Arizona is beautiful, anyone agree? (home, schools, quality of life)

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by LinaJo76

Sorry, I meant most of the people in Arizona (not all of them). I have met really great people here, but some are just rude and mean though. Sorry, I should had been more specific....

Thanx, LinaJo! Just having a bit of fun with you, actually!

Originally Posted by Grannysroost

You can find mean and rude all over, not just in AZ...which is beautiful and has beautiful weather. You can find beauty even in the desert when you look for it

Originally Posted by LinaJo76

I know that! I was just making observation (I do that everywhere I go to).

[mdlee3]

I've only seen bits of Arizona from the air and it doesn't look beautiful from that perspective, but when on the ground and looking at things, I agree it probably is extremely beautiful.

[w1ngzer0]

I honestly prefer Sacramento,CA to Lake Tahoe over Arizona. Every other area of California does not count in my book. lol

Let me explain. Yes, i lived there for a few years, but let me explain myself.

We will start from downtown. Giant beautiful trees, birds chirping, seasonal trees. Then you move up to the Fair Oaks/Rocklin/Folsom area. Medium sized oak trees cover the area from the American river all the way back to the farm fields near downtown. Then you move up to Cameron park and El Dorado hills. Giant rolling grass fields with spaced out trees, making you think its summer time in the mid west. Go up further and you have the crisp feel of the mountians, pine trees start showing up and then you hit apple hill. A well known apple orchard with yearly festivals with all sorts of yummy apple stuff. More pine trees then you can count. Drive up further towards lake tahoe and dramatic views of the lake and of the area.

Drive from downtown Sacramento to Reno through the mountians and you will understand what im talking about.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by L.A. Diva

I have lived in these states: Arizona, California, Texas, and New Mexico. Arizona is simply the most beautiful (natural aesthetic beauty) state that I have ever been in, no wonder why the grand canyon is there. When I was up near Flagstaff, AZ I thought I could literally touch the stars, the sky up there appeared so black and the stars appeared so magical and bright.

Ha ha, boy, I'm glad they didn't put the Grand Canyon somewhere else like, CA or WA.

I think a lot of states are beautiful, but for me the ones without a desert are really wonderful. I think it only has to do with the fact that I have been in AZ for thirty years. I can see why other people who come here from greener pastures think that AZ is beautiful though, and very different. On a cliff one moment and the moon the next. lol

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

I am from Phoenix, but I have to ask have you ever driven through Oregon and Washington?

I lived in Arizona for 17 years before moving to Oregon (where I've lived for the past 20 years). There is perhaps a "grass is greener/sky is bluer" tendency to long for the lesser-seen landscape in the radius of short-range travel your current place of domicile offers. If you are a "tree and greenery person," then western WA and OR are high on the list. If you are a "sky and sandstone person" then AZ and NM are second to none.

I will say, though, that I second the observation that aesthetic appeal in AZ and NM runs to both extremes. It has some of the most beautiful spots in the country and some of the ugliest and most depressing...particularly when it comes to urbanized areas.

[Dawnbird]

The urbanized areas can be terribly ugly, can't they? Happily, I currently live on the outer edge of Mesa/Apache Junction, right next to a large wash with a lovely view of the mountains. I've been to and through most of the states of the West Coast and Southwest, with the exception of Oregon. While all are lovely, after a while I get sick of all the leafy things and wish I could see a plant not so massive as all the huge oaks, pines, and nut trees, and see something less friendly, properly colored plants, like an elephant tree, acacia, or aloe vera.

I've lived in Arizona all my life, and while, like many long-time residents, I daydream about living elsewhere with cooler and wetter weather, I can't actually fathom doing so. When I was about fourteen, I flew to Washington with my little brother to visit my father. I remember walking around Riverside Park, in Spokane, staring. The amount of green, leafy living things was astonishing. At one point, the path crossed a river. My brother and I stood at the edge and stared down into the water, mouths agape. My father wanted to know what we found so fascinating, and we chorused "There's water down there!" Yes, he agreed, there was. That was why it was called a river, after all. We were quick to point out that the only time rivers in Arizona have water is when someone leaves the hose running after washing their car in the driveway. It's funny whenever I think back about it, especially because that was the first time I'd ever seen a river in person that wasn't monsoon runoff two inches deep.

Living in the desert can give one some funny quirks, especially if you've lived on the edge of the developed centers or out in the desert. I didn't realize it until my bemused cousin pointed it out, but I absolutely will not put my hand where I can't see it. It was something my mother drilled into us growing up because we always had huge problems with scorpions, black widow infestations, lizards, and the occasional snake.

[azriverfan.]

What I really love about Phoenix is that it's so clean and new. It reminds me of something found in a science fiction movie. The roads are immaculate. They are wide with perfectly visible markings and smooth asphault so that you don't feel the road. All the signs are well lit and labeled far in advance. Most other cities will have narrow tar pit roads that haven't been addressed or they will have asphault with large cracks everywhere.

When you go to other cities, you respect Phoenix that much more because everything is so clean and new here. I get tired of being in other cities after a few days because you get tired of looking at the old and dreary buildings, bad roads etc. I know those elements are supposed to be charming and full of cultural signficance but I just get tired of it. I like the fact that Phoenix is an ultra modern utopia even if some find it soulless. I know some like the overabundance of folliage everywhere but I find it to be messy and annoying. I like plants but I don't like jungles. Washington just looks unkempt and something I would see in Deliverance

[Toto75]

I am British, but I have travelled a lot in the US, and i have to say that Arizona is one of the states that made the biggest impression on me. I visited the Phoenix area in March this year and found the surrounding desert landscapes absolutely beautiful: The red mountains, the crisp blue skies, the towering cacti, the wildflowers, the spectacular sunsets. The desert was in bloom and it smelled so fresh everywhere.

I agree that Phoenix seemed hypermodern, anonymous and sterile, but to me that is part of its appeal. The idea of this major city in the middle of one of the hottest deserts in the world is so crazy that it becomes interesting.

I don't know if I could take 115 degree summers, but I'll definitely come back in the springtime one day.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

What I really love about Phoenix is that it's so clean and new. It reminds me of something found in a science fiction movie. The roads are immaculate. They are wide with perfectly visible markings and smooth asphault so that you don't feel the road. All the signs are well lit and labeled far in advance. Most other cities will have narrow tar pit roads that haven't been addressed or they will have asphault with large cracks everywhere.

When you go to other cities, you respect Phoenix that much more because everything is so clean and new here. I get tired of being in other cities after a few days because you get tired of looking at the old and dreary buildings, bad roads etc. I know those elements are supposed to be charming and full of cultural signficance but I just get tired of it. I like the fact that Phoenix is an ultra modern utopia even if some find it soulless. I know some like the overabundance of folliage everywhere but I find it to be messy and annoying. I like plants but I don't like jungles. Washington just looks unkempt and something I would see in Deliverance

Phoenix wins the road wars - that is for sure. When I travel with my fifth wheel, I dread cities as the freeways in ALL of them are atrocious - bumps, rolls, badly signed, potholes, sharp curves. It's white knuckle till you get out of the town. Except Phoenix. Our freeways are the bomb! As for newness, science fiction is a bit of stretch. but a city of millions where most of it was built in the last 20 years is unique. We do landscaping to the nines around here. I like the look of the newest parts of the city - and so much is new. It is eye candy compared to the trashy, dated look of older cities.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Phoenix wins the road wars - that is for sure. When I travel with my fifth wheel, I dread cities as the freeways in ALL of them are atrocious - bumps, rolls, badly signed, potholes, sharp curves. It's white knuckle till you get out of the town. Except Phoenix. Our freeways are the bomb! As for newness, science fiction is a bit of stretch. but a city of millions where most of it was built in the last 20 years is unique. We do landscaping to the nines around here. I like the look of the newest parts of the city - and so much is new. It is eye candy compared to the trashy, dated look of older cities.

It's science fiction in the sense that you can go to a McDonalds here and it will have stainless steel, granite countertops and glass everywhere. It's subtle things like that.