Assuming you have a car, Tempe and Phoenix are very close and basically run into each other, so I wouldn't worry about staying far away from the actual city of Phoenix. Scottsdale, Glendale, and Tempe are all more or less part of Phoenix, even if they're their own towns. I actually like Tempe a lot. Given that the University of Arizona is in the city, it's kind of got a college town vibe, but in a good way.
I've only been to Phoenix a few times, so I'm not really an expert. To me, it seems like a a pretty average city with extraordinary weather. 9 months a year it's almost perfect weather, but it does get ridiculously hot in the summer. I was there in late June once and the temperature was in the mid 40s. It was windy one day and the air basically felt like a hair dryer blowing on me. The whole downtown core was deserted as people basically just stayed indoors in air conditioned areas. However, you also get great weather the rest of the year. I've been there in late October and it was a perfect 25 degrees.
Some of the places around Phoenix are cool as well, especially up north around Flagstaff. You can enjoy the snow up there in the winter and then go back down to the sun in Phoenix.
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