7 Reasons To Drop Everything And Move To This One Arizona City

7 Reasons To Drop Everything And Move To This One Arizona City

Aside from calling itself the “West’s Most Western City,” Scottsdale also prides itself as being the most livable city in the Phoenix-metro area. If you weren’t already convinced of that, the website Livability recently named it as the only city in Arizona to make its “Top 100 Best Places To Live” list this year (where it came in at number 40, making the top 50), where it joined five previous list rankings. The city scored well in areas such as education, creating a cohesive community, and the collection of amenities that make the city stand out above many others. It also has a reputation for being a safe, cultured, clean city, something that can be a pretty rare find for a place with a population of nearly 227,000.

If you weren’t already convinced of Scottsdale’s livability status, here are a few things that we think helps the city to shine. Who knows? It may even convince you to one day move there.

According to data from the American Community Survey in 2015, roughly 96% of Scottsdale residents had a high school diploma and more than half had a bachelor’s degree. Plus, three of its high schools made the state’s top 20 list of best high schools according to U.S. News.

2. Scottsdale is well-known for its dedication to the arts.

Museums, art galleries, culture nights, and one of the top places in the state to see art house films. One of its signature examples of this is the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, otherwise known as SMoCA, which not only serves as the home of contemporary art exhibits but also brings art to the public with free events.

3. It’s also a great place to kick back and relax by visiting one of their many, many spas and resorts.

Surrounded by exquisite mountains, the sights and outdoor activities that you can find in Scottsdale are numerous! There’s nothing that quite beats taking a hiking in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve then heading out for a delicious brunch. That actually takes us to our next point…

6. You can find award-winning restaurants, local favorites, and everything in between.

One of the best parts of moving to a new town or city is finding that the downtown or main street area is alive. That’s what you’ll find here where Old Town is a lively destination for residents and visitors alike.

Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich’ii’nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi’naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at [email protected].