Why do people rip on Scottsdale?

[ATLienHopeful]

As Ive stated before, Im hoping to get a job in the PHX area after college and would love to be out in the direction of Scottsdale, or Tempe. My question is where is the civic pride in Scottsdale? Every forum Ive checked other than this one has had really no good things to say about Scottsdale, its mainly " The 30,000 dollar millionaires," or "The Waterfront is great, you can smell sewage and see your stolen bicycle and gang murdered corpses floating by," etc. When I have visited Scottsdale, both summer and winter, I have not noticed any of this, the people make it seem like Compton for Christs sake. Am I just blinded by the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque aesthetics to see this disgusting underbelly or is it all blown horribly out of proportion? I believe there is crime in Scottsdale as well as PHX, and gang activity is rampant, illegals, horrid driving, etc..all the new types of things plaguing Americas major cities...but to this degree? Surely not. Why the hate on Scottsdale, and the constant sniping about crime? In my opinion, PHX doesnt know crime like Memphis to my knowledge. Check the national news on what we had here just last sunday. Quite possibly the most heinous thing Ive ever heard of in my short two decades and change on this planet.

[MJLO]

Scottsdale is a world renown, exclusive community. Say it's name just about anywhere in this country and it's automatically associated with affluence. It is certainly not known for crime. No more than any other suburb anywhere. Trust me, it doesn't smell and I have never felt safer anywhere. Any vitriole on PHX forums is just typical local bullcrap. People knock on it because of it's reputation and prestige. Because they don't live there or whatever. I will say it is a little annoying to live in a metro area so big with so many wealthy neighborhoods in all parts of it, and have the only thing anyone knows about it, Scottsdale. I'd also say that the people that live there sometimes think it's the only exclusive community on earth but that's for another topic. As for the crime in Phoenix, it's as good or as bad as any city it's size. It's harder to visualize because everything was built within the last 30years. So you can't always tell by your surroundings if you're in a good or bad neighborhood.

[ATLienHopeful]

Scottsdale is a world renown, exclusive community. Say it's name just about anywhere in this country and it's automatically associated with affluence. It is certainly not known for crime. No more than any other suburb anywhere. Trust me, it doesn't smell and I have never felt safer anywhere. Any vitriole on PHX forums is just typical local bullcrap. People knock on it because of it's reputation and prestige. Because they don't live there or whatever. I will say it is a little annoying to live in a metro area so big with so many wealthy neighborhoods in all parts of it, and have the only thing anyone knows about it, Scottsdale. I'd also say that the people that live there sometimes think it's the only exclusive community on earth but that's for another topic. As for the crime in Phoenix, it's as good or as bad as any city it's size. It's harder to visualize because everything was built within the last 30years. So you can't always tell by your surroundings if you're in a good or bad neighborhood.

[colin]

I don't know what the neighborhood is called, but it's probably Palm Lane, which runs south of Thomas east from Central to about 15th (?) Street. If I'm trying to show off Phoenix, I take people down that street because there's just frankly not much else to show off.

I don't know that I would consider Phoenix as having a lot of civic pride. The Phoenicians I've met who have been there for more than a few years (which is actually few) like their life, but don't seem to be overly involved in civic life in a more community sense. It's just too disjointed and too much of a transient community at this point. People who move here (Tucson) from Phoenix are much more disillusioned with it though, of course.

But, as far as the Scottsdale question, it's jealousy, yes, but it's also a bit of arrogance culture, I think. Scottsdale has, over the years, been fervently resistant to transit coming into their city, which is why Valley Metro has such terrible service there, and why the light rail, if it comes through at all, will not come through for many years, despite the Downtown/Old Town area being one of the more likely candidates in the Valley for it. That sort of reaction from the government is just reflective of the attitude of its citizenry. I'm just as guilty as the next Arizonan in making assumptions and judgments about a person when they say they live in Scottsdale (many who do immediately add that they're from "South" Scottsdale, which has a totally different reputation), but almost all stereotypes are based on some form of truth.

There are plenty of other "exclusive" areas in the Valley though apart from Scottsdale: Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Ahwatukee, even some areas of Mesa and into the exurban West Valley. They just don't have quite the same stigma associated with them.

[cueball1914]

I don't know what the neighborhood is called, but it's probably Palm Lane, which runs south of Thomas east from Central to about 15th (?) Street. If I'm trying to show off Phoenix, I take people down that street because there's just frankly not much else to show off.

I don't know that I would consider Phoenix as having a lot of civic pride. The Phoenicians I've met who have been there for more than a few years (which is actually few) like their life, but don't seem to be overly involved in civic life in a more community sense. It's just too disjointed and too much of a transient community at this point. People who move here (Tucson) from Phoenix are much more disillusioned with it though, of course.

But, as far as the Scottsdale question, it's jealousy, yes, but it's also a bit of arrogance culture, I think. Scottsdale has, over the years, been fervently resistant to transit coming into their city, which is why Valley Metro has such terrible service there, and why the light rail, if it comes through at all, will not come through for many years, despite the Downtown/Old Town area being one of the more likely candidates in the Valley for it. That sort of reaction from the government is just reflective of the attitude of its citizenry. I'm just as guilty as the next Arizonan in making assumptions and judgments about a person when they say they live in Scottsdale (many who do immediately add that they're from "South" Scottsdale, which has a totally different reputation), but almost all stereotypes are based on some form of truth.

There are plenty of other "exclusive" areas in the Valley though apart from Scottsdale: Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Ahwatukee, even some areas of Mesa and into the exurban West Valley. They just don't have quite the same stigma associated with them.

[MJLO]

I spend most of my time in the Arrowhead area these days and know only a handful of people who actually live in there. Scottsdale has the lowest population density of any city in the valley, ( that is if you don't count whore land hoarding west valley exurbs). It is centered on the north east corner of the valley along with PV, and the more exclusive Phoenix neighborhoods. I understand how a life long resident would have civic pride in it. But before the vast annexation that has happened in the last few decades The city was limited to the southern areas and not much else. There is as others have stated a much different feel when you're in old scottsdale vs. every lot being 2acres, strip mall, gas station fast food joint, repeat, in the northern parts of town.

I don't mind Scottsdale tho most of my business gives me no need to venture that way. I will say, in concurence with Colins statements. Scottsdales elitist city government, while progressive in alot of it's policies, and super NIMBY in others, walls itself off from the rest of the valley. If you look at any thriving metropolitan area in the country, they all have one thing in common. Regionalism! Suburban cities throw their support, if not only work in accordance with the center city. Metropolitan Phoenix has more in common with Metro Detroit in terms of it's fractured city governments competing against each other, for spotlight and development dollars. I often ask myself, why I cant name a notable suburb say in Boston, but I can name two or three in Phoenix. Scottsdale is the poster child for this.