I'm sitting here today to talk about Arizona. I've been traveling there for decades, even before my parents took up residence in Sun City. I think it's fair to say that I've been to every corner of the state now and most places in between. I've visited during every season, every month, and every eventful time. I've flown, driven, hiked, rode shuttles and buses, gone on tours, danced with native Americans, and learned a lot. I realize that I don't live there, but I have a lot of first hand knowledge about the state. And I have some things to say.
The idea of a dry heat is absurd, unless you believe that baking won't cook meat, but boiling will. I went to Arizona in summer. It's not funny, it's not pleasant and it's not livable because of the dry heat. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Don't tell me that 120 degrees isn't hot.
September is confusing. It gets chilly at night, but during the day your sneakers will still stick to the sidewalks a bit in a lot of the state. Just saying. Spring and fall are nice. I really like it there in April, May, October, and sometimes November. There's a true beauty to the desert in the spring when everything is in bloom.
December through March is something that makes me wonder about the people who move to Arizona for the weather. I'll elaborate on that later.
I've been in Arizona in the winter when everything is beautiful in Maricopa County, home of Phoenix and Sun City. I've worn shorts and t shirts and gone out for walks and hiking and had a great time. I spent decades believing that the weather was always nice in southern Arizona. I knew that it snowed in northern Arizona. I knew that there were some extremely high elevations that occasionally got some snow. I had a snowball fight with my family on the north rim of the Grand Canyon once in May with snow leftover from the season in that area. I'm not naive. Once again, I'll elaborate later on.
A lot happens in Arizona. Where my parents live, they have to sign papers when buying a house that they understand that fighter jets will fly over their home. It will happen four days and nights every single week as Luke Air Force Base is not far and they do training flights all the time. You cannot escape the activity in the state even if you try. It will fly over your home.
Arizona is busy. Every time I visit, the houses reach farther up the hills. New businesses pop up. The population increases. The roads are busier, broader, taller, and more dangerous. They have sports, business, tourism, and so many jobs they can't ever get enough help. The labor shortage is particularly noticeable in a place that already could never get enough help.
Arizona is what we call a red state. They have speed limits up to 80 miles per hour. They like their independence, they don't like to be told what to do, they work hard, and they play hard. They will bend over backwards to help you through a tough time; I know what I'm talking about. They have a different way of life and they have an amazing system to navigate what needs to be navigated. I met more helpful people on one trip to Arizona than I have probably ever met in my life in a confined period of time. It was amazing. Even the Department of Motor Vehicles or Department of Transportation as they call it was pleasant and the people there were helpful. I've never seen that in my life. Whatever they're doing, it works.
They have many Native American lands in Arizona. I've been to casinos, visited slot canyons, stayed in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, shopped, learned to dance, and learned all about Kachina Dolls on Native American lands. I have visited several groups and learned so much from some of the most gracious people I've ever met. I marvel at the spirit of the native Americans in Arizona. That is the main thing that I would suggest you visit the state for. Learn about all the peoples who've inhabited the lands for eons. They are amazing.
My mom lives in Sun City, aptly named as it almost always is sunny there. There is a lot of beauty in the desert. Roses come from the desert, which most people don't know. Some of the largest rose farms in the country are in Arizona. They are heavily irrigated as are most crops, but they do farm them there. There's wildlife all over the place from rabbits to jack rabbits, to turtles in wet areas, to all kinds of birds. Spring is the best time in the desert. Everything comes to life. Even cactus bloom.
Other things that most people would love about Arizona. Anything you ever even thought about buying is available in the greater Phoenix area. You can find any shopping chain, any restaurant chain, and tons of local businesses of both. It is one of the craziest shopping Meccas I've ever seen. And, in certain areas, lots of areas actually, they have things set up so you can go from shopping center to shopping center without even going back on the road you came in on. They've made it so easy that it's irresistible. The greater Phoenix area even has an entertainment district. Not joking. You don't have to think too hard to go out around there.
Arizona also has something that most other states just don't. They have Sun City, the town that my parents retired to. The place is amazing, and there are others, but this one is the original. There are no schools, because you have to be 55 years old to buy property. There are 11 golf courses, 6 main recreations centers, I don't know how many hospitals and doctors, and it's called the volunteer city. That's no joke either. The law is called the posse and it's a largely volunteer part of the sheriff's department. The library, newspaper and many other organizations are run almost entirely by volunteers. If you need a walker, there's a place that will loan you one. If you need to figure out how to use a computer, they have a club for that which is run by volunteers. They have clubs for almost everything you could possibly want to do. They have bocci tournaments, bowling leagues, gyms, pools, woodworking classes and so on. Whatever you're into, they've got you covered. What the residents of this city pay is recreation fees, not property taxes. It's amazing. Like live entertainment? They have Sunday shows outdoors for residents at a rec center. Have you ever wanted to live somewhere that you could drive a golf car? Welcome to Sun City. There's special parking at many places for that. It's a unique place and it's only for seniors.
I know a lot about Arizona. I know the climate, the politics, the people, the history, the Native Americans, the sights, the sounds, the sports, the shopping, the food, and the main airport, Sky Harbor in Phoenix.
Unfortunately, I told my parents a million times that I would never live in the desert and would never live in Arizona. It's exotic, it's beautiful in many ways. I love to visit Arizona, but it doesn't suit me. Now I would like to discuss some of the downside to living in Arizona. The native trees are called Palo Verde. They are green. They have green trunks, green bark and little pointy green leaves. Palm trees are there now, but were not native. Orange trees, grapefruit trees, anything that sheds its leaves are not native. You have to have a watering system to keep a fruit tree alive. Evergreen trees are in the northern parts and higher elevations. Problem number one with me ever living in the desert is that I like trees. I like shade. I like fall. I like grey trunks. I'm not cut out for the kinds of trees in the desert. I enjoy them in small doses, but no thank you for all the time.
The state of Arizona used to be an ocean. There are vast areas with nothing but brush and cactus. Rocky mountains will just jut up out of the flat desert, which is because of ancient volcanic activity, but it sneaks up on you when you're driving. Once again, it's amazing for an exotic climate to visit. To live with it, no thank you.
Do you have any idea how many liquids you have to drink in the desert? Just keep a bottle of water or glass of something with you at all times. Drink constantly and you'll be fine. It doesn't take much for you to notice that your voice is getting raspy and your lips are getting chapped. It's almost impossible to be a busy person and drink enough liquids there.
Most things in the desert will kill you. Just a fact. Mirages will confuse you. You can lose your sense of direction very easily. Cactus poke at you. Brush is scratchy at best. There's that lack of water. There's snakes, coyotes, scorpions and more. Don't get lost. That is the number one most dangerous thing about the desert. Even if your car breaks down on a non interstate road, you could be screwed, because who knows when the next person might come along? Cell service? Good luck with that. It's good a lot, but there are spots, and you don't want to be stuck in one.
I don't mean to bash Arizona. These are just facts, as are the facts I'm about to tell you about flying out of Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Flying into Phoenix is a great experience. I take a shuttle to Sun City most of the time that is a great service and a great ride. That being said, flying out of Phoenix is an entirely different experience.
The service at the airport for people flying out is non existent. You can only use self service kiosks. That doesn't help a lot of residents of Sun City who have no clue how to use most of the programs if they can use the internet or a computer at all. No one will help you. You can ask, but it won't happen. The cell service and WiFi is sketchy at best, and if you don't sit within a restaurant or something, you probably won't get either. TSA at Sky Harbor is a nightmare. I've waited longer to get through security in that airport on one visit than all of my trips through Bradley, McCarron, and JFK combined. I once had to come home the day after the Fiesta Bowl and all I can say is that I almost missed my flight although I was over three hours early, didn't have to park and checked my bag. It was a sea of orange, and no one in that security line seemed interested in moving it along. If you can, avoid that place.
Coyotes were a problem. The day I arrived to help my mom there were four of them sunning themselves in the back yard. Mom's back yard wasn't large. There was one that stood by the garage almost every day when I returned to the house after a long day of handling my mother's affairs. There were days that I had to dodge them on the streets like I would potholes in Connecticut. They were everywhere. Not for me.
There were a lot of things that just aren't for me about Arizona. Hot is not for me, and in the summer time, many outdoor businesses close. They're open more in the winter. It doesn't really even cool down at night in the summer. For me, everything is backwards. I'm used to waiting for summer to go out and enjoy the weather.
As I said, I would elaborate on the weather later, and here we are. Something happened in the south this winter that suddenly made moving there for the weather a bad idea. I was not in Arizona for vacation. My mother needed help and she lives there. I worked very hard on that trip, and one day I just had to get out. I do that sometimes. I needed to take a drive. The weather had been poor at best most of the day, but it seemed to be getting better. The north part of the state reported closed roads and blizzard conditions, so I didn't go there. I did, however, think that snow in Arizona would be a bit of a kick for me. I live in New England. We always have snow there. I decided to go to the middle of the state so I could take pictures of cactus with some snow. What I was thinking, who knows?
I took a drive. I got caught in a surprise snow storm in Surprise. I dealt with this storm for hours, trying to outrun it all over the place. I got stuck in a full blown storm with blizzard conditions. In any given direction from Phoenix there were white caps on the mountains. It was windy, cold, snowy, white out conditions and slick roads. I couldn't believe it. I drive in snow all the time, but that was different. I never want to drive in weather like that again.
But, it's always sunny in Sun City, right? It was snowing when I got back to town. Then it sleeted. That night everything froze. There was a night that I saw snow on the ground in my mother's back yard. I wore a parka in Arizona, and the only reason I had it was because I forgot my plan to take it off when I arrived at Bradley in CT to fly out. Even the coyotes were shivering.
So, visiting Arizona is fascinating. Living there seems a bit nuts to me. If you move there for work, I get it. There's more jobs than people. If you move there because it's always warm, think again. I truly believe that isn't always the case. Remember, the desert is trying to kill you. Best advice; get in, enjoy all the beauty and culture and get out. This is just the first of my series from this trip, so stay tuned and enjoy!
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