san tan valley ? (Gilbert, Sun City, Queen Creek: rental homes, sex offenders, low crime)

[capt chill]

retired do not need to work . encanterra ??

[sandy6879]

Very nice, but Encanterra is in the middle of nowhere. You'll have a grocery store and hospital nearby. The community itself is gorgeous, but I think pricing is very high. When we went to a concert there last year, it seemed to be a lot of snowbirds from Canada that live there. Could be wrong, but they asked how many people are from Canada and the vast majority of the people raised their hand LOL.

San Tan Valley is lower priced in general but also pretty far removed from a lot, although it is improving. Shopping is limited, walmart, grocery stores, etc are there though.

[AZJoeD]

Encanterra is a beautiful place but as Sandy said, way out there. As are several of the large planned Active Adult communities Like Trilogy @ Vistancia, Sun City Festival, Sun City Anthem, Robson Ranch, etc.

I noticed several of your posts and you have asked about quite a few different areas. I think the thing to consider is your planned lifestyle. If you enjoy being in a community like Encanterra, where most days you will stay within the community, meeting friends, golfing, swimming, hiking and doing most of your socializing, it will be a great experience. Quiet, low crime, like-minded people, great facilities.

But if you want to be close to world class shopping, fine dining, museums, theater, sporting events, etc. you do not want to move to the outskirts of the valley. You said not working, but it will be a hassle to drive 40 miles every time you want to go out, it will be your new commute.

Not trying to dissuade you from Encanterra it works well for many people. I just really think you need to know what you like in terms of lifestyle. You need to visit the area and do some driving around here. As someone who drives a lot I can tell you it gets old fast. You may find yourself not wanting to go to a sporting event or a play because it is too much hassle.

[BuckeyeBoyDJ]

I agree with the above unless you're a homebody and don't venture out of the house much but just to run to the grocery store, post office, etc then you will likely be content in San Tan Valley. If you're a very active retiree who likes to paint the town red you will HATE San Tan Valley. It's not really a suburb either it's pretty much of town and a loooong drive to anything.

[BestintheWest]

may not make a difference to you, but Encanterra HOA's are $240 a month.

[suaz]

Encanterra's HOAs are $313, not $240. I know, I just bought a house there! It's a fantastic community.

[Phxrider]

San Tan is a dump located in the middle of no where. It actually has a fairly high crime rate because housing is cheap,,so who is gonna move there. Google sex offenders and check how many live in Johnson Ranch. It would scare the hell out of you.

[BlueCat1105]

Well, I'm building out in the Queen Creek / San Tan Valley area, and when we researched it, we didn't find it dump-ish. Of course, maybe $300,000 homes are dumps to some...

[Rom828]

I have had friends move from several communities in San Tan Valley because it is SO far from anywhere. 20-40 minutes to get to major shopping. The housing prices are lower than Gilbert in a lot of the communities. I know one family moved because of all the gunshots and police activity in the middle of the night. A lot of rental homes were a problem as well--neighbors there for short periods of time, big turn-over.
Of course, there are nicer and more expensive communities in Queen Creek, but when homes start in the $100,000s, I know people who have seen problems . . . and moved!

[BlueCat1105]

20-40 minutes from major shopping didn't bother me a bit. I'm one mile from major shopping where I live now and the traffic noise is horrendous.