Ok. I need some help here. My family and I are relocating to Arizona next May. My husband has his job lined up and it will be located in Phoenix. And when the two of us were in Arizona at the first of April, for his interviews we took a look at some houses in Arizona City and Maricopa. We really liked the yards in Arizona City, but loved the size of the houses in Maricopa. And now looking at Casa Grande houses, I am liking them too. So, can some people give me some advice as to where to move to possibly. We are thinking of buying, building or renting. Not sure what yet. I just want to live in a small town where my kids can grow up well. And we would like to find something close to phoenix, but not that close.
Thanks,
Lori
Ok here is my 2 cents. None
Ok here is my 2 cents. None of those cities would be on my move list. Maricopa is growing, up until a couple years ago there was nothing out there. The housing slump has hit this city the hardest. Values have dropped considerably so you can get alot of house for your $$, but do not count on being close to anything.
Arizona City? I say forget it, only because if you guys have to sell the house, there is not much of a market for Arizona City.
Casa Grande? Maybe..also growing but if your husbands job is in Phx...he will have quite a bit of a commute from Casa Grande. At least 45-60 minutes. Maricopa would be a little closer.
What is your price range for housing? The suburbs of Phx are much better located, unless you want a smaller, less congested city and purposely want the outskirts.
DD 3 years old EDD #2 C/S sched for 6/9/08.
I'd have to agree. Traffic
I'd have to agree. Traffic is pretty bad here, and if you are thinking of ever seeing your husband you never will if you live that far out.
Did you take a look at Gilbert? It's a pretty big town, but still feels homey to me. The commute is still long, but not nearly as bad as the cities you are thinking. There are quite a few foreclosures too, you could get a screaming deal on a house right now, or maybe rent for 6 months and see how you like it.
If my husband were working in Phoneix I'd never go further than Gilbert, Chandler, North Mesa (in the East Valley, I don't know about the west.)
Brooke Romney is an unbalanced mom of three young boys who constantly has too much to do, and too little time. She writes the Mom Beat column for The Gilbert Republic.
Hi! We just moved to Arizona
Hi! We just moved to Arizona from California last June and we chose Casa Grande. I absolutely love it. It's got a great small town feel and if I want to go to a big indoor mall, it's a straight shot down the I-10 to Chandler. My husband works on the west side of Phoenix and it's about an hour commute but we came from CA like I said so for us it doesn't seem like a big deal. I work in Downtown Phoenix and with a stop in Tempe to take my son to preschool I make it in about 45 minutes. I start work at 8am and I'm always early. I have found that the people who live in Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs think Casa Grande is WAAAAAAY far away. It's not. And we are really enjoying the new outdoor mall. It's less crowded than out in the Phoenix area. The movie theatre is great and there is so much growth you wouldn't believe it. I am excited for the new LA Fitness that's coming to town. Anyway, I hope this helped a little from an actual resident :)
We just moved here about a
We just moved here about a month ago. We are renting for a year, and then we will decide where to buy. Before we rented, we narrowed down the areas we would consider living in based on drive-times to work and where our kids would go to school. You can figure out how long it will take you by checking for driving directions from your potential new home to your husband's new job at www.mapquest.com and lots of other sites that have map functions. That gave us a starting point, but we did not want to end up locked into something that didn't work out. The valley is huge, and you can definitely get more for your money the farther out you go, but you may be sacrificing a lot too, so take your time and explore your options.
Susan & Neil Hampton have three spectacular children, Alexander, Isabel and David, plus one amazing teenager, Eric. Susan does community outreach for arizonamoms.com.
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” - Margaret Atwood
I personally would not move
I personally would not move to any of those cities either, but I have heard good things about Casa Grande. I guess it's relative to where you are coming from. Just be aware that traffic here can be pretty bad. Where are you moving from?
Also, you might want to see about connected with other women right away. I have found that because Phoenix is a bedroom city, you have be proactive about making friends.
It really depends on what
It really depends on what part of Phoenix he is working. If it's North or West Phoenix, none of those cities or the east valley cities would be practical. Each area of the Phoenix metropolitan area has great neighborhoods close to whatever you need, so more info as to where he is working would be helpful.