I love Arizona. Despite most people giving me a surprised look when I say this, I have a good explanation for this. Firstly, I grew up in Pune. Now if you have taken any geography in school you might know what a rain-shadow region is. Both Pune and Arizona have a mountain region between them and the sea. These block the rain clouds for the most part. Except in the case of Arizona, these the much taller Sierra Nevada Mountains. This generates a rain shadow in Nevada mostly but also in Arizona to some extent. Also Phoenix itself is in a valley with plenty of mountains in Arizona. The end result is a very dry climate like Pune, except much drier. So climate wise its something I have grown up in, although here I have become used to having air-conditioning. Secondly, snow sounds like fun to most people from India, because of the 'grass is greener on the other side' principle. But snow brings with it a set of problems of its own. You don't have to worry about that in Phoenix. But what about middle grounds? Like California, Oregon, etc. Where it doesn't snow but is still cool throughout the year? Yes, I admit I love California's climate and natural beauty. But so do millions of other people. The result is that its the state with the most people, in the US. Coming from India that's the last thing I want. Also a higher population means a higher cost of living. That was one of the reasons I enrolled in Arizona State University. When I came here four years ago I had no idea what Arizona was like. The only reason I chose this place was because my aunt told me it was the most affordable yet accessible alternative compared to my other admits which were Philadelphia (very expensive) and Idaho (which I only know because they grow potatoes). So the three options I had were literally a spectrum of potential lifestyle. Idaho is probably pretty rural not to mention I wasn't sure how good the university was. Philly was the other end; too urban. Phoenix is a major city yet its people are not really what you would call metropolitan. I can live a few hours from Los Angeles and Las Vegas, yet not pay through the nose to live there. The roads are wide and empty. Not to mention Arizona has some amazing desert beauty. There's probably not too many places in the world where every sunset is worth a photo!
But then again, of course no place can be perfect. I am used to blazing afternoons in Pune, but Arizona summers are a different story altogether. Let me put it this way, from May to August, if you step out of the house anytime between 10.30am and 5.30pm, you will have the pleasure of being torched alive. I have literally returned a shade darker after going out for an hour if I don't have sunscreen. Its not just hot, it is the kind of hot that sucks out the moisture from you and leaves you like that guy eaten by scarabs from the Mummy. The wind is like having a furnace exhaust in your face. There's dust storms too. Four out of twelve months it will be hell unless you have a car; which I don't this summer. However after August, it will get increasingly pleasant and from November to about March every other day is beautiful enough to make you wanna go for a walk or bike ride.
That being said, there's few places in the world where you can have the solitude that you get in Arizona. Drive an hour or so in the right direction and you can find yourself being the only person for miles surrounded by a vast desert with a tumbleweeds, giant saguaros and maybe a few rabbits. You're in the Wild West!
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