Town of Paradise Valley vs "True Arcadia" (Phoenix: house, neighborhood)

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

There are a lot of homes in PV with large, mature trees, and huge grass lawns. I think PV also offers the most housing stock variety, too. Not too many places in the Valley like PV where can you find a Mediterranean style home right up against a Santa Fe-style home, butting up against a 2-story French-style estate. And there is certainly more housing color variety than just brown as well. Ive seen vivid blue homes back in PV. Its not easy on the eyes, but there is more to PV than you might think. lolol Not all is "brown" in PV. I'd leave those comments for places like Anthem or Surprise than PV.

There is also a Fry's right there on the north edge of town, and youre never more than a 10 minute short drive to Scottsdale and all its endless amenities. One thing you pointed out, the narrow roads, is something I love! Driving down Doubletree is something I love to do.

This. PV is all custom homes so if you can dream it up, someone there can afford it and has likely done it. That spans from huge, lush estates to more minimalist modern design overlooking the city. You simply can't paint the housing stock there with one brush as it is so varied. While it may require some winding (and scenic) roads to get home, the location of PV is convenient to most of the valley's best amenities.

I get the lack of a neighborhood feel and understand how that could be a turn-off, but the location and landscape are hardly negatives.

Check out the PV home Michael Phelps recently bought. Not exactly a desert xeriscape:

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale.../home/27397876

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

This. PV is all custom homes so if you can dream it up, someone there can afford it and has likely done it. That spans from huge, lush estates to more minimalist modern design overlooking the city. You simply can't paint the housing stock there with one brush as it is so varied. While it may require some winding (and scenic) roads to get home, the location of PV is convenient to most of the valley's best amenities.

I get the lack of a neighborhood feel and understand how that could be a turn-off, but the location and landscape are hardly negatives.

Check out the PV home Michael Phelps recently bought. Not exactly a desert xeriscape:

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale.../home/27397876

I think what Azriverfan was speaking about was the surroundings of the neighborhood in PV, not necessarily the lack of a specific house itself with lush landscaping. Most houses in PV are natural desert with a small building envelope and landscaped yard, so as you drive around your area, MOST of what you see is brown desert and cactus. Some people prefer that (especially people with a second home here and a primary residence in a greener area). I get what Azriverfan was saying 100% as I agree with everything he said about PV vs Arcadia, I prefer Arcadia for the same reasons he mentioned.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

I think what Azriverfan was speaking about was the surroundings of the neighborhood in PV, not necessarily the lack of a specific house itself with lush landscaping. Most houses in PV are natural desert with a small building envelope and landscaped yard, so as you drive around your area, MOST of what you see is brown desert and cactus. Some people prefer that (especially people with a second home here and a primary residence in a greener area). I get what Azriverfan was saying 100% as I agree with everything he said about PV vs Arcadia, I prefer Arcadia for the same reasons he mentioned.

I understand, I've never gotten an overwhelming desert-y feel while going through PV though given all the resorts, palm trees and golf courses. Many of the properties are bordered in tall oleanders adding to the greenery. It's a nice mix, IMO.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I understand, I've never gotten an overwhelming desert-y feel while going through PV though given all the resorts, palm trees and golf courses. Many of the properties are bordered in tall oleanders adding to the greenery. It's a nice mix, IMO.

I think if you got off the main drag and went into the neighborhood roads, you would see what we are talking about. it is primarily desert, not manicured but natural look. once people buy these houses and tear the down, they typically build with better landscaping however.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

I think if you got off the main drag and went into the neighborhood roads, you would see what we are talking about. it is primarily desert, not manicured but natural look. once people buy these houses and tear the down, they typically build with better landscaping however.

I've been in the neighborhoods on foot, bicycle, motorcycle and car. I know the area well but understand what you're saying. It still doesn't strike me as a brown, drab landscape. North Scottsdale actually fits that description a bit closer due to the lack of palms. The towering palms, oleanders and massive manicured lawns (mostly behind the gates, I get it) break up the natural look that's present along the inner roads in PV.

Here's a good example of the mix of natural desert on the left versus someone's (bonus points if you know who) lawn on the right. Greenery is pretty common there.

[Kevloves]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

This. PV is all custom homes so if you can dream it up, someone there can afford it and has likely done it. That spans from huge, lush estates to more minimalist modern design overlooking the city. You simply can't paint the housing stock there with one brush as it is so varied. While it may require some winding (and scenic) roads to get home, the location of PV is convenient to most of the valley's best amenities.

I get the lack of a neighborhood feel and understand how that could be a turn-off, but the location and landscape are hardly negatives.

Check out the PV home Michael Phelps recently bought. Not exactly a desert xeriscape:

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale.../home/27397876

Nice home and is that most common house style found in Phoenix ? Have you seen any home styles like this from the Victorian era because the only I seen is The Rosson House in Heritage square.

Like this
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ma...!4d-82.3176404


Or this
https://www.google.com/maps/place/90...206455!6m1!1e1

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

There are a lot of homes in PV with large, mature trees, and huge grass lawns. I think PV also offers the most housing stock variety, too. Not too many places in the Valley like PV where can you find a Mediterranean style home right up against a Santa Fe-style home, butting up against a 2-story French-style estate. And there is certainly more housing color variety than just brown as well. Ive seen vivid blue homes back in PV. Its not easy on the eyes, but there is more to PV than you might think. lolol Not all is "brown" in PV. I'd leave those comments for places like Anthem or Surprise than PV.

There is also a Fry's right there on the north edge of town, and youre never more than a 10 minute short drive to Scottsdale and all its endless amenities. One thing you pointed out, the narrow roads, is something I love! Driving down Doubletree is something I love to do.

I was referring more to the area and "scenery" PV is very brown. And if you think it's not brown, go to Chandler, Tempe and Gilbert and they look like completely different cities. I'm a So Cal native and it's so I wanted something that reminded me of home. South Tempe and Chandler resemble So Cal more than any other part of Phoenix.

The houses in PV are very old too. The majority of them are brown ranch style homes. The primary reason people choose PV is for reputation and seclusion. The majority of them are not gated. I always found it strange that the overhwelming majority of homes in PV were these multi million dollar homes that were not gated. I find that very odd and you don't see this in other cities. Most 2 million dollar + homes in L.A. and Miami are gated. I have many friends in PV and asked them about this. They say that is the appeal of PV. The area has so much privacy and seclusion that home owners didn't want gates and didn't want it to look like wealthy gated areas that you find in Los Angeles and in other large metropolitan cities. They wanted it to have a cowboy ranch like feel. For me, I'm more metropolitan and if I'm buying a 2 million dollar + home, I wanted it to be gated and be proximal to nice amenities not in the middle of the nowhere near some desert that some call scenery.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I've been in the neighborhoods on foot, bicycle, motorcycle and car. I know the area well but understand what you're saying. It still doesn't strike me as a brown, drab landscape. North Scottsdale actually fits that description a bit closer due to the lack of palms. The towering palms, oleanders and massive manicured lawns (mostly behind the gates, I get it) break up the natural look that's present along the inner roads in PV.

Here's a good example of the mix of natural desert on the left versus someone's (bonus points if you know who) lawn on the right. Greenery is pretty common there.

Yes, individual homes may have grass but the majority don't and the overall neighborhoods do not. Most have desert landscaping. It also depends where you live in PV. The homes closer to the Scottsdale side tend to be more green like ones near Camelback Country Club (Mockingbird) but the ones closer to Camelback mountain have more desert landscaping. Overall the majority are not green. South Scottsdale feels far more green than PV. But I agree that PV has more greenery than North Scottsdale.

I work in the area and spent 7 years looking for my ideal home in PV. Ultimately, I realized I tried to make it something it wasn't and bought my ideal home elsewhere. Two of my children attended and graduated from school in PV so I know the area very well. I just couldn't sell out and buy a home in an area I didn't like just to have bragging rights.

Sure, there are some amazing homes in PV. If you want a house with a large green lawn and trees you can find that in PV. You can find any type of home you want there. But what I didn't find in PV are communities. I wanted more than an amazing home in the middle of nowhere or an isolated street with amazing homes. I wanted a home in a gated area with a community feel with tree lined homes, walking paths, kids playing outside riding their bikes, lawns where kids ran round, well lit streets etc. Sorry that's just not PV and most PV residents will agree. Again, the appeal of PV aside from its reputation is seclusion on large lots in a central location.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I've been in the neighborhoods on foot, bicycle, motorcycle and car. I know the area well but understand what you're saying. It still doesn't strike me as a brown, drab landscape. North Scottsdale actually fits that description a bit closer due to the lack of palms. The towering palms, oleanders and massive manicured lawns (mostly behind the gates, I get it) break up the natural look that's present along the inner roads in PV.

Here's a good example of the mix of natural desert on the left versus someone's (bonus points if you know who) lawn on the right. Greenery is pretty common there.

One area of PV that kinda reminds me of Arcadia is off of Via Los Caballos, on the south side of Doubletree. Very, very green and full of huge trees.

[observer53]

In PV, there is a difference between the areas we can see from the major streets (Tatum, McDonald, Lincoln) and the areas around the country clubs and in other gated areas. In those latter areas, there are grass lawns and more trees. The houses are somewhat newer, and not ranch style. You'll see a lot of those when azcentral posts those "ten highest priced home sales" features.


With a lot of the homes on acre lots, I don't think Arcadia feels congested when compared to most neighborhoods around the Valley.