Scottsdale vs. The World

A list: what makes Scottsdale unlike anywhere else I’ve lived:

• Nobody cleans their own house. Or mows their own lawn
• Nobody changes their own oil–much less does their own auto repair
• There’s a dry cleaners in every shopping complex
• There are no local businesses. Only chains. Restaurants being the sole exception
• There are no good coffee shops. Only Starbucks
• Scottsdale’s culture centers around dining at trendy places, shopping (or, more accurately, buying), and parenting
• There’s seemingly no virtue associated with “good honest work”
• If you’re going to rent, you’re going to live in an apartment (rental houses are few and far between). If you’re in an apartment, its likely owned and managed by a national property management company–not somebody’s dad
• People drink Bud Light or Coors Light. There are TWO microbreweries in the 4.2 million people strong Phoenix valley that bottle their beer (compared with … 6? in and around Bozeman)
• You drive a BMW, not a Subaru
• Nobody puts bumper stickers on their cars. And, cars are ALWAYS clean. You never see a dirty car (except for mine, of course…)
• Instead of bumper stickers, people seem more likely to get tattoos. Or plastic surgery
• Nobody bikes as a means of transportation

Hrm. That’s a start. It scratches at the surface.

Random facts about Scottsdale / Phoenix / Arizona:

• Phoenix population in 1960: 726,183
• Phoenix population in 2008: 4,281,899
• Scottsdale is 90.18% white
• Phoenix proper is 52.2% white and 41.3% Hispanic or Latino
• The average home value in my zip code is $540,000. The median home value in nearby 85262 is $1,102,500
• 50% of Arizona home owners are in negative equity