Scottsdale, Arizona

“The West’s Most Western Town.” That is the unofficial slogan of Scottsdale and it pretty well describes this very unique Arizona city. Although Scottsdale is rooted in western heritage it is definitely a modern city with all the shopping, nightlife, recreation you would expect from a city much larger.

Scottsdale could be divided into two geographic areas, one is the central or Old Town area and the other is North Scottsdale. We’ll focus on the central area first. This is where most of the upscale shopping is located, including Scottsdale Fashion Mall and the Old Town shopping areas. Scottsdale Fashion Mall has stores such as Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus, Macys and several boutiques you’d expect to find in Beverly Hills. In the Old Town area you’ll find more specialty boutiques as well as several art galleries specializing in western art and sculpture. This area also has the best nightclubs in the area including: Axis/Radius, Myst, e4 and Devils Martini just to name a few. One of the new additions to the downtown area is the new Waterfront development, it includes shops, restaurants & high rise condos all built along the Arizona canal. A couple of other attractions in this area is the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and Scottsdale stadium (spring training home of the San Francisco Giants). There are also several smaller resorts in this area as well as the world famous Phoenician Resort just minutes from downtown.

The North Scottsdale is the relatively new part of Scottsdale. This area includes everything north of Shea Blvd and goes east to the McDowell Mountains. This area is dominated by large golf resorts such as The Princess Resort, Westin Kierland, The Boulders and Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch. This area is also where the most upscale neighborhoods are located such as Desert Highlands, DC Ranch, Troon, Greyhawk, Scottsdale Ranch, Legend Trail, Ancala and Whisper Rock. Don’t be alarmed there are also some more moderately priced subdivisions in North Scottsdale such as: McCormick Ranch and McDowell Mountain Ranch. A couple of other highlights in the north Scottsdale area are West World Center (site of the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction) and the world famous Mayo Clinic.

Last but definitely not least here is some information about the golf courses in Scottsdale. You can’t turn down a major street without glimpsing one of the many courses in Scottsdale. There is everything from 9 hole executive courses to PGA tournament courses. To view all of the courses and the stats just click on this link: Golf Courses.

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