Work in N. Scottsdale. Wants to live and buy in Maricopa, Casa Grande or Queen Creek (renting, new home)

[aguafria]

My husband did this for 2 and a half years and then we bought a house and moved to Scottsdale. We lived just South of Queen Creek and he works in Scottsdale. I hated that commute and he wasn't very fond of it either. But at the time we wanted a big house, etc. We have 2 kids (3 and 2 years old) and that was hard on us as well. He just spent so much time on the road.

There are some people that do that commute. But for our family it didn't work out. We were fortunate enough to rent the house out down there and buy up here. I would have hated to be stuck down there.

[Howard Roark]

The nice things about Maricopa, Casa Grande - they are small communities and far away from Scottsdale. The bad things: They are small communities and far away from Scottsdale.

Please keep in mind that tens of millions of new drivers are on the road every year now in China and India. They are competing against American consumers now for the last half of the oil that still exists. The good news is the world will never run out of oil. The bad news is that the world is running out of cheap oil and it's getting less and less economical to extract it. The last of the super giant oil fields was discovered in the early 1960s. I'd live as close to my job as I could.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Can you afford a home in Surprise? I was told that there is a park and ride bus or van that you can take from Surprise to the North side of Scottsdale. Guess it would depend on where you work though. I did go onto the Valley Metro web site and they have information on creating a van pool service.

[61scout80]

For the record i think you are insane to want to make that drive everyday. Are there oppertunities for you to work in chandler, gilbert or south east phoenix?

I would rank queen creek last. Maricopa and Casa Grande would be a tie. I drive from maricopa to I-10 and Chandler blvd everyday, that leg takes me about 20 minutes. I work with a few people from Casa Grande and their drive is about 30 minutes. I would guess to scottsdale would be a good 1.5 to 2 hours during rush hours.

Depending on what you drive it may not be too bad for you. My diesel jetta averages 45-50 miles per gallon. I would probably use 3 gallons a day for that commute, and with fuel prices dropping i currently pay about $3.90 a gallon. So, for me that commute would cost about $60 a week in fuel. I get 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks of holidays a year which will leave me driving to work 48 weeks a year, or $2,880 a year in fuel. if you save $100k on a house it would take 34.72 years to make up that $100k in fuel. I understand my equation leaves out the price of the car, and maintenance but you would be buying cars and maintaining them anyway. you just may have to do it a little more often. But my equation also leaves out the interest you would be paying on that $100k extra for the closer house.

If you are like me and like living on the outskirts I say go for it, but keep your eye open for a job closer to home.

[tripper76]

Why exactly are you even looking at those areas? Is it the bigger house for less or is it the feel of a small town? If we knew your price range, maybe we could get a better idea of something closer. Like everyone else, I think that commute is just too insane for anyone. This isn't New York where you can sit on a train. You will be in heavy traffic both ways every day. If there's an accident, you are screwed because there is basically one road in and out. 8 hours of work and 4 hours of travel a day? No way.

[James Brown]

Originally Posted by 61scout80

For the record i think you are insane to want to make that drive everyday. Are there oppertunities for you to work in chandler, gilbert or south east phoenix?

I would rank queen creek last. Maricopa and Casa Grande would be a tie. I drive from maricopa to I-10 and Chandler blvd everyday, that leg takes me about 20 minutes. I work with a few people from Casa Grande and their drive is about 30 minutes. I would guess to scottsdale would be a good 1.5 to 2 hours during rush hours.

Depending on what you drive it may not be too bad for you. My diesel jetta averages 45-50 miles per gallon. I would probably use 3 gallons a day for that commute, and with fuel prices dropping i currently pay about $3.90 a gallon. So, for me that commute would cost about $60 a week in fuel. I get 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks of holidays a year which will leave me driving to work 48 weeks a year, or $2,880 a year in fuel. if you save $100k on a house it would take 34.72 years to make up that $100k in fuel. I understand my equation leaves out the price of the car, and maintenance but you would be buying cars and maintaining them anyway. you just may have to do it a little more often. But my equation also leaves out the interest you would be paying on that $100k extra for the closer house.

If you are like me and like living on the outskirts I say go for it, but keep your eye open for a job closer to home.

61scout...it like you read my mind, that how I see it.

tipper...i am looking for both

[61scout80]

Originally Posted by James Brown

61scout...it like you read my mind, that how I see it.

tipper...i am looking for both

When i first started my career i had a 120 mile round trip commute. For me satelite radio and a comfortable efficient car were life savers. So was my hands free head set so i could get some things done on my ride.

My trip was on a rural 4 lane freeway though, never in traffic. I did that commute for 3 years, and really didn't mind it. After getting into the swing of it the ride became relaxing. It gave me time to have my coffee in the morning and unwind after work. When i finally got a job close to home my family thought i was unhappy with my choice, but really I just needed my alone, quiet unwind time i was no longer getting. I get very frustrated in traffic so i would have a much harder time with a 2 hour city commute than i did with my 2 hour country commute.

Good luck with your choice, and if you have any direct questions about Maricopa let me know.

[mwwwin]

Yeah, you'll spend any savings in rent/mortgage on gas plus some. You can get a killer one bedroom apartment in N Scotts for around $800 - there are tons of deals at Desert Club, Paragon, Shade, The Edge, etc... Two bedroom for around $1100 with a couple months from rent! Why spend 3 hours a day in your car driving back and forth when you can have a 30 min max round trip commute?

[61scout80]

Originally Posted by mwwwin

Yeah, you'll spend any savings in rent/mortgage on gas plus some. You can get a killer one bedroom apartment in N Scotts for around $800 - there are tons of deals at Desert Club, Paragon, Shade, The Edge, etc... Two bedroom for around $1100 with a couple months from rent! Why spend 3 hours a day in your car driving back and forth when you can have a 30 min max round trip commute?

Read the post directly above yours

[AsForMeAndMyHouse]

No way would I do it! There are plenty of good deals out there now in N. Phoenix or even in Scottsdale. Just keep looking around.