Anybody familiar with Queen Creek AZ?

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2005

It sounds like mango did a great job in answering your question :) My aunt and uncle used to live out in Queen Creek, great area, they loved it. I posted in your other thread about the possibility of buying a house in an underdeveloped area, you can get great deals on houses because there is nothing around there, but in a few years when it gets more developed you'll have stores and malls around there or you can even sell the house for more than you paid for it. Definitely worth looking into!

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2005

Oh yeah mango, I agree about the stars! I have other family that lives out in Maricopa ..... I love going out there, can see all the stars and it's so quiet!

FUNRN · Jan 11, 2005

Thanks so much mango. That was great information. I felt like I already asked you most of the questions I had including the "Is there a WalMart Supercenter nearby?" :) With 3 kids I have to have a WalMart.

Why the flat tires? Is it the road or the construction?

So far I have a couple of homes to look at. One on Cheyenne Rd. and one on Tourmaline Dr. I don't know which area is better and the houses are very similar in price and sq footage so I think the best bet is to go and look at them one of these weekends.

How about the mosquitoes? It seems like there is a problem during the Summer months. Have you lived there for a while? Are there some areas more problematic than others?

Thank you so much

mango-lo-maniac · Jan 12, 2005

FUNRN · Jan 12, 2005

I think we are driving down there this weekend. Thanks for naming the areas, that way we know where to start.

I tried that link and it did not work. But that's OK because you have given me so much info, I feel like I know somebody there already. I think it is going to be pretty hard to be in a new place knowing nobody. I have lived in Las Vegas for 14 yrs. But Im sure I'll get used to it and will meet a lot of cool new people. :)

mango-lo-maniac · Jan 14, 2005

FUNRN · Jan 14, 2005

I'll let you know when we get back how it went. I hope we decide on an area so we can really start looking. I'm armed with all the info from the internet so I have done some homework.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 19, 2005

I'll let you know when we get back how it went. I hope we decide on an area so we can really start looking. I'm armed with all the info from the internet so I have done some homework.

was wondering how you got on at Queen Creek?

we are hoping to move to AZ sometime this year and have been busy looking online and places to live but living in the UK makes it hard for us to go out and visit. So been busy reading your threads and seeing what you get :)

FUNRN · Jan 21, 2005

I had not been able to reply because I had some log in problems.

ANYWAY.... We drove to the Wonderful Arizona state. We arrived in Gilbert at about 1900 and was't very impressed with what I saw. We looked and looked for a hotel and could not find ONE!!! We stopped and asked around and we had to drive to Chandler (not that far) to find a decent hotel and not an hourly motel ( I guess that could have been fun) anyway, Gilbert is small and wayyy overpriced.

The next day we drove around Gilbert and Chandler. We found some nice areas on the outskirts of town and some not so nice, older areas in downtown Chandler. I guess it was OK, but a bit too busy for us. We loved the Marriot in Chandler though, great service and price and a great breakfast included.

Later in the day we drove to the famous QC. We got lost about three times because locals could not make up their minds on which way was East or West. This is what I found:

I totally fell in love with Orchard Ranch but the only home we found was $450,000. It would be nice if I could afford it. It would be so worth it. The lots are from 1/3 to 1/2 acre. But enough of daydreaming, after all I am only a Nurse.

San Tan Ranch nice and the homes cute. I LOVED the waterfall at the entrance, however, the lots looked like a townhome courtyard (very tiny).

San Tan Heights homes were great and the lots were a decent size but the streets can barely accommodate two cars, they were extremely narrow.

Johnson Ranch has nice homes with nice yards on one side of the road and way overpriced for QC (2000sq ft for $215,000). Overpriced for me anyway. We went across the highway and the homes there were a LOT cheaper both in price and construction quality with shingle roofs (who uses shingles anymore, and with 115 degree weather :uhoh21: ).

Copper Basin was nice but again the homes we saw all had very small lots. I had imagined Queen Creek homes had these huge lots to build a tennis court and a pool and live happily ever after. Bear in mind that I have three children and would like to give them some space to grow up. We decided that it was not rural enough for me and way to rural for the Kiddos.

So needless to say, I was a bit dissapointed. Especially when driving back on Power Rd., the traffic was so backed up that it took us over 1 hour to travel what had taken us about 20 minutes earlier in the day.

On the way back to town, I wanted to drive around and see beyond Gilbert, Chandler and QC. We got to this place called Apache Junction...I know it sounds like something from the Wild Wild West. But it had some great new areas and great new schools and shopping centers and WALMART!!! (My kids drink about 6-7 gallons of milk a week so I really need it). At first all I saw were the many trailer home parks on the west side of the freeway but after driving around the east side, and seeing all the new developments, I absolutely loved it. And after we drove around and saw the prices on homes, I loved it even more!!! 2800sq ft 5yo home in a cul de sac for $230,000 . That is unheard of where I live now. I hope we can make a decision soon before that area goes way high in price.

So in three days we saw about 15 homes. I was sooo ready to get back home. Sooooo, that is my Arizona adventure.

We are supposed to go back in Feb to look at more homes in wonderful Apache Junction

Kabin · Jan 21, 2005

In all our searches for homes, we felt resale homes were a better deal than a new home purchase.

It's always good to know where you want to work, so you can avoid the worst traffic directions. I hear Apache Junction is nice, just make sure you don't have to drive too far west on the US 60 during rush hour.

I think it's wise to avoid Chandler and Gilbert, as those areas always felt so congested.