Up-to-date info on Queen Creek (Phoenix, Chandler: short sales, real estate, rentals)

[emjay714]

Does anyone have any up-to-date pros/cons of Queen Creek, AZ?? I just got a job with the state at a prison, however I would like to be between work (florence) and play (Phoenix).

[kelle]

Hello! Congrats on the job...

Can you be more specific about the type of info you are looking for on Queen Creek? Housing prices/ Housing market info? Neighborhoods & Nightlife? Family friendly or Single life? Etc.

Here is a quick summary, I lived in the East Valley for almost 10 years and have a rental in Queen Creek:

Great time to buy real estate, short sales galore!
Great time to rent, lots of rentals to choose from
Queen Creek is made up of families; there isn't much (if any) single life in the town itself, but Gilbert isn't too far and there are at least some sports bars and night life places (but not nearly as fun as Tempe or Phoenix)

Have you checked into Gilbert? It's still a very family oriented community, but it's closer to all the nightlife and you could actually go out for an evening in Gilbert if you wanted to - movies, mall, etc. The only place you're going in Queen Creek is Wal Mart.

Good luck to you. I'm not on this forum much, but hopefully I got the ball rolling and you'll get some other opinions...

[mawilson]

Can anyone give me an idea as to what the commute time would be, the main roads for the commute and the lifestyle of the area of queen creek is. The place I am looking at is the northwest side of queen creek, Still in Maricopa County and the commute would be to chandeler, actually just right on the border of chandler and Gilbert

Thanks

[Captain Bill]

In the northwest section of QC you would probably not have to use Hunt Hwy. I don't know your exact starting point. Anyway you would work your way up tot the 202 and over to Chandler/Gilbert border.

If you're north of where Hunt Hwy ends/begins, then you're probably 25 minutes away.

You're close enough there to enjoy the Gilbert facilities. There is the new San Tan shopping mall and there are restaurants, movies and hospitals in that general area.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by emjay714

Does anyone have any up-to-date pros/cons of Queen Creek, AZ?? I just got a job with the state at a prison, however I would like to be between work (florence) and play (Phoenix).

emjay, for your needs, QC or southeast Gilbert will work for you. However, for play, if your choose QC then the northwest area closer to the southeast corner of Gilbert is best. That gives you closer access to the Gilbert shopping and other amenities that I mentioned in a previous post on this thread.

The area around Johnson Ranch on Hunt Hwy is closer to your work but is farther from the other things you need.

[aj661]

Originally Posted by emjay714

Does anyone have any up-to-date pros/cons of Queen Creek, AZ?? I just got a job with the state at a prison, however I would like to be between work (florence) and play (Phoenix).

I assume you are talking about the unincorporated Queen Creek area, not the Town of QC. There are plenty of opinions already expressed about the area in other threads. The roads are coming along very well. The Ironwood Drive (called Vineyard Rd down there) widening project will be finished soon. You want a compromise on work/home, but you can save a ton of money by buying in QC. I think it could be as simple as asking yourself where will you be driving to the most-work or play? I'd go with living in QC or Florence and save the time on the commute and money on gas, vehicle wear and tear and most importantly housing costs. If Johnson Ranch doesn't appeal to you, take a look at Anthem in Florence. It's a quick drive from there on Hunt e/b to SR79.

But if you want to join the herds of your future co-workers who live in the valley, you can always van pool. It will save your car, but nothing will get back those hours lost commuting. One other thing to think about since you say you got a job with ADOC: Overtime-you're going to be expected to put in a lot of it. Come to think of it, you might want to rent. You'll soon learn that most CO's only have a few years on the job. Not many stay because of the low pay and working conditions.