbert. but it kind of sucked because the freeway was a ways away. it would probably be best to rent a house or apartment nearer to the school. (they provided you with a list of nearby places [some of which gave discounts], right?)
anyway, the lesson to be learned is to live near the 60, or else traffic sucks. all of the lights are timed different so i found myself stopped at every light on city streets.
i found that half of the students lived very nearby, at like one or two of the nearby apartment complexes, where as the other half lived in scottsdale, tempe, phoenix, or even as far as maricopa.