No one has an easy time taking on a Phoenix summer — everyone is parched, sweat-soaked and miserable within seconds of stepping outside. Why, then, is Phoenix one of the fastest growing cities in America?
To most out-of-towners, it makes no sense for the 4 million residents of the Phoenix-Metro area to put up with the summers. Does the city truly redeem itself, or are those who dwell here just masochists who can’t find anywhere better to reside?
A predominant line of fire goes a little something like this comment from “Nick” on BestPlaces.com: “Phoenix is a hot, dry, lifeless, giant spread out ‘burb’ … it is not cosmopolitan in any way, it is not a real city.” Ouch, Nick.
Now, the tactful Phoenician shakes his or her head at such rhetoric and knowingly disabuses this wayward commentary.
Sure, you could say that the beauty of our beloved Valley is in the eye of the beholder. And while that’s very cute and not altogether untrue — the Desert Botanical Garden is quite ethereal — a more important and sadly overlooked proverb is that beauty is also flat-out overrated. Phoenix isn’t a lush scene out of "Twilight" or "LOST," and it’s nice to have the occasional summer or spring break fling with California — but don’t be fooled so easily. Behind those cool breezes and picturesque waves lurk infamous traffic jams, astronomical housing costs and the reality that California is the most broke state in the U.S. How's that for melting your popsicles?
While the perks of Phoenix living aren’t always immediately apparent in the middle of August, once a few are unearthed, an impressive list accumulates: Wide highways and roads, being able to keep plush furniture outside, an abundance of authentic Mexican food, 70-degree, sunny winters, uncommonly large, clear skies, conveniently accessible geographic diversity and driver’s licenses that will outlive you.
Phoenix just takes some understanding. Admittedly, there is some confusion as to whether or not Phoenix has seasons, the common belief being that a place without snow is also without seasons. But thank goodness it doesn’t snow here. For one thing, it’s much too flat for proper sledding. But more importantly, snow is still that magical thing Phoenicians have to drive off in search of, not the monotonous sludge the rest of the country rings in the New Year dreading and cursing as its Christmas charm wanes.
Seasons are nothing more than marked changes in weather, and if any city’s residents know a thing about marked changes in weather, it’s Phoenicians. Our air conditioning bills speak for themselves. When it cools off here, it’s an utter rebirth heralded with sheer celebration. Moreover, Arizona boasts three cities in the 2006 Farmer’s Almanac “Ten Best Weather Cities” with Phoenix tied with Las Vegas for No. 2, for the pairing of high chance for sun, 85 percent, with low humidity at 37 percent.
People who are interested in a long-term relationship with Phoenix are likely to find what they are looking for, even if that means doing so in a city with summers akin to hell. Of course every long-term relationship benefits from a few strategic vacations to be sure, but the numbers don’t lie: as one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. and the fifth largest overall, Phoenix is increasingly a place people are committing to, despite the temperamental thermometer. So consider all that sweat a souvenir earned from the labor of love.
Send your summertime blues or Gershwin musings to anna.bethancourt@asu.edu
