Which part of Scottsdale is upscale? (Phoenix, Fountain Hills: renting, homes, neighborhood)

[pathrunner]

If I had a mil to spend I'd live in Cave Creek - a great area - and spend my time in Scottsdale when I wasn't relaxing and enjoying the scene in Cave Creek. Cave Creek is for people who really like quiet, a more artsy rural scene, and lots of space between homes, and plenty of Saguaro cacti everywhere.

[coolmib]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

I vote green belt near the PV (Paradise Valley) mall. There are some upscale homes there, though it is more "middle to upper-middle class". You can't beat the area for walking, running, walking your dog, cycling, etc. There are plenty of high-end cars, people, houses, and lots of restaurants and shops in the area to choose from. Tatum/Shea is contiguous to the town of Paradise Valley itself. I think the area is much more convenient than the other end of Scottsdale (far east end).

If you're not into those types of activities then I'd agree with the other poster: Troon, etc. That's a really high-end area with plenty of shops, restaurants, resorts, golf, etc.

Super high end, town of PV itself, then you have to drive to everything and watch out for unmanned white vans with radar in the mostly 25-mph zoned area, especially on Doubletree Road between Scottsdale Rd. and E 52nd.

Hey pathrunner, I just checked the google map and located where PV mall is. By "greenbelt", did you mean the Mummy Mountain Golf Course?

[azdr0710]

pathrunner makes some very good points about the PV Mall/Tatum and Shea area...we also used to live near there and it is very, very convenient to valley areas and has just about any store you could want to live your entire life!...WalMart, REI, Trader Joes, Costco, In N Out, the entire mall, a branch library, other food stores and healthy food stores, many banks, restaurants, bars, everything...the "greenbelt" there is along the Indian Bend Wash and has public sidewalks all along it and a couple golf courses which you can skirt as you walk....as one said, it is not at all ultra-upscale, but is definitely an upper middle class-ish area with a wide mix of housing choices....it's a very busy, crowded area, but very nice to have that greenbelt and all the stores nearby....$1M is at the very high-end for this area, but there are places for that much tucked in certain nearby neighborhoods (zip 85254)....consult a realtor.....another point: zip 85254 is in the City of Phoenix (lower taxes), but enjoys a Scottsdale mailing address for people who like that sort of thing....

AzJoeD and others mention the very upscale areas of N. Scottsdale....the Troon area and others can be added to that list....anything E of Scottsdale Rd and N of the Union Hills alignment is sometimes jokingly called the "upper east side", referring to the nicest part of Manhattan....lots of nice people, but also a lot of posers and pretentiousness...many "for sale" signs and not really close to the action...you gotta drive for anything...

pathrunner also mentions the incorporated Town of Paradise Valley (zip 85253)....this would be the ultimate, but $1M, despite the down market, will probably only get you an older fixer-upper, looking a bit tired and 70s-ish...most lots there are a minimum of an acre by law and that keeps values up....very little remaining buildable land, too, keeps prices up, relatively....very convenient location within the valley.....

I believe zips 85262 and 85266 came in next in Arizona, behind 85253, for "priciest" in the recent Forbes ranking...they're up in the Carefree area...Carefree/Cave Creek is a great area if you want a more laid-back, less pretentious area....

there are many "for sale" signs all over and you may get lucky....look around hard with a competant realtor....you'll be surprised what you can get for the same money compared to the Bay Area, of course.....

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by coolmib

Yeah... don't laugh at me, I'm newbie.

I know generally Scottsdale is labeled as upscale town for the whole PHX metro. My question is: if I move to Scottsdale for an nice living, which areas should I look and which areas should I avoid?

Thx.

Don't worry, it's a fairly straightforward question but unfortunately some people feel the need to find existential arguments in straightforward questions.

DC Ranch, Grayhawk,McCormick Ranch, Gainey Ranch are some upscale neighborhoods in Scottsdale. There are more but here are some to jot down

[Jukesgrrl]

OP, you specifically mentioned "liberal." I personally know quite a few liberals who golf (not to mention our current and past Democratic presidents), but not many who purchase homes in exclusive, gated, golf-centric communities (e.g. Troon). To me, the spirit of liberalism doesn't thrive well in communities designed to cater to only a certain segment of society. I'm sure there are plenty of very broadminded, generous people who live in even in the most exclusive areas of Scottsdale. But if I were placing a bet, I wouldn't guess its country clubs are overcrowded with people voting against John McCain.

[Howard Roark]

Maybe a good rule of thumb is to drive around and see that there are very few churches compared to other places. The fewer the churches per unit area, the more liberal I drove in the Troon area once, but I don't recall seeing a church in the area. I'm extremely social liberal and the criteria of how few churches there are, is an important criteria to me.

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

OP, you specifically mentioned "liberal." I personally know quite a few liberals who golf (not to mention our current and past Democratic presidents), but not many who purchase homes in exclusive, gated, golf-centric communities (e.g. Troon). To me, the spirit of liberalism doesn't thrive well in communities designed to cater to only a certain segment of society. I'm sure there are plenty of very broadminded, generous people who live in even in the most exclusive areas of Scottsdale. But if I were placing a bet, I wouldn't guess its country clubs are overcrowded with people voting against John McCain.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by coolmib

Hey pathrunner, I just checked the google map and located where PV mall is. By "greenbelt", did you mean the Mummy Mountain Golf Course?

Yes.

[Java Jolt]

What part of Scottsdale isn't upscale? Well maybe the southern part.

The problem with much of Scottsdale is it's full of phonies who like to think they are among the upper-crust, but the reality is many of them are $40,000-per-year millionaires.

[nolagirl]

WHere is this greenbelt near tatum/shea - how do you access it?

[LocoAZnative]

Originally Posted by Java Jolt

What part of Scottsdale isn't upscale? Well maybe the southern part.

The problem with much of Scottsdale is it's full of phonies who like to think they are among the upper-crust, but the reality is many of them are $40,000-per-year millionaires.

correction 30k millionaires