10 SHOCKING Things Learned Living in Arizona for a MONTH

On this video I go over 10 things I learned about Arizona while staying there for a little over a month.

Tools of the Trade:

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows me to bring you more videos in more places. Thank you for the support

Sources:
Downtown Phoenix:

Philadelphia Skyline:

Scottsdale:

Road Construction:

Grand Canyon:

Arizona Summer:

Sunscreen Spray

Water:

Bottled Water:

Nevada Desert:

Salt River:

[bevbevan]

Minor correction: AZ State is in Tempe. University of AZ is in Tucson.

[Will]

A dry heat may be more tolerable than humid heat, but after 105° it doesn’t matter

[MotoringAdventures_KESAI]

Excellent job! As a military brat who claims Arizona as his adopted home state, you did it justice with a very comprehensive overview. I will say, that as beautiful as Arizona is, and it can be an acquired beauty to some folks, it is from the backroads that most if it can be truly appreciated. And I don’t just mean backroads of the paved variety. I’m talking about the hundreds of miles of dirt and off-road trails that lie on public land throughout the state. Once I discovered this, it opened up a whole new world of what was out there to see.

[chrisrichard]

From NH here. Visited AZ twice now and can't wait to go back. What a beautiful state. Sedona is gorgeous. Totally correct about the tap water, Flagstaff and Sedona were the only places it was drinkable. So much to do and see in AZ. We even went out to Winslow to stand on the corner. Saw old RT 66, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Phoenix Zoo, explored an abandoned gold mine (dangerous and don't do it if you don't know what you're doing), and on and on and on. I can't wait to go back.

[bixbysnyder-]

"This is the middle of the Sonoran desert, you can't build a major city here!"
"Hold my beer, this is fine."

[rdinnan]

Correction...the tire itself does not melt. It's the asphalt itself that melts and the car sinks in just a little bit, particularly in neighborhoods where they use the slurry seal.

[rirkc]

Holy cow, what a great video. I just moved to AZ from RI after thirty five years in Providence. I chose not to live down in "the valley"(Phoenix) for your first point -- the incredible summer heat. Instead, I live up at 5.5 thousand feet in Prescott. Easily fifteen degrees cooler up here, no traffic, very few homeless but no encampments. It's got lots to offer me, including other family members and old family friends. Again, great video -- all points are valid.

[austinmorse]

I live in the Northern part of Arizona, I highly recommend visiting Prescott, Arizona, or Flagstaff, it is so green up here, it doesn't even feel like Arizona.

[terryjoslin]

I am an Arizona Desert Rat..
I love Arizona and yes in the summer it can get sweltering hot, There are many places that are beautiful around Arizona...
Crown King, White Tanks, superstition Mountains, Sedona, mugion rim. Phoenix is nice during the winter but beware when ya go camping in the desert during the winter! Parts of the desert can get well below freezing and when you wake up you'll find frost on your tent and the water in your water jug will be frozen. Things have changed along in Arizona over the years.. As we expand our city and add more concrete and blacktop the tempeture gets warmer and warmer. Our so-called monsoon season that used to come like clockwork doesn't happen too often. Look up Arizonas monsoon back in the 90s. It started with a wall of Dust that was visibly tall and long and when it got to you it was windy and blinding that you could hardly see a few feet in front of you, airports was closed while the Dust cloud was there and resumed afterwards. During the Dust storm it sandblasted everything and ripped shingles off of homes and such. ThecRains came 2-3 days afterwards and would rain off and on at various degrees flooding areas of Phoenix and areas of our Riverwalk. This rain would last for a week many 2 before it would stop. That's when Arizona for the next 3-4 days would be Humid which can be compared to parts of the east coast.

I hope you have injoyed my thoughts and love of this wonderful state.
Forever will I be an Arizona Desert Rat

[FrostyStardust]

I moved here in 2020 to get away from snow and cold in general. I have not been disappointed and I don't plan on moving elsewhere. I'm home.

[TheSchwartzIsWithYouToday]

It's always fun to hear the viewpoints that visitors have of our great state! I've been driving for Uber + Lyft for a while, and I love having visitors as riders. They ask all kinds of questions, and being a native they enjoy it when it's a long ride and I point out lots of our local attractions like the different types of cactus, shrubs and trees. Many visitors are blown away with our unusual vegetation, especially when it's in bloom.

Unfortunately, you did not bother to say WHEN you were here, as things are VERY seasonal. You'll find that for most of the winter months, Nov thru April, there are far more people outside walking around, especially in Scottsdale and Downtown Phoenix. That's because it's our peak tourist season and we're flooded with "snowbirds" who come here from colder climates to thaw out. Go to one of the local hiking spots and you'll see people all bundled up, as well as lots in T-shirts and shorts. The former are mostly locals, while the latter are snowbirds enjoying the 50 degree (F) weather. For us locals, that's COLD.

In summer, people leave town. And when the temps start going over 100, people stay inside. Since you were complaining about the heat and lack of people outside, I'm guessing you were here in May or early June, after school was out and the snowbirds have left, and nobody is really out and about. But lots of places that still have outside seating open will have their misters on. They don't work very well if there's a breeze.

I was born and raised in Phoenix, and yes our tap water is pretty disgusting. Frankly, I don't understand why so many people pay for bottled water as there are plenty of places around town to fill up your own jugs for 25¢ - 40¢ per gallon, and most of them taste the same if not better than bottled water. (Lots of bottled water isn't even filtered!)

Tempe is the home of AZ State University, not UofA. UofA is in Tucson. Northern AZ University (NAU) is in Flagstaff.

The main street in Tempe is Mill Avenue, not Mill Street. Most of the restaurants and activities in Tempe are along Mill, University, Apache, and Rural roads. Also, it's worth noting that the City of Tempe is relatively small and land-locked, unlike most other cities in the area, and the only way the can expand is by building UP. So there's a LOT of skyscrapers being built in Tempe, especially along Tempe Town Lake -- which soon will only be visible to people inside of the tall buildings going on on both sides of the Salt River. (The "lake" only exists courtesy of some dams built to hold the water in, because the Salt River is dry for most of the year.)

Downtown Phoenix has been undergoing a transformation over the past 20 years. Today it's mainly it's a sports mecca where the Diamondbacks play baseball, where the Suns play basketball, where there are tons of sports bars, not to mention several concert facilities. When there are games on, it's swarming with people. Otherwise, it's pretty dead. Except there's now a big and growing ASU campus north of the stadiums, and while school is in session it's bustling with college kids, just like in Tempe. When school is out, they're mostly gone.

You seemingly avoided our traffic during rush hours, so you think there's not much traffic. Well, it can get pretty bad at certain times of the day, but it's lighter now than before COVID. I think a lot of people are moving here from more expensive cities because: (a) they can work from home; and (b) homes are a lot cheaper here. You can't walk to the store in most areas, but there's usually a large grocery store and restaurants within a few miles of most residential centers. Uber and Lyft make it easy to get there and back when needed if you don't have a car.

Overall, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay and had lots of nice things to say about it. Arizona residents still have to travel to LA or Vegas to see big shows that don't bother to stop here in Phoenix, even though we may be the 5th largest city in the country. Although it was fun to see Taylor Swift kicking off her Eros tour here in Phoenix with two (!) shows.

[franks]

As a 45 year resident of Phoenix, you are pretty accurate. The heat in the summer is horrible. Besides heading north, many people here head to San Diego to cool down. You are so right about car batteries. You may get two years (or two summers max) out of them. It’s wise to keep a jump starter in you vehicle. As for traffic, I agree it’s not as bad as other large cities, but there are areas of congestion such as I 10, I 17, Loop 101 that can get really bad. You will also notice a significant increase in traffic in the cooler months when the rest of the country comes to AZ. Just like anyplace, there are good and bad points. I’ve been here so long, I’m just use to how it is. Hope you enjoyed your trip to Az!

[pd]

We've lived in Arizona for more than 36 years. It's only hot when it's over 110 deg. F

[monicac.]

Born and raised in Phoenix, this video is very accurate and you did a great job explaining the layout of the city to people who don’t know.

[ryder]

You hit the nail on the head. I moved to AZ from NC in 2011 and immediately noticed the taste of the water and lack of heavy traffic when compared to Raleigh.

I also noticed, as a southerner, how "hard" the people were. Doors closed in your face, no greetings or thank yous, mean mugging for no reason...they're a different breed from what I grew up with.

[myofficegoes]

I moved to the Phoenix area a few years ago and keep forgetting an important summer thing. When going through a drive-in window (I don't want to get out of the air-conditioned car) don't lean your arm on the door. That chrome trim on the window frame gets really hot!

[betamax]

The thing with Phoenix is it's sunny. And if you're from cloudy, depressing climates, it's gorgeous. There's 115-sunny half the year and 65-sunny half the year. More than worth the dry heat. I visit often for business and am thinking of buying a second home just to enjoy the city. So much cleaner than almost all the cities I've visited in the US. Almost no graffiti and everything is fairly modern.

[edwardj]

I travelled to Arizona several times over the years and always wanted to live here. I finally moved to the Phoenix area a couple of months ago and enjoy it very much. Prior to moving here, I spent my entire life in the NY/NJ metro area. The heat and dry desert are definitely not for everyone. For me, however, the heat this summer hasn't really bothered me that much. I've explored a few downtowns (Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale) on foot during some really hot days (105F-110F) and managed it well.

I can relate to many who would rather live in walkable, vibrant East Coast cities and not have the need for a car. I spent decades living in both NYC and near great walkable New Jersey shore beach towns. Every place has its good and bad points. The humidity in the Northeast during the summer (and even Winter) makes it very difficult to enjoy the outdoors (away from the beach) to the extent that I can here in AZ.
I just find the dry heat here to be a great positive. Back East there are many days and weeks, not to mention the winter months, where it can be gray and overcast for much of the time. I love that here in the valley there is a lot of light (sunshine), and much less gloomy throughout the year. The landscape, nature, and beauty of Arizona is, of course, at another level.
Even so, I still can relate to someone that enjoys green mountains, forests, and landscapes more like can be found in the Eastern states.

The drinking water here in the valley is very poor. I used to drink from the tap in both NY and NJ. Here, I rely heavily on a water filter.
The highway system here is fantastic. The traffic doesn't compare to NYC or other large metros, but I know it can be bad in some places at certain times. People here in the valley tend to drive a little too fast than is necessary, but being used to driving in the NYC metro for decades makes the adjustment to driving here quite easy.

[SuperCornTVwithMrsDee]

Love your commentary. We just moved from Mississippi to Phoenix Deer Valley area and we love it. The heat here is nothing compared to Mississippi.

[carmine]

0:54 I used to buy DieHard batteries but found that EverStart Platinum AGM double capacity batteries sold at Walmart are much better and last longer.