Life in Phoenix is planned around the sun, and it is a wide desert city of about 1.7 million people, with more than five million in the metro area. Winters and springs are lovely, which is why people come for spring training baseball, golf and the Phoenix Open. Visitors hike Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak early in the morning, visit the Desert Botanical Garden, the Musical Instrument Museum and the Heard Museum, and head over to Old Town Scottsdale or Taliesin West. Sedona and Flagstaff are both an easy day trip or weekend away.
The tradeoff is summer, when temperatures pass 110 degrees Fahrenheit and a midday hike can turn dangerous. Living here is fairly affordable compared with California, and home prices have flattened out. Like most Sun Belt cities it is built around the car. Crime is moderate, with vehicle theft and break-ins the main worry, and the downtown area known as The Zone calls for caution.
