Anthem in Florence, AZ (Phoenix, Mesa: hair salon, renting, crime)

[champagn]

I will be relocating with my family to Anthem at Merrill Ranch in Florence, AZ. I have never been to the area. Is Florence good area? Anyone have any good information about the area?

[AksarbeN]

I may be incorrect but I know of Anthem as a community north of Phoenix, and Merrill Ranch in Florence Az is located a good hours time to the southeast of Phoenix.

You really need to do some homework on this location in Florence. The area is not anything close to Phoenix metro area and there is very little employment and shopping in the area.

Reduced prices in home developments may be contributed to a less desirable area to live in. Normal needs and services that you might require or want may not be available for you in Florence .

I personally would not buy a home in that area because of many problems with the area services and the commuting into Phoenix metro area will be difficult for a long long time.

I strongly advise that you visit the city and the surrounding area before you buy a home there. What you see is what you get! It will be years from now before there are any real improvements to the community.

[CodyW]

There is an Anthem community in Merill Ranch, and from what I hear, its very nice. However.. Finding work within an hour's drive is going to be hell.

[gigi927]

I agree with Askarbe...do a ton of research before you buy there. I know that Anthem is building in Florence but as the other posters said you are a long ways away from anything. If you have children, it's not the ideal place. There is a prison right in Florence and you may want to consider how close is too close for comfort.

[aj661]

Originally Posted by gigi927

There is a prison right in Florence and you may want to consider how close is too close for comfort.

There's actually several detention centers in and around Florence. ASP (Arizona State Prison) has several sites there. There's also a private prison run by CCA (Corrections Corporation of America), and a federal INS detention center. Florence is the Pinal County seat, with a pretty good sized Superior Court complex and the main PSCO headquarters and county jail.

Anthem at Merrill Ranch is actually several miles away from downtown Florence. Downtown is somewhat depressing from my point of view. Quite old, run down looking and not much there beyond a few basic services. Just a guess, but if you're moving the family there "sight unseen", you have a job lined up nearby, correct? I know CCA pays pretty well and ASP has been catching up.

Right now, there's not much to do entertainment wise. The San Tan Mountain Regional park is fairly close and can be accessed off Hunt Hwy I believe, northeast of you. We're talking barren but I understand they have hiking trails. For basic shopping, there's a WalMart in Coolidge not far from Anthem, on Arizona Blvd (not the same as Arizona Ave) just south of SR287, which is the north end of town. The Casa Grande Ruins are across the street from the WalMart. It's worth going to - once.

I don't know (nor do I care) what the crime stats are down there. I can tell you from real world experience that Coolidge has more bad guys per square mile than Florence. I advise you avoid downtown Coolidge at night. There is gang activity in both towns, but like I said before, you're really only in Florence by name only.

It's a pretty easy area to learn with a few confusing exceptions. The Gila Indian Reservation is just a few miles west. Your main cross streets will be Felix and Attaway (north/south) and Arizona Farms Rd and Hunt Hwy (east/west). I don't know where you are coming from but if you've never lived in the desert and you have small pets, be careful. The coyotes will be looking for 'Scruffy the Dog' and 'Muffy the Cat' from the ground, while hawks and owls will be patrolling the skies.

If you have to drive into Apache Junction, Mesa, or Phoenix, like everyone said, pack a lunch! Casa Grande is about 20-30 minutes away. If you have to drive into Gilbert or Chandler it's still a long drive but you can use SR287/SR87 rather than driving straight north. It will save you a lot of time. Gilbert Road connects with SR87, and 87 ends at Arizona Avenue which runs north through downtown Chandler.

[jco]

Anthem is great, but Florence, by far, is NOT! The "gangster" lifestyle is very popular there, and the town is dirty. Queen Creek, right by Florence, is a booming little city (lived there for a year), but it's really isolated. By moving there, you're making a great long-term investment as the area is growing and your property value will go up. A much better place (with more for families to do) is Gilbert. Anywhere in the Highland HS area is great. Also, Power Ranch in Gilbert always struck me as a great communuity.

[champagn]

I am really lucky in the fact that I work from home out of my home office, so I am not worried about the work commute. We will only be renting for now. The school is in the community of Anthem and directly across the street from my home. I just did not know much about the ares

[azmomof2]

Hi

When I first moved here, EVERYONE told me I was near a prison.

It's pretty far away and right next door to the Florence Superior court.

Anthem in Merrill Ranch is actually closer to Johnson Ranch in Queen Creek than it is to the town of Florence.

Driving up on Hunt Hwy, 1 mile from your community is a sign that says Florence is still 17 miles away.

The zoning isn't laid out very well.

The area is being built up relatively quickly. New shopping plazas are 10-15 minutes away. There's the copper basin plaza which has brand new restaurants (The GYM bar and grill, Nicolinas, etc) the johnson ranch plaza which has your regular run of the mill stores: Fry's, Quiznos, blockbuster, Chase bank, Bank of America, nail/hair salons, jack in the box, then on Ellsworth and Rittenhouse (Queen Creek) is where the SuperTarget, Circuit city, Ross, etc will be.

It's VERY family oriented here. There are 3 golfing communities on Hunt HWY 5-10 minutes from where you live.

No, there aren't sky scrapers and valet parking like Scottsdale/PHX. But, if you have a family, you'll find family oriented churches, playgroups, horseback riding, hiking trails, golf courses, community organizations, etc.

Try visiting ourqueencreek.com to see what's nearby.

I know you live in Florence, but like I said. You are actually located CLOSER to queen creek than the old town of Florence. The median age of people here is mid-30s.

Give your community 3-5 years and it will be completely built up, just like all of the other "new" towns.

Hope this helps!

[Nice Nice Baby!]

Champagn, I moved here (Johnson Ranch)back in 1996 young and single, and some of the negative posts on here are what came out of my mouth, but I should have lived where there was night life instead of bashing. Now things have changed and this is ideal. The slow paced lifestyle with all the amenities are here. Golf, shopping, and yes even jobs are minutes away especially if you're working from home. Traffic is a pain during rush hour, but it's OK if you're not in it all the time. All I can say is have an open mind and have fun adjusting to a new lifestyle. Some people want to come in and make it the old place they moved from. Well, those people usually go back and complain what's wrong with us when it was them all along. Good luck!

[deem]

FLorence is prison town - the other day a bus load of immigrants escaped and the local sheriff's department had to go out and round them up - saw them on the back side of some of the homesites - running through.
FLorence is an old west desert town - remote - that's why the prisons are there - most of the people living there work for the prisons - the FEW that don' t commute - it takes me 50 minutes to get to Superstition SPrings area of Mesa on the 87 to 60
Our firends live there and are selling after 12 years - not for family - great for horse farm owners, prison employees
As for the kids - not much to do - they are bored and live so far between each other can hardly go visit
SHopping is NIL;
However going towards Queen Creek is definetly civilization - BIG problem is getting anywhere - you are pretty well locked in a traffic jam to get out in the morning until they open the roads - young families, houses crowded together