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Old 07-30-2014, 09:49 AM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
26 posts, read 28,664 times
Reputation: 73

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My wife and I are considering a relocation from Long Island, NY to the valley, probably Gilbert or Chandler. Our reasons are way more affordable housing, much lower property taxes, mild winters, the favorable interpretation of the 2nd amendment, castle doctrine, and a generally conservative/libertarian vibe (please correct me if I'm wrong on any of that). We've been doing the online research thing for about 6 months, and now its time to take our first trip there to scout things out a bit. We own and operate a smoothie and healthy eatery here in NY, and would be opening the same type of store in AZ if we move (we are hoping the lack of rain and severe winters will be beneficial for our business). Our timetable to move (if we do) is 2-5yrs.

We are an active couple and enjoy the outdoors, specifically hiking or neighborhood walking. We are also beach bums, and will miss the beach a lot, but we might take up lake oriented boating in AZ to fill the void

Our situation is a bit complicated. My wife and I would need a house, and it would have to be good for keeping our pets (2 dogs, 2 cats). Our dogs are a German Shepherd, and Pitbull Terrier. I know some communities have restrictions on certain types of dogs deemed to be dangerous, so we need to know if our dogs will be problematic. We would probably rent for a year to give us time to decide on where to live. We will also need a separate house for my parents, and possibly a condo for my brother. Aside from that, we would need to find a commercial space for our smoothie store in a high traffic strip mall.

So that's the basics of our needs. On this first trip, we just want to get a sense of the area and whether or not we should continue researching the area with future trips, etc.

Here are my questions:

1) We will be staying at the Hampton Inn and suites just off the San Tan Fwy (202), near the Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. Any suggestions on areas we should check out for housing? Our budget for a home would be $190-$210k for a starter home paid in full, or $300-$350k for a nicer home with a mortgage. Our minimum requirements would be 1500sq ft, 3 bed, 2 bath, with a usable fenced in yard.

2) Any areas you suggest we check out for our smoothie store? Strip malls, or general roads or areas?

3) Any suggestions on the drive from Vegas to Gilbert or back? I hate depending on GPS. You guys know the better routes. I figure we have to take 93 for most of the way, but I'm undecided on how to enter/exit the greater phoenix area.

4) Are there basements in Gilbert or Chandler homes? I'm used to having one...

5) Why are so many of the fenced in yards made of stone? I actually like it, but here in NY it is extremely rare. Most fences here are made of PVC or wood.

Thank you so much for your time. I know it probably gets tiresome answering these types of questions (especially silly ones like #4 and #5). But I really do appreciate all the threads and info on this forum, and all the contributions made by the people who know the phoenix area. On a side note, if anyone needed info on Long Island, NY, I'm well versed
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Old 07-30-2014, 10:05 AM
 
639 posts, read 966,289 times
Reputation: 1033
I'll see what I can answer on this:

1) We will be staying at the Hampton Inn and suites just off the San Tan Fwy (202), near the Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. Any suggestions on areas we should check out for housing? Our budget for a home would be $190-$210k for a starter home paid in full, or $300-$350k for a nicer home with a mortgage. Our minimum requirements would be 1500sq ft, 3 bed, 2 bath, with a usable fenced in yard.

For buying outright at that pricepoint, you may want to consider San Tan Valley. It's about 15-20 minutes from the hotel where you will be staying. Buying a home with a mortgage in the $300k range, you won't have any problem in that pricepoint in either location. But that's now, and 2-5 years away is a long time in real estate. Consider San Tan Valley, at least you'll have some basis for comparison depending what the market does by then.

2) Any areas you suggest we check out for our smoothie store? Strip malls, or general roads or areas?

Check out San Tan Village in Gilbert, which will only be about 5-10 minutes from the hotel you are staying at. It's an outdoor mall area. Also, check on Gilbert Rd in between Ray Rd and Elliott. Both have some good shopping areas. Chandler Crossroads at Gilbert/Germann does as well. I'm sure there will be lots more suggestions, those are a few areas that will be close to where you are staying that have a good deal of commercial property with a lot of people coming through as well. Gilbert/Elliott will be what's considered downtown Gilbert, and restaurants there are very busy, so it might be a good place for you to consider. The other areas are commercial zones with lots of stores (think Target/Walmart plazas with a lot of supporting stores as well)

3) Any suggestions on the drive from Vegas to Gilbert or back? I hate depending on GPS. You guys know the better routes. I figure we have to take 93 for most of the way, but I'm undecided on how to enter/exit the greater phoenix area.

There is no major highway that connects Phoenix to Vegas. When we have gone, we've done the 60 through Wickenburg and on up. Be careful of your speed in Wikie-Up. It's about a 6 mile stretch of town in the middle of nowhere and speed limits drop drastically there.

4) Are there basements in Gilbert or Chandler homes? I'm used to having one...

You can find them but you will pay a premium for them. In your price-range, not likely.

5) Why are so many of the fenced in yards made of stone? I actually like it, but here in NY it is extremely rare. Most fences here are made of PVC or wood.

The PVC and wood will break down from the amount of heat here for fencing. Most homes are in an HOA and have restrictions/regulations on the materials used to keep things uniform. We're also from the Northeast and it is different. It's nice for the dogs though, all homes come with fenced in backyards so there's not a concern to make sure of that with pets.

Last edited by sandy6879; 07-30-2014 at 10:23 AM..
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Old 07-30-2014, 11:34 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
19,383 posts, read 27,635,389 times
Reputation: 36019
Maybe I'm nuts, but I wouldn't be considering where I would live until I had established where that business was going to be located. Cart before the horse, IMHO.
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Old 07-30-2014, 12:57 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,915 posts, read 43,245,369 times
Reputation: 10724
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkgourmet View Post
Maybe I'm nuts, but I wouldn't be considering where I would live until I had established where that business was going to be located. Cart before the horse, IMHO.
Absolutely agree with this. You need to be renting in some relatively central area while you figure out where to locate the business, rather than buying at one extreme corner of the Valley.

Your dogs are not likely to be an issue except with some home insurance companies. City ordinances banning breeds are not an issue here.
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Old 07-30-2014, 11:05 PM
 
268 posts, read 428,714 times
Reputation: 495
San Tan Village in Gilbert is a great, great area, but there's already a Tropical Smoothie Cafe (which also serves sandwiches) in there.

There really aren't that many healthy cafe/smoothie places around, but I think people like the concept and it should do well. (Maybe I'm just speaking for me because I would really, really love more options!)

Note that San Tan Valley, an area of town, is different from San Tan Village, which is an upscale shopping center in Gilbert. San Tan Valley is on the way far outskirts of town.

I think your shop would do better closer in, and Gilbert is great, just not in the Village mall. They're building a ton of new apartments. At Val Vista and 202 (85297 zip) they're building several apartment complexes, a new office building just got announced, several car dealerships are out there and more are coming.

Smack in the middle of all of that, there's a Mountainside Fitness with ground-floor retail. That might be a good place, but it's not in a strip mall. It is by apartments and offices. There's another shopping center right there with I think a Planet Subs that might be a good option. It's just a growing area, that's really nice and affluent.

As far as housing, you'd probably need to go with the upper end of your price range, but personally, I think it's worth it than to be in San Tan Valley, no offense to anyone that lives there. It's just far. Plus, I'm not sure how the demographics out there would go for a healthy eatery/smoothie place.

Another option to consider is downtown Phoenix. The area is really growing with an ever-increasing number of college kids down there, and other people, too as the area gets more happening. You'd have to commute to live in a house, but maybe worth considering.

Good luck!
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Old 07-30-2014, 11:44 PM
 
Location: galaxy far far away
3,110 posts, read 5,365,699 times
Reputation: 7281
No one answered your question about the drive from Vegas to Phoenix. I can save you a ton of time -- I have driven that way many times. GPS is going to send you through Surprise. That is a long extra drive with many stoplights. It's a bit tricky if you don't know the route, but you can cut some of the time off by taking Highway 74 towards Lake Pleasant and then the I-17 down to Phoenix.

You will have to have eagle eyes to catch the turn off. It's about 10 miles south of Wickenburg. The trick is to tell your GPS you want to stop at Lake Pleasant Regional park. It will guide you to the Left Turn onto route 74 off of the 60. You can elect to NOT stop at Lake Pleasant and just go straight to I-17, turning south towards Phoenix. Then follow the prompts down to Gilbert. This saves you the stop and go crazy traffic of Surprise, unless you wanted to visit that area.

I agree with other posters that you may want to stay in more than one place in the Valley while you are here. I know you have your heart set on Gilbert, and all of us have our favorite places in the Valley. Personally, I like the North Central area better than the Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert corridor. There are older homes, larger yards, more established neighborhoods, and IMHO, more for your money. You also can find places without HOA's (my preference), which means you can do a little more with your home. There are pros and cons to that, and that's another thread. But don't rule out the north part of town until you've driven around.

DM me if you have any questions.
Welcome!
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Old 07-31-2014, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Long Island, NY
26 posts, read 28,664 times
Reputation: 73
Quote:
Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl View Post
No one answered your question about the drive from Vegas to Phoenix. I can save you a ton of time -- I have driven that way many times. GPS is going to send you through Surprise. That is a long extra drive with many stoplights. It's a bit tricky if you don't know the route, but you can cut some of the time off by taking Highway 74 towards Lake Pleasant and then the I-17 down to Phoenix.

You will have to have eagle eyes to catch the turn off. It's about 10 miles south of Wickenburg. The trick is to tell your GPS you want to stop at Lake Pleasant Regional park. It will guide you to the Left Turn onto route 74 off of the 60. You can elect to NOT stop at Lake Pleasant and just go straight to I-17, turning south towards Phoenix. Then follow the prompts down to Gilbert. This saves you the stop and go crazy traffic of Surprise, unless you wanted to visit that area.

I agree with other posters that you may want to stay in more than one place in the Valley while you are here. I know you have your heart set on Gilbert, and all of us have our favorite places in the Valley. Personally, I like the North Central area better than the Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert corridor. There are older homes, larger yards, more established neighborhoods, and IMHO, more for your money. You also can find places without HOA's (my preference), which means you can do a little more with your home. There are pros and cons to that, and that's another thread. But don't rule out the north part of town until you've driven around.

DM me if you have any questions.
Welcome!
Its interesting, but I was staring at the map and thinking that taking 60 all the way through looks like it takes you more into the center of the area before working your way to Gilbert. But I wasn't sure if 74 to 17 was too out of the way. Now I know better. Like I said, the local residents know way more than a GPS.

I agree that we might have to consider more areas than just Gilbert. But we have to start somewhere. As far as placing the store before the home, that's a possibility, but it can be tricky. We currently live 20 min from our store, and would like to be about 20-30 min away if we move to the valley.

As far as the suggestion to look at San Tan Valley for housing, after looking at the map, I think that might be too far away from everything else in the valley. We don't want to live in the city of Phoenix, as we've experienced enough of that sort of thing here in NY. So we have to concentrate on the suburbs, and we will poke around Gilbert first. My parents might be interested in Scottsdale, so that might be on the list as well.

Thanks to everyone's suggestions. We really appreciate the guidance. Its hard to go from knowing everything about an area (here on Long Island) to knowing squat about a new place, but it's nice to know that there are people out there willing to help.
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Old 07-31-2014, 09:22 AM
 
639 posts, read 966,289 times
Reputation: 1033
Keep in mind - the distance here of driving 20 minutes is very different than East Coast version of 20 minutes. It can take me 20 minutes, easily, to drive where I live, which is close by where you are staying, to just the other side of Gilbert. Traffic, lights, and having no cut-throughs to shorten drive time will increase the time it takes you to get where you are going here. The suggestion to have an idea of where you want to have the store, and then figure out where to live, is a good one.
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Old 07-31-2014, 09:34 AM
 
Location: galaxy far far away
3,110 posts, read 5,365,699 times
Reputation: 7281
Sandy is right. And yet I live in North Phoenix near the 51 FWY and I can get to Scottsdale and Shea in 12 minutes in the evening, and to the airport in 20 minutes anytime except rush hour. I think you will be amazed and delighted at our roads. Even though a lot of locals complain about traffic, our freeways are clean and well planned. I was just up in NYC and couldn't believe the congestion, the smell, the aging infrastructure and the crowds. We have 4.3 million in Greater Phoenix, but that is in a 585 square mile city area. Big difference from NYC.
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Old 07-31-2014, 09:37 AM
 
Location: East Bay
701 posts, read 1,422,495 times
Reputation: 1421
To narrow your search down to Gilbert, Chandler or San Tan based on internet research, when you haven't actually been here, is impractical. Don't put the cart before the horse -- the valley is HUGE. Take your time to explore the area. For a variety of reasons, Chandler and (especially) Gilbert may present a real culture shock.
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