I got a message on Facebook from an acquaintance who is considering a move to Phoenix. She asked what it's like to live here. Here's what I came up with:
1. Winter weather is beautiful. Perfect. I seriously couldn't ask for anything better. Low 70's during the day, sweatshirt weather at night. If I want cold and snow, I can drive 2 hours north. It's the ideal situation. Of course, this is just part of the year. Summer is hell. So really, you're not much better off than in the midwest, because there's still an entire half of the year where you really don't want to go outside. I guess the advantage to Phoenix is all the sunshine.
2. There are really crazy drivers here. This is not just my imagination; when you listen to traffic on the radio, it is just a huge list of accidents. I've heard several people philosophize that it's because everybody here is from somewhere else, so you've got a million different driving styles in one city. I'm not sure if that's it, but I drive defensively here and am scared of getting in an accident.
3. It is not cheaper than Chicago here. I guess rent is a little cheaper, depending on where you live here or where you live in Chicago. But everything else is about the same, if not more expensive.
4. It still makes me happy to see mountains and palm trees on my way to work every day.
5. People in neighborhoods here are more isolated. I'm not trying to say that people are unfriendly; I've met some wonderful people. But people's yards usually have walls around them, which just naturally discourages socializing. Everyone I've talked to here says they are not friendly with their neighbors.
6. For some odd reason, it seems like STD's are rampant here. Totally random, I know. And yet, I keep hearing about how so-and-so has chlamydia, or so-and-so has herpes. Seriously. Definitely good incentive to behave myself here.
7. When you go out to the bars, you see all ages of people. In Chicago, there are different bars for different age groups. But here, it's that whole mix of people at one bar. And honestly, it's a little sad and pathetic to see these divorcees in their 40's trying to look and act like they're in their 20's. My friend Jenny speculates that these are the women who couldn't make it in L.A.
8. People have rocks for yard. This used to really bother me. I still don't like it, but I finally get it. Not only is your water bill astronomical if you have grass, but the grass dies every season. So you have to buy winter grass, plant it, water it, etc. Then it dies in the spring, and you buy your summer grass and repeat the process. If I owned a house, I'd have rocks in my yard, too.
9. Flagstaff is amazing and beautiful and has all four seasons and is in the mountains. It's only 2 hours away. If you drive an hour and a half past that, you're at the Grand Canyon. There are lots of really cool things that aren't too far away.
10. The news here is very biased. Well, at least Fox is. People here are really conservative and will say some pretty shocking things. Well, unless you're super conservative, too. Then you wouldn't be shocked.
11. I feel like there's a lot of crime here. Almost everyone I know has stories about their car getting stolen or broken into. I don't feel as safe here as I did in Chicago.
12. There are lots of cool events, like movies in the park, the pie social, the zombie walk, and first fridays.
1. Winter weather is beautiful. Perfect. I seriously couldn't ask for anything better. Low 70's during the day, sweatshirt weather at night. If I want cold and snow, I can drive 2 hours north. It's the ideal situation. Of course, this is just part of the year. Summer is hell. So really, you're not much better off than in the midwest, because there's still an entire half of the year where you really don't want to go outside. I guess the advantage to Phoenix is all the sunshine.
2. There are really crazy drivers here. This is not just my imagination; when you listen to traffic on the radio, it is just a huge list of accidents. I've heard several people philosophize that it's because everybody here is from somewhere else, so you've got a million different driving styles in one city. I'm not sure if that's it, but I drive defensively here and am scared of getting in an accident.
3. It is not cheaper than Chicago here. I guess rent is a little cheaper, depending on where you live here or where you live in Chicago. But everything else is about the same, if not more expensive.
4. It still makes me happy to see mountains and palm trees on my way to work every day.
5. People in neighborhoods here are more isolated. I'm not trying to say that people are unfriendly; I've met some wonderful people. But people's yards usually have walls around them, which just naturally discourages socializing. Everyone I've talked to here says they are not friendly with their neighbors.
6. For some odd reason, it seems like STD's are rampant here. Totally random, I know. And yet, I keep hearing about how so-and-so has chlamydia, or so-and-so has herpes. Seriously. Definitely good incentive to behave myself here.
7. When you go out to the bars, you see all ages of people. In Chicago, there are different bars for different age groups. But here, it's that whole mix of people at one bar. And honestly, it's a little sad and pathetic to see these divorcees in their 40's trying to look and act like they're in their 20's. My friend Jenny speculates that these are the women who couldn't make it in L.A.
8. People have rocks for yard. This used to really bother me. I still don't like it, but I finally get it. Not only is your water bill astronomical if you have grass, but the grass dies every season. So you have to buy winter grass, plant it, water it, etc. Then it dies in the spring, and you buy your summer grass and repeat the process. If I owned a house, I'd have rocks in my yard, too.
9. Flagstaff is amazing and beautiful and has all four seasons and is in the mountains. It's only 2 hours away. If you drive an hour and a half past that, you're at the Grand Canyon. There are lots of really cool things that aren't too far away.
10. The news here is very biased. Well, at least Fox is. People here are really conservative and will say some pretty shocking things. Well, unless you're super conservative, too. Then you wouldn't be shocked.
11. I feel like there's a lot of crime here. Almost everyone I know has stories about their car getting stolen or broken into. I don't feel as safe here as I did in Chicago.
12. There are lots of cool events, like movies in the park, the pie social, the zombie walk, and first fridays.
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