Scottsdale a Jewel in the Desert
Information about North and South Scottsdale including history, activities, recreation, real estate and much more! Click the quick links below to navigate to the information you need:
Learn more about Scottsdale, Arizona.
Scottsdale is one of the top-rated cities to live in America and has many excellent communities. CNN/Money.com’s Best Places currently ranks Scottsdale as number 35 out of all cities in the country. In October of 2005, the NBC Today Show featured Scottsdale as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People to live. We couldn’t agree more as our children love it here in Scottsdale and they also enjoy the recreational activities available.
Community Information
We have over 225,000 residents the City of Scottsdale. According to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, that number has grown by 72% since 1990. Scottsdale is over 30 miles long from the north end, which borders Carefree, to the south end at Tempe. It extends from Phoenix on the west to Fountain Hills on the east, a distance of about 8 miles.
Considering the vastness of the city, how does one begin to search for the right community, let alone the right house – especially if you’re a newcomer to our wonderful city? Well, by reading through this “Explore Scottsdale Communities” section, we hope to provide a head start for you.
FAST FACTS – Scottsdale, Arizona
- 2005 population: 225,000
- Growth from 1990: 72%
- Median Age in 2000: 41 yrs.
- Median Home Price: $600,000
North Scottsdale
- Total Housing Units: 125,610
- Median Year Built: 1985
- Median Rent: $833.00
- Median Fam. Income: $78,650
Proximity to the Grand Canyon: 4.5 hours
A Bit of History – Winfield Scott
If we turn back the clocks to 1888 you might be able to witness a gentleman making a purchase of land in what is now Scottsdale. You would see him buying 640 acres, a sizeable piece of property for a, um, hefty sum of $1,600. You read that correctly, only one thousand, six hundred dollars! However, paying $2.50 an acre for desert didn’t seem like such a bargain when it was covered in cactus and needed clearing, irrigation ditches and roads. Heck, they didn’t even have air conditioning, sunscreen or sunglasses…
Turn the clocks ahead today and you will find that just one of those acres alone would now bring several hundred thousand dollars. There are now 100 golf courses with a reasonable driving distance and the City of Scottsdale is deemed to be one of the finest cities to live in within the entire United States.
So who was this founding father of Scottsdale? He was an Army Chaplain, a Baptist minister, a war veteran who was wounded a number of times, was married and had four daughters.
The West’s Most Western Town
Scottsdale received this title in years past but it is getting a bit harder to see why. Western style shops sit in Old Scottsdale (downtown) side-by-side with new restaurants, art galleries and shopping. Yet there are still a large number of horse properties within the City limits and the desert sunsets still remind us of the not-too-distant past.
Speaking of Art Galleries…
If you plan on visiting all the Art Galleries in Scottsdale I hope you plan on living here for a good while. There are currently over 110 listings on the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau site. So saddle up and check them out.
Weather in Scottsdale
In a word – Terrific! (and you thought we would say “Hot!”). Well, it can get a bit steamy in July and August but the reason many people move to Arizona is the weather. The winters here are free of ice and snow (except in the mountains 2 hours north) and golfers enjoy their sport year-round. Many people don’t realize there are several large lakes for boating, fishing, jet-skiing, etc. within an hour’s drive in several directions.
How’s Business?
In addition to our wonderful weather, golfing, communities and recreation, Scottsdale is a great place to do business. In fact, perhaps those reasons are why so many people have opened new businesses or relocating existing businesses to Scottsdale. The Scottsdale Airpark in North Scottsdale is now one of the top employment areas in the State.
Recreation and Outdoor Activities in Scottsdale
Scottsdale is a mecca for those enjoying an active lifestyle. With year-round sunshine the outdoor lover will find hiking, climbing, hot-air ballooning, Jeep & Hummer tours, river rafting, parks (Grand Canyon anyone?), theme parks, etc. Two hours north you can snow ski in the winter and you can water ski or jet ski on our local lakes within an hour’s drive.
For those enjoying their activities indoors, there are Classic Car Auctions (Barrett Jackson and others), Casinos, Shopping Malls (is that an activity?), world-class spas, spring training baseball, terrific resorts and restaurants, and the list goes on.
Spend time exploring the amazing variety of activities available in Arizona!
