Maricopa, Queen Creek or Somewhere in between (Phoenix, Chandler: loan, how much)

[OntheMoveAGAIN]

Hi there,
We will be transferred to Phoenix next year and we have decided to start looking for potential area to settle in. My husband will be working with Intel so we really want to live close by with relative little commute.

Looking at the map I'm figuring the closest areas would be those in the subject matter above. Can you give me some pros and cons for these areas.

I would really appreciate it.

Finally, I have 3 children moving with us and googled a school called the Benjamin Franklin Charter school that has two schools close by -HAve you any thoughts about them versus local elementary schools??

Cheers
T.

[Nea1]

We just moved here from NC. Queen Creek is quite the drive, we considered it as well but just to far out. We live right by Intel in Chandler, great access to freeways , lots of shopping and I love the area and neighborhoods and we have found awesome schools ( which says alot). PM me.

[OntheMoveAGAIN]

I just tried to PM you, Please let me know if you received it
Thanks!

Anyone else have any oppinions on those areas or School I mentioned above?

[loanranger]

I lived in Queen Creek for about a year the roads are starting to get better (over crowded) but there is still quite a lot of problems. I think as far as value for the size of home you are better to move to Queen Creek simply because they are spending a lot of money to fix this area up. There are a lot of new schools, businesses and general comercial poping up all over the place.

As for the schools, I cannot speak about these schools simply because I do not know, however I live in Gilbert, both gilbert and mesa have the best schools in the state. The school in my neighborhood is Highland High and Junor High which are rated best in the state. The elementry schools, Carol Rae is great along with the other elementry schools local to Gilbert.

My suggestion would be to think about moving closer in simply because the drive would be easier, less time away from family, better schools, more local conviniences. You would most likely have a smaller or older house but it might be worth the "Time" aspect of things.

I have lived in both Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek and Gilbert in my opinion is the best place. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[OntheMoveAGAIN]

Thanks very much for your reply and advice. My husband and I are flying into Phoenix this week-end to look around at the various areas and get an idea of the distances. Personally it's hard for me to judge distances without actually being there.
Thanks once again!
T.

[MovinFromUT]

I too am in a similar situtation as you. My husband is already out there working, (we are still in Utah) and has been for the past 6 weeks. I thought Queen Creek was a dream come true also (as far as housing prices, and size of homes are considered). Well...my husband works in Chandler, and Gilbert is the FARTHEST away that we are going to live. Queen Creek is a nightmare traffic wise. It's going to be a VERY long time before the roads are even close to being adequate to handle all of the people that have moved out there, and work in the surrounding areas. If your husband doesn't mind sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on his way to work AND on his way home, then QC might be for you. It definitely wasn't for us.

[Ponderosa]

And people change jobs, too. So what was good when you first came may become a nightmare commute. Best preventative medicine for that is to avoid the extremities like Queen Creek, Buckeye, Gold Canyon, Anthem, etc. and/or be within a couple miles of a freeway.

[sweattea]

Originally Posted by loanranger

I lived in Queen Creek for about a year the roads are starting to get better (over crowded) but there is still quite a lot of problems. I think as far as value for the size of home you are better to move to Queen Creek simply because they are spending a lot of money to fix this area up. There are a lot of new schools, businesses and general comercial poping up all over the place.

As for the schools, I cannot speak about these schools simply because I do not know, however I live in Gilbert, both gilbert and mesa have the best schools in the state. The school in my neighborhood is Highland High and Junor High which are rated best in the state. The elementry schools, Carol Rae is great along with the other elementry schools local to Gilbert.

My suggestion would be to think about moving closer in simply because the drive would be easier, less time away from family, better schools, more local conviniences. You would most likely have a smaller or older house but it might be worth the "Time" aspect of things.

I have lived in both Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek and Gilbert in my opinion is the best place. Let me know if you have any other questions.

You must be my neighbor. I'm really close.........BTW I agree!

[Boatdrinks]

Definitely stick to Chandler. There's not much in Queen Creek - yes, you can get more house for your money, but your husband will have a terrible commute on surface streets undergoing a LOT of construction, and you'll do a lot of driving if you want restaurants, movies, malls, Targets, etc. Queen Creek is REALLY out there, and pretty much just houses right now.

SE Chandler is a great place to live. There are lots of houses close to Intel. It'll depend on how much you have to spend on a house, of course, but you can probably find something as there's a much higher supply then demand right now.

As for Ben Franklin, I don't know anyone who's sent their kids there. But I do know many people with kids in the public schools and they're all very happy with them. Also, there's Chandler Traditional Academy - they have a school in Ocotillo, which is in the area near Intel. It's more of a reading, writing, arithmatic school - back to traditional-type of educating. Many people are happy with that program too.

Gilbert is also a good option. It's much like Chandler was 4 yrs ago - they're in the process of putting in a mall, and a lot more commercial. You'll get more house for your money in Gilbert and the commute wouldn't be too terribly bad if you stayed fairly close to the Chandler line.

I would definitely stay away from Maricopa. It's WAY out there - it takes about 10 minutes just to get to the 10 from Maricopa, and it's a 2 lane road which gets pretty backed up during rush hour. Once you get to the 10, your husband would still have a 10 or 15 minute drive after that. While that may not be bad if you're used to a longer commute now, keep in mind that there's nothing in Maricopa, so you'll be doing that drive any time you want to go to the mall, movies, etc. It's essentially a bunch of houses and a few shopping centers in the middle of nowhere. I think there's a Walmart and 2 or 3 different grocery stores. No hospital either, so you have to drive to Chandler or Gilbert for that...with kids, that's always something to consider.

I'm pretty familiar with the area and looked at a LOT of houses recently before we moved from Chandler to Gilbert, and I would be happy to answer any questions you have if you PM me.

Best of luck to you.

[OntheMoveAGAIN]

Folks,
My husband and I had a quick trip to Phoenix last week-end and with the help of a Realtor and many many miles of driving by ourselves our eyes were opened!
Thanks so much to all the replies and suggestions you have all given me to this post they were very accurate indeed.

QueenCreek was too far out and although it'll probably look great and have many laned roads in the future, we weren't impressed with the lines at all!

Maricopa was a lovely place too and the houses were inexpensive also but the smell was incredible!. Surrounded by dairy farms definitely has it's disadvantages. Our realtor lives there and admits that Bar B ques are not pleasant at all in his garden.

So, we narrowed our search (somewhat) to Ahwahtukee, Gilbert or Chandler.

Anyone know what the difference in Property taxes are between these areas?

Oh and Why were all the folk freezing in 65 Degree weather? I laughed at this as I had just come from Colorado, which was Negative 5 Degrees that morning. I guess my blood will also thin out with the heat of the City and I'll experience the same next year. 8-)

Any feedback/suggestions much appreciated!
T.