Beyond the beautiful homes and vibrant neighborhood of Parkside at Anthem at Merrill Ranch, you'll find the nearby town of historic Florence, featuring a Main Street and quaint downtown. Travel just a little further into Phoenix you'll discover all of the cultural, recreational, and entertainment you'd expect from a major metropolitan area. It’s impossible to be bored when you live in the “Valley of the Sun.” This area offers scenic beauty, miles of natural parkland, picturesque lakes, and a wide variety of activities, events, and attractions for every interest. Surrounding towns, cities, and metropolitan areas offer a unique mix of culture, shopping, sports stadiums, concert arenas, and attractions ranging from the Southwest to the Old West.

Shopping

If shopping is your passion, you’re just a short drive to the major metropolitan areas of Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Casa Grande-offering everything you'd need from grocery stores and shopping malls, to movie theaters and restaurants. Anthem Marketplace, located right within the greater Anthem at Merrill Ranch community, offers the convenience of an onsite Safeway grocery and gas station, Wells Fargo bank, Tutor Time child care, and several other retail shops and businesses.

Other area shopping meccas include the nearby Shops at San Tan Village in Gilbert, Arizona Mills in Tempe, Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler, and Fiesta Mall and Superstition Springs Mall in Mesa.

Recreation

Although you’ll never run out of things to do right in your own neighborhood, hiking, biking, four-wheeling, and horseback riding are available at dozens of nearby regional and state parks, including Lost Dutchman State Park, Queen Creek Parks and Recreation, Florence Recreation Areas, and Hohokam Park.

Across the Valley, Tempe, Mesa, Phoenix, and Glendale offer access to every sporting event imaginable-from Spring Training baseball games to indoor ice hockey. If golf is your passion, you’re in fairway heaven here with dozens of courses located within an easy drive. Better yet, enjoy the world-renowned service of Troon Golf, because Poston Butte Golf Club is located in Anthem, right in your own backyard. For those who prefer more action, the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale is a great place to spend a sunny afternoon.

Medical

Parkside at Anthem at Merrill Ranch offers exceptional medical facilities within minutes of your door. Some of these facilities include Banner Desert Medical Center and Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert, Casa Grande Regional Medical Center, Chandler Regional Hospital, Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, CHW Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, and Hohoukam Memorial Hospital in Sacaton.

In addition, a planned 50,000 square foot Florence Hospital at Anthem is scheduled to open onsite in 2009. Click here to read an article about this new hospital.

Culture / Entertainment

You’ll find venues like Chandler Center for the Arts, Mesa Southwest Art Museum and Gammage Auditorium close to your home. In downtown Phoenix, you can enjoy all the major sports as well as cultural encounters such as Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and U.S. Airways Center-home of the Phoenix Suns.

Education

Parkside at Anthem at Merrill Ranch is in close proximity to Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)and Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa.

Schools

Parkside at Anthem at Merrill Ranch is in the Florence Unified School District. Elementary students attend Copper Basin Elementary, Florence Elementary, or Johnson Ranch Elementary Schools. Middle school students attend Florence Middle School or Walker Butte Middle School. High School students attend the nearby Florence High School.

For higher education, Arizona State University's main campus is just a short drive away, located in Tempe, Arizona and Arizona State University's Polytechnic Campus is located in nearby Mesa.

Utilities

Utility companies serving this community include:

• Cox Digital Services, including Cox Digital Cable, Cox Digital Telephone and Cox High Speed Internet (623-748-8957) or (800-957-7250)
• Qwest for telephone
• APS for electric
• Southwest Gas for gas
• Johnson Utilities for water