No. of Recommendations: 2
It's educational take a drive from the north end of Scottsdale all the way south to the southern end of Phoenix. The good old USA in one simple straight line. From fabulous wealth to the grittiest poverty. Wealth inequality made visible.
Quibble. You'll need to go SW from Scottsdale to see the really gritty. North Scottsdale is very nice. As you get closer to Tempe (due south) it becomes lower to mid middle class. But southwest, into Phoenix proper, you'll start getting into it.
Used to be the police wouldn't go there (South Phoenix and Buckeye) unless they were in teams, and they left someone to watch the cruisers. Not so bad now, but still pretty poor. A lot of the downtown and surrounding areas have been renovated. Lots improved along the path of the light rail, too.
Go a bit north of Scottsdale to Carefree. Very ritzy. Dick Van Dyke lived there, last I knew.
