The State of Arizona: A Review

 I have lived in many places. Six states and about a million cities/towns. I decided I'd like to write a 'review' for each state that I have lived in. Maybe it will help others decide where to go, or just entertain those who want to know more. My life, in terms of moving, has been quite an adventure. I have much to say about the 6 states I have lived in; their differences, their similarities, and everything in between. So I will go from first to last. So, next we have Arizona.

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

When we felt we were over Utah, we moved to Arizona. We ended up staying for 5 years. We had both been to Arizona before when younger, and really liked it so we thought it would be a great place to end up. We first rented a truly shitty, small, cockroach ridden apartment in Mesa, because it was cheap, and you know moving drains your wallet for a while. Later on we moved into a rental house that was pretty decent, in Tempe where the AZ State Sun Devils are.

We worked for a pharmaceutical company and then later on, for the company that handles most state and some federal run medical plans. 

We enjoyed going to Phoenix Suns basketball games (by way of light rail) and we went to several Inningsfest and Tour de Fat festivals which were a lot of fun. Right there in Tempe, at the beach (of the Salt River) There was even an arts fest, although much smaller than the one in Utah. We even saw Dave Matthews Band there at Inningsfest, in 2020 about a week before the panic broke out over COVID.

Inningsfestival, Tempe AZ

Tour de Fat, by New Belgium brewery, Tempe, AZ

Phoenix Suns @ Talking Stick Resort Arena

When the pandemic hit in Arizona it really didn't, like, hit. Not hard anyway. I don't mean that COVID19 wasn't a big deal in Arizona in the amount of cases; I mean it wasn't a big deal to the politicians and half the people that live in Arizona. We barely had a true quarantine. It was about 2 weeks long. Golf courses remained open, the Gov stating they were "essential."

Since me and my mate enjoy staying home and chillin' anyway, we discovered the expansion of delivery from Doordash, Uber, Instacart and Grubhub as well as many amazing pizza places were a welcome addition. We stayed at home for an entire year. We sat out in the yard and drank Epic stouts while listening to our fave comedian, Kathleen Madigan on her pubcast whilst eating buffalo and onion & mustard flavored Schneider's pretzel pieces. We picked oranges and made orange juice from the orange tree in the yard. It was a peaceful, comfortable time in our lives. Most people complain of being miserable during this time but not us. 

Epic Brewing's 'Big Bad Baptist' Stout beer

The governor of Arizona was a douche bag with a highly punchable face. His name was Doug Douchey Ducey, a Republican (ugh of course) who treated the pandemic like anyone who made a fuss about it was crazy. He was besties with Trump (another total piece of garbage human), and they wanted to defund education in the state, and then they wanted to build a wall at the Mexican border (like that was a be-all-end-all solution to illegal immigration? Ugh). He was the one who was insane, and we yelled at the TV every time we saw him on the news. 

Repukelican Gov Doug Ducey circa 2020

 

The state did legalize cannabis which was great. But... in January of 2022 our landlord informed us that he was raising our rent by 25% (yikes!) and we couldn't afford to live there any longer. We felt like Arizona wasn't going to be our "forever place", and it had become too expensive to live there, so we had to decide what to do and quickly. We chose Missouri next because we, at the time, were working remotely but had to be near a work location. Headquarters was in St Louis, so we weighed all the options for work centers, and that was the only one that was neutral to us. 3 weeks before we were to move, I walked into the cannabis store (yes wearing a cloth mask) and promptly contracted Omicron, and was sick for 11 days, with the 2 weeks afterward consisting of me experiencing extreme cognitive impairment. 

Tempe, AZ

The people of Arizona, in general, I found to be cold and offputting. Wait staff at resaurants were the worst. We never had good service, except the one time we were visiting before moving there. I don't miss the people. Or the weather. "But it's a dry heat." It's a dry heat that's 120ºF for F's sakes, people. It isn't pleasant, unless it's 50 in January maybe. In summer, you can only go outside for fun or gardening between 5am - 9am or else prepare to be scorched to death. 

Arizona License Plate

Of course, two months after moving to Missouri, our company changed the rules and allowed us to work anywhere. On next, to Missouri!