Can anyone tell me about Casa Grande? (Phoenix, Tucson: lender, apartment)

[davin]

thanks for all you in-put about casa grande. i am taking early retirement [not too early] and we want to be able to afford a new home and enjoy life alttle. we were in casa grande for 2 weeks in aug. and checked out the new houses with some pretty good prices that we can afford. would like to get more in-put from all of you. once again, thank you .

[in_the_gloaming]

Dear mlh1981..., which I think may be the year you were born.., 1981..? Anyway, personally, I hate Phoenix! I lived in Tempe, which is a suburb of Phoenix, for one year off of Apache Blvd. & McClintock at the Trade Winds Motel and Trailer Court in an old 8 x 23 ft. metal box trailer which was a piece of crap! I'd much rather live in Casa Grande than Phoenix any day of the week!!! Phoenix for me was a disaster..., lots of crime, filth, prostitution, big city problems, crapy neighbors in that motel and trailer court, a bad boss at work and on and on and on...,

The Phoenix area is hemmed in on three sides by mountains and with the over flow of bad air from California, it makes the Phoenix area not as healthy as it is cracked up to be! Phoenix I believe is sinking because of all the aquiphores (deeply hidden artesian water deep underground) they are tapping into, lowering the elevation which was 1100 feet above sea level, making Phoenix hotter and hotter. If they take the water out under the surface of the earth, then what will hold up the earth above the aquiphores? However, most of Phoenix's water comes from the Salt River, east of Phoenix.

My trailer was nothing but problems! I had a Mexican couple next door in a ratty old Aljo trailer that stole everything they could. Another neighbor was so bad I can't discuss his yucky situation here..., when he claimed to be a chef in a restaurant when he was such a scum b*tt, I didn't want anything to do with him. I had another neighbor that hung dirty brassiers outside of his trailer and played one record (Me & Bobby McGee) from 6 A. M. until 11 P. M. every day of the week when he wasn't high on drugs or messing with the marijuana plants he was growing, another neighbor would make a set of dentures for anyone with his pocket knife out of wood, I had many others who were equally undesirable. Hence, when I moved away from there, I breathed a sigh of relief. Good riddance!!!

If I had to do it all over again, I would have rented a room for the Summer, used that time to send out feelers as to where I wanted to live before Fall, when all the housing prices go up, and found a better place! I never, never, never would have stayed in that trailer court with all those undesirable people! I probably would have found a nice apartment in Glendale, Mesa or anywhere else, but not at that trailer park/motel in Tempe!

Casa Grande in Spanish means "Big House" There is a penitentiary there. Casa means house. Grande means big. Casa Grande is a very nice clean city which is south of Phoenix, north west of Tuscon, and west of Eloy, Coolidge, and another little town, I forgot the name of.

Prices there are quite reasonable. Housing there is very nice and clean and jobs are plentyfull. They have several very nice grocery stores, at least one Checker Auto Parts store which I used when I repaired a Chevy van while I moved my older brother from Yuma Az. to S. E. Oklahoma in August of 2005..., when I used their asphalt parking lot on a Saturday afternoon and they didn't object to my repairing my van on their facility.., several Burger King restaurants, car dealerships, and many residential districts with decent housing.

Since I live in Denver, which is a big city which also has its problems, including: gangs, drive by shootings, and a high cost of living, I'd greatly prefer a smaller city and I plan on moving away from Denver in a couple of years because Denver is too big for me. I'm tired of it! I've lived here three times over a 39 year period.

Because of a mechanical break down, my brother and I spent an entire weekend there in August 2005. Back in Feb. 1958, my father and I had gone to Eloy, which is also a nice town not too far east of Casa Grande to pick up my brother. My brother had run away from home and we decided to go after him, rather than let the authorities return him to us. Back in 1958, my father and I stayed at a motel that was run by a retired sheriff and I was very interested in viewing all the weapons the sheriff had taken off of all the people he had arrested. Weapons of all kinds, in several glass cases. I wouldn't mind living in Eloy either, as an alternative to Casa Grande.

Sourrounding Casa Grande are huge agricultural farms of several sections each, with each section being 640 acres. It is all artificially watered with treated water. Lots of butterflies are used to polinate the crops.

Personally, for a city which has a prison, I'd prefer Casa Grande over Canon City in Colorado. I live in Colorado and I've been to Canon City and I'd prefer not to live there either. Too many things wrong with Canon City! At least with Casa Grande, their economy is more diversified. Its a hot climate, which takes some getting used too. A good place to learn Spanish. I see a lot of opportunity there, especially if you're interested in working security, or for a security company.

Nice Pictures Sheena..., thanks for your post!

Thanks ukfschick..., I really like what you said! I did not find Casa Grande to be smelly either! I liked it! Other places I might like to live in Az. are: Prescott, Cottonwood, Payson, Pine, Jackass Flats, Benson, San Simone, and Wilcox.

I like Wilcox because it impressed me as the southern Az. answer to Winslow to the north. My brother and I spent some time in the truck stop along I-10 talking for quite awhile about the area. The one thing I am not crazy about are all these developers that restrict what kind of housing one can put on a piece of undeveloped land..., of which Arizona City is a prime example!

[sh9730]

Davin,

Well, as you can see, lots of different views here. Mine is given with actions. I did just buy here in CG and will move in May. Got a new home at a great price in a nice naborhood. Yes, I have some family in town also which will make it a little easier to move from CA where I ve lived all of my life.

If the last time you were in CG was in August, LOTS has changed. The new mall at I/10 and Florence is now open and getting more tenants every day. There are still lots of shopping centers being built along the main drag and though they are still a little more empty than optimum, they are there for the future....new high school is moving along, and more.

Im not a dog person, but the new "dog park" is VERY popular with those in town.

If getting more house for your money is a high priority, and commuting is not an issue (not for me...I work from home), dont mind being a little ways out of the bigger cities of Tucson and PHX, and having some infrastructure appeals to you, I think you ll be happy with CG.

There are even LESS expensive places (Maricopa, Coolidge, Florence, AZ City, Eloy) that WILL someday be great places in their own right, and you can get even more house for less money than in CG, but the infrastructure in those towns is just not there yet in my view.

Im very happy with my choice....but I fully understand those who need to be on the other side of the Indian Reservation (Chandler and points north) for commute purposes....but I think there are areas in East Mesa that are almost as much of a drive into PHX as it is from CG, but they ARE closer to things in Tempe and Chandler etc...but I think its really more of a mental block than reality (meaning that those areas are closer to civilization than CG).

Hope this helps....

[amatrine]

I don't think Casa grande has a prison. I know Florence does though . Casa Grande does have a lot of Senior Citizens during the winter months here. Be prepared for VERY crowded stores and streets in the winter.

Ama

[Master Shake]

Originally Posted by amatrine

I don't think Casa grande has a prison. I know Florence does though . Casa Grande does have a lot of Senior Citizens during the winter months here. Be prepared for VERY crowded stores and streets in the winter.

Ama

You are correct. There are no prisons in CG. There is a huge prison in Florence (actually a prison complex with multiple buildings), and a small minimum security unit in Picacho (near Eloy).

[davin]

thanks to all of you for your input about casa grande it is helpfull. we will be moving from here when we sell our house but i have no idea when that will be, hopefully soon. how is the econemy doing there?

[amatrine]

The economy is sluggish anywhere. Casa Grande though nation wide is doing good housing wise compared to other areas. They are still building down here.

Job wise I have no idea. I know in the greater Phoenix area I have never had a problem finding a job and have had multiple offers when looking for work. That was just last year in the manufacturing sector. Dont know if that helps.

Ama

[skylinewest]

Have you ever actually LIVED in CG? You don't seem to have a very accurate view of the town or what it's like to live there.

Per Capita, Casa Grande's crime rate is just about as high as south PHX. Their drop out rate is one of the highest, if not THE highest in the state, their teen pregnancy rate is the highest in the whole state.

I know there have been a lot of new homes and new businesses open in CG over the last ten yrs but the same people that have lived there for generations and generations will remain and will continue to keep the black cloud that hangs over this town. Before it was named Casa Grande it was named "Terminous" which means "End of the Line". THAT is a much more accurate description of the town.

[Master Shake]

The economy in CG is mostly light industrial & service (food/clothing/basic necessities/etc.) based. Most people make the long daily commute up to the greater Phoenix area.

Yes, there are hundreds of new houses in CG (thousands all over the greater Phoenix area, actually), mostly because the builders do not know how or when to stop -- even if they have to sell at a loss! There are also many, many foreclosures as well.

[amatrine]

I do not live in Casa, but Az city, and am in Casa almost every day. I really do not think it is that bad. I think it is a nice break from the metro area. To each his own I guess.

My daughter has friends, she gets straight A's in school, and has no problems.
I have lived in places where I felt unsafe, and this is not it.

Albuquerque NM was way more unsafe and I had a lot of problems from crime there and left.

Here I know my neighbors, we sit outside on the porch at night talk. I never go outside at night in NM. Too many gunshots.

Ama