Phoenix Arizona

If she is an outdoors person, then Apache Trail and driving over Superstition Mountain. She would want a friend with her. Not something I would want to do by myself. Me and buddy were there for work and I have to say it's one of the coolest things I ever did on work trip. Plan on it taking ~3 or 4 hours or more depending on how much you stop and climb and walk around. It took us about 6 hours.

Near Kierland or near Old Town if she wants the typical young professional Scottsdale experience. With Uber/Lyft it isn't as necessary to be walking distance from those two, but those are the 2 main hubs for social activities for people in the mid 20s to 40s range.

If she is on a budget and doesn't mind light rail she could get more bang for her buck rent wise in Tempe/Mesa along the east line.

There are a hundred cookie cutter subdivisions and apartments/condos around the Valley that are "safe" and have all of the essentials within a 2 mile drive. Traffic will suck, commute to work will suck.

Without knowing any more details about her I would say find a place between Indian School Rd and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, within 3 miles of Scottsdale Rd in either direction. This is where the highest concentration of food, drink, and young single people are located.

Also, pics?

What does she like to do?

Along Indian School (from about 36th to 44th), up to Camelback and just south of Indian School, is a decent area for young professionals - plenty of restaurants and such, but still close to Scottsdale. Obviously hit or miss so definitely check out any place/area before moving.

There really is so much to do here, depending on what her interests are. I'm really into hiking/outdoors, and there are tons of places around Phoenix to explore for that, and like others have said, there are many day trips from the valley - Prescott, Jerome, Sedona (my fav), Flagstaff, Tucson...and there are lots of relatively close weekend trips too. It really just depends on what she WANTS to do!

i know that exact spot - fish creek hill as you're climbing out of the canyon just past that old bridge and almost back to the pavement. i've ridden my bike up and down that a bunch of times between canyon lake and apache and roosevelt lakes.

and wow, so much hate for downtown phoenix! there is a lot to love about downtown, and wouldn't make too much of the homeless problem. especially if she is staying in the cluster of condos and apartments near asu downtown or the arizona center or even further up central. there is a new fry's (grocery) being built in the heart of downtown, and high-rise condos going up on every block. lots of great restaurants, cafes, bars, and nightlife. also close to the symphony, theatre, and basketball arena and baseball stadium. living downtown is certainly a different feel from living in tempe or scottsdale, but i think would appeal to someone a bit older than college age or someone more career-oriented than party oriented.

we used to live on central and encanto in a great high rise, with lots of nice surrounding residential neighborhoods (willo and encanto). to be sure, that is more mid-town, but 2-3 light rail stops away from downtown downtown. apart from that, creighton university is putting a huge new medical school/campus in midtown at a light rail stop. and high/mid rise condos are going up all around it.

we're in a lovely house uptown now (or technically north central) just off the murphy bridle path and love it. easy 5-10 minute drive into downtown, and quiet neighborhoods with friendly neighbors.

if your sister is working downtown and values her time, a place downtown/midtown/uptown is not a bad choice. commuting from tempe/scottsdale and the suburbs can be rough.

*after reading other responses: agree that biltmore/arcadia area is nice.

so is paradise valley/gainey ranch if you can afford it.

someone mentioned keirland commons, which is a shopping mall with condos on top of it. not the most appealing living arrangement, at least IMHO.

also just not the biggest fan of the idea of living in scottsdale - maybe it's because i'm not into going out. besides that, lots of south scottsdale just feels like suburban tempe to me, and the area around old town is full of dudebros and scottsdale douchebags. north scottsdale is very nice, but a longer drive and really expensive (i am thinking dc ranch/troon/silverleaf/MMR).

Downtown Phx is arse

How is the Melrose area?

haha no she isnt. Just found a place that looked nice in the area. Thanks for the info.