The City of Scottsdale in particular brings in people from around the world for a wide variety of reasons. It has grown into a city of culture and sophistication and is a world-class mecca for golfers, resort vacationing and resort-style living as well as shopping and fine dining. The Mayo Clinic is located in Scottsdale as is the Tournament Players Club (TPC) which hosts the FBR Open each January. The Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction is also held each January and many attendees fly directly in to the Scottsdale Airport because of it's convenient location and award winning services. In 1995, the Arizona Department of Transportation presented Scottsdale with the Arizona Airport of the Year award. In addition, one of the Fixed Base Operators located at Scottsdale Airport has been rated among the top 50 by "Professional Pilots Magazine" every year since 1993.

The City of Scottsdale has consistently been named among the top 30 cities in which to raise children as well as the top fifty places to retire and is still ranked as one of the top ten markets for luxury home sales. (Trulia.com Heat Map) Scottsdale has also earned many national distinctions such as: - Money Magazine?s Best Places to Live: Ranked #7 in 2006
- Named by the New York Times as "The Beverly Hills of the Desert,"
- Ladies' Home Journal: #4 in overall healthy cities
- Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities - ranked #15 in 2005
- A 2007 '100 Best Communities for Young People' - America's Promise Alliance, a children's advocacy group
- Voted the Most Livable City by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1993

The Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau is a great resource for more information on these topics plus events, resorts, shopping, dining, arts and culture.