Help!! Ticky-tacky houses all in a row! (Phoenix, Scottsdale: landscaping, neighborhood)

[AksarbeN]

Originally Posted by saguarodave

"Why can't I find a house within 20 minutes of downtown (where I work) that's 'reasonable' (read "inexpensive") and has a large yard and beautiful views?" Sigh

You can still find many nice older homes with a larger green lot and closer in to the inner city for reasonable fees and yet they can have a view of the nearby mountain preserves. You only need to look closely and often. Most of the homes don’t stay on the market very long.

One of the biggest advantages of inner city living not paying high prices for several tanks of gas to go to work each day. Can you add that money to your house payment and not give it to Exxon? The answer is yes! And you can save more hours every week of your life that isn’t spent behind the wheel of a car. Inner city living has some advantages!

[AZ_singlemother]

Originally Posted by sheena

Beautiful views of what? Not being funny I just like to know what you want to see.

Yes, you can get wonderful views of the expanding pawn shops and dollar stores

[sheena]

Originally Posted by AZ_singlemother

Yes, you can get wonderful views of the expanding pawn shops and dollar stores

that's about it.

[aj661]

Originally Posted by ready2go

I need some help. Recently took a second trip down to Phoenix area with the thought of relocating and did a home($185-$275k) search. My realtor was fantastic and drove me around for an entire day looking at homes from Apache Junction, Queen Creek and Maricopa. Terrific guy.

At the end of it I was pretty depressed. House after house built in endless rows as far as the eye could see on tiny little walled-in lots with little to no vegetation. These are "developments", not neighborhoods!! I wanted to move out west for some clean air, some elbow-room and views... not to see 20 roofs and the top 20 feet of the Superstition Mountains from my back yard.

Is there any place around the Phoenix area within allowable commuting distance that doesn't feature this graveyard development style? For less than a million bucks? I love the area but not this rampant, soulless development. Where is the old west?

We had everything you're looking for and more. Unfortunately, you got here 30 years too late. Even eight years ago you could have gotten 1-1/4 acres in Apache Junction on Muleshoe with what is still an unobstructed view of the Superstitions for $46,000.

If you were looking in AJ and Queen Creek, ask your realtor about Queen Valley or the unincorporated area two miles north of Florence Junction off El Camino Viejo (the east end, not the development four miles to the west off US60 at milepost 208. It's new with small lots and walls) The dirt roads off El Camino Viejo are Running Deer Rd. and Scissor Tail Pl. It's mostly mobiles out there, but on property and no walls. Sounds like a long way out but Florence Jct. is only ten miles east of the AJ city limits. (A MUCH shorter drive time to, say US60 and Ellsworth Road, than coming up from the Johnson Ranch area to the same point.)

[mbe56]

You can find great places to live in AZ; just find a good real estate agent who's not afraid to listen, and hear, what you're looking for and then help you find it! (We found one back in 2003 when we first moved here, and have not let go of him since!) If you like space, stars and freedom, find a place like Marana (old Marana - west of I-10, not the new fancy schmancy Marana - East of I-10 or right directly off the freeway). You will find the place you want; go on tarmls.com and put in what you're looking for and be picky!

[sunshinecities]

I've heard that Prescott is nice - but that's far from Phoenix. I know what you mean about the houses all looking alike and being close. Agents told me the best way to avoid that is, as mentioned in one of the responses, an older house. I know a few in Peoria from the 1980's or before have bigger lots - but I was also told by local authorities those are the areas that are more prone to roof rats - although not common.

[Baja Boomer]

Also far from Phoenix, but more of what you're looking for in other ways, is the Rio Rico area south of Tucson. Very pretty there, clean skies, not crowded yet. The Villages of Rio Rico, Tubac, Patagonia (little artist town in the mountains), Sonoita (Arizona's wine country)... http://www.nogaleschamber.com/

Tucson itself also has some older neighborhoods where you might find something you like and can afford, and there's always that "best kept secret" kind of place Sierra Vista. You can find what you're looking for in Arizona, but your chances are better if you can live outside of the big cities. How flexible are you?

Edited to add this link. In case you want to check out real estate in the area, here is a link for you. http://www.homes.com/Real_Estate/AZ/City/RIO%20RICO

[phxchristian]

Originally Posted by ready2go

I need some help. Recently took a second trip down to Phoenix area with the thought of relocating and did a home($185-$275k) search. My realtor was fantastic and drove me around for an entire day looking at homes from Apache Junction, Queen Creek and Maricopa. Terrific guy.

At the end of it I was pretty depressed. House after house built in endless rows as far as the eye could see on tiny little walled-in lots with little to no vegetation. These are "developments", not neighborhoods!! I wanted to move out west for some clean air, some elbow-room and views... not to see 20 roofs and the top 20 feet of the Superstition Mountains from my back yard.

Is there any place around the Phoenix area within allowable commuting distance that doesn't feature this graveyard development style? For less than a million bucks? I love the area but not this rampant, soulless development. Where is the old west?

Try Old town Carefree / Cave Creek area. Houses start at 350k and end near the 20mil. Beautiful area but only accessible to the rich usually. I live in Cave Creek and pay 1k a month in rent and have a 10-15 min commute (10 - 14 miles to work in Scottsdale).

[topjimmy]

If you want lots of room and good views, you better have MONEY or a lot of time to spend DRIVING.

[Najt]

Wiews are up on the hills like Fountain hills?
Greener areas like the old parts of Phoenix?