With over 300 sunny days per year, the obvious answer is the weather – especially during those long Canadian winters! But beyond the extraordinary weather, Greater Phoenix offers residents a unique blend of all things demanded and desired, and all the diversity of a big city, without the big city expenses. Quality of life is what keeps Phoenix, a city of 3.5 million residents, at the forefront of the most livable cities in the U.S., and the 5th largest city in the nation. And, beyond the quality of the lifestyle in the Valley of the Sun, you will also find this market to be one of the most effective for long term investment potential.

The City of Phoenix is the capital of the State of Arizona, as well as the most prominent hub for business and culture in the Southwestern U.S.  Phoenix has been growing at a lightening fast pace for the past several decades, and is consistently at the top of national rankings for population growth, job growth and new home development.  The city’s population grew by 47.7% between 1990 and 2005, and covers more than 515 square miles.  With one of the lowest costs of living compared to other major cities, and all of the amenities one would expect in a modern metro area, Phoenix is an excellent location for business and residents to make home.  Growth projections for the next several decades are quite positive.

Phoenix’s history began with Native Americans (the Hohokam) occupying this area as early as AD 700.  They created over 135 miles of irrigation canals and grew crops native to the region.  Their canals would later become useful for Central Arizona Project.  Other Native American tribes populated the general area, and several reservations are sprinkled throughout the Valley today.  With these deep roots in agriculture, the early modern economy of Phoenix was primarily agricultural, dependent on cotton and citrus farming, as well as cattle and dairy farms.

Early settlers to the region began arriving in the mid 19th century, and by 1881, Phoenix was incorporated with 2,500 residents.  The coming of the railroad in the 1880s revolutionized Phoenix’s economy and brought merchandise to the area, making Phoenix a regional trade center.  During World War II, Phoenix’s economy shifted to that of a distribution center, and had many industrial areas that produced military supplies and brought thousands of military personnel to the city.  There is still a significant military presence in Phoenix today.

The metro Phoenix area, or otherwise known as “the Valley” (short for “Valley of the Sun”), is surrounded by the McDowell Mountains to the northeast, the White Tank Mountains to the west, the Superstition Mountains to the east, and Sierra Estrella and South Mountain to the south.  Current development is pushing rapidly at all boundaries to the north and west, south through Pinal County towards Tucson, and surrounding the Salt River and Gila Indian Reservations.

The greater Phoenix area is a $50 billion marketplace driven by high tech, biotechnology and aerospace industries.  World leading companies such as Intel, Avnet, Motorola, Honeywell, Allied Signal, and Boeing have chosen Phoenix for their corporate and regional headquarters.  Industry leaders such as American Express, Phelps Dodge, Prudential, Charles Schwab, US Airways and the Mayo Clinic also have major operations in Phoenix.  In the past few years, the Translational Genomics Institute was established in Phoenix, and is now an incubator for world class research and biotech spinoff technologies and companies.

In addition to working hard, Phoenicians know how to recreate!  Phoenix is home to several professional sports franchises such as the Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), the Arizona Cardinals (NFL), the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), and the Phoenix Suns (NBA), and other significant teams in arena football (Arizona Rattlers), women’s basketball (Phoenix Mercury), and lacrosse (Arizona Sting).  In addition, nine MLB teams conduct spring training throughout the Valley, Phoenix International Raceway is a major venue for NASCAR, and the brand new Cardinals stadium will host the 2008 Super Bowl as well as the BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.  And, with over 300 days of sunshine annually, there are more choices for world class golf, hiking, biking, and water sports than you can imagine in the Valley of the Sun!

During those hot summer months, or anytime throughout the year, Phoenicians take advantage of plenty of other points of interest as well such as the Arizona Opera, Arizona Science Center, Arizona Historical Society Museum, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, Desert Botanical Gardens, Encanto Park, Heard Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Zoo, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, South Mountain Park, Taliesin West, Symphony Hall and any number of world class restaurants and shopping venues spread throughout the Valley.  Phoenix truly offers something for everyone.

And, if you should tire of the Valley (though hard to believe!), you are a short drive from pine trees, mountains, and higher elevations; lakes and hiking trails; historic towns from the 19th century; world class caves and natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon; and most importantly…cooler weather!

Please click the images below to see larger images. 

100 Reasons We Love Arizona:

1. Fuchsia bougainvillea so bright it hurts your eyes

2. Discovering that the movie Oklahoma! was filmed in Arizona

3. Wrens that make their home in cactuses. We call them cactus wrens. They are the state bird.

4. No tolls on Arizona highways

5. The heady fragrance of orange blossoms

6. Being passed on the highway by a gang of 60-something easy riders on Harleys

7. Dave's Electric Beer from Bisbee, the state's first bottled microbrew

8. R. Carlos Nakai's haunting Native American flute

9. The Painted Desert after a light rain

10. Sedona's red rocks, a photographer's paradise

11. Wind-blown pinon trees along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

12. Bola ties. They're goofy, but New Yorkers don't wear them. The bola is our state tie.

13. The smell of Hatch chiles roasting outside the Guadalupe farmers market in the fall.

14. Chuckwalla lizards. We just like the name. Chuckwalla. Chuckwalla. Chuckwalla.

15. The otherworldly landscape of Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Reservation.

16. Baseball spring training. Two words: Hot dogs.

17. Rex Ranch in Amado, a collection of casitas that transports you back to the 1920s.

18. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Coyotes and, yes, even the Arizona Cardinals.

19. Being able to go mountain climbing and still be home for dinner.

20. Living here for five years, being known as "an old-timer," and remembering the good old days before all these new people moved in.

21. A walk through the Petrified Forest.

22. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West school of architecture in Scottsdale.

23. The Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Frank Lloyd Wright's legacy.

24. Eating strawberry-rhubarb pie at Mount Lemmon Cafe.

25. Going from cactus to pine trees in less than an hour.

26. Geckos running along our outside walls.

27. Ultrahot Mexican food at Los Dos Molinos.

28. Cactus. All of them, even jumping cholla.

29. Lizard drawings on the Pima Freeway.

30. Beautiful mountains, including one shaped like a camel.

31. Hiking down the Grand Canyon to Phantom Ranch and enjoying the beef stew dinner with chocolate cake.

32. Spring flowers on the mountains and desert.

33. The smell of creosote bushes after a desert shower. 

34. Shopping for Virgin Mary and Buddha statues at Sacred Rites in Flagstaff.

35. Being able to justify owning seven pairs of sunglasses

36. Turf Paradise racetrack in Phoenix, from the peacocks at the front door to the horse murals on the walls.

37. Watching monsoon storms cross the distant horizon

38. Seeing the full arc of a rainbow over the desert after a rain.

39. Italian beef sandwiches at Wolfee's restaurant in Scottsdale.

 40. Shuffleboard in the East Valley. Americans vs. Canadians, eh?

 41. Children riding the train at McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale.

 42. Mesa Market Place Swap Meet.

 43. Navajo tacos at Tuba City Truck Stop: more meat than beans.

 44. Barbecue sauce so hot it makes your head sweat.

 45. The warmth on your face after leaving an air-conditioned building in summer.

 46. Artists' colonies in Gold Canyon. Who needs Greenwich Village?

 47. Diamondbacks' third baseman Matt Williams' "cueball head.

 48. Tempe's huge backlit street signs visible from a mile away.

 49. Giant rabbits at Centerpoint in Tempe.

 50. Giant frogs at Arizona Center in Phoenix.

 51. Portal in southeastern Arizona, gateway to the Huachuca Mountains, hummingbird capital of Arizona.

 52. University of Arizona and Arizona State University in the 2003 NCAA basketball tournament.

 53. It's a dry heat. Really. It matters.

 54. No humidity-frizzed bad-hair days.

 55. Cutting your own Christmas tree in the north-country forests.

 56. Hedgehog cactus blooms - so much beauty on so little water.

 57. Scottsdale's Indian Bend Wash, an oasis in the desert.

 58. Luis "Gonzo" Gonzalez: baseball player, milk drinker, good guy.

 59. Taunting people back East in January for calling our desert "kitty litter" in July.

 60. Close, but not too close, to Las Vegas and Rocky Point.

 61. Phoenix's Bank One Ballpark with its flip-top lid. Baseball games with the roof open.

 62. Cooking a pie in a homemade solar oven.

 63. More golf courses per capita than Iowa has hogs.

 64. Spotting elk and bald eagles along the route of the Verde Canyon Railroad.

 65. Glendale's Thunderbird Hot Air Balloon Classic - glowing bubbles on the desert.

 66. Few flying insects, fewer mosquitoes. The only swats are at Bank One Ballpark.

 67. Sitting with your legs dangling off the edge of the Flatiron in the Superstition Mountains.

 68. Driving east on McDowell Road in Phoenix between rose-colored buttes.

 69. Squealing like a kid as you shoot down Slide Rock in Oak Creek Canyon.

 70. The Phoenix Civic Plaza fountain. It looks like a fuzzy dandelion head.

 71. Palm trees. Like Arizona's people, most aren't native - they came here, they liked it, they stayed.

 72. Whole Foods grocery store: a foodie's dreamland.

 73. America West Arena, home of the Suns and a cornerstone of the revitalization of downtown Phoenix.

 74. Low property taxes. Makes buying a house bearable.

 75. San Xavier del Bac mission, the "White Dove of the Desert," south of Tucson.

 76. Retired state Rep Polly Rosenbaum, born in September 1899 and still going strong.

 77. The Heard Museum of Native American culture in Phoenix.

 78. Picking up bargain antiques in Prescott and Glendale.

 79. The howl of a coyote in the morning.

 80. Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson.

 81. Roadrunners strutting across the road.

 82. Drinking watermelon aguas frescas (fruit drinks made from crushed melons) on the patio at Mango's in Mesa.

 83. The legend of the Lost Dutchman's Mine.

 84. Great ethnic restaurants: Vietnamese, Korean barbecue, Middle Eastern, Brazilian, Ethiopian, Thai, Indian.

 85. A picnic at the rest stop in Texas Canyon against sandstone-colored boulders that shoot for the sky.

 86. Spring break in Lake Havasu.

 87. Arizona firefighters: hotties with shiny red trucks.

 88. Kitt Peak Observatory west of Tucson.

 89. Few natural disasters - no tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes. The monsoons can stay.

 90. Kartchner Caverns near Benson.

 91. Tovrea Castle, "the wedding-cake" house, in Phoenix.

 92. No daylight-saving time.

 93. Scottsdale Fashion Square: a shopaholic's fantasy.

 94. You can tan all year long and get away with wearing short skirts to show it off.

 95. A mariachi festival that puts the ole! in your day.

 96. Night swimming in your backyard pool, floating on your back and staring up at the stars.

 97. Block walls that allow you to go night swimming in the nude.

 98. Being known as "Zonies" by Californians.

 99. The Grand Canyon. Duh.