Seriously considering Casa Grande. Have some questions! Pros and Cons? (Phoenix: renters, condo)

[ComposerRyan]

Hey everyone,

After many people recommended it here, I am seriously beginning to consider Casa Grande. I can get way more home for the money and live comfortably from what I've seen. Also, I work from home so I have no commute to worry about.

I have some questions about Casa Grande for those familiar with the area if you could please answer my questions:

1) What is the water company like? One of the reasons I want to stay away from San Tan Valley is because of Johnson Utilities and I want to make sure Casa Grande doesn't have the same situation.

2) What is the Internet like in Casa Grande? My job relies 100% on the Internet so this is extremely important.

3) On Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site, it gives Casa Grande an "F" for crime. Is it really THAT bad?

4) How is the dating life for people in their late twenties or lower thirties?

5) Any other major concerns about Casa Grande I should be aware of?

Thanks for the help.

[DetroitN8V]

Living and working is fine, you can do that anywhere. What do you do for fun? You’ll be limited as far as that goes. I can’t image the dating scene is anything better than horrific way out there. CG seems to be full of old people and young families. Not many young professionals would choose to live there.

Unless your an introverted homebody, but a condo in a better location and save until you can buy a house that’s not in such a compromising location.

[49erfan916]

i know that it's far away. I also heard that the utility bills are also high. (water, electric, etc)

[ComposerRyan]

Originally Posted by 49erfan916

i know that it's far away. I also heard that the utility bills are also high. (water, electric, etc)

How bad are the utility bills exactly? I just found out that Casa Grande uses APS for their electric provider. Will my electric bill in Casa Grande be super high? And water is high too?

@DetroitN8V I will definitely think about all of this and keep it in mind. Definitely some important stuff to consider for sure.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by ComposerRyan

Hey everyone,

After many people recommended it here, I am seriously beginning to consider Casa Grande. I can get way more home for the money and live comfortably from what I've seen. Also, I work from home so I have no commute to worry about.

I have some questions about Casa Grande for those familiar with the area if you could please answer my questions:

1) What is the water company like? One of the reasons I want to stay away from San Tan Valley is because of Johnson Utilities and I want to make sure Casa Grande doesn't have the same situation.

2) What is the Internet like in Casa Grande? My job relies 100% on the Internet so this is extremely important.

3) On Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site, it gives Casa Grande an "F" for crime. Is it really THAT bad?

4) How is the dating life for people in their late twenties or lower thirties?

5) Any other major concerns about Casa Grande I should be aware of?

Thanks for the help.

At least to me, you are "forcing" a decision to buy a home. Expect the appreciation to be close to zero. That's because like nearly every item you buy, homes don't "appreciate"; rather they depreciate. If the total house goes up, generally, it is the land that rises (there are exceptions). And in Casa Grande, there is no shortage of land. Why would someone want your 10 year old home when they can go down the block and get a new one? Hopefully you get my point.

If you just have to buy a home, either take out a higher loan (a recession is coming and interest rates will probably coming down some more) or rent while you bank some more. For those who hate "throwing your money away" on rent (I just had this conversation with our daughter), realize you throw money away on jazzing up your house (getting a fraction of that back), maintaining things like paint every 10 years, updating the roof every so often, maintaining sprinklers (that cheap black plastic tubing will be NO GOOD in 10 years), appliances that are now only good for 7 years etc, etc, etc. Again, you get zero $$'s back on maintenance and a small percentage back on many of the improvements. Now add in the cost of money (interest), property taxes, etc.

That all said, I don't rent and I don't borrow. But if I was single, I would not be living with a population island of 55,000 with near zero appreciation in site. Plus, what if your pending significant other that you meet has a house? Now you have selling expenses. Plus the dining room table and pictures may have to be sold for pennies of the dollars because it won't work at another home. I can go on but I won't. Big picture: home ownership doesn't sound logical in your situation. Now if you said, I'm going to take in 4 renters, that's a different conversation. Then CG still probably isn't ideal.

Also, I'd stop getting yourself all lathered up on of all things, utilities! Yea, they have had some problems. But obviously it is so visible to the point of them having to fix it. I will say your OCD is shinning through and it will push you into a direction that will cripple your dating, resale, etc.

Right now, you are focused on details that miss the big picture. I admit I don't know your whole situation so I can be off.
But you seem to be the poster child of someone who should rent. "Recruit" the right significant other, eventually roll her $$'s into your fixed costs (housing) and you will be in a much better spot to buy what you want. But going out to Casa Grande and expecting to find a higher caliber sweetheart may not be the smartest move. Now, if you drive dump truck for a living, then you probably won't be inside of the single/professional dating scene. But with that all said, I expect your OCD will still be focused on buying a new home 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Realize that everything else could be harder for that decision. So step back and put buying a home on hold. Your focus should be to find that special someone. Or maybe get the right hood closer people in their late 20's and early 30's. It might be smart to take in some renters if you really want to buy. Now, if being single is your goal (you just want to date), then that is a different path.

[grmi66]

If you can live anywhere with a budget that you mentioned, look at Tucson right now. In my subdivision you can still find a 3/2 home that's roughly 1500-1800 SF for $230,000 in a great neighborhood. Both my wife and I work from home and have a solid internet connection. I've compared our house to similar neighborhoods in Phoenix and our house would be at least $100,000 more if in the Phoenix area.

We live in NW Tucson, so 90 minutes from Sky Harbor airport if we need to fly out of town. Plus a heck of lot more scenic than Casa Grande.

But I'd hurry, seems like NW Tucson has been discovered by other people that telecommute. House prices on just my block have jumped over $50,000 in the past year since we moved.

And if I was single, Tucson has probably a much better dating pool for you.

Didn't really want to move down here, we both prefer the amenities of Phoenix. Had family obligations that made us move, but after a year being back here the area is growing on me.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by grmi66

And if I was single, Tucson has probably a much better dating pool for you.

I agree. The big downside for Tuscon is the commute to the airport. I'd pick it over Prescott by a mile and other 90 minute-like drives. In my northern MN home, it takes my 2:45 to get the MSP. It is a PITA. I fly out about once a month. 90 minutes is a lot better than 2:45. But you bring up a great option. One that I would consider if I was a year around residence.

[Sno0909]

I would also fully agree with some of the others on here. I would purchase a condo somewhere in the Phoenix-metro area. If I was single, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near CG, San Tan, or Queen Creek. You need to be where the action is.

[grmi66]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I agree. The big downside for Tuscon is the commute to the airport. I'd pick it over Prescott by a mile and other 90 minute-like drives. In my northern MN home, it takes my 2:45 to get the MSP. It is a PITA. I fly out about once a month. 90 minutes is a lot better than 2:45. But you bring up a great option. One that I would consider if I was a year around residence.

Costs a bit more for a ticket, but we've been flying out of Tucson the last few trips. Thirty minutes to the airport, check in and getting through security is half the time it takes in Phoenix. Plus long term parking costs a fraction of what it does in Phoenix. So weighing in the time factor, cost of parking vs the extra cost of a plane ticket we've found that it's generally a wash.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Costs a bit more for a ticket, but we've been flying out of Tucson the last few trips. Thirty minutes to the airport, check in and getting through security is half the time it takes in Phoenix. Plus long term parking costs a fraction of what it does in Phoenix. So weighing in the time factor, cost of parking vs the extra cost of a plane ticket we've found that it's generally a wash.

Do most of the flights go though PHX 1st? When they do, you might as well save the $$'s on the ticket and drive the extra hour (90 minutes versus 30 minutes to Tucson).

That's the way it was in Colorado Springs. Pretty much everything went though Denver. So you have to take that flight to "save time", it might cost you more time versus spending the hour plus in the car. I'm curious...