If I were to create a city from scratch it would be the exact opposite of Phoenix.  It'd be centrally located. It'd be near water.  It'd have a spring, summer, and fall.  It'd have great public transportation.  It'd have a great City Center as a hub for commercial, dining, and cultural events. It'd have a varying topography with hills, beaches, and forests.  Phoenix is none of this and yet I really liked Phoenix.  It has a natural coolness and awesomeness to it.  When I drove around the city at night, every street and house light seemed to be accent lighting with a dim spotlight on a cactus or modern building.  For a lack of public transportation it's surprisingly easy to get around.  Traffic is bad but not horrible. It's not LA, Houston, or Atlanta bad. ​
All that considered, the city is not much of a tourist destination unless you are looking for a golf filled weekend.  If you aren't flying in for a sporting event or an excursion up to the Grand Canyon Phoenix doesn't offer much.  It has a good restaurant scene.  It's been a part of the microbrewery and coffee roaster movement. It just doesn't have a lot of things to see.  Take downtown Phoenix.  It's quiet.  On a Sunday there's no cars, no people, nothing.  I visited the well reviewed Heard Museum and found it a little strange.  Strange in that the items in the museum feel like they were made for the museum and had little historical significance.  The museum tells the story of the Indian tribes that lived in the area and there cultural background, however, the story just ends.  There's no "here's where the Hohokam are now and here's how they go there" conclusion.  It's still worth checking out...I guess. ​
Another sight worth visiting is Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter retreat.  The retreat is both a house and an architectural school, which still operates today.  The house features a lot of Wright's mid century modern inspirations and you can take photos inside.  The tour lasts about two hours.
A week working in Phoenix gives a pretty good feel for the city.  One night I went over Tempe and Mill Avenue, Arizona State University's main thoroughfare.  With no apologies to Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill, and any other college town claiming itself as the best college town in America, nothing compares to the bustle of Mill Ave.  The bars take advantage of the gorgeous weather with windows that open to the sidewalk.  There's coffee shops.  There's ice cream shops.  Four Peaks Brewing is a great microbrewery based in the area.  I don't know how you'd ever do any studying. 

Scottsdale has always been an upscale area and it feels even more so with developed riverfront complex that is home to several restaurants and high end shopping.  The Arizona Biltmore Hotel and the nearby Wrigley Mansion are classic Phoenix destinations for a drink and dinner.  Wright didn't design the Arizona Biltmore, it just feels that way. Hands down on of the easiest places to visit for work.  Easy to get around.  Easy to know where to go for dinner.  Easy atmosphere to get work done. ​
As I said on the Arizona landing page, my brother spent the better part of five years attending Arizona State University in Tempe. Tempe and Arizona State have been booming for a while but the town still maintains a great college feel. I understand why people label places like Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill, etc. as quintessential college towns, but you can't beat Tempe. It doesn't have that small town feel but it makes you think that the Best College Town Rankings may need to be revised if they are overlooking a place this amazing. The amazingness is simple - it's the weather. It's outdoor dining. Outdoor drinking. Every day of the year. You can't beat that.