Top 10 list of fun and affordable cities. Tempe and Scottsdale are 3 and 4. Interesting....

[fennec2009]

Originally Posted by urbex

Scottsdale median home price of $140,000? Yeah, sure, if you include all the crap in south Scottsdale bordering Tempe that no one would _want_ to live in if they could afford better. I'd bet that if you base it only on the "good" areas of Scottsdale, that median home price would easily be twice that number (and yes, I realize that "good" is highly subjective).

If you buy in SS you can get a completely renovated, beautiful home (I'm talking custom cabinets, travertine, pool, etc) for $250-$300K, depending how close to Tempe it is. The same thing further north would easily be $500-600K. Plus it is really safe here, centrally located to both sides of the valley, great freeway access, and close to the greenbelt/Papago Park/Old Town/Mill/the airport. It's definitely not 'crappy.'

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by breakingbad

Washington DC area? It's the political capitol of the world and there is a ton of fun to be had there....and a great place for children to grow up because of the history, monuments, museums, nature, education etc... Minneapolis? Mall of America, Mystic Lake casino....need I say more? Houston...TX? is it's own country... Kemah Boardwalk, Moody Gardens in Galveston, Museums, Children's Museums, etc. etc.
AZ is great but those places have just as much fun there, if not more.

Fun is a subjective term. I don't think D.C. is all that fun. Yeah, I liked the monuments too.....when I was 10. D.C. gets old fast. NYC, and Boston are far more fun cities than D.C. in my opinion. Houston has absolutely nothing to offer that Phoenix doesn't already offer except Phoenix has far more outdoor activities(snow skiing, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, running trails) in addition to better proximity to more fun cities. Minneapolis...don't get me started.

Phoenix definitely fits a certain profile. If you are someone who enjoys urban settings and loves to go to multiple museums and enjoy the arts, Phoenix is not for you. If you are someone who is very physically active, enjoys bars, lounges, nice restaurants and shopping, you will love Phoenix. After all, there aren't many places in the country in which you can snow skii and have an outdoor BBQ and pool party in the winter on the same weekend. I remember one month, I went to the Phoenix Open, Superbowl, snow skied, Barrett Jackson, ran in a marathon....too much fun... so when people say they can't have fun here, I'm sorry but they don't know what they are talking about.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Fun is a subjective term. I don't think D.C. is all that fun. Yeah, I liked the monuments too.....when I was 10. D.C. gets old fast. NYC, and Boston are far more fun cities than D.C. in my opinion. Houston has absolutely nothing to offer that Phoenix doesn't already offer except Phoenix has far more outdoor activities(snow skiing, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, running trails) in addition to better proximity to more fun cities. Minneapolis...don't get me started.

True, but it's about being fun AND affordable. Cities like New York, Boston, and San Francisco have lots of amenities, but all three can be very expensive. The Phoenix area may not have as much to offer as New York, but the fun things here are much more affordable than there. Actually, I'm a little surprised Scottsdale was ranked so high in the affordability category. Even though it's not all wealthy & upper crust like some would have us believe, much of the nightlife & general lifestyle in Scottsdale is more expensive than other parts of the metro area.