I'm not really sure if Phoenix is in the dying-bird phase or the emerging-from-the-ashes phase but it's doing alright. Downtown Phoenix is probably the most boring downtown I have ever been to and my 15 dollar salad tasted like not 15 dollars worth of salad.
I spent the majority of the week in Scottsdale though. I certainly wouldn't want to live there, but for a week of travel it's nice to be around a fuck-ton of restaurants and a few stores here and there. In the summer I imagine it's not as nice.
Basically the fact that I somewhat enjoyed Scottsdale (and Phoenex a little bit) was relative to the fact that I've been in rural areas in the South lately, so it was a nice change of pace.
••