Phoenix is a happening city with a fantastic desert climate, a vibrant and sophisticated arts scene and culture, and a strong and versatile economy. Thanks to the city’s business friendly environment, Greater Phoenix is now one of the nation’s most favored destinations for companies seeking to expand or relocate. Currently the sixth-largest city in the nation, Phoenix is continuing to grow as people are attracted to the lifestyle the city offers, and fast growing economy. Retirees are also choosing to move to Phoenix, drawn by the weather, large and attractive retirement towns, and superb golfing and recreational pursuits.  

LOCATION
Phoenix is in Maricopa County, Arizona, and is the State Capital. More than twenty cities and towns make up the greater Phoenix area, including Peoria and Cave City. Peoria is less than 15 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, on Hwy-60. Cave City is about 20 miles northeast. 

Two key interstates, I-10 and I-17, intersect in Phoenix. I-10 runs west to Los Angeles and southeast through Tucson to El Paso, Texas and beyond. I-8 meets I-10 about 45 miles south of Phoenix, connecting the city to Southern California. I-17 runs north to south, passing through scenic Sedona on its way north to Flagstaff.  

The world famous beauty of Grand Canyon National Park is a four- to five-hour drive northwest.  

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS  

Phoenix has three principal airports, and a number of smaller facilities. Sky Harbor International, in the center of the city, is the sixth largest airport in the United States, with connections to all major national centers, together with non-stop flights to London and the principle Canadian and Mexican cities. 

Phoenix has a good alternative transport network and the Valley Metro runs a convenient and thorough bus service in downtown and suburban Phoenix and its outlaying towns. 

Large freeways feed the city, giving easy access to Arizona’s neighboring states of California, Texas, and New Mexico. 

BRIEF HISTORY 

So far as we know, the Hohokam people were the first Americans to live in the Phoenix region, from about 300 A.D. They built 135 miles of waterways to feed their crops and villages with water from Salt River. At a certain point the culture vanished, and most archeologists assume that this would have been due either to a long drought or warfare. 

Situated at the edge of the Sonoran Desert, the city started late in the nation’s pioneering period, after the region was finally irrigated in 1867. By 1881, enough easterners had arrived to incorporate Phoenix as a city of 2,500 hardworking farmers. Phoenix remained a small farming community until the 1930s when it became an attractive tourist destination, and people started moving there for the outdoor lifestyle and clean desert air.  

ABOUT EDUCATION 

The wider Phoenix area is served by 29 school districts, some of which extend into surrounding cities. Each school district operates autonomously and is administered by the Arizona Department of Education (not the city of Phoenix). There are a wide range of private and charter schools in Phoenix, including numerous Montessori schools.  

Locals have various higher education options. The Art Institute of Phoenix Arizona is an excellent college, with courses in fashion, graphics, and web design, alongside other arts. There are a large number of community colleges to choose from, and Arizona State University is only about 10 miles east in Tempe. 

“Creekers” love their town and are quick to protect its funky Western flavor. This means that Cave Creek has no strip malls, and more horses and fewer golf courses per capita than other Arizona towns. The community resists the pressure towards urban sprawl. Recently, citizens voted to tax themselves to purchase and protect more than 2,000 acres of lovely Sonoran Desert, and the community gets together regularly to pick up trash in rural areas. 

Residents also get together for fiestas and rodeos, and the farmers market is a great place to pick up local crafts like spurs and western jewelry. The community theater is superb, and an added proof that community spirit is alive and well in Cave Creek.  

Cave Creek remains smog free; the desert surrounds the town in all its glory and the sunsets are unparalleled.  

LOCATION 

Cave Creek is about 22 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. At over 2,000 ft above sea level, the town sits at a considerably higher altitude than Phoenix and Peoria. This means that Cave Creek is cooler than them and also smog free. Upmarket Carefree is just next door and the Tonto National Forest a short drive east. 

I-17 is about 15 miles west, proceeding south to Phoenix and north to Flagstaff via picturesque Sedona. 

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS 

While there is a small, privately owned airport in nearby Carefree, it is only open to private planes. Phoenix Deer Valley Airport is the closest commercial facility to Cave Creek, and one of Arizona’s busiest, second only to Sky Harbor International in central Phoenix. Sky Harbor is the sixth biggest airport in the nation, with flights throughout the country and non-stop flights to London, Canada and Mexico.  

Proximity to Phoenix where two major interstates connect renders Cave Creek convenient to other parts of Arizona, as well as California and Texas, but the town is still far enough from major routes to have a small town atmosphere.  

BRIEF HISTORY 

Cave Creek has a long history of human settlement. The first desert culture to be found in archeological record goes back thousands of years, followed by the Hohokam people from around 800 to 1450 A.D. Careful and observant hikers can find many petroglyphs and pictographs on desert rocks in Cave Creek and the surrounding area. In the 1400s, bands of Apaches began moving into the region and some eventually settled there.  

Cave Creek wasn’t known by Europeans until 1865, when it was used as a source of fresh water by miners from the nearby gold rush in the Bradshaws. Miners seeking to pan Cave Creek were fiercely discouraged by the Tonto Apaches, who bravely maintained control over the area until the late 1870s, when government troops finally managed to force the surrender of those remaining. 

With the Apache gone, miners, farmers and cattlemen moved into the area, and by 1928 the land that is now Cave Creek was opened up for homesteading. Cave Creek was a true “Western” town, with a colorful history that is at the root of much local culture today. 

Two major dam projects in 1935 and 1940 swelled the town’s population, and in 1952, Scottsdale Road was extended to connect Cave Creek to Phoenix, causing another growth period. Cave Creek was incorporated in 1986. 

ABOUT EDUCATION 

The Cave Creek Unified School District encompasses four elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. There are also two charter schools in the town. 

Proximity to Phoenix brings a wealth of higher education options, including Paradise Valley Community College (about 15 miles away), Arizona State University-West (about 21 miles), the Devry Institute of Technology (about 21 miles), Glendale Community College (about 24 miles), Phoenix College (about 24 miles), Grand Canyon University (about 25 miles) and The Art Institute of Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona State University is about 30 miles southeast in Tempe. 

With year round sunshine and blue skies, ample work opportunities, and plentiful amenities, Peoria is a great place to live and work. With one of the fastest growing economies in Arizona, Peoria residents enjoy an unemployment rate that is significantly below the state average. Housing is cheaper than in central Phoenix, homes are newer, and neighborhoods well-planned and spacious. Population density is still comparatively low and well below the Arizona norm. 

Peoria stands between the country and the city; residents are close to downtown culture, like the opera and symphony orchestra, while at the same time nearer to the desert and mountains. 

LOCATION 

Peoria is less than 15 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. Surrounding towns include Glendale (6 miles south) and the retirement communities of Sun City (5 miles south) and Sun City West (7 miles west). Cave City is about 25 miles northeast. 

The Hwy-101 loop around Greater Phoenix passes through Peoria; 101 meets I-17 about 12 miles east of Peoria and I-10 in Phoenix. The primary interstates connect Peoria directly to other Arizona towns and to Southern California and Texas.  

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS  

Valley Metro runs both local and express bus routes between Peoria and towns in the greater Phoenix area, as well as a door-to-door pick up service.  

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is about 23 miles east. The sixth biggest airport in the United States, Sky Harbor runs non-stop flights to London, Canada, and Mexico and has a full domestic schedule. Phoenix Deer Valley Airport is closest to Peoria, only about 13 miles away, and it operates as a back up facility to Sky Harbor. 

BRIEF HISTORY 

The City of Peoria was established upon the completion of the Arizona Canal (from the Salt River) in 1885. The region’s original irrigators were the Hohokam people, whose culture died out in the 1400s.
Developer William J. Murphy went east to attract settlers to farm the newly watered desert and sold over 5,000 acres of land to citizens from Peoria, Illinois. Four Peoria families were among the first to arrive, and they named the eventual city after their hometown.  

Farming proved successful and word spread, bringing more settlers to the region. In 1889 a school and post office were built, and the population continued to grow steadily. Peoria was eventually incorporated in 1954.  

ABOUT EDUCATION 

Peoria school children are served by the Peoria Unified School District and the Deer Valley Unified School District. The Peoria District encompasses 30 elementary schools and 6 high schools, and runs a summer school and “Intouch Online” program; Deer Valley has 25 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 4 high schools, and an 11th-12th grade education center. Deep Valley also has an excellent spending record, with higher classroom allocations than the Arizona average and lower administrative costs than the national average. There are also two Montessori schools in Peoria, and a charter High School for accelerated learning. 

There is an excellent range of community colleges in the Phoenix area, as well as the Arizona State University-West about 6 miles away in neighboring Glendale.