Poll - Chandler, Gilbert, or Queen Creek? (Fountain Hills: new home, neighborhoods)

[Pink Jazz]

While we have already bought a house in Gilbert and are moving in September 26, I was wondering, if anyone here would choose between one of them, which would it be?

We chose Gilbert because it was a good balance between price and location. Location-wise, Chandler would have been the best, while price-wise, Queen Creek would have been the cheapest.

[Pink Jazz]

As a side note, when we first saw the lower prices in Queen Creek, we were strongly considering it, however, our realtor advised us to avoid Queen Creek due to traffic problems, which is why we chose Gilbert.

With Fulton homes, the Carribean Series starts from the $190K range at Ironwood Crossing in Queen Creek, vs from the $240 range at Freeman Farms in Gilbert (the community we chose), from the $290 range in Geneva Estates and the $320 range in Fulton Ranch (both in Chandler). The specific style we went with is the Cayman, and the one we chose was the only Cayman spec home in Freeman Farms that was designed for a gourmet kitchen (separate cooktop and in-wall oven). I can't wait until it is done.

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by Andros 1337

As a side note, when we first saw the lower prices in Queen Creek, we were strongly considering it, however, our realtor advised us to avoid Queen Creek due to traffic problems, which is why we chose Gilbert.

There are various reasons to choose or not choose one area as opposed to another, but "traffic problems" in Queen Creek isn't one of them.

I would venture to guess either your realtor hasn't been to Queen Creek in quite some time or is still calling San Tan Valley "Queen Creek".

Good luck in your new home.

[Java Jolt]

Chandler for good neighborhoods, good schools, good shopping, and major industry nearby.

[ji603]

It's a balancing game, as in everything. Location, age, price, size, or any order of the four.

We happen to live in Chandler, but if I worked from home, didn't have to commute, and didn't have kids - perhaps the choice would be different.

Enjoy your new place and welcome to AZ.

[Jimmi Holiday]

we like gilbert now. cheaper than fountain hills. searching zillow for 300 thousand home. is there better way to search

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by Jimmi Holiday

we like gilbert now. cheaper than fountain hills. searching zillow for 300 thousand home. is there better way to search

Gilbert isn't similar at all to Fountain Hills. Gilbert is a city of 200,000+ that is close to everything and completely landlocked by other suburbs. Fountain Hills is a town of about 25k way off in the foothills. While you can find similarly priced homes in both cities, the average home price being lower in Gilbert should come as no surprise.

There are many approaches to searching.
The way we did it, being remote, was first visit the area to decide upon the city we wanted to live in. We drove all over the place to try to get a feel for the different areas, drive times, amenities, etc.
Then we had our realtor set us up a web portal that pulled in all the homes that met the criteria that were important to us. We checked it daily for weeks to see the new ones that appeared, and watch the price drops.
When we visited the area for our househunting weekend we were armed with all the details of a dozen places we wanted to visit. We took pix and notes at each one, and when we got back home we reviewed everything and made an offer on the one we wanted.