Downtown, Phoenix

I'm a huge fan of the downtown area in Phoenix. This is where everything happens. The financial district is here, the most beautiful library in the southwest (Burtan Barr Central Library), the theatre, along with Chase Field, U.S. Airways arena, and the Light Rail. This area isn’t for everyone. Most Phoenix residents hate the driving situation, which can be very annoying because of endless one-way streets and very little parking. I don’t mind this at all though. Whenever I’ve driven around downtown it just feels like the east coast to me and that’s a very good thing. One of my favorite things about downtown is that there’s a very interesting mix of people. The white collar sector of business and finance professionals is a funny contrast to the second biggest demographic downtown: the artists and hippies. First Friday (Art Walk) is held downtown, because it’s where all the artist studios and community artist housing can be found. Housing downtown consists of middle to high end apartment buildings; houses and neighborhoods can be found on the outer edges that are historical areas or very low-income. I have never seen a new home, either on the outskirts of the downtown area or inside of it. Downtown Phoenix is mean to be called home by young people, either students at the new ASU campus located in this area or young professionals or artists.