Planning on Moving to AZ in a few years

[sh9730]

SO - I of course will pop in here since the discussions are already in regards to the "middle of nowhere" towns as some call them.

Maricopa and Casa Grande are just NOT that far out. My experience is that most people - even those that live in Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, etc. spend MOST nights at home after work. So the fact that EVERYTHING is not yet available in Maricopa or Casa Grande is rarely material. On those occasions that you really need something - yes it is a short drive.

WORK commute is something different though as it is a daily occurrence. Many cannot tolerate a 35-45 minute drive each way every day. BUT, many others do if it means there children get to live in a nicer house in a newer area for the same cost. It is all a choice. I get very frustrated with the blanket comments "there is NO reason to live there". PLEASE. Saving 100K on a house IS a reason for those who understand the trade-offs.

For me - I work from home - so that commute was not a factor.

Now, all of that said - OP - if you are seriously considering Maricopa, you should also consider Casa Grande. CG is far ahead of Maricopa in the infrastructure department - so you get some more of the things the other posters deem important (restaurants, shopping, Medical Care, etc.) than Maricopa currently offers for about the same price range. CG is about a 5 minute longer commute into Phoenix than Maricopa - but it is all on the freeway instead of a roadway.

CG will also be growing a much faster clip than Maricopa in the near term as these projects come to fruition:

PhoenixMart | America's Product Sourcing Center - construction is about 40% complete now and is hoped to bring 3000+ jobs

Attesa.com | Official Attesa Motorsports Community - 2000 acre Formula One racetrack, entertainment, and Automotive Research complex to break ground this summer.

www.lucidmotors.com - 700 million dollar Electric Vehicle Assembly Plant to break ground in the spring. 400 jobs in 2017 and up to 2200 by 2023.

All of these projects are generating a HUGE push for education improvements in town. A new school bond was just passed to revitalize the elementary schools in town, and the Central Arizona College is bringing a bunch of new curriculum on board.

I have NOTHING against Maricopa. It is a nice newer master planned community that will be a force in the next 10-15 years. But in the interim the fact that CG has a shopping mall, Hospital, Junior College Campus, and has closer access to both I 8 (for trips to San Diego) and I 10 to both Phoenix AND Tucson (both within an hour) for about the same price - is still the choice I suggest to those in the "more house for less money" camp.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by sh9730

SO - I of course will pop in here since the discussions are already in regards to the "middle of nowhere" towns as some call them.

Maricopa and Casa Grande are just NOT that far out. My experience is that most people - even those that live in Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, etc. spend MOST nights at home after work. So the fact that EVERYTHING is not yet available in Maricopa or Casa Grande is rarely material. On those occasions that you really need something - yes it is a short drive.

WORK commute is something different though as it is a daily occurrence. Many cannot tolerate a 35-45 minute drive each way every day. BUT, many others do if it means there children get to live in a nicer house in a newer area for the same cost. It is all a choice. I get very frustrated with the blanket comments "there is NO reason to live there". PLEASE. Saving 100K on a house IS a reason for those who understand the trade-offs.

For me - I work from home - so that commute was not a factor.

Now, all of that said - OP - if you are seriously considering Maricopa, you should also consider Casa Grande. CG is far ahead of Maricopa in the infrastructure department - so you get some more of the things the other posters deem important (restaurants, shopping, Medical Care, etc.) than Maricopa currently offers for about the same price range. CG is about a 5 minute longer commute into Phoenix than Maricopa - but it is all on the freeway instead of a roadway.

CG will also be growing a much faster clip than Maricopa in the near term as these projects come to fruition:

PhoenixMart | America's Product Sourcing Center - construction is about 40% complete now and is hoped to bring 3000+ jobs

Attesa.com | Official Attesa Motorsports Community - 2000 acre Formula One racetrack, entertainment, and Automotive Research complex to break ground this summer.

www.lucidmotors.com - 700 million dollar Electric Vehicle Assembly Plant to break ground in the spring. 400 jobs in 2017 and up to 2200 by 2023.

All of these projects are generating a HUGE push for education improvements in town. A new school bond was just passed to revitalize the elementary schools in town, and the Central Arizona College is bringing a bunch of new curriculum on board.

I have NOTHING against Maricopa. It is a nice newer master planned community that will be a force in the next 10-15 years. But in the interim the fact that CG has a shopping mall, Hospital, Junior College Campus, and has closer access to both I 8 (for trips to San Diego) and I 10 to both Phoenix AND Tucson (both within an hour) for about the same price - is still the choice I suggest to those in the "more house for less money" camp.

Casa Grande is not 35-45 minutes to the metro. It is 30 to 50 miles to the metro. It is 30 miles just to the tip of Chandler and 50 miles to Phoenix. So that means the actual drive times are much longer. This doesn't account for car accidents which further delay getting home because the I-10 can be shut down or takes hours to clear up.

You don't have to move to Casa Grande to save 100K. There are plenty of areas in the metropolitan area where you can save 100K. There are places in the northeast and southeast part of the Valley that have inexpensive new homes and are much closer than Casa Grande.

[sh9730]

[quote=

You don't have to move to Casa Grande to save 100K. There are plenty of areas in the metropolitan area where you can save 100K. There are places in the northeast and southeast part of the Valley that have inexpensive new homes and are much closer than Casa Grande.[/QUOTE]

AZRIVER

So - first of all I drive to the airport frequently in under 45 minutes and into phoenix downtown in under 50 minutes - AND I said that IF the OP was already considering Maricopa - he should also consider Casa Grande.

NEXT - show me some NEWER equivalent houses with decent lots in nice areas for the same price as CG or Maricopa in the east valley that is any closer - i.e. my 1900 sq ft house, former model, fully landscaped, with 8700 sq ft lot is worth about 165K here - built in 2008. There are many less expensive but still fine homes to be found here in new subdivisions. Even BRAND NEW homes are still well under 200K here.

Even the TOWN of Queen Creek has more expensive housing prices and they are only about 5 miles closer to downtown - San Tan Valley has comparable pricing, but is not any shorter of a drive than CG or Maricopa and it, like Maricopa does not have the same amenities yet as CG.

Gilbert, Chandler, East Mesa (in any newer non-county island area) are all much more expensive - maybe not every house is a 100K difference - but it is significantly more expensive.

NOW, I will grant that those areas are more "urban" because you run into all the 202 corridor stuff almost immediately, vs. CG to Chandler which has the GRIC in between - but to the airport or downtown is not that much difference.

Yes, traffic can be a risk - BUT that is anywhere...and yes you need to factor in the cost of driving vs. house payment.

MY POINT though is not to make broad, blanket statements to everyone based on your personal choices - everybody's situation is different. ESPECIALLY those that can get jobs in almost any city/town (healthcare and education) and then the 15 times a year drive into the metro is hardly even worth talking about.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by sh9730

AZRIVER

So - first of all I drive to the airport frequently in under 45 minutes and into phoenix downtown in under 50 minutes - AND I said that IF the OP was already considering Maricopa - he should also consider Casa Grande.

NEXT - show me some NEWER equivalent houses with decent lots in nice areas for the same price as CG or Maricopa in the east valley that is any closer - i.e. my 1900 sq ft house, former model, fully landscaped, with 8700 sq ft lot is worth about 165K here - built in 2008. There are many less expensive but still fine homes to be found here in new subdivisions. Even BRAND NEW homes are still well under 200K here.

Even the TOWN of Queen Creek has more expensive housing prices and they are only about 5 miles closer to downtown - San Tan Valley has comparable pricing, but is not any shorter of a drive than CG or Maricopa and it, like Maricopa does not have the same amenities yet as CG.

Gilbert, Chandler, East Mesa (in any newer non-county island area) are all much more expensive - maybe not every house is a 100K difference - but it is significantly more expensive.

NOW, I will grant that those areas are more "urban" because you run into all the 202 corridor stuff almost immediately, vs. CG to Chandler which has the GRIC in between - but to the airport or downtown is not that much difference.

Yes, traffic can be a risk - BUT that is anywhere...and yes you need to factor in the cost of driving vs. house payment.

MY POINT though is not to make broad, blanket statements to everyone based on your personal choices - everybody's situation is different. ESPECIALLY those that can get jobs in almost any city/town (healthcare and education) and then the 15 times a year drive into the metro is hardly even worth talking about.

You can make it to the airport in 45 minutes from Casa Grande provided there are no traffic or accidents on the road. However, for most people, they are commuting to work in the morning and leaving for home in the early evening during rush hour. Traffic easily doubles those commute times. I work in downtown and it takes me 45 minutes to reach my exit off I-10 during rush hour. It would take me another 60 minutes to drive from that location to Casa Grande during that time of day. I worked in Tucson at the U of A for a couple of years. It would take me 30-35 minutes to drive to Casa Grande from Chandler. During rush hour, that drive could take 60-90 minutes. You are in a unique situation because you work out of your home. Most people do not work out of their home and travel to work. So for most people, Casa Grande is not a realistic option.

You may pay 50K more for a home in Queen Creek, however,Queen Creek borders Gilbert and Chandler. A person living in Queen Creek isn't driving the same distance for the same amenities as someone living in Casa Grande. So while a home may be 50K more in parts of the Valley when compared to Casa Grande, the additional fuel costs, lack of access to amenities, and lost time doesn't compensate for the additional $300 per month one would pay for their mortgage.

[Prickly Pear]

Plenty of cheap places in the exurbs of Phoenix like Buckeye and Chandler that are affordable. In my area of town (central Glendale) I can find houses selling for 250k. I should note my area of town is safer than where I used to live where the home values were easily 500k+ with many reaching the low millions. Of course where I live now isn't "new" but is clean compared to most metros I've been to, however arguably one of the few diverse parts of the metro.

I don't understand why people would live in Casa Grande or Maricopa unless they are one of those people that frequently travel to Tucson for work also. Or there work is actually based in CG or Maricopa. The I-10 is a mess and should be avoided as much as possible and so long with many of the other rural freeways that exist in Pinal County (and SW Maricopa County).