About the Scottsdale, Arizona Area 

Roads/Distances Between towns/cities
Scottsdale is located along state route 101, which runs north/south, connecting Scottsdale to Phoenix and other cities in the metro area. State route 202 is a freeway running east/west in the area. 

Scottsdale is 13 miles from Phoenix, 5 miles from Paradise Valley, 11 miles from Fountain Hills, 14 miles from Tempe, 15 miles from Carefree and 16 miles from Mesa. Scottsdale is approximately 117 miles from Tucson and 390 miles from Los Angeles. 

Airports
Sky Harbor International Airport is located in nearby Phoenix, and is the primary airport used for commercial air travel.  

Scottsdale is also served by Scottsdale Municipal Airport, one of the nations most used single-runway airports. This airport is primarily used by corporate jet traffic, in addition to tour and commuter flights. Its two private terminals allow VIPs to avoid the busy crowds at Sky Harbor International Airport. 

Terrain
The land area of Scottsdale is 184.2 square miles, all located in the Sonoran Desert at the base of the McDowell Mountains. Scottsdale is surrounded by desert, mountains, and parks. The numerous mountains attract hikers with easy-to-challenging hiking trails and incredible scenic views.  

For the full enjoyment of the beautiful Sonoran Desert, Scottsdale has developed the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, 34,000 acres of land located in the McDowell Mountains. It covers a 57-square-mile expanse, with trails for hikers, horseback rides, and mountain bikes.  

Population
The population in Scottsdale is 221,130. The average household income is $57,484 (2000 census). The population of Scottsdale is very well educated, with 93.5% being high school graduates, 44.1 % with a bachelor’s degree and 14.7% with a graduate or other professional degree. Scottsdale unemployment is a low at 3.5%. 

Jobs
Industries providing employment: Educational, health and social services (16.1%), Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services (15.1%), Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing (13.5%), Retail trade (12.8%), Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services (11.3%).
The average commute time for Scottsdale workers is 24 minutes, compared with 26 minutes nationwide. 

The major corporations having their headquarters in Scottsdale include Allied Waste Industries (Fortune 500), Cold Stone Creamery, and The Dial Corporation. 

Colleges/Universities
Scottsdale is home to the following colleges/universities: 

Scottsdale Community College, a public community college with an enrollment of 5,345. 

Scottsdale Culinary Institute, a private institute, with an enrollment of 602. 

Phoenix Therapeutic Massage College, a private college with an enrollment of 121. 

Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and Professional Institute of Real Estate. 

In addition, the new research center for Arizona State University will be built in South Scottsdale. 

Housing
The median value of homes in North Scottsdale is $750,000, with many homes in the newer areas surpassing $3 and $4 million.  

South Scottsdale (Old Town) formerly had some of the nation’s lowest housing prices, but presently the average home value is $205,000. Many deteriorating buildings are being torn down and rebuilt.  

In Downtown Scottsdale, five new ultra-luxury condominium towers are being built, the condominiums estimated to cost from $1 - $ 4 million. 

In Central Scottsdale, real estate values have steadily increased. As in South Scottsdale, older homes are being demolished and replaced with new million dollar homes. The median values of homes here are $1.5-2 million, and many homes exceed $5 million. 

According to CNN World Report, Scottsdale real estate is booming, and is experiencing one of the largest real estate changes in the nation.  

Historic Buildings
The Pueblo Grand Museum and Archaeological Park features the prehistoric Hohokam ruin surrounded by an interpretive trail. Inside the museum, various exhibits explore Hohokam archaeology, Southwestern cultures, and contemporary American Indian arts.  

In Scottsdale’s Old Town is found Cavalliere’s Blacksmith Shop where early settlers had their horses shod, Rusty Spur Saloon, and the Little Red School House, which is now the location of the Scottsdale Historical Society museum. 

Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
Scottsdale is renowned for being one of the best locations in the United States and the world for golf. It was named “America’s Best Place to Live for Golf” in the Robb Report. Scottsdale’s varied mountain terrain creates some of the most beautiful courses in the country. Scottsdale is home to over 200 area courses, including Troon Mountain Course, Pinnacle Golf, Grayhawk, The Boulders, and Desert Highlands. Eleven of Scottsdale’s golf instructors were named as “Top 100 Teachers in America” in Golf Magazine. Scottsdale is home to the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament each year. 

Every year the Arizona Men’s Tennis Championships are held at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Major League Baseball teams play exhibition games at Scottsdale Stadium. Scottsdale proudly calls itself “The West’s Most Western Town,” and holds the annual Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show at Westworld, Scottsdale’s equestrian and special event facility. 

Scottsdale provides many sports adventures such as rock climbing in the McDowell Mountains, horseback riding or mountain biking over desert trails, kayaking on an expansive desert lake or soaring in a glider plane. Some of more relaxing activities available are river floats and hot air balloon flights. 

Special Attractions
Scottsdale offers some of the best shopping in the southwest, having over 15 shopping centers and a myriad of designer boutiques and shops. The Borgata features one-of -kind shops and is modeled after a 14th century Italian village. Scottsdale Fashion square has over 225 stores. Downtown Scottsdale combines art studios and galleries with its shops. 

Scottsdale also has over 80 nightclubs and bars, and was rated one of the “Top 10 Cities for Best Nightlife” by the Travel Channel.  

Scottsdale boasts over 70 resorts and hotels, having one of the greatest number of five- star resorts and hotels in the nation.  

Scottsdale has a thriving tourist industry; its warm weather attracting over 6 million tourists to the city.  

Scottsdale’s many luxury spas are nationally renowned. 

Scottsdale is a major national art destination, with more than 125 galleries and studios. It attracts world famous talent to its galleries, museums, and performing arts centers.
Scottsdale provides year-round entertainment, with events such as the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction, the Scottsdale Arts Festival, or the Scottsdale Culinary Festival.  

Scottsdale has more than 600 restaurants, many of them mentioned in Gourmet magazine, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Bon Appetit. Skilled new chefs are produced by the local Scottsdale Culinary Institute.  

Interesting Facts
Scottsdale has been named the “Most Livable City” in the United States by the United States Conference of Mayors. 

Scottsdale was named by the New York Times as the “Beverly Hills of the Desert.” It has become internationally recognized as one of the most expensive and posh areas in the United States and a prime tourist destination. 

Its first inhabitants were the ancient Hohokam and Anasazi civilizations, who farmed and built 125 miles of incredible irrigation canals. The Hohokam people disappeared leaving no evidence of what had caused their disappearance. 

The Taliesin West Architectural School in Scottsdale was founded by Frank Lloyd Wright.

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About the Northeast Phoenix, Arizona Area 

Roads/Distances Between Towns/Cities
State Route I-10 from Los Angeles travels from the west through downtown Phoenix, and exits the metro area traveling to the southeast towards Tucson. I-17 begins in downtown Phoenix and travels north to Flagstaff. US 60 also goes through the city, going northwest through Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. It exits east of downtown, going through Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Apache Junction. 

State Route Loop 101 forms a semicircle around the northern suburbs, starting from I-10 in the west and going around to I-10 in the southeast.
Phoenix is located 8.3 miles from Paradise Valley, 9.2 miles from Glendale, and 13.1 miles from Scottsdale and 14 miles from Tempe. Phoenix is located 115 miles from Tucson and 367 miles from Los Angeles. 

Airports
Sky Harbor International Airport, located in Phoenix, is the fifth busiest airport in the nation, with non-stop flights to over 100 cities. The Williams Gateway Airport is in Mesa, and serves as a commercial airline. Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Scottsdale and the Falcon Field Airport in Mesa are two smaller airports that mainly handle private and corporate jets. 

Terrain
Phoenix has an area of 475.1 square miles, and lies at the edge of the Sonoran Desert. 474.9 square miles of Phoenix are land and .2 square miles of it is water. 

Phoenix has the McDowell Mountains to the northeast, the White Tank Mountains to the west, the Superstition Mountains far east, and the Sierra Estrella to the southwest. In the city itself, are the Phoenix Mountains and South Mountains.  

Phoenix is located in the Salt River Valley or “Valley of the Sun” in central Arizona.
The Salt River runs west through the city, but the riverbed itself is generally dry. 

Population
The population of Phoenix is 1,321,045. The median household income is $41,207. Of the population of Phoenix over 25 years old, 76.6% have a high school degree, 22.7% have a bachelor’s degree, and 7.6% have a graduate or professional degree. The unemployment rate in Phoenix is 5.6%. 

Jobs
As Phoenix is the state capital of Arizona, the government is a prime employer in the city. Many high-tech and telecommunications companies have located in the area. There are job opportunities in tourism and recreation, particularly the golf industry. Two major Fortune 500 companies are located in Phoenix, the electronics corporation Avnet, Inc and the mining company Phelps Dodge Corporation. America West Airlines and Luke Air Force Base are also located in Phoenix. 

Industries providing employment: Education, health and social services (15%), Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services (12.5%), Retail trade (11.6%), Manufacturing (10.5%). 

The average time to travel to work in Phoenix is 26 minutes. 

Phoenix’s economy has grown dramatically in recent decades, bolstered by the many retirees and tourists, and also by developing technology and banking interests. 

Colleges/Universities
Arizona State University, the main university in the area, has a satellite campus in Phoenix. It is one of the largest public universities in the US, with an enrollment of 57, 543.

The University of Phoenix, also located in Phoenix, is the nation’s largest private, for-profit university, with an enrollment of 14, 783.  

Phoenix College, a public institution, has an enrollment of 5,911.  

Paradise Valley Community College, Devry Institute of Technology, Gateway Community College, Grand Canyon University, and Universal Technical Institute Inc. all have enrollments over 2000.  

Maricopa County has ten community colleges and two skills centers, providing adult education and training. 

Housing
Phoenix is primarily a resort and retirement community. Housing costs in the Phoenix area are typically well below many other major cities, having some of the lowest average prices for new single-family homes. More than 50 percent of these new single family homes are built in master-planned communities. Last year alone, over 48,136 new single-family homes were authorized in the Phoenix area.  

The median cost of a home in Phoenix is approximately $218,000. A typical new home in that price range would include 2,600 square feet of space and a two-car garage.
The Phoenix area offers a wide variety of homes. A luxury home in metropolitan Phoenix can run up in the $2 million dollar range, and $3 million would not be uncommon.  

Historic Buildings
At the Pueblo Grande Museum, an ancient Hohokam Indian community has been preserved.  

Heritage Square is a collection of the city's early homes that have been transformed into shops and restaurants. 

The Victorian-era Rosson House was once one of the most prominent homes in Phoenix. 

Interesting Facts
Phoenix is the 6th largest city in the country. 

Since 1950, Phoenix has been selected four times as an All-America City, exemplary in the extent to which its private citizens get involved in the workings of their government. 

In 1993 Phoenix was selected as the “Best Run City in the World,” also known as the Carl Bertelsmann Prize. 

Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
South Mountain Park is the largest metropolitan park in the world, and 3 million visitors come there annually.  

Phoenix's warm climate provides many opportunities for enjoyment of the sunny Sonoran Desert. The Phoenix Mountains Preserve, with its intricate trail network snaking through the north Valley, has trails for hiking, biking, or horseback riding.  

Hikers can climb Camelback Mountain, the city's highest point. 

Phoenix is home to several major league professional sports: the Arizona Cardinals (football), the Arizona Diamondbacks (baseball), the Phoenix Suns (basketball) The Phoenix Mercury (basketball), and the Phoenix Coyotes (ice hockey). 

Indy Car Racing is often held at The Phoenix International Raceway, and sprint car racing at Manzanita Speedway.  

Phoenix hosts several professional golf events, including the FBR Open of the PGA tour, the Standard Register Turquoise Classic of the LPGA, and The Tradition of the PGA Champions Tour. More than 2 million golfers tee up in metro Phoenix each year, enjoying the lush fairways.  

Two new resorts recently opened in northeast Phoenix. The JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa has two 18-hole championship golf courses, 950 rooms and its Revive Spa. The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa opened back in November 2002. 

Special Attractions
Phoenix is the home of the Desert Botanical Garden and located nearby is the Phoenix Zoo, which houses nearly 400 species of animals. These "living museums" display wildlife and plant life from all over the world. 

A great range of art can be found in Phoenix, from Native American artifact collections to classical European art. Some of the city's largest art collections can be found at the Heard Museum, which possesses an internationally acclaimed collection of regional Native American cultures.  

Local festivals include the Arizona State Fair, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Maricopa County Fair. 

Interesting Facts
Phoenix is the capital, largest city, and largest metropolitan area in Arizona.  

It is called Hoozo (meaning “the place is hot”) in the Navajo language. 

The earliest settlers of Phoenix were the Hohokam people who lived there as early as 300 BC. Their disappearance is still a mystery. 

In 1874 the total cost of the Phoenix town site, which consisted of 320 acres of land, was $550.

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About the Paradise Valley, Arizona Area 

Roads/Distances Between Towns/Cities
Paradise Valley is located east of state route 101, which runs north/south, and is north of state route 202, which runs east/west.  

Paradise Valley is located 5.2 miles from Scottsdale, 8.3 miles from Phoenix, 10.9 miles from Tempe, and 12.3 miles from Guadalupe. It is located 111 miles from Tucson and 373 miles from Los Angeles. 

Airports
Phoenix Sky Harbor International is 9 miles away. It is the largest international airport and the airport used most frequently. Williams Gateway Airport and Luke AFB are certified for carrier operations and are both about 29 miles away. Other public use airports near Paradise Valley are Scottsdale Airport, Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, and Falcon Field Airport. 

Terrain
The land area of Paradise Valley is 15.5 square miles, none of which is covered with water. It lies to the north of Camelback Mountain. 

Population
The population in Paradise Valley is 14,169. The median household income is $150,228 (2000 census). The population over 25 years old is extremely well educated, with 98% having graduated high school, 69% with a bachelor’s degree or higher and 32% with a graduate or professional degree. Unemployment is a low 2%. 

Jobs
Industries providing employment: Educational, health and social services (20.8%), Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services (18.9%), Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing (16%). 

The average travel time to work is 22 minutes. 

Colleges/Universities
Colleges/Universities with over 2000 students near Paradise Valley: 

Paradise Valley Community College, with an enrollment of 3,410.  

Arizona State University-Main Campus, with an enrollment of 37,174.  

Rio Salado Community College, with an enrollment of 4,472.  

Al Collins Graphic Design School Ltd., with an enrollment of 4,057.  

University of Phoenix-Online Campus, with an enrollment of 14,783.  

Gateway Community College, with an enrollment of 2,969.  

Scottsdale Community College, with an enrollment of 5,345. 

Housing
Paradise Valley is in the lead when it comes to high median prices. The average price for a home in Paradise Valley is $1.3 million. Luxury homes really start at around $3 million. Many homes are valued at more than $5 million, some over $15 million. 

Rising land prices are helping drive up the price of luxury homes and it is common practice to buy and tear down an old house to clear the lot for a new mansion.  

Interesting Facts
Food & Wine magazine has listed many of the city's top chefs on its list of "10 Best New Chefs in America."  

Paradise Valley’s name is said to have been inspired by the spring wildflowers that grow there. 

Paradise Valley houses a site where earth-formed concrete structures contain a ceramic workshop and foundry where the famous Soleri windbells are made and sold. 

Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
Scenic Paradise Valley has created an organization called The Mummy Mountain Preserve Trust, whose goal is to preserve the natural landscape, desert plants, wildlife and beauty of the mountain areas of this town. The term "Mountain Preserve" specifies all property included in the Mummy Mountain Preserve area, which encompasses approximately 320 acres.  

Paradise Valley boasts two top-notch golf clubs. The Paradise Valley Country Club, with a private 18 hole course, has received the "Platinum Club" rating by "Club Leader Forum”. It has been rated as the #1 private club in Arizona. The Stonecreek Golf Club is a semi-private 18 hole course, with a links-style design featuring water hazards coming into play on five holes. The fairways are hilly, and the new greens are fast. This club annually hosts the LPGA Mitsubishi Pro Am and other local tournaments. 

Although only 15 square acres in size, Paradise Valley has 12 top-notch resorts. 

Special Attractions
Paradise Valley is often considered to be an extension of Scottsdale, and as such, all the special events of that city are readily available to the residents.

Sanctuary, on Camelback Mountain is well known as a secluded getaway providing both a posh and scenic environment and culinary delights. The Hermosa Inn with its Old West elegance, offers elite wine tasting and dining experiences. 

Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona is the home and sculpture studio of Paolo Soleri and his staff. Soleri (later joined by his students) began work on the experimental buildings in the mid 1950’s. Designated as an Arizona Historic Site, Cosanti provides a unique bio-climatic architectural environment. Its structures feature many imaginative design elements, reflecting new and creative construction techniques.

Request my Free Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley and Surrounding areas Relocation Package. It's packed full of useful and important information about the Scottsdale, Northeast Phoenix and Paradise Valley, Arizona area. Don't move here without it! Remember: I'll send it to you for free and without obligation. Just fill out the form and I will send it right out... 

It's my job to know EVERYTHING about Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley and Surrounding areas! Ask me any question. Or request a FREE information package. There's no obligation, and I promise to get back to you quickly...