According to CNNMoney.com, Scottsdale ranks 7th in the Top 100 Best Places To Live in 2006. So, what criteria did they base this on? The categories listed are:

• Financial
• Housing
• Education
• Leisure and culture
• Quality of Life
• Weather
• Health
• Meet the Neighbors

So, when you look at the financial category, the Median family income per year is $84, 747, where we actually rank 8th. Out of the top 10 cities, Scottsdale had the highest home price gain from 2004-2005 at 25.40%. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD was the only other city that exceeded 14.80%, coming in at 21%.

In regards to education, we were the highest above our state average for test scores in reading and math. However, that poses the next question: How does our state rank?

Ironically, when you look at quality of life, we had the highest incidents of personal/property crime. It must be because we have more property that can be stolen, right? Leisure and culture is where we really shine. Proudly, we have more restaurants and bars (within 15 miles) than the other nine cities. (3822 restaurants and 241 bars!) AND, we rank third for number of libraries (within 15 miles), at 45. So, does that mean the parents can drop the kids off to get educated on their reading and math while they have a cocktail?? You’ll be happy to know that we rank equally with the other cities under health for body mass index, who all have scores of 26 except for Fort Collins, CO and Sugar Land, TX with BMI scores of 25. Whew!

Now, let’s meet our neighbors. Scottsdale, AZ ranks second in the “divorced” category only exceeded by Boise, ID. Is it because we have too many bars and not enough museums?

You can also check out best places to live for various categories, such as “Hottest”. Arizona has 15 out of 25 cities in this category!! Calm yourself. They’re not referring to the people, but to the temperature. Darn. We didn’t even make the skinniest list of top 25. This surprises me a little when I look around at the gym.

All in all, we can see why people come here in droves. It’s a really “hot” place to live and I’d say we’re pretty well-rounded, comparably.

Women Helping Women!

Denise Bentley is in one of my networking groups and is a beautiful person with a beautiful story about her premature twins. She needs some help reaching out to local businesses for silent auction items for a fundraiser coming up for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Please read her story below. Her email is dbentley@sbconsultants.biz

Donations are ranging from $100 in value on up, so get creative and donate something for the auction and/or spread the word to your friends and colleagues.

Blessings,
Kelli Grant
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Dear Friend,

In December 2004, after many years of trying and losing the battle to get pregnant, after numerous miscarriages and many tears, my husband Rob and I were delighted to discover we were successfully pregnant with twin daughters.

It was a rough pregnancy that included 6 weeks hospital bed rest for me. I never left the hospital until the girls were born and, most difficult of all, I left the hospital without my new precious baby girls.

Ashton Reese and Sydney Monet entered the world June 30, 2005, a full 10 weeks before they were due to have been born. They came into the world weighing less than 3 pounds each and were so fragile that I was not even able to hold them or look at them until after they had been rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to save their tiny, underdeveloped lungs.

Over the next two months, the girls battled blood transfusions, brain bleeds, treatments for pneumonia and other respiratory complications. They had other complications such as trouble maintaining their body temperatures as well as difficulty sucking, breathing, and swallowing. The girls had to learn how to breathe while eating; eat enough to gain a healthy weight and many other obstacles. Over time, the girls slowly grew and gained strength. After a 2 and half month stay in the NICU, the girls finally came home at just 6 pounds each.

The doctors, nurses and support staff at Scottsdale Shea NICU were our biggest cheering squad and still check in on our progress from time to time.

Ashton and Sydney had a tough start in life, but thanks to the NICU, most of that is now forgotten.

Many other preemie babies have a similar, if not more challenging beginning. Some preemies make it and, unfortunately, some are now angels hoping for a second chance for their parents.

Seconds count in responding to a premature baby in distress and the Scottsdale Shea NICU was created with a uniquely built design that unfortunately requires the staff to leave the bedside of an infant if they need to race for help.

We, the parents of the NICU, are helping the unit to raise $50,000 for a new emergency response unit similar to what your local firefighters and police use today to respond in an emergency.

We, Ashton, Sydney as well as their mom and dad, are hoping you can offer any assistance to help us with our NICU fundraiser event being held March 17, 2007 at the DC Ranch Country Club.

We are looking for auction items that can be donated to the event to help raise money and/or sponsorships to help meet our goal.

Please see the attached donation request letter, if you choose to donate, feel free to call me and I will pick up any donated items.

Thank you for your generosity and the chance for other preemies to come home and smile for their parents too.

With love and tiny hugs,

The Bentley family

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A fundraising dinner will be held on March 17, 2007. The dinner will be held at Country Club at DC Ranch. You can help by donating a prize for the silent auction that will be held that evening!

The Bowe Special Care Nursery is a designated Level 2 Enhanced Qualifications neonatal intensive care unit. Located within the Family Birthing Center at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, the nursery cares for infants and families who require services that are more advanced.

Scottsdale Healthcare is a non-profit comminity hospital system. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Denise at dbentley@sbconsultants.biz, or call Joanne Gain, Vice-President, Annual & Major Gifts at 480-882-4541

Remember the infamous episode of Seinfeld when Jerry answered his phone at night and he asked the telemarketer if he could have his home number to call him back?

This tip is for your home phones!

If you’ve received a new phone number or haven’t done this yet - get on the National Do Not Call List:

Either call the 800# number from your phone or go to the web site listed below, 888-382-1222, it only takes about 60 seconds.

www.donotcall.gov

Regarding Your Cell Phone: Click Here

(Checking to see who clicks through) :-)

With the holidays just behind us, many of you have received some handy little gadgets from your loved ones.

I wanted to give you some important tips to keep in mind to “ring” in the new year!

Protect Your Personal Information on Old Cell Phones or PDA’s!

Just when you thought your personal data like passwords and bank information was safe because you deleted it from your cell or PDA…turns out that hackers can still steal the information. Believe it or not, your private data can easily be hijacked from your trashed or turned in device, even when you’ve deleted everything. That could cause some major headaches for a lot of innocent people. But the good news is that you can protect yourself.

With the advancement of PDA’s and cell phones, these devices have become mini computers and contain loads of valuable and private information. Individuals store information in their cell phones like passwords, bank account numbers, appointments, contact information, even social security numbers.

And for most individuals, cell phones and PDA’s are used for about 1.5 years and then replaced, usually by upgrading to a newer model. Old cell phones and PDA’s are sold on EBay, tossed in the trash, or sent off to a cell phone recycling center. Of course, before turning it in or trashing it, most wisely delete the information.

But in reality, the information is not completely deleted…it remains on the device.

The part that is deleted is the pathway for the information to be displayed. Much like with a computer - when a file is deleted the operating system never erases the data, it only deletes the pointers to where the data is located. Hackers have the advanced software available that can resurrect erased data from a cell phone or PDA, even if you have already “deleted” the information.

In fact, the data can be recovered in 85% of cell phones and PDA’s! So hackers are buying old cell phones, extracting this valuable information, and passing it along to identity thieves.

But, there is a solution and it only requires a few additional steps to ensure that the data is permanently deleted and hacker-free.

Simply start by hitting this link www.wirelessrecycling.com, click on the “Cell Phone Data Eraser”, select the cell phone manufacturer, model, and click on the download instructions icon. Follow the instructions and all of the data will be completely and permanently removed. Can’t find the make and model? No worries - just contact the manufacturer of the cell phone or PDA, and ask for instructions on how to permanently delete all information from the device.

With just a few clicks of the mouse you can rest assured that when you sell or trash that old model, hackers and identity thieves will not be able to track where you have been, what your account numbers are, read confidential emails, or view photos or videos of your loved ones. And be sure to forward this important information on to everyone you know. Most likely they have cell phones or PDA’s and may be looking to upgrade. Knowing this valuable bit of information will keep them safe, so pass it on!

Being an e-Pro certifiied Realtor in the Scottsdale-Phoenix area, I utilize technology for several reasons. Among them, two top benefits are:

1) to efficiently manage each real estate transaction and
2) to provide you with access to ground-breaking tools to help us in your home selection and purchase!

Since I rely on technology so heavily, I’m also very diligent about security. Keep your identity and information safe in 2007!