What is Queen Creek like??? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: real estate, rent, homes)

[observer53]

Originally Posted by jml1234

My family and I have lived in QC for 7 years in the western incorporated Maricopa county part of it. Queen Creek is no longer a completely rural community as some might still believe. Yes, there are still many open spaces, ranch lands and mountain scenery, but now QC offers much much more. Beautiful, modern shopping centers with all the shopping you would ever need, a new library, new restaurants, improved streets and upgraded remodeled schools have given the area quite an easy, convenient lifestyle. Additionally, closeby access to a brand new freeway loop puts us in downtown Phoenix within 30 minutes when we need to venture into the city. We work in Mesa AZ and drive this loop every day and it's no big deal. I would recommend the Maricopa school system from personal experience. QC offers the traditional tract style master planned home communities as well as some custom home communities with more land surrounding them. It's the typical mix of old and new that makes the area special and the town council has done a great job of blending both. Good luck to you in your search.

Just to make sure it's clear, are you referring to Maricopa COUNTY vs. Pinal County?

[jml1234]

Yes. Queen Creek is absolutely family friendly. Being old farmland, it is very flat in front of the San Tan Foothills so it's great for bike riding or jogging. QC prides itself in offering extensive equestrian trails throughout most neighborhoods so don't be surprised if you see a horse or two walking by. A brand new park and equestrian center opened last year for rodeos and horse shows.

[jml1234]

Yes. Queen Creek, although not a very large area, spans over the border of two counties--Maricopa county and Pinal county. In my opinion, the Maricopa county school system is larger and more established therefore associated with less growing pains versus Pinal county. Pinal county continues SE of QC and includes the towns of Florence and Coolidge and is much more rural than QC is now, but those towns are growing too.

[GHF]

We are OR natives, but tired of the rain.
We have five kids, are a mixed race (Asian-American) family, all the kids are teens.
Do any high schools in the PHX area teach Chinese or Japanese?
We have six horses. Would Queen Creek be a good place to look for a horse-ready acreage with home on it for $300K or less?
Does anyone on this forum have horses and if you do, how are things like flies, mud, heat as they affect horses? The acreages look small, yet they seem to not limit the number of horses on them. How does that work? Is it possible to grow grass or does everyone feed hay all year? Are most neighbors tolerant of horses being so close to them?
Thanks.

[jml1234]

As far as Phoenix high schools that teach Chinese or Japanese, your best bet is probably the cities of Tempe and Chandler which are adjacent and connected to Phoenix. There is a heavy Asian population in those two cities, especially Tempe. I buy my 20-lb bags of white rice at the Asian stores in that area.
Queen Creek is EXCELLENT for horses. Mud? What's that? There is no mud because AZ does not rain very much and when it does, it dries very quickly. It is hot in the summer but the horses tolerate it well with some kind of stable or open sided equestrian shelter for shade. Because we don't get much rain, planting grass on large areas of equestrian land wastes too much water so most all horse owners use hay and raise the horses on barren or wild grassy ground. If you lived in on an equestrian property in Queen Creek, no problem with neighbors loving horses because they probably have horses too.
Visit queencreek.org for specific zoning ordinances for equestrian properties. Good luck in your search.

[jml1234]

I have lived in QC for 7 years. We live in the far northwest part of Town. My neighborhood has large, one acre custom home properties, some with equestrian priveleges. We have an HOA as do most custom neighborhoods adjacent to us. There are equestrian trails all over QC. Southern, unincorporated QC closer to the San Tan Mountain range is a little less developed as far as planned communities. Not too many HOAs there which allows for a little more freedom of use on your property. Southwest QC is quite rural, lots of open dusty desert between homes and almost everyone has livestock of some kind. Eastern and Southeastern QC have a mix of tract home communities on small to medium size lots as well as old ranch land property in between. Lots of rental property everywhere. You just need to decide what kind of property you want to buy or rent. Commuting is not a problem anymore. Plenty of improved multi-lane roads get you in and out of QC to the nearby 202 loop freeway connection near Williams Gateway airport. Schools are fine on the Maricopa side. Pinal County side had some growing pains but is getting much better. Good luck.

[TransporterG]

Good posts. Queen Creek is a mix of urban/suburban/rural. In general, the schools still are not very good compared to more central areas. Like most places in the valley--which makes it hard to stereotype--it has pockets. White trash mingle with horse farms mingle with engineers. Best to check it out first. It is ALMOST developed, having suffered from the economic crisis, but some nice homes for middle class folks and more western-oriented lifestyles. Not as many Mormons there as East Mesa and further east, if that is of any curiosity. It's also not the place to find the best and brightest in the valley, and that may not be the point anyway. Visit, check it out if you like that kind of place, and don't mind being a little isolated from the best of the valley's culture, education, cuisine, career opportunities.

[TransporterG]

Originally Posted by GHF

Do any high schools in the PHX area teach Chinese or Japanese?
We have six horses. Would Queen Creek be a good place to look for a horse-ready acreage with home on it for $300K or less?
Does anyone on this forum have horses and if you do, how are things like flies, mud, heat as they affect horses? The acreages look small, yet they seem to not limit the number of horses on them. How does that work? Is it possible to grow grass or does everyone feed hay all year? Are most neighbors tolerant of horses being so close to them?
Thanks.

I lived in Oregon many years ago, and we live between Shanghai (for 15 years) and Tempe. Being Asian, education is our #1 priority for children. Check out South Tempe for interesting horse properties, as well as the very good educational opportunities (10% of the district I live in is Asian--due to proximity to Intel). Another valley "pocket." We even hear chickens crow in early mornings, but yet are in a central urban place with horses and Home Depots. Go figure. I love the asymmetry of it all.

[belgirl]

There are so many great deals on homes right now in Queen Creek, that if you are able, buy instead of rent. Much more worth it in the long run....

[jml1234]

I have lived in Queen Creek long enough to know that it is no longer isolated from the more cultural areas of Phoenix. The new Loop 202 freeway has made the entire far east valley accessible to everything Phoenix. The inexpensive real estate that you are finding are generally in tract home, master planned communities with very little land per parcel. These homes are mostly in eastern QC. Middle and western QC contain many gorgeous neighborhoods of custom homes on acre lots. Now in this real estate market, those homes are fabulous deals. South Tempe is very expensive and has many established neighborhoods. You can get the same size acreage property, the same size custom home, and the same quality of life in QC for less money--for now anyway. So you have to drive an extra 10 minutes to reach a freeway. I'll take that for a cheaper mortgage. Good luck in your search.