Even though Maricopa wasn’t for us, it gave us some useful ideas to try to figure out where else might be suitable. Maricopa’s only connection to the larger metro area was on a fairly slow road, whereas Casa Grande‘s access to Phoenix is on a 75 mile an hour highway. 
The desert between Casa Grande and Phoenix was a great deal more impressive than that between Maricopa and Phoenix. Basically, the drive was faster and more worth doing on the level of nature. Casa Grande itself also seemed to be expanding. It was in the process of filling a new mall area with shops, at least some of which seemed more to our taste than those in Maricopa. It also has a cinema, which again, Maricopa had lacked. It looked possible that it could tick the boxes of being affordable, yet also up and coming. It also looked nice enough that we could imagine ourselves not constantly wanting to drive back into the metro area. 
The thing that drew us to Casa Grande in particular was a very big, lovely house with a pool with an electronically retracting cover. The house was only very lightly lived in by some Canadian snowbirds. Have a look:
We liked the house and it encouraged us to get a move on looking at the rest of the Valley. Stay tuned for our exploration of the West Valley the next day.
Pingback: House Hunting Part 3: West Valley – HiJenx