Park Central, Phoenix

The Out and Proud
Park Central, Phoenix
85013

Let’s make something crystal clear: Anywhere in the Valley should be considered a gay-friendly place to live, but sometimes you want to go – cue the Cheers theme song – where everybody knows you’re gay. And there are a few neighborhoods that let the LGBTQ community be as queer as it wants to be.

Our favorite gayborhood is situated around Park Central Mall at Third Avenue between Thomas and Osborn roads. It’s not the most glamorous spot in town, but it’s great for people watching. The Starbucks here is the busiest in all of Phoenix, and you’re likely to run into any number of politicians, news anchors or sports figures as you wait for your light caramel macchiato. According to one resident of the area, the Good Egg next to the Starbucks turns into the “Gay Egg” on Sundays, and the nearby Kobalt Bar is the place to dance and mingle on the weekends (karaoke Sundays, anyone?).

This sexy bar, awash in tones of sapphire, pumps out the best pop music accompanied by video screens on the wall and features themed party nights; “Moonlit Mayhem” in March welcomed drag queen Big Booty Judy, for instance.

Living options in this neighborhood include quaint gems and fixer-uppers in the nearby historic districts of Ashland Place (just to the east of Park Central Mall) or Campus Vista (to the west). If you’re looking for high-rise living, check out the Executive Towers at 207 W. Clarendon Ave., which offers spectacular views of the city at night and ranges from roughly $135,000 to $700,000 per unit.

At 22 stories high, this was the tallest building in Phoenix when it was built in 1963, and it’s still admired today for its unique architecture, marked by alternating sharp-and-curved angles and artistic elements throughout the building. Get into the Towers now before its 50th anniversary, at which point it will be eligible for historic designation.


The Cool Retirees (and Their Grandkids)
Litchfield Park
85340

For a 3-square-mile town, Litchfield Park packs in a lot of personas. By reputation, it’s a retirement community populated by snowbirds who stayed. But if that rep is entirely true, why are there so many kids around, and why is the “main strip” anchored by Blu Sushi, an ultramodern Japanese-American joint, and Taps, a stylish black and brick bar where rock music rules and waitresses wear red bustiers?

With its breezy palm-and-orange-tree promenade, you could liken Litchfield Park to Palm Springs – except that the population is one-tenth the size, housing prices are $40,000 less, and the architecture is distinctly Arizonan. And just when you call it a resort community, you remember that only half the town is dominated by the Wigwam Resort & Spa.

“[Litchfield Park] has evolved,” says native Vicki Neal, 30. “It’s a fun little community, a mix of lively retirees and a younger crowd who grew up here.”

“You can be at Grille on the Greens [at the Wigwam Resort] partying with 50- and 60-year olds and having a great time,” says Kait Moore, 40.

So whether you’re a cool, golf-loving septuagenarian or a young family looking for a safe community with a diversely aged social circle, you’ll feel at home “in the park.”


The Transient Millionaire
Desert Mountain
85262

More than 20 years ago, Carefree Ranch was a working cattle ranch where cowpunchers kept their stock nestled between Cave Creek and the Tonto National Forest.

Today, it’s called Desert Mountain, where reclusive millionaires live in monuments to Southwestern design near Pima and Cave Creek roads. They roam on 8,000 acres, corralled by a gated community and six lush, Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses.

The community’s 33 “villages” are different than similar developments nearby. They feature a greater price range ($675,000 to $10 million), which allows for different socio-economic classes so that Desert Mountain isn’t so “clique-y,” says Desert Mountain Real Estate president Brian O’Neill. They’re a favorite for wealthy part-time residents from Illinois, Wisconsin, New York and Calgary.

HOA dues cost between $2,000 and $3,200 per year, but the amenities are top-notch for adults and kids. More than 400 children live in Desert Mountain, O’Neill says.

But Desert Mountain’s developers haven’t lost sight of their demographic. They recently considered asking Scottsdale officials for a helipad permit to accompany a 30-acre “mega lot” that is almost ready to hit the market. They ultimately backed down because support from the HOA board – which is under resident control – seemed unlikely. Guess the buyer will just have to “rough it.”

Paradise Valley

The Classic Phoenician
Paradise Valley
85253

Barry Goldwater. Sandra Day O’Connor. Stevie Nicks. Some of Arizona’s most iconic citizens have called Arizona’s wealthiest ZIP code home. With its classy, custom, million-dollar houses, Paradise Valley puts the “estate” in “real estate.”

But Paradise Valley isn’t about the flashy or artificially oversized. Residents are mostly low-profile sophisticates and proud Phoenicians, some of whom live in homes that double as works of art. And with its dark-sky ordinance and pockets of nature, Paradise Valley has a desert-in-the-city feel.

Weekends here center on the social/gourmet hub of La Grande Orange, just south of town. On Friday nights, nibble at Postino wine bar and Arlecchino, whose gelato will remind you of Florence, Italy – ‘cause if you live in this worldly-wise community, you’ve been there. On Saturdays, hike Camelback Mountain (or just view it from your backyard), browse Vincent’s buzzing farmers’ market, and dine canalside at Chelsea’s Kitchen, where you might spot Muhammad Ali.

On Sundays, brunch in an arty, historic hacienda at Lon’s at the Hermosa; while away the afternoon at the Alhambra-inspired Kasbah Pool Bar & Grille in the InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa; then head home to watch a movie in your private theater.

Dreamy Draw, Phoenix

The Art-deco/
Nature-lover
Dreamy Draw, Phoenix 85028

Twenty years ago, the road that Phoenicians once called “Dreamy Draw Parkway” was the main thoroughfare between north and central Phoenix. Few people gave much thought to the homes that might be nestled alongside, especially east of the parkway and along the rolling desert slopes of the mountain preserve once known as Squaw Peak.

Today, that road has become State Route 51, one of the most efficient and well-used freeways in Phoenix. The mountain is now called Piestewa Peak after a Hopi servicewoman from Arizona  who was killed in Iraq. And some of the homes have morphed from modest middle-class keepers on large lots into “artful” expressions of futuristic, abstract minimalism with additional structures.

But geologically speaking, morphing is part of the norm here. Much of the rock in the area is metamorphic granite that is quite young compared to the mountains themselves. Imagine living in a funky yet spacious abode for less than $400,000 and enjoying seven trails of up to 5 miles in length that lead you through undisturbed Sonoran desert habitat (aside from a picnic ramada or two) and a large quartz outcropping.

Tired of the scenery? From this secluded north-central location, you can hop on the 51 or take Shea Boulevard and drop into the Biltmore area, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale or Desert Ridge in 15 minutes.