I'm a New Yorker who spent 2 days in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. 8 things surprised me about Arizona's wealth hub.

Business Insider's reporter encountered a few surprises during her trip to Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, Arizona. Joey Hadden/Business Insider As an NYC resident, I didn't expect a luxury suburban lifestyle in the desert to appeal to me. But my 48-hour trip to Arizona's millionaire hot spot was full of surprises. Scottsdale and Paradise Valley wooed me with walkable pockets, hillside estates, and short commutes. I'd been to Phoenix many times, but I had never ventured 15 miles east to Arizona's millionaire enclave until April 2024. I flew from my home in NYC to the familiar Southwestern city to spend 48 hours in two nearby suburbs — Scottsdale and Paradise Valley . Scottsdale is America's fastest-growing wealth hub, with a 125% increase in millionaire residents between 2014 and 2024, according to the 2025 USA Wealth Report by Henley & Partners .