I LOVE SCOTTSDALE!!! Who else? (Phoenix, Mesa: landscaping, hotel, employment)

[gjl2791]

I LOVE scottsdale!!! IT's the only Big City I have seen in the World that I love!!! IT is beautiful, and whenever I go there it's just this feeling!!! I don't know if it's something in the air or just the constant view of desert and mountain and cactus, But I know it is definitely a place for me to live before I die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who else thinks so? To bad I don't live thier...

[Ponderosa]

I guess if you can afford to live in the northern part it's hard to beat. Otherwise, Scottsdale is just an aging and rundown suburb of Phoenix.

[silverbear]

My opinion lies between the two extremes above. Scottsdale is not a big city by any means. Phoenix is the major city at the core of the metro area. Scottsdale is one of many Phoenix suburbs, albeit one that has traditionally had the most to offer in terms of upscale resorts, shopping, and dining. Nevertheless, without the airport in Phoenix, the university in Tempe, and many other amenities located elsewhere in the metro area, Scottsdale would not function. It should not be thought of as a big city or a standalone community.

My personal preference is for Scottsdale south of Shea Boulevard. Areas like McCormick Ranch, Old Town, etc. are attractive and reasonably close to other parts of the metro area. Outside the 101, Scottsdale starts to seem too oriented towards sprawl and conspicuous consumption for me. Of course, there is the McDowell-Sonoran Preserve, which is a big swatch of desert land being preserved outside the 101. That's pretty impressive, but it will be a while until all of the trails and access points are complete.

[Stumblina]

Don't get me wrong, I too love Scottsdale (actually, if I was going to live there it would be North Scottsdale), but, it's not exactly what I would call a "big city". Phoenix, yes. LA, yes. NY, yes. Chicago, yes. Scottsdale? Nope. Not sure what your basing your criteria on in that respect, but I do agree with you that it is an awesome place and I truly love it there! The shopping is superb, it has some really good restaurants and I love staying at the Hotel Valley Ho.

[sablebaby]

I too LOVE Scottsdale! Anything north of Indian Bend, especially around Hayden -- I love that area.

[Christopher11]

I used to live in Scottsdale around Cactus & Thunderbird and yes it was very nice & quite. I would say you take the good with the bad in any city. Scottsdale does have its drawbacks. Starting with the drivers while driving around Scottsdale I've noticed little regard for traffic laws. The stop sign near my townhouse was routinely blown by drivers at all times of the day. It happened so often they had to start posting a cop there to catch people flying through the intersection at 45 mph without stopping!
Now you might be saying well that happens EVERYWHERE in PHX and you would be correct.
There also seems to be a self righteous sense of entitlement that I have encountered from some of its residents. I am not saying this about everyone in Scottsdale of course. I met tons of really nice people there too. However usually on the road or in a store I have seen people just treating others with no regard or common courtesy; rude, loud, arrogant people yelling at servers & store clerks as they check their stocks.

Of course there are a lot of great aspects to Scottsdale as well. The green belt paths & trails, nice parks, Old Town, lots of shopping (if that's your thing), numerous attractions, beautiful landscaping, and the town is rather safe over all. There is a lot of auto & property theft there but very little violent crime compared to the rest of the valley.

[vegaspilgrim]

Scottsdale as a whole is my favorite city within the Phoenix metro area. (Flagstaff is my favorite city in AZ though). For starters, there is no urban blight (even South Scottsdale, which is lower middle class, is not really "blighted." So. Scottsdale is actually pretty clean and booming with business compared to parts of Mesa, for example). Scottsdale has some of the best cultural and recreation amenities of any valley city. Downtown Scottsdale is rapidly becoming THE place to be for young people. It may even surpass Tempe/ Mill Ave soon. Most subdivisions in Scottsdale are very attractive looking. North Scottsdale compares to the Summerlin area of Las Vegas, IMO (minus the casinos). Scottsdale, especially north Scottsdale, is also a pretty significant employment center, too. I agree that it is not a stand alone city-- but then again, neither is the city of Phoenix. I would argue that Maricopa County is the entity that matters most from the perspective of political boundaries, not any one city within it.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by gjl2791

I LOVE scottsdale!!! IT's the only Big City I have seen in the World that I love!!! IT is beautiful, and whenever I go there it's just this feeling!!! I don't know if it's something in the air or just the constant view of desert and mountain and cactus, But I know it is definitely a place for me to live before I die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who else thinks so? To bad I don't live thier...

Scottsdale AZ a big city? The something in the air is called dust

[Steve-o]

I love Scottsdale too, only north of the 101 and east of Tatum and west of Alma School. I love visiting, but couldnt live there, the novelty wears off too quickly for me.

[silverbear]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I love Scottsdale too, only north of the 101 and east of Tatum and west of Alma School. I love visiting, but couldnt live there, the novelty wears off too quickly for me.

All of Scottsdale lies east of Tatum. In fact, from Cactus to Jomax, the Phoenix / Scottsdale border is Scottsdale Road itself. Everything on the west side of Scottsdale Road, including Kierland and the various auto dealerships, is within Phoenix City limits, even if the Postal Service has given some of that territory a Scottsdale mailing address. In other locations, 64th St. is the boundary; the city line never gets as far west as Tatum.