Eloy and Gilbert (Phoenix, Casa Grande, Queen Creek: real estate, crime, homes)

[freedom2]

Can anyone tell me alittle about Eloy And Gilbert?

[sh9730]

Wow - what a comparison! About as different as can be except they are both here in AZ!! Gilbert is connected (albeit about as far away as you can be) to the "Phoenix Metro Grid", meaning from Gilbert towards Phoenix downtown there is really no break in civilization and urbanization. Gilbert has a reputation for good schools in most districts and is a very "clean" city and will continue to grow in the future.

Eloy is a very small city - less than 10K population and is almost an hour south of downtown Phx. There is very little commercial in town, and what is, is all along the freeway and is that type of stuff (cracker barrell, truck stops etc). There are several private prisons in town and that is the main source of taxes. I live in Casa Grande which buts up against Eloy to the north, and most people from Eloy must come into CG to do any type of real commerce. (CG is 50K population - more in winter - and has a mall, all the big stores, restaraunts, and other services). Eventually Eloy will become more populated, and there is talk (before the economic collapse) of building a large Theme Park there, but not yet.

Not saying one is better than the other, depending on what you are looking for, but Gilbert and Eloy are like night and day! Gilbert IS however quite a bit more expensive than Eloy on the housing cost front if that is a big issue. But there are other choices more similar to Gilbert than Eloy that are also less expensive than Gilbert if that is the case (Maricopa City, Queen Creek, Casa Grande etc).

Others will chime in, but Im expect some of the comments will be quite harsh about Eloy.

[freedom2]

Thank you very much. Im from a small town less than 10k also I'm tryung to educate myself before visiting and searching for Real estate Its hard with the economy the way it is so I was thinking Expenses an such Again Thank you for steering me in the right direction!!!

[azdr0710]

hi weroses....

just wondering how you came to ask about Gilbert and Eloy in the same post....

as sh said, they are very different from each other....Eloy is just about 1/2 way between Phx and Tuc in a semi-rural locale and was bypassed by I-10 in the mid-late 1960s and has, thus, suffered along it's old main street....but the typical interstate interchange business now thrives a couple miles away from "old" Eloy...I suppose, in several years, Eloy could become a booming desert town for retirees in some new development, as it has great winter weather....but that is just a guess as there are many great winter spots in Az....but, for now, Eloy is mostly just a cheap gas stop for interstate travelers.....

Gilbert is not-too-poor town that's been recently growing fast and changing from its former farm-town rep....things are a little slow now, of course, with the housing slow-down....has more than its fair share of LDS members and has a great rep in general....nice little downtown....lots of outlying new tract homes....

[amatrine]

I live in Arizona city, three miles from Eloy. Not much here or there.
I always go into Casa Grande about 8 miles away, and do all my shopping.
Real estate is very good here rite now, but we warned crime is on the rise in this area too.
Gilbert is much safer.