Queen Creek/San Tan Valley Home Communities-Which ones are good? (Phoenix: for sale, houses)

[g33kers]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are from the Bay Area and we are looking to purchase a home around the Phoenix area. We are newly weds and are looking to start a new journey in AZ. Hubby has a job lined up in Mesa and I will stay at home temporarily unless I find a job before we relocate in January 2016.

We have looked at houses in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley couple of times when we flew in to AZ. So far, it looks like we are leaning towards getting a home in Queen Creek or San Tan Valley because we can get a nicer home with a pool/community pool for a much better price compare to the other cities.

Anyway, to Queen Creek and San Tan Valley residents, which communities do you live in and what do you like and dislike about it? Any feedback is appreciated.

[Sandduner]

What is the price range you are looking at?
That will help everyone give more feedback.

[ElleTea]

I don't live in San Tan Valley or Queen Creek, but every time I have been visiting that way, I think to myself I would not enjoy commuting from there every day. It is pretty remote in commute time standards, IMO, that is why the cost of housing is so reasonable. I get cards in my mailbox all the time advertising new developments for sale, cheap. Nice places, just too far out there for me.

It is really going to depend on where exactly in Mesa your husband will be working. The entire valley is huge and Mesa takes up quite a big chunk of it all by itself.

[Sandduner]

Location of work will be the key, as mesa and qc run together and qc spans both maricopa and pinal counties.
I live in the Pecans off of Chandler Heights and Ellsworth, with a qc address.
My neighbor has a shop on Ellsworth and Germann, a couple of miles away, and it's in Mesa.
Budget and location would really help us give the op a better idea.

[g33kers]

Thanks everyone for replying. Our budget is 170k-230k max for a house with pool/community pool. He'll be working by Falcon Field Airport. We are still looking at houses in Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler but haven't found much that fit that our criteria and our budget. Or if there were any, they go pending pretty fast. Queen Creek and San Tan valley given us a lot of options. At first I am worried about the distance but my hubby said he's willing to commute if we find the right house for us.

[ElleTea]

I worked with someone who lived in San Tan Valley and had a 50 mile one way commute every day. He said he did it because they found an amazing house, but after awhile driving 500 miles a week really got to him, not to mention he was filling his gas tank twice a week and wear and tear on his car. (that's 26,000 miles of driving a year, just to and from work!)

Not saying your husband won't mind a commute, but keep in mind that until you do it day in and day out for the long term, you may not realize how bad it is! I remember going to a job interview when I first moved here and was told that they were glad I lived near the job location; the previous person was quitting because of the commute. They thought they could do it, until they did it for awhile, and left for a job closer to home. When people on here say you will want to live somewhat close to work, they mean it


Hopefully in your situation it can work.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I worked with someone who lived in San Tan Valley and had a 50 mile one way commute every day. He said he did it because they found an amazing house, but after awhile driving 500 miles a week really got to him, not to mention he was filling his gas tank twice a week and wear and tear on his car. (that's 26,000 miles of driving a year, just to and from work!)

Not saying your husband won't mind a commute, but keep in mind that until you do it day in and day out for the long term, you may not realize how bad it is! I remember going to a job interview when I first moved here and was told that they were glad I lived near the job location; the previous person was quitting because of the commute. They thought they could do it, until they did it for awhile, and left for a job closer to home. When people on here say you will want to live somewhat close to work, they mean it


Hopefully in your situation it can work.

They said just above that the commute will be to Falcon Field, it will likely be nowhere near 50 miles. It could easily be over 30 miles if they go to one of the distant communities in San Tan. Queen Creek can be relatively close as it starts right across the street from Power Ranch in Gilbert.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by asufan

They said just above that the commute will be to Falcon Field, it will likely be nowhere near 50 miles. It could easily be over 30 miles if they go to one of the distant communities in San Tan. Queen Creek can be relatively close as it starts right across the street from Power Ranch in Gilbert.

Of course the 50 mile commute was an extreme case, but the point was he said the same thing, they found an awesome house and he was fine with a commute to make the house work, then realized it was really an issue. You don't know if you will be able to stand a long commute until you do it for awhile.

[g33kers]

Thanks ElleTea and asufan. We are going in AZ again this September to see which houses are available for us. We live in the Bay Area (California) right now and deal with traffic and long commute (about 45-1hr and 15). It is stop and go and very exhausting! We do prefer to have less commute but if we don't find anything good within our budget in Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, we're willing to commute from Queen Creek and San Tan.

[Reedus]

I live in QC off of Ocotillo and Crismon and it takes me 30 minutes to drive to my pool route around Falcon Field