Phoenix is a vibrant city with a fantastic desert climate and sophisticated arts and culture. Phoenix has more than 300 sunny days a year and an average temperature of 74 degrees. With almost 1.5 million residents, Phoenix continues to grow as people of all ages are attracted to the lifestyle the city offers. Retirees still choose Phoenix, drawn by the weather, attractive retirement housing, and superb golfing and recreational opportunities year round. Families choose Phoenix for wonderful schools, affordable housing in safe neighborhoods. Businesspersons choose Phoenix for its versatile and thriving economy.
Location
Situated in the southwestern part of the United States, Phoenix is Arizona’s capitol city and the sixth largest city in the United States. Phoenix is located in Maricopa County. More than twenty cities and towns make up the greater Phoenix area, including Peoria and Glendale.
The Phoenix metropolitan area, locally known as the Valley of the Sun (or just The Valley), is a metropolitan area that includes Phoenix, Arizona, much of the rest of Maricopa County, and parts of Pinal County.
Distance to major U.S. cities from Phoenix: Tucson-110 miles, Las Vegas-300 miles, San Diego-350 miles, Los Angeles-370 miles, Albuquerque-450 miles,
San Francisco-760 miles, Denver-810 miles, and Dallas-1,000 miles.
Terrain
With over 514 square miles of land, Phoenix offers plenty of room for expansion. Geographically, Phoenix exceeds the size of Los Angeles. There is still a large percentage of land in the city that is not developed.
Phoenix lies at an elevation of 1,117 feet in the heart of the Sonoran Desert.
The Salt River runs westward through the city of Phoenix. The Phoenix area is surrounded by the McDowell Mountains to the northeast, the White Tank Mountains to the west, the Superstition Mountains far to the east, and the Sierra Estrella to the southwest. Within the city are the Phoenix Mountains and South Mountains.
Phoenix is situated at the base of the foothills of the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert covers approximately 120,000 square miles, and includes southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, most of Baja California, and the state of Sonora, Mexico. It rivals Death Valley as the hottest and driest place in North America. The Sonoran Desert has various eco-regions and the greatest variety of desert plants in the world.
Jobs
Phoenix has a strong and versatile economy. Thanks to the city’s business-friendly environment, greater Phoenix is now one of the nation’s most desirable destinations. A large base of educated workers helps make Phoenix an attractive location for expanding firms. Phoenix also has a reasonable cost of living and competitive wages compared to most major metropolitan areas.
Phoenix has a thriving economy. Strong industries in Phoenix include aerospace and electronics manufacturing, business services, finance, wholesale distribution, travel and tourism. Phoenix's state-of-the-art telecommunications companies have made the city an appealing location for many companies including investment firms, credit card companies, banks and customer service centers. The Phoenix metro area is home to a wealth of talented and educated residents who help make Phoenix the thriving business center it is today.
Honeywell is the region's largest private employer, with nearly 12,000 workers.
Large employers in the Phoenix area include Intel, Avnet, Honeywell, Bull Worldwide Information Systems, AT&T, Motorola, Sumitomo Sitix Corp., STMicroelectronics, Boeing Helicopter Company, American Express, America West Airlines, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, USAA, and Viad.
Phoenix’s strong health services industry, with 20 major hospitals including a premier research hospital owned by The Mayo Clinic, makes this location very desirable for health professionals and those desiring top-notch health care. Several new research centers, including the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN) in downtown Phoenix and the Arizona Biodesign Institute (ABI) at ASU, are drawing scientists and biotech companies to Phoenix.
Education/Colleges
Education is one of the highest priorities to the families and community leaders in Phoenix. The wider Phoenix area is served by 29 school districts, some of which extend into surrounding cities. Excellent private and charter schools in Phoenix also contributes to the city’s desirability for families.
Arizona State University is located only 10 miles away in Tempe. The Art Institute of Phoenix Arizona is an excellent college, with courses in fashion, graphics, and web design. There are many excellent community colleges to choose from in the Phoenix metro area.
Housing
Phoenix is a great place to raise a family. There is a large diversity of neighborhoods to choose from in Phoenix with many that are both beautiful and friendly with tree-lined streets. The many parks are very well maintained and the housing costs are some of the lowest of all the major cities.
Phoenix and the surrounding metro area is well known for the success of its master-planned communities and active retirement communities. Scenic locations, great weather, architecture that blends with the desert landscape, and incredible recreational opportunities make these communities very popular.
Phoenix and the surrounding area is a desirable location for those who enjoy easy access to the rich cultural amenities that the city has to offer, such as concerts, ballet, art galleries, and museums. Great shopping, fine dining and entertainment also make Phoenix a popular location.
Recreation
What makes golf in the Phoenix metro area such a wonderful experience? Near-perfect weather, outstanding courses and the scenic beauty of the Sonoran Desert make this area a golfer’s paradise! With more than 180 of the state's 300 golf courses, greater Phoenix offers an abundance of challenging courses to choose from. The Phoenix metro area is one of the best golfing spots in the world.
There is so much to offer in this beautiful desert environment. Great parks and reserves in the greater Phoenix area include Squaw Peak Mountain Park, South Mountain Park, the Desert Botanical Garden, and the beautiful Sonoran desert preserves. These parks and reserves have hundred of miles of trails for biking and hiking or just enjoying the serene, natural environment. Phoenix also treasures its city parks, dog parks and skate parks.
Phoenix is located near several large lakes that offer great fishing and boating.
Sports enthusiasts in the Phoenix area enjoy events for all major league sports as well as baseball spring training and auto racing.
Phoenix and the surrounding area have some of the best resorts and spas in the world. Bring the family – there is something for everyone. From swimming pools and water parks, to zoos and great tennis, there’s no better family vacation spot than the Phoenix metro area.
The world famous beauty of Grand Canyon National Park is a four- to five-hour drive from Phoenix. Historic Indian reservations, The Saguaro National Park in Tucson, and great winter ski areas are just a few of the best kept secrets only a few hours from downtown Phoenix.
Special Attractions/Events
The arts are alive in Phoenix! From opera to Blue Grass, from Chamber Music to African Drum, and from the Arizona Ballet to Southwest Arts & Entertainment – Phoenix has it all. Phoenix's cultural offerings are superior and include The Heard Museum, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Phoenix Zoo, and so much more!
Phoenix is also the location for hundreds of conferences and conventions each year. An abundance of great hotels and conference facilities make Phoenix the choice of many organizations. By 2008, the Phoenix Civic Plaza will have almost 1 million square feet of exhibit space.
Phoenix is home to several famous places such as the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. Both are located next to the Biltmore Fashion Park, a high-end popular mall.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden located less than 2 hours away in Tucson. The natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region is realistically exhibited with mountain lions, prairie dogs, and Gila monsters, and more than 300 animal species of native creatures. Paths meander through over 20 acres of beautiful desert.
The Saguaro National Park in Tucson is an incredible desert park with nature trails for viewing the Saguaro cactus, a visitor center, camping and much more. Come experience the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and the Saguaro cactus.
Interesting Facts
A massive canal and pump system delivers water to Phoenix from the Colorado River, supplementing the supply from local reservoirs and assuring a reliable water supply in the future.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, the phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird. The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible — a symbol of fire and divinity. The phoenix became popular in early Christian art and literature as a symbol of the resurrection, of immortality, and of life-after-death.
The Saguaro has been described as the monarch of the Sonoran Desert, and the strongest symbol of the American Southwest. It is renowned for its shapes that inspire the imagination. Giant saguaro cacti, unique to the Sonoran Desert, sometimes reach a height of 50 feet.
The flowers of the Saguaro color the desert in late April, May and June. Each blossom opens in the cool of the night a few hours after sunset. By the next afternoon, the flower has wilted. The tspectacle repeats itself night after night for about four weeks until as many as one hundred flowers have appeared on each saguaro. In the few hours the flowers are open, a variety of flying animals will have succeeded in pollinating many of them. Coyotes, foxes, squirrels, rodents, ants, and many birds feed on the fruit and seeds of the Saguaro cactus.
The Hohokam people were said to be the first Americans to live in the Phoenix region, from about 300 A.D. They are remarkable in that they built 135 miles of irrigation waterways to feed their crops and villages with water from the Salt River. At a certain point, the culture vanished mysteriously. Drought or warfare may have been the explanation.
Phoenix remained a small farming community until the 1930s when it became an attractive tourist destination, and people started moving there for the outdoor lifestyle and clean desert air.
- NUMBER1EXPERTS™ 
