Opinion on Eastern Fringe Areas/Commute (Mesa, Scottsdale: foreclosure, rentals, houses)

[cw_zeus]

I've done a fair share of lurking and a bit of posting in the last year or so since accepting a job in southwest Chandler (coming out of my 5.5 year journey through a doctorate). Location of work is about half way between 101 and 10, right near the 202. Anyway, we're moving down in 2 weeks and are trying to get housing in place. We will be arriving and trying to rent something in a manner of 3 or 4 days, so advance research has become quite the time consuming pursuit.

Naturally we've gotten some of the live close to your job in Chandler, Gilbert or Ahwatukee advice and while we've been looking at listings for some decent houses there, they just don't seem to do it compared to some of the other things we've found. My wife and I love the outdoors, and generally would prefer a nice night in with a home cooked meal and a bottle of wine in our pool unde the stars versus going out for a crazy night on the town.

We've pretty much narrowed our search for a rental down to 3 possible areas now, Fountain Hills, Las Sendas in northeast Mesa, and possibly Gold Canyon. The Augusta Ranch area is another possibility, but it seems to me like the physical setting of the other three is a bit nicer and our money will probably go further in them (except Fountain Hills). We are in our mid/late twenties, and have no kids (and hope to keep it that way for a little while). Commuting up to an hour each way for work doesn't bother us, but minimizing this would still be better. My wife also still needs to get a job once we are relocated, which plays into some of our concerns.

Gold Canyon seems hard to get rentals in, is really out there (pushing 40 miles), and seems like it would limit my wife's geographic area to look for a job. Nevertheless, it looks like an absolutely stunning place. We were out towards Apache Junction while visiting last year (and really liked the looming mountains and what not), but never got all the way out to GC unfortunately to see it first hand.

Fountain Hills seems older and much more expensive. Location for my wife's job search seems like it would be better however, but I'm nervous about my commute due to the limited access of living out there and lack of highway for a lot of the drive. When we visited a year ago we did drive through this area though and were absolutely blown away with how beautiful everything there was and felt it was like being a story book.

Las Sendas finally is an area that has only become known to us while actually looking for housing. It seems like a really nice mixture of affordability, luxury, and location with the best potential commute of the three for me and not too decentralized a spot for my wife to start her job search from. We also love the pictures of it that we've seen.

So, am I crazy for thinking one of these three is the solution? Any input on pros and cons and my concerns about commutes from GC and Fountain Hills? We've already thrown out most of Queen Creek due to concerns about the lack of road access and the severe foreclosure problems there. Maricopa for the same reasons, plus it's too flat!

[LocoAZnative]

Man you are looking to far away. There are a lot of nice areas in Chandler, Tempe are that would be right where you are working.

[homesweetazhome]

You are right to disregard Maricopa and Queen Creek for now. So many problems with these two areas. If you are working in SW Chandler, there are some great areas nearby, Ahwatukee has nice mountain views and Ocotillo area is very nice with lakes running through it. As far as Gold Canyon, it is really far from your job. Really, really far. Ditto Fountain Hills. The commuting here will get very old very fast, it's not an hour of driving commute, it's is an hour of stop and go commute which wears on you. I have a free relocation guide on my website that may help you out as well. Good luck to you.

[cw_zeus]

Originally Posted by AZnative4Life

Man you are looking to far away. There are a lot of nice areas in Chandler, Tempe are that would be right where you are working.

Chandler definitely has some nice areas, but I actually haven't been able to find a single rental listing with pool (something we want no matter what) in Tempe that doesn't seem like an overpriced and older (and often run down looking) house.

Chandler still can't give us the physical setting we are looking for though from what I can tell unfortunately.

For the record, we are going to be looking at properties in Chandler and Gilbert, and possibly Ahwatukee if we find something we really like, but the allure of the other areas is definitely a motivating factor...

[cw_zeus]

Originally Posted by homesweetazhome

You are right to disregard Maricopa and Queen Creek for now. So many problems with these two areas. If you are working in SW Chandler, there are some great areas nearby, Ahwatukee has nice mountain views and Ocotillo area is very nice with lakes running through it. As far as Gold Canyon, it is really far from your job. Really, really far. Ditto Fountain Hills. The commuting here will get very old very fast, it's not an hour of driving commute, it's is an hour of stop and go commute which wears on you. I have a free relocation guide on my website that may help you out as well. Good luck to you.

We have been looking some in the east Chandler/Ocotillo area, but haven't tracked down a rental yet that fits what we are after. I honestly think it'd be a lot easier if we were buying and had a sustained period of time to try to find the perfect house, but unfortunately we don't.

Both the Gold Canyon and Fountain Hills commutes do worry me, especially GC since it is out a bit further from what I can tell. Las Sendas seems like an interesting option however since I think the 202 access will work to my advantage for getting down to where I have to go...

Thanks for the input, and I'll check out the guide.

[oldhousegirl]

Las Sendas. Easy freeway access, gorgeous - especially the "higher" up you go. Shopping nearby.

[DR1665]

If it helps, I've been out here just over seven years and have spent the majority of that time in the north-central and northwest areas. When my company relocated from south Scottsdale to a new facility in Chandler, I took the chance and moved to Chandler (x-streets: Alma School and Pecos). Lived down there for 14 months before a home purchase moved us back northwest. I think Chandler is my favorite part of the metro area, really.

I left one position for another which was just south of the 10 on 40th Street (by the airport). Taking surface streets, the commute was about 40 minutes each way and moved nicely. If I carpooled with a neighbor, it was more like 20 minutes.

The area along the southern length of the 202 is all pretty much new. Consider this: If your commute up the 10 from south Chandler is slow and arduous, you will practically fly down the 202 to get there from anywhere in southern Chandler or Gilbert. On the weekends, when you don't have to make that drive to work, you will have plenty of clean, new shops and strip malls to visit. Everything is close at hand and, for the most part, less than ten years old out there. Even so, you can still find little pockets of the old western towns which started the whole thing moving out there.

Chandler is nice. It's worth checking out.

[some.guy]

I literally just moved to a neighborhood right in the area you will be working in, roughly halfway between I10 and 101 on Chandler Blvd. We found a rental house with a pool, and love it so far. Our neighbors are fantastic, and this area has everything we need within a 5 minute drive.

It really sounds like you want something higher end though, based on your comments. My advice is to find something very near your place of employment, get the pool of course, but stick close. After all you are renting for the moment, it is temporary. The allure of the "tropical oasis" aspect to some of the housing (esp. the higher end houses and neighborhoods) is strong, especially depending on where you are coming from. My advice still is to find something nice, close to work, with a pool, and keep it inexpensive at first. The area your job will be in definitely fits that bill. Give yourself time to live and explore a little. Minimizing your commute time will help you do that. My two cents.

[khogue]

Hi. I was just looking on craigs list, and I saw a 3 bedroom home for rent with a pool in Chandler for $1195.00 a month. You might want to have a look at it.