Need advice/info on the following towns: (Phoenix, Tucson: equity, relocate)

[mdtoaz]

Florence, Casa Grande, Eloy, Arizona City... or any other town/city that is a good half-way point between Tucson and Phoenix.

My husband and I are moving out there this summer from Maryland. At first we were going to move to Tucson - he'll be going to UofA at some point. But it seems like the job market is pretty bad there, and a lot better in Phoenix. So, we thought we'd split the difference and try to find somewhere in between.

I've checked out real estate for houses in the above towns and they seem pretty reasonable - esp. compared to Maryland. My main concern is crime. It seems (from reading threads here and on other sites) that AZ has a pretty high crime rate. Being from the Baltimore suburbs, I've experienced car theft and carjacking first hand, but that's one thing I'd like to leave behind in Maryland.

Any advice would be wonderful. Not looking for a super ritzy area, but somewhere where we could get a half-way decent house in a reletively safe area for under $200K. Thanks.

[micrguy]

All of the above mentioned towns are hell-holes. I love a lot of what Arizona has to offer, but pretty much anything between Phoenix and Tucson is really bad. Before you pick anything I suggest that you come out to Arizona and check out both cities. You will see what I mean about these cities when you drive between Phoenix and Tucson.

[mdtoaz]

I have been to both. I prefer Tucson (excpet the South side). I'm not into big city living... had enough of that in Baltimore. I'd be set on Tucson, but I think there's more employment opportunities in Phoenix.

I'll be telecommuting for my company, so I can live anywhere. My husband is a manager/estimator for a body shop while he goes to school. So I think there's probably more available to him in Phoenix, but like I said, we're not looking to live downtown or anything.

We're both outdoorsy people and would prefer not to see our neighbor staring back at us out our bathroom window, you know?

I don't know, we'll probably end up renting for a little while at first until we find somewhere we definitely like, but thought I'd seek an opinion here.

[CodyW]

I don't know - I mean - If you want to be right in between Phoenix & Tucson, a commute to either would be HELL.

That said, of the communities you asked about, Casa Grande is the most developed. Most of these towns are (I think) closer to Phoenix than Tucson. So,
If you can, you might want to check into the Tucson suburbs?

Thats the best advice I can give. O.O

[Ponderosa]

In my humble opinion you get the worst of both worlds if you live in between. You have to commute both ways. You ought to pick one place or the other I think, but that's me. Tucson job market is not as good as Phoenix, but it's better than most places. Tucson is a real bear to get around in too although it is smaller than PHX. They have no freeways that are useful for moving city traffic and the town is laid out lengthwise making every trip a nightmare of bumper-to-bumper, stoplight-to-stoplight frustration. Phoenix has modern, first-class freeways that are jammed at rush hours, but otherwise pretty wide-open, pedal to the metal, except for some notorious bottlenecks.

I lived in Tucson and attended UofA and got my job in Phoenix after school. I hated the thought of moving to PHX from Tucson. But you come to realize that both places are just hot, dusty, over-populated, metro areas with little real differentiation. Phoenix is in a much better water situation than Tucson and so is greener - more golf courses, irrigated parks, lawns, and trees, though nothing like where you are coming from. You mention you like the outdoors. Phoenix is the big winner in outdoor activities as it has nearby lakes (reservoirs) and is closer to the AZ high country.

PS: Hurts me to say so, but Phoenix metro has a "good" university too, if your husband is not looking at a particular field of study available only at UofA.

[HollyhockGarden]

Hello -- I would suggest looking in Casa Grande if you really want to live between the two cites. If you are fluent in Spanish you may want to consider Eloy; you could probably find a cheaper piece of property there. Eloy also has some starter home subdivisions popping up, but the yards are probably small and walled in. Arizona City is a tiny retirement community. Be extremely cautious about renting in the Florence area -- you have many women who relocate there to be close to their incarcerated sweethearts and often their income is low - property may not be kept up. Casa Grande is a possibility -- the best thing to do may be to rent for a while to get a feel for what you really want. These days, a single family home for less than $200K in an area where English is the predominant language is getting pretty hard to find in Arizona. You may be able to find a manufactured home on the far outskirts of town on an acre or so, but keep in mind you may not have city water or sewer, fire protection, or library,etc. What about a patio home, just to start building the equity? You also may want to inquire as to whether high-speed internet service is available at the specific location you are considering living. It is not universally available yet, as far as I know, and it is more inconvenient to telecommute if you don't have the high-speed service. Good luck with your move!

[kawgpz550]

I agree with everyone else, you really wouldn't want to live too many places between phoenix and tucson. In my opinion, I would rather live in Apache Junction or even Scottsdale and stay within the Phoenix area. However, you might also want to check into your husband possibly attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Flagstaff is not perfect, however, it is much smaller, a lot cooler in the summer time and Flagstaff is much more green and lush than the other two.

[Boatdrinks]

Stay away from Florence!!! It's GROSSSSSSSS!!!! It's a prison town - everything is built around the prison, it's in the middle of nowhere, it's ugly, and there's nothing there. The commute to either Tucson or Phoenix would be absolutely horrible.

Casa Grande is closer to the Phoenix area then Tucson, and it's closer to the I10 then Florence, but there's really not much there. It would be like living in Fredricksburg and commuting to DC, if you're familiar with that area (I'm drawing a blank and can't think of any comparable commutes in the Baltimore area). It's like a little tiny suburb with a bunch of houses and an outlet mall - nothing else, and it's 15 minutes up the I10 to get to civilization in Chandler.

I don't know anything about Eloy and AZ City.

We make the drive from the Phoenix area to Tucson fairly often, and it's a really cruddy, desolate drive. The I10 is only 2 lanes each direction and gets backed up very frequently, even in the middle of the day if there's an accident, dust storm, etc. And you're stuck - there's no easy way around it.

You can find decent housing in areas of Phoenix or Tucson in your price range, if you look hard. I would strongly suggest you explore options other then living between the two cities. If your husband will be going to school, I'd suggest he look into Phoenix area colleges. U of A just opened a campus in Phoenix. I don't know what your husband's major will be, but you might check into what that campus will offer. Also, ASU has a campus in east Gilbert, where housing is much cheaper. That could be an option too.

Good luck.

[tucsondesertdweller]

If you really have to pick one of the towns you mentioned, I would pick Casa Grande.
If you are looking for more job opportunities I would pick one of the Phoenix burbs.
We moved to one of the Tucson "burbs" because we thought the scenery was nicer here, we are a higher elevation then the Phoenix area, thus we are not as hot in the summer and cool down more at night in the summer.
We were not looking for grass lawns, etc, we like the desert look and scenery.
Phoenix was too congested and we liked the desert feel of Tucson.
Sadly the Tucson area is being overbuilt.

In my humble opinion, you may have a difficult time finding a nice house for under 200,000, maybe a condo in a nice neighborhood.
Come out and spend time checking out neighborhoods.
What type of job would you be interested in?

[mdtoaz]

I'm already pretty secure w/my job. I work for an insurance company and I work from home. And I just got the clearence to do that when we move. My husband's in the body shop industry - mainly managing and doing estimates. I'm not sure if there are many body shops or car dealerships in the Tucson area.

We definitely like Tucson better. He's going to go to U of A (after a year or two) for engineering and I'll be getting my masters in social work at the Tucson component of ASU (it's small, but it does exists for social work).

Our move isn't a mandatory thing. We aren't tied down with kids and we're both kinda taking the scenic route as far as our degrees go. We both like the desert scenery and the smaller town feel of Tucson. We're pretty much decided on sticking around the Tucson area... just trying to decide exactly where.

I'm looking into some short term leases (3 months or so) so that will give us some time to explore the housing market and the different neighborhoods.

Thanks for all your advice.