I'm an Arizona native. I always see first-timers make these 8 mistakes at the Grand Canyon.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Woman standing over Grand Canyon
The author (not pictured) has visited the Grand Canyon many times.

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I stayed in 2 of Arizona's top hotels. They explain why Scottsdale is a luxury travel hot spot.

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Left: Exterior of the Phoenician with a fountain in front. Right: A fountain in front of a casita at the Hermosa Inn
Business Insider's reporter stayed at the Phoenician in Scottsdale (L) and the Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

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

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The author in a cowboy hat and sunglasses stands smiling in front of cacti and an adobe building in Scottsdale
Business Insider's reporter encountered a few surprises during her trip to Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I thought I'd have to get my driver's license to move out of NYC until I visited this car-free neighborhood in Arizona

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The author stands in a courtyard with trees and picnic tables. Behind her is a white building with boutique storefronts
Business Insider's reporter visited a car-free neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona, called Culdesac.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I explored an Arizona ghost town with an abandoned dentist's office, schoolhouse, and laundromat. The spot felt like stepping back in time.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Side-by-side images of The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town.
Side-by-side images of The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town.

Monica Humphries/Business Insider

I visited a car-free neighborhood in Arizona and was surprised that it felt 15 degrees cooler than the surrounding blocks

Tech Insider : Travel
Culdesac Tempe. Left: The author stands in a courtyard with trees and picnic tables. Behind her is a white building with boutique storefronts. Right: An alleyway lined with white buildings with red trimmings
Business Insider's reporter visited Tempe, Arizona's Culdesac neighborhood.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

How the New Mexican Mafia actually works, according to a former member

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Manuel Medrano is a former member of the Arizona Mexican Mafia, also known as the New Mexican Mafia, a US prison gang. He was in and out of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry for 20 years and served time for armed robbery and drug trafficking.

A private village in Scottsdale houses some of Arizona's priciest real estate. I got a tour of its guarded neighborhoods.

Tech Insider : Travel
Mansions on a mountain dotted with bushes and cacti
Business Insider's reporter visited Silverleaf Village in Scottsdale's DC Ranch neighborhood.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Inside Arizona's wealthiest zip code, where the average resident is 54 and the median home is $3.3M property

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A vast desert expanse outside of Paradise Valley Arizona at sunset
Paradise Valley, Arizona, attracts millionaires to the desert hills northwest of Phoenix.

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I toured an Arizona neighborhood that banned cars and found a walkable oasis in the middle of a Phoenix suburb

Tech Insider : Travel
Culdesac Tempe: An alleyway lined with white buildings with red trimmings
Culdesac is a housing startup with a car-free neighborhood in Tempe, Arizona.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

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