Photo Credit: paradisevalley.gov
Paradise Valley has long had a reputation. Known as the wealthiest enclave in the Valley (if not all of Arizona), as an exclusive area devoid of apartment complexes or starter homes, it has long held a distinction within the area. So when articles come out that tout PV in such a manner, it never comes as too much of a surprise. That said, a recent listing does manage to state that distinction in an interesting manner.
Consider the word “aspirational”. Defined as “relating to or characterized by aspiration or a strong desire for something”, it’s not an adjective normally used for a municipality, but it’s an apt one. We have long heard stories of the downtrodden aspiring to move out of their current neighborhoods; moving on up, so to speak. It is something that we all subliminally consider, certainly at the neighborhood level, but rarely listed and categorized.
Until now, that is, as Agent Advice put together a most interesting list. After interviewing 3,000 different people, they compiled a list of the top 175 aspirational streets in America. Not cities, not neighborhoods, but streets…how granular. And wouldn’t you know, two of the 175 are in the small town of Paradise Valley.
In this list, Hillside Drive in PV placed at #5 on the list, and North Mummy Mountain Road was at #23. Both exemplify both the palatial nature of PV, with its one-acre plot minimums, but add on exemplary views of much of the Valley. Hillside Drive resides with streets in Beverly Hills, Palm Beach and Vail within the top 10 of most aspirational roads.
The full list is not available on the Agent Advice website, which serves as a CRM for real estate agents, so we cannot verify what other Arizona streets are on the list. Other references to this list similarly do not link to the actual list itself, so our efforts to one-up other cities in the state and flex a bit did not bear any fruit unfortunately. But we can definitively say that Hillside Drive was the only Arizona submission in the top 10.
And it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, but seeing such a small town consistently rank near the top of numerous national and international rankings in a number of different categories is still heartening. This is truly a special slice of heaven we have here, and it’s not something we should overlook. Paradise Valley truly is special.