All The Things I Love About Phoenix, Arizona

I love Phoenix, Arizona.

I spend some time there and I quite often get asked by people who haven't been or don't visit Phoenix: “What do you like about Phoenix?” or “What’s there to do in Phoenix?” and I thought I’d write it down because Phoenix is the kind of city that you have to visit to understand why it’s so great.

Here’s a list of the things I love about Phoenix:

The Sun:

I like the sun, blue sky, and heat. Here is a chart of the % of days per year that it is sunny. Phoenix has 85% of its days with sun. Since the sun is something that makes me happy, I’m happy when I’m in Phoenix.

And here is a chart with the number of clear days (When the clouds cover less than 1/3 of the sky.) Phoenix is #2 and always in the Top 5 places with the clearest days.

The Sports:

Arizona has every Professional sports team you could want. All within the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Major League Baseball: Arizona Diamondbacks

NBA - Phoenix Suns

NFL - Arizona Cardinals

NHL - Arizona Coyotes

Add the College sports scene onto this, and there's an event almost every night of the week.

The tickets to all of these events are often a fraction of the price of most other cities, and there always seem to be tickets available.

The Cars:

Because Arizona is mostly always sunny and dry, it’s a major ‘car city.’ I’m a car guy, and every time I go, there is something to do with cars going on.

Barrett Jackson Auction Company is located in Arizona - and it’s a massive car auction that is super fun to attend even if you’re not buying.

The McDonald’s Rock ‘n’ Roll car show at Pavilions at Talking Stick Shopping Center is one of the longest-running car shows in the USA, recurring weekly on Saturday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. You’ll see 250-500 cars and up to 150 motorcycles every single Saturday.

Bondurant Racing School offers courses for road racing, grand prix racing, high-performance driving, drag racing, karting and more!

NASCAR - ISM Raceway (Formerly Phoenix Raceway) hosts a NASCAR race every year in March. Not only that, but you can drive a NASCAR vehicle at the Richard Petty racing school!

Whether you like Volkswagens, Lowriders, muscle cars, 4x4’s, there is always something happening for you in Phoenix.

Uber! (And Lyft, and more):

This is an easy one - being from Vancouver, where we still don’t have Uber - arriving in Phoenix and walking straight to an Uber is a breath of fresh air.

Restaurants:

There are great restaurants in Phoenix that are easy to get into. Too many to list including Ra Sushi, Fox Restaurant Concepts, so many more.

Leisure sports:

Road cycling, mountain biking, hiking

Fitness:

Something for everyone!

Spin - https://www.cyclebar.com/

Group Boxing - https://titleboxingclub.com/

F45 - https://f45training.com/

Crossfit gyms galore, yoga, pilates, whatever you want.

The golf:

Is this one necessary to mention? Ok so Paradise Valley, Arizona is ranked one of the best spots to golf in the country.

But also TopGolf!

TPC Scottsdale's Waste Management Open: "The Greatest Show On Grass", especially Hole 16, The Loudest Hole in Golf

The Lakes:

Lake Mead, and more.

The Tech Scene!

There are. So. Many. Startups in Phoenix / Arizona, it's pretty amazing. It has awesome energy. 2020 Best Startups in Phoenix

There are many great places to stay, hotels, AirBNB's, everything from Hotel Valley Ho to The W to the Four Seasons.

Easter is amazing there because it's always nice, and Christmas and New Year's are huge events around the city.

Next time you're thinking about heading somewhere warm, consider adding Phoenix to your options!