Do people in the desert ever wish they could see more green?

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

I enjoy the desert scenery when I'm in in Arizona, Nevada, and South California, but I think I would get tired of it real fast if I lived there. Living in Central Texas, I really enjoy the green much more than the brown that the land turns when its been hotter than a firecracker and it hasn't rained in couple of months. Though this year it hasn't been too bad, as it's still fairly green around here and we're in the middle of August.

[NomadHere]

I've always battled with this too, but only when it came to drier areas.

Only place I would move to now would be the Northwest. I have family there and have been a lot. It's a darker green definitely, but they also get vibrant colors and fall colors as well.

Nothing will replace the East coast green for me though. Personally. The areas of Upstate NY, New England, Mid-Atlantic, etc. are so lush and green I love it.

[BIG CATS]

I dont miss the greenery too much. From time to time Ill dream about soft grass and big old oak trees, then I stop and think that the grass and trees are dead for 4-5 months a year, and maintaining them is a big ol pain in the arse. THen I stop, look around at the majestic Saguaro cacti and mountains and shrug my shoulders and say "meh, I dont miss greenery after all."

[bartonizer]

I get the allure of the desert, there are some things that are really cool about it- especially less allergens (to me) and open sightlines.

But, when I moved from NC to CO, I couldn't get over how dry the state was. I never could. And I missed the embrace of lush tree cover, as we felt very exposed at times. We ultimately decided that we missed the colors green and blue, and wanted to be near the trees and water- with the chance to visit the desert when we needed a fix, rather than living amongst oranges and browns, with the chances to visit water and trees once in a while.

So we moved to western WA to be (relatively) near both.

[TheBeagleLady]

I moved from eastern Nebraska to western South Dakota and even though the distance isn't that great (500 miles), the difference is noticeable. I don't miss the humidity and I love the pine and aspen trees we have. The green we have here isn't as lush, but I really don't miss that. When I think of being surrounded by lush greenery I think of humidity, and possibly feeling uncomfortable seeing nothing but trees and not being surrounded by wide open spaces. I do miss the greater variety of fall foliage, but we have gorgeous scenery here too.

I think the desert is beautiful to visit, but wouldn't prefer to live in it. It would feel a little too dry and dusty. I'm in a good place right here. Semi-arid works for me.

[goolsbyjazz]

Grew up in the Northeast with four seasons and tons of greenery. Moved to Phoenix and, over the years, learned to appreciate and respect the desert and it's unique beauty. However, we recently took a vacation back east and I realized I do miss the greenery, culture and climate.

[Prickly Pear]

One of my favorite places in the country is pretty green yet is surrounded by brown in its immediate vicinity. Many don't understand how quick and easy it is to get greenery here. It's not the same East coast greenery, but still beautiful. Flagstaff is very green for a good portion of the year, but with double the snowfall of Minneapolis it does snow into April on the occasion. There's also Sedona, Prescott, Payson, Heber, etc. All the desert states have these areas though some have more than others.

Two hours from dirt brown Phoenix I can be in the pine tree-filled and roughly 30-40 degrees cooler Flagstaff. Living with the brown comes with seeing the greenery when you want to. I don't need to see green all year round besides only places like Miami can fulfill that role. In the NE you get fall and winter which isn't very green and I have places close by for a scenery change. I remember driving through PA and Maryland in the summer and thinking how repetitive the scenery was in that area. It's a different green out there though, which I admired. I love how lush the grass looks in New Orleans and Long Island, out in the West forests the grass is a different color and breed. At least here you get the "rainbow" of nature including green pine forests, yellowish grass plains, and brown desert.

I recently visited Santa Fe and I was surprised at how, driving through ABQ, had a lot more shrub life and low-lying grass than is seen in Arizona's major cities. ABQ in its vicinity outside of town looked almost Great Plains-like, and had more trees than Phoenix and Tucson. Obviously ABQ is a bit colder, but has similar precipitation which gives ABQ a desert classification. By looks alone I would have considered the ABQ area a transition area but by all means fits a desert classification in climate. It looks like Arizona's Prescott area which Prescott is definitely a transition area.

There are gradients of desert living, I'd argue ABQ/Santa Fe to be the more "green" desert due to the more prominence of grass and less cacti, replaced with junipers. Tucson comes in next with tons of preserved green cacti but shrubs and trees are more see through, and lacks grass. Phoenix has favored xeriscaping more so slightly less. Vegas is the most "brown" desert city I've visited. With half the precipitation of Phoenix and Tucson it can't support even a lot of our natural and unique plant life so it's restricted to a lot less viable plants. And all of these cities are in easy access to snow and greenery, an hour for most but Phoenix is two.

[Phil P]

I grew up and spent my whole life in CO. I've always wished the state would get 25-35 inches of rain and have those BIG conifers. Especially during the drought decade we had, I would start to really wish for rain a lot. As a person who looks at the 10 ft around them, I do say I find CO to be lackluster for plant beauty.

If it weren't for the mosquitoes, I find the woods of the midwest really fascinating if you stop and take a look at what's in there.

[Prickly Pear]

I got repped for my above post but after reading it again I felt that it was unclear what my overall point was about. To sum it up, not all deserts are created equally. Just like forests. Las Vegas sits in the Mojave, Phoenix and Tucson in the Sonora, and ABQ in the Chihuahua. They have different plant life, albeit similar, and like I previously stated some are more grassy than others (the northern Chihuahua being the only one that looks like it grows grass). There is also the Great Basin desert which is Utah (yes, all of Utah), Arizona's high desert (GC, Painted Desert, etc.) and the majority of Nevada.

You can't lump all of us "sand people" in the desert because of this. If our deserts are not even the same degree of brown, then we will have different opinions because we don't even have the same flora.

I remember voting on this poll a while ago and felt torn between the two options. Do I wish I could see more greenery? Sometimes, yes, but I can do so easily. This is the point I was making earlier by mentioning my favorite place, Flagstaff. But do I love the brown scenery that is Southern Arizona? Absolutely, and I wouldn't change it for a thing. One of my favorite things of Arizona is how UNrepetitive the state is. It keeps things interesting. Arizona, and the rest of the Desert West, is not like the Sahara which spans almost the size of a continent and is all sand dunes. If our deserts were like that I would be speaking a different tune here. But it's not, we have deserts, we have ski towns, we have forests, we have everything. So I love the brown, because it's mixed in with all the other colors of nature albeit some driving, and I absolutely love how that is what it is like out here.