Florence?? (Phoenix, Coolidge, Buckeye: houses, living in, price)

[jenboo]

Originally Posted by PlainWhite

The reality is that picking a place to live, sight unseen, based on information from the Internet, is a recipe for disaster. In the case of Florence, it's a flat, barren, undistinguished town with no redeeming qualities. You deserve better for your hard-earned money.

We are going to visit the area soon. We just want to know which areas to look at. We will rent first to make sure we find the right place before we buy. We want to rent in an area that we can afford to buy in so that we don't fall in love with an area that it's completely out of our price range.

I'm just trying to get an idea of different areas so we know where to look when we go visit.

[sh9730]

I ll just chime in and say that you really should consider some other areas in Pinal also.

I get price is a primary issue for you guys - and that's fine. A couple of years ago you could get quite a bit for 150-175K - but it is a little harder now, though not impossible by any means.

You shouldn't limit yourself to Florence though if there is no specific reason other than price. San Tan, where you will be could be an option - though it may be a little to compacted for your taste given it is very much like the newer areas of Vegas you spoke of with just rows and rows of houses.

But consider Casa Grande - you can still do ok for 150K here - especially if you are willing to live on the outskirts a bit which you may in fact like. Then you will be in between everything from Phoenix to Tucson....

Or if you really want cheap and are considering Old Florence, Coolidge or Arizona City may both be options.

I base all of this on the fact that location for work doesn't seem to be an issue.....

[jenboo]

Originally Posted by sh9730

I ll just chime in and say that you really should consider some other areas in Pinal also.

I get price is a primary issue for you guys - and that's fine. A couple of years ago you could get quite a bit for 150-175K - but it is a little harder now, though not impossible by any means.

You shouldn't limit yourself to Florence though if there is no specific reason other than price. San Tan, where you will be could be an option - though it may be a little to compacted for your taste given it is very much like the newer areas of Vegas you spoke of with just rows and rows of houses.

But consider Casa Grande - you can still do ok for 150K here - especially if you are willing to live on the outskirts a bit which you may in fact like. Then you will be in between everything from Phoenix to Tucson....

Or if you really want cheap and are considering Old Florence, Coolidge or Arizona City may both be options.

I base all of this on the fact that location for work doesn't seem to be an issue.....

Thank you. We are looking into other areas as well not just Florence. This post was just to get a better understanding of Florence.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

I don't think anyone should move to Florence without seriously investigating some of the very controversial activities there involving local politics and the office of the sheriff of Pinal County. Florence is known far and wide as a city of law enforcement. An extraordinary percentage of the population is employed in some phase of law enforcement, whether it's for the Florence Police Department, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, Arizona State Prison Complex located in Florence, the Pinal County attorney's office or other offices of the court system, or for the controversial Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), which while it has no official place in the state's justice system (other than service provider) plays a major role in political decisions made in in Florence and Casa Grande.

I'm not telling you what position to take on these many news events, which range from the CCA used in drug sweeps of public schools ... to controversy in the Pinal County Attorney’s Office chosen as the top 2013 story in western Pinal County... to Florence police being accused of purposefully botching investigations of a child's slaying and teen's rape ... to police detective whistle-blowers being dismissed from the force suing for wrongful termination ... to multiple other stories that seem to crop up almost monthly. But I am telling you that if you are thinking of raising a bi-racial family there you should inform yourself of the environment.

These controversies date back to the late 1980s when Police Chief Tom Rankin was accused of covering up serious crimes committed by Florence police officers by arranging for them to plead guilty to lesser charges that would not involve them losing their jobs. That morphed into the next decade when the tabloid TV news show Inside Edition came to town to investigate personal allegations against Rankin, who refers to himself as a "cowboy cop." About 40 minority residents of Florence told the news show that "Rankin was a prejudiced bigot who harasses their children and spews racial slurs while acting as police chief," (as summarized not by me, but by the Casa Grande Dispatch newspaper). A police officer married to an African-American woman charged that he had been discriminated against by the sheriff. When a Dispatch reporter questioned Rankin about his alleged use of the N word, his explanation was, "That is a word [blacks] use to antagonize and get things started whenever they have a confrontation with law enforcement."

Nobody has to worry about Rankin being police chief anymore. He was fired by the town manager for many charges including insubordinate behavior, refusal to comply with performance standards, having officers engage in harassing conduct, allowing the department to fall below state standards, etc.

So what does Tom Rankin do now that he's no longer police chief? He's the mayor.

I'm not even telling you WHAT to read. I'll just say to Google "Florence Arizona law enforcement controversies," "Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu CNN," "Florence AZ Mayor Tom Rankin," or "Sale of Johnson Utilities to the Town ofFlorence" for the latest county-wide argument. Then read a few articles. If you still decide Florence is the place for your family, at least you'll have some history to bolster your decision.

I lived there in the 1980's and I worked at the Prison. Your statements are factual ..

Originally Posted by PlainWhite

The reality is that picking a place to live, sight unseen, based on information from the Internet, is a recipe for disaster. In the case of Florence, it's a flat, barren, undistinguished town with no redeeming qualities. You deserve better for your hard-earned money.

Good description.

And to the OP, your food preferences tell me you are not going to like Florence. These are beef eaters, and conservative to ultra conservative. And the town is ruled by the Law Enforcement/Corrections community 100%.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I lived there in the 1980's and I worked at the Prison. Your statements are factual ..

When I lived there in the early 1980"s Tom Rankin was the "Town Marshal" (there was no "police department" then). None of what's happened there since surprises me.

[crystalys]

Originally Posted by jenboo

As of now, around $150,000.. Depending on jobs, we might be able to get up to $175k.
I have had no luck finding much in our price range (obviously we are low end). We want to try to stay east and we want to be in a low crime area. We also would love to have a house that has rv parking for when my dad visits, but it looks like most hoa's won't allow them.

When you said this, my first thought would be Apache Junction because the lot sizes are decent and there are plenty with RV parking and no HOA. There are a lot of manufactured homes but there are plenty that are well cared for and look like a site built home.

I will also suggest the city of Maricopa for getting a larger house for less money both in purchase and rent prices, but there are a lot of HOA's so an RV would be more problematic.

I normally would say these two options are way out there but if you were considering Florence, then the distance of these two is not as far from Phoenix and the surrounding area.

[mrfritodude]

I'll chime in, too, since we just bought a house in Maricopa. We looked extensively in Eloy, Casa Grande, Florence, Queen Creek, Maricopa, Apache Junction and everywhere in between.

If you mentioned work location, I missed it. But if you work from home and want a good size yard, I would recommend the outlying areas of Maricopa. We visited the entire area and just fell in love with Maricopa. Florence was nothing but dirt as far as the eye could see. Casa Grande and Maricopa have so much more to offer, and yet you can find a place 'away from it all'.
The place we purchased has no HOA. It is ten minutes to all that the town of Maricopa has to offer, and we can be in Chandler or S Tempe in 45 minutes. Prices are very cheap compared to the rest of the metro area. Price we paid was similar to anything we could have found in Florence. I saw nothing in that town that would make me want to choose that town over another. We liked Apache Junction the best, but the prices were a bit higher.
Google the Census numbers for Maricopa for some interesting reading. Seems a lot of people have caught on to the area.

[sidrah]

I will say to simply look elsewhere. I work down there and there is not much to do. Yes, small town, kind of nice, but not where I would ever live. Near nothing. Maybe look at Anthem or San Tan Valley if you want to be out there. I would say go closer to Chandler

[Jukesgrrl]

An update on life in Florence:

On August 25, 2014, Thomas Rankin Jr., known to most in Florence as "Tom Tom," son of the current mayor and former lead lawman, was arrested by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force. He now has some new charges to add to a rap sheet that dates back to when he was 15. According to SanTanValley.com, the mayor's 33-year-old son was charged with Possession of Dangerous Drugs, Possession of Dangerous Drugs for Sale, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Marijuana for Sale, Using a Building for Sale or Manufacture of Dangerous Drugs, and Fortification of a Building (whatever that means).

The resident of Florence was first arrested in 1996 on juvenile charges. According to a court transcript unearthed by the Phoenix New Times he told arresting officers then, "You know better than to mess with me ... It doesn't matter; my dad will get me out of whatever happens, anyway." I don't know what he said this time around, but I do know he's already a convicted felon who is allegedly still in business.

[Ootandaboot]

I guess I'm bumping this. I have to go cheap, because I'm hurt and, unless I get cured, I can't work. So, I'm thinking something like Florence or Coolidge, but I'm open to any suggestions anyone has for anywhere that doesn't get more than a sprinkle of snow and isn't moldy, like the Pacific NW.

Anyway, I caught the gardening bug from my mom, and kind of "need" to have some cut flowers from my yard, unless I live near a farmer's market; but, I prefer to grow them. I've been living in a hot, dry place (in So Cal, not too far from the beach, so nothing compared to AZ), where most of the flowers I've tried in full sun have died. The poor dahlias cooked in the ground. So, do you think, if you had a single garden spot, not a whole lawn, you could manage to get things that grow best in cooler climates to bloom, maybe with dappled shade from a cover?