Seven Reasons I Love Phoenix

I visited Phoenix and Tucson as an innocent young chap in my early twenties -  excited about life and my new "grown-up" job as an engineer  -  for a work project. Little did I know that I would come to live here another lifetime later. Even back then, I knew this place was special. The natural scenery is so vastly different from anything imaginable on the East Coast.

So cacti just grow here… naturally… like normal trees?? People have yards with no grass?? It’s completely flat where I’m standing, yet there are mountains on all sides?? Is this part of the same continent that I hail from? — All of that is true and more… and these are the reasons I love Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun.

1) Natural Beauty/Mountains/Hiking

The sheer natural beauty is awe-inspiring. This is a lush desert. It’s not as barren as say, the Las Vegas desert. There are cacti everywhere… including the big saguaro ones, as well as prickly pear cacti, palo verde trees, ocotillos, my favorite chollas,… and other flora that I literally didn’t know existed on this planet. The utter novelty of everything is so exhilarating.

Add to that all the mountains. There are mountains in the middle of the city limits. In fact, I live in downtown Tempe and this crazy sight is less than a mile from where I live. Look at that mountain in the middle of downtown… and yes — you can actually hike up it.

There are even some of these weird-looking mountains called monadnocks. They don’t even look real.

And that leads to the hiking! The lack of tall trees makes everything around you visually accessible, which in turn makes the whole hiking experience in a sense more accessible and invigorating.

The vast expanses of landscape that you can see while hiking can be overwhelming. And what you see all around you is so ruggedly beautiful. See…

I have never been a big hiker, but here in Phoenix it’s my obsession. You never have to fear what’s lurking behind the trees because there are none. I’ve never seen any threatening wild animals while hiking. The most I’ve seen is a few cute lizards.

2) Infrastructure/Landscaping/Cleanliness

My geeky, but practical reason for loving Phoenix is the highways and roads. They are all in such immaculate shape and they are all adorned with art. Yes, art! This is what Phoenix highways look like.

And they ALL look like this good (except for I-17 south of the 101). Most designs are even better than this. The theme is usually desert animals of all types. It’s almost therapeutic just to drive around on the smooth highways and gawk at the natural beauty that surrounds. Who needs meditation?!

The surface streets in most areas and suburbs are just as aesthetically pleasing. Smooth and beautifully paved and straight — they are laid out in a near perfect grid pattern. So if one road is obstructed, simply take a right (or left) turn and cross over to the next major parallel road. Or if on a highway, just go to the next exit. Because the grid pattern is so darn consistent and the valley is really flat (except for some interruptions by mountains), streets like Camelback Road and many others stretch straight for 20 to 30+ miles. The same roads you see on one side of a loop highway are the same roads/exits you see 30+ miles away on the other side. It’s hard to get lost.

This place is largely super clean and pristine, and the roads and neighborhoods are mostly exquistely landscaped. Granted, there are large swaths that are unsavory and blighted. Every city has those areas. But in my opinion, there are even larger swaths that look like a corporation chose this valley and built a master-planned city on it no more than 10 years ago.

3) The Vibe and the Friendliness

Phoenix is so unpretentious. It has yet to grow into a real cosmopolitan exciting city. Which is good and bad. The best way to explain it is to compare it to where I moved from — Atlanta. In Atlanta, it seems that everyone is trying to have the best of everything and show it off and pretend to be cultured and cosmopolitan. Some people are nice, but many have an air of superiority. Even people that have the most mundane of jobs are pretentious and snooty… because well, they live in Atlanta and that naturally makes them important.

I believe Phoenix will get there in another 20 years or so, but it’s not that way now. Almost everyone I meet is friendly, nice, down-to-earth. Even as a black man, I feel welcome anywhere. I have often wondered if I should venture to certain areas and neighborhoods to go for a hike or to a restaurant, and instead of looking at me cautiously, people smile and say ‘Good afternoon!’ You can strike up a conversation with most anyone and it doesn’t even feel weird. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have to deal with brutal winters. Speaking of which…

4) The Weather!

People might believe it’s always swelteringly hot. Well, five or six months of the year it is. But the winters… oh the glorious winters. This is me on January 17 in Tempe. A coat? — who needs such a thing?

And any time of the year, you have no need for the weatherman. The only reason to tune in to the weatherman or woman is if you think they’re cute. Why bother to watch the forecast when everyday there is a 100% chance of sun? You can plan your wedding or a cookout with friends, and the chances of getting rained out are very low. Ok, to be real, the chances of a rain-out are almost zero. At most, you might get sprinkled on for five to ten minutes. (One major caveat: You could face torrential rains during monsoon season. But who wants to schedule events during July with average temps of 110 degrees anyway?)

5) No critters!

Well ok, there are some. But the rumors of a landscape teeming with snakes and scorpions are overstated. I have literally only seen two snakes and ZERO scorpions. And those two snakes were in parking lots, not even out in nature while hiking. Which might seem worse to some people. But I’d prefer to see them in a parking lot where they might be intimidated by the scent of humans than out on their own turf where they feel they are the boss.

As for other vermin, there are virtually no bugs! You never have to fear going for a walk and inadvertently strolling into swarm of gnats or mosquitos. There’s just not enough standing water to sustain them. There can be roaches, but only outside, and never in nice residences. You might encounter a fly in an enclosed space about twice a year.

6) The sunsets!

Finally there’s the sunsets. I guess it’s because most views are unobstructed by trees. Or maybe there’s something meteorological at play. Whatever the explanation, the sunsets are breathtaking. I have a third-floor apartment and every day I get a free show. I have taken a million photos from my large apartment window. And multiple times a month, I’ll get a shot that’s really spectacular. Check these out:

7) It’s a city — in the desert!

It’s always a veritable marvel that they built this huge city in one of the most inhospitable climates in the continental US. And even more amazing that centuries ago, Native Americans built settlements (and canals!) here. Thank goodness for the modern technology of air conditioning and the cooling misters that they have installed at some outdoor restaurant patios. Being a city, it has the amenities of a city — restaurants, malls, nightlife, a zoo, an aquarium, festivals, events, and a bunch of parks and hiking areas. It’s no Atlanta or NYC, but it’s comfortable and has many wow factors of its own.

These are all my reasons that I love Phoenix. There are some shortcomings that I’ve briefly interspersed above, as well as the debate about whether this city will continue to be habitable. But at this moment, this is my desert oasis, and I never want to leave it. If I ever move somewhere else, I will return often to just reconnect with this place — my city-soulmate. I have fallen completely in love with this majestically beautiful, unique, other-wordly, friendly Western metropolis. I hope you get a chance to visit my city one day!