Living in Phoenix

What Living Here Is Actually Like

Listings tell you about the house. This page is about everything around it.

I live here too, and I’m out in these areas all the time. I go to the events, sit in the traffic, drive the I-17 and the Loop 303, and take the weekend trips. That’s what I write about here. It isn’t a brochure version of Phoenix. It’s the real one, good parts and tradeoffs both.

The tabs, quickly:

• News: what’s happening right now. That includes the monthly North Valley events roundup (like October’s) and market updates such as the Fall 2026 housing market update.
• Explore: places, day trips, and side-by-side comparisons. Start with North Phoenix vs Scottsdale if you’re torn between the two. Or read about the time we went camping up in the pines and remembered Arizona isn’t all desert.
• Growth: what’s being built and what it really means for you. The TSMC post and What Growth Actually Means When You’re Buying (or Selling) Here are good places to start.

Why does this matter if you just want a house? Because the area is most of what you’re buying. A new fab or a new freeway interchange can change your commute, your resale and your weekends. So can a new shopping center. Sometimes that’s a plus and sometimes it’s not, and I’d rather you know before you sign than after.

I also try hard to be straight about what nobody knows yet. If there’s no reliable number for something, I’ll tell you that instead of guessing.

New posts go up regularly, and each one ties back to the areas I cover, from Scottsdale and North Phoenix up to Anthem, Cave Creek, Carefree, Glendale and Rio Verde. If something here makes you curious about a specific area, check out its neighborhood page. Or just reach out and we’ll talk it through.