Fountain Hills ... best affordable suburb??? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: crime, Home Depot, to buy)

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Agreed, there is no way he drove from Saguaro/Shea in Fountain Hills to I-10/Broadway in 25 minutes.

No way? Bing maps shows it as 25.1 miles, 24 minutes.

The beeline has only a single stoplight between shea and mcdowell, at gilbert rd. It is 65mph, 4 lanes divided highway with very little traffic, even at rush hour. Half of that trip is on the beeline.

Look, if you guys don't like FH, that's fine, but don't call us liars when we tell you how long it takes us to drive from point a to point b. I'm driving from the far side of the fountain lake, through the reservation, past the casino, onto 87 and all the way into gilbert every morning. I go between the posted speeds and +5. I make the trip in 30-35 minutes depending on how many lights I hit on country club. Bing shows it as 22.9 miles, 34 minutes.

I think the problem is you misunderestimate the beeline. If you equate beeline driving with the other freeway driving around here, then you're going to be off on your assumptions.

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

I did google map it. The starting point was the intersection between Saguaro and Shea and Fashion Square. I then traced the route you provided me which was Shea to B-line to McDowell to Hayden to Camelback. That route was 20 miles. And you don't speed. So you somehow magically managed to drive continuously at 50 mph the entire route and didn't stop at any lights or stop signs.

On Bing the route is 18.5 miles, 23 minutes. Again, I think you don't have a clear picture of what driving on the beeline is like, because you keep claiming all these drives should take longer than they actually take. I've not been to the fashion mall yet- but it sounds like something my wife would like. Maybe we'll make a trip there this weekend and see for ourselves how long it takes. I'm curious, even to the point of risking a trip to a mall with my wife.

[Mares84]

Originally Posted by Zathras

On Bing the route is 18.5 miles, 23 minutes. Again, I think you don't have a clear picture of what driving on the beeline is like, because you keep claiming all these drives should take longer than they actually take. I've not been to the fashion mall yet- but it sounds like something my wife would like. Maybe we'll make a trip there this weekend and see for ourselves how long it takes. I'm curious, even to the point of risking a trip to a mall with my wife.

Thank you. I don't think we have any reason to lie anout it. I am not one of those people that is going to lie just for the sake of being right on a forum.

Your wife probably would like Fashion Square as long as she likes to shop. Plus, its only 25 minutes!

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

There are a lot of communities that I feel are more prestigious than Fountain Hills. I think the Sanctuary in Ahwautukee and Trovita in Chandler not to mention many communities in Ocotillo are nicer than Fountain Hills. Scottsdale has many communities that completely trump Fountain Hills as well.

Your comparisons don't make sense to me. Why not comparing a community with a community... Sanctuary (or Trovita or Ocotillo) vs. FireRock or Eagle Nest?

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by Mares84

I for one am happy there is no Wal-Mart here.

Ditto I am sure we don't have to worry about Wal-Mart coming to Fountain Hills .

[Mares84]

Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

Ditto I am sure we don't have to worry about Wal-Mart coming to Fountain Hills .

some things in life are good simple! i wouldn't want this beautiful scenery to be over run with best buys and walmarts.

[azriverfan.]

Fountain Hills isn't for everyone. If you prefer having serenity and beautiful scenery at the expense of lack of access to shopping, fine dining, companies, the airport and entertainment so be it. Some people enjoy rural locations and some prefer a more metropolitan feel.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Zathras

On Bing the route is 18.5 miles, 23 minutes. Again, I think you don't have a clear picture of what driving on the beeline is like, because you keep claiming all these drives should take longer than they actually take. I've not been to the fashion mall yet- but it sounds like something my wife would like. Maybe we'll make a trip there this weekend and see for ourselves how long it takes. I'm curious, even to the point of risking a trip to a mall with my wife.

Why don't you dispute the points I raised instead of providing a non-specific and subjective response like "You don't have a clear picture". How is it that one can drive on a 20 mile route that involves multiple stop lights and stop signs in 25 minutes? The Bee line is not like I-10, 101 or the 51. There are stops on it, would you disagree with that?

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Zathras

No way? Bing maps shows it as 25.1 miles, 24 minutes.

The beeline has only a single stoplight between shea and mcdowell, at gilbert rd. It is 65mph, 4 lanes divided highway with very little traffic, even at rush hour. Half of that trip is on the beeline.

Look, if you guys don't like FH, that's fine, but don't call us liars when we tell you how long it takes us to drive from point a to point b. I'm driving from the far side of the fountain lake, through the reservation, past the casino, onto 87 and all the way into gilbert every morning. I go between the posted speeds and +5. I make the trip in 30-35 minutes depending on how many lights I hit on country club. Bing shows it as 22.9 miles, 34 minutes.

I think the problem is you misunderestimate the beeline. If you equate beeline driving with the other freeway driving around here, then you're going to be off on your assumptions.

You referenced Bing to find another source to contradict Google so it's obvious you wouldn't accept what Google provided. Also, you live in Fountain Hills so you have an incentive to lie or "fudge" it's distances and make it seem less remote than it really is. However, we have no incentive to put Fountain Hills down. We are just stating the facts and in a very predictably defensive response, you will resort to tactics like finding another search engine to dispute the results Google provided. I suppose I can understand your motive but it doesn't make your statements any more true. Do you honestly think that people such as myself have not considered Fountain Hills as a place of settlement? A lot of people like myself looked into Fountain Hills and realized it's location is remote and a challenge with regard to commuting. Some people can deal with that but for many of us, we couldn't. Let's be honest, Fountain Hills has some beautiful homes with amazing views but it's location is a drawback. You can deny and downplay that if you like but a lot of people reading this know where I'm coming from.

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

You referenced Bing to find another source to contradict Google so it's obvious you wouldn't accept what Google provided.

That's not true. I referenced Bing because it's what I always use. Bing is my home page and has been since last year. I use it for mapping and searching. I prefer it over google maps. I like the aerial view feature. I like the route mapping functions better. But I would expect the two mapping engines to provide very similar distances. And I wouldn't consider a difference of a mile over a 20+ mile route to be material.

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Also, you live in Fountain Hills so you have an incentive to lie or "fudge" it's distances and make it seem less remote than it really is.

Well, it's true that I live here. But we only moved here a few weeks ago, (not much before mares did, apparently), so it's not like we have a long relationship with this place that we need to defend. What I AM defending, is my integrity. You are claiming I am lying or fudging distances, which I am not.

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

However, we have no incentive to put Fountain Hills down. We are just stating the facts and in a very predictably defensive response, you will resort to tactics like finding another search engine to dispute the results Google provided. I suppose I can understand your motive but it doesn't make your statements any more true.

Again, you are saying that I have made statements which are not true. Ie, I am lying. That is what I am defending, not fountain hills per se. I've only been here a few weeks, so it is certainly possible that I might be wrong about something like a distance between point a and point b, which is why I use an internet mapping engine all the time, and why I've been constantly timing things everywhere I go.

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Do you honestly think that people such as myself have not considered Fountain Hills as a place of settlement? A lot of people like myself looked into Fountain Hills and realized it's location is remote and a challenge with regard to commuting. Some people can deal with that but for many of us, we couldn't. Let's be honest, Fountain Hills has some beautiful homes with amazing views but it's location is a drawback. You can deny and downplay that if you like but a lot of people reading this know where I'm coming from.

You are correct, the location is a drawback for some people. It was a consideration for us, because I work in Gilbert. In the end we decided the location was worth the 30-35 minute commute.

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Why don't you dispute the points I raised instead of providing a non-specific and subjective response like "You don't have a clear picture". How is it that one can drive on a 20 mile route that involves multiple stop lights and stop signs in 25 minutes? The Bee line is not like I-10, 101 or the 51. There are stops on it, would you disagree with that?

Obviously Mcdowell and the other surface streets would have stops. But the beeline between shea and mcdowell has a single light. So, sometimes one stop, sometimes zero stops, on that 11 mile portion, at 65-70mph. So not exactly like an interstate, but it has a pretty similar effect on a trip.

Anyway, we're heading to fashion mall today. The wife says she lost a lot of brain cells reading this thread and to make up for it I need to take her to the mall. I will report on the travel time.