Let me preface this by saying that I’m from Phoenix. When I say that I moved to downtown Phoenix at the start of my freshman year, it came with the preconceptions built into living in the north Valley for 18 years. I was more than a tad apprehensive before moving downtown.
Not because of the change in environment or adjusting to a new lifestyle, but because, in my mind, Phoenix was boring. Compared to friends who were going to college in L.A. or New York, I felt like Phoenix was a let down. It lacked the glamour of Scottsdale and my mother even pushed me to live in Tempe, because “there’s nothing to do in downtown Phoenix.”
At first, I agreed. Working in the area before moving didn’t help with my perception that the district is primarily business-based. The streets seemed dead and even on Roosevelt Row, it didn’t seem to be much going on. Not to mention, I was more than a little intimidated by the people.
For example, the first time I walked into Revolver Records, I was too nervous to ask the clerk about a record because he just seemed like he knew more about music than I did. It took about a month become comfortable leaving the relative safety of the dorm; slowly but surely, my opinion was swayed.
The biggest culture shock came the first time that I attended First Friday. The food trucks, music and the sheer amount of people were a barrage to my senses. The night I spent wandering through Roosevelt Row showed me that there really was more to Phoenix then some office building and a couple of hotels.
It was the first time I really recognized this city as a living, breathing place that’s constantly evolving. I realized that Phoenix is full of people who are passionate about what they do, whatever it may be, whether it’s street art or accounting.
As I began hanging out at local hotspots more, I met more interesting people, each with their own stories. It really hit me when, a couple weeks ago, an artist from California approach me and some friends when we were at Jobot Coffee. It turned out that he and my roommate went to the same high school in Chicago. They hit it off that night and she was painted into a mural he was working on the side of building on Central Avenue.
Look closely: Street-art scavenger hunt along Roosevelt Row, downtown Phoenix https://t.co/G6cKsJbqAi #founditphxff pic.twitter.com/vvFoDuSwIs
— azcentral (@azcentral) December 3, 2015
I'm still discovering new things about downtown Phoenix everyday. Just yesterday, I visited a quirky bike shop and had the best donuts ever at Rainbow Donuts. I was apprehensive about moving here, the culture of downtown Phoenix sneaked up on me, but I've come to embrace it, and found the city has embraced me as well. At the start of this semester, I dreaded seven more semesters of Downtown Campus but now, I'm looking forward to it.
Related Links:
7 exciting things to do in Phoenix
For Roosevelt Row, adaptive reuse an appropriate compromise
Reach the columnist at mvandobb@asu.edu or follow @maureenvd on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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