r/arizona • u/ededdedddie • 2d ago
Visiting What I noticed about Arizona as an visitor
1) People are very very nice and kind. People of all types.
2) The nature is insane. It would take a lifetime to explore it all.
3) A rockhounder’s dream!
4) Pretty damn affordable.
5) As a visitor, don’t like the weather? Choose from any number of elevations and climates. There’s something for everyone.
6) Roads and cities are very clean compared to where I’m from.
7) Unique critters abound.
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u/Gemraticus Chandler 2d ago
Oooh! You saw a gila monster?! Lucky you!
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
We knew the minute we saw him, we lucked out. It was at Indian Bread Rocks. We also wanted to see a tortoise but know that’s rare too
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u/queequegaz 2d ago
I've lived in AZ for almost 40 years and have never seen one in the wild...
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u/Zardoz__ 2d ago
I've only seen two in 40ish years, but it's out in the middle of nowhere. It's like seeing a faerie.
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u/LeadingHoneydew5608 2d ago
Ive been luxky enough to stumble apon a tortise teice but not a gila monster. Lucky!
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u/bae_phomet666 2d ago
We just had family from New England visit and they also brought up how nice everyone is. They were shocked.
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
It’s absolutely true
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 2d ago
Yes! The state relies on tourism & hospitality & the service professionals know it. Same with sky harbor. Nicest airport staff.
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u/PrettyGoodRule 2d ago
I love hearing this! I don’t typically notice it unless traveling places markedly less friendly. I recall people in Philadelphia looking at my colleague and I like we were aliens—a few people even mentioned how intensely we stood out as visitors. Same with Atlanta and Miami. Not that anyone was rude, they just couldn’t hide that they found my warmth a bit odd.
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
It’s interesting when certain places can look at others as though they aren’t just another human
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u/PrettyGoodRule 2d ago
Agreed. That said, I’ve never found any of it to be even vaguely off-putting or offensive. I know I give off big west coast energy. :)
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u/getittogethersirius 2d ago
I went to Los Angeles last year and I would try to chat with all the service workers there they way I do here at home. Just small talk. Nobody was outright rude or anything but there was kind of a sense of "why are you speaking to me more than strictly necessary?" Lol.
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u/velo_wheel_mech00 1d ago edited 20h ago
Imagine being from Alaska, where we talk to everyone! I never understood why I made people so uncomfortable. 😂
I can immediately find the people from the East Coast in a group. They are the ones who act as if I want something from them.16
u/bizobimba 2d ago
From San Diego drove to Grand Canyon last month 1st time. OMG. The drive was amazing. Every landscape from desert and Sahara like sand dunes to mountains and pine forests. And the Canyon just breathtakingly awesome. And Sedona is mind blowing. People so welcoming and pretty laid back. Thank you Zonies. ❣️
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u/ededdedddie 1d ago
When I lived in Chula Vista, I drove out to the North Rim at Toroweep around 2006. I stopped at Colorado City to get directions and a bunch of FLDS women (I didn’t know what they were at the time other than oddly dressed) were outside. They went and got a man to speak to me. A few years later, I saw the cover of Under the Banner of Heaven and was like “Oh, I know that mountain range!” Had no idea what just occurred there
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u/anonymous123445677 1d ago
I love this because lately a lot of people have been criticizing Arizonans, but this makes me think maybe it’s just snowbirds they’re usually talking to.
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u/Dynazty 2d ago
Turns out people on Reddit are just pretty miserable on average and will complain about anything!
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u/brian_gruen5 2d ago
There’s no place on this planet that has prettier sunsets than AZ
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u/Bulky-Passenger8735 1d ago
I just read a good article about why we have the prettiest purples and pinks.
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u/Pupmossman 2d ago
100% correct about the nature/outdoors part. Everyone thinks AZ is just a desert but we basically have everything except the ocean here.
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
I’ve explored northern AZ several times. This is the first for southern. Sky Islands are amazing
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u/RVtech101 2d ago
Arizona contains the largest stand of Ponderosa Pines in the world. Not bad for a “ desert “.
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u/velo_wheel_mech00 1d ago
Just a lot of beachfront property. When Cali sloughs off into the ocean…the view we will have.
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u/um-ok-yeah-thatll-do 2d ago
Everyone in awe about the Gila monster- I’m impressed by the turkey! I’ve never seen one out in the wild! Beautiful pics- Arizona really is so beautiful! Glad you enjoyed!
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
Thanks! The turkeys were at Chiricahua
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u/xeriscaped 1d ago
The name "Chiricahua" actually means "wild turkey." So the those are the mountains of the wild turkeys.
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u/rebelopie 2d ago
Come up to the White Mountains, they are prolific. You don't even have to get deep in the woods to see them, they are usually along the highway from Pinetop to McNary. It's fun to gobble at them and they gobble back.
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u/Momes2018 1d ago
If you go to Madera Canyon, you’re almost 100 percent sure to see them at the Santa Rita lodge stop.
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u/um-ok-yeah-thatll-do 1d ago
I’m then almost 100 percent certain to go to Madera Canyon- thank you!!!
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u/warrenao 2d ago
Great pics. Also:
- Most things are sharp and poke-y, whether on four legs, six, or eight, and including the plants.
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u/Chase-Boltz 2d ago
"If it don't bite, stab, poke, impale, perforate, or lacerate you, it don't live in the desert!!"
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u/kingcorning 2d ago
As a lifelong Arizonan, I have to agree!
As for affordability... Prescott, Flagstaff, and especially Sedona, would like a word..
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u/Qualmest73 2d ago
For residents we are ranked 45th on affordability
Residents spend 20,000 more annually the national average.
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u/Bubblygoat7 1d ago
Sedona is so outrageously beautiful but I found it depressing. It lacked culture and things to do/places to eat and got the vibe that a lot of people that work there can’t afford to live there anymore. I heard entire streets have just become vacation homes.
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u/velo_wheel_mech00 1d ago
Wealthy hippies in staggering numbers.
I felt it was ruined by the elitism. But “isms” ruin any great place, right?I love Arizona and the locals.
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u/Porkonaplane Glendale 2d ago
After living in Arizona for a year and moving to Alaska just a few weeks ago, seeing these pictures really made me realize how beautiful Arizona actually is
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u/aks1975 2d ago
Everyone who visits from east coast says streets are so clean
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u/typewriter6986 2d ago edited 1d ago
Spent some time in Pittsburgh(PA) recently, litter and pollution everywhere. Pretty in some places, but I would never drink the tap water.
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u/Wonderful_Sector_657 1d ago
When I go home back east I have noticed how much trash, especially OLD trash lines the highways. There’s plants growing out of trash piles in the shoulders of a highway/expressway and it truly baffles me. Why is Arizona/ the west so different in this regard? I genuinely don’t understand why a city wouldn’t clean up trash like that on their roadways at least once a year. And this is in Louisville KY around derby time, when they want to be hospitable to tourists with money. I just don’t get it.
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u/TBellOHAZ 2d ago
Come back now, y'hear?!
Where are you visiting from?
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
Houston. Honestly, Tucson heat (we know it’s not the hottest part of the year) wasn’t crazy hot
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u/lechiengrand Peoria 2d ago
Houston?! Bless your heart, the hottest I’ve ever been was visiting Houston and it was only May. Your humidity game is next level.
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u/introverted__dragon 2d ago
Tucson also tends to be cooler than the Phoenix valley. And theu get more rain.
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u/Alternative_Word_219 2d ago
I live in Tucson. Yes, about five degrees cooler than Phoenix because Tucson at higher elevation. Still 105-110F in summer.
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 2d ago
The heat hasn’t even started.
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
I remember driving from San Diego to NM in July and I learned around Phoenix that my AC no longer worked. It was intense
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u/MrKrinkle151 2d ago
Oh god I’ll take the summers here over Houston all day every day
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
It’s definitely about trees here. If you’re in an area without trees, it’s hot as hell!
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u/Adventurous_Cook9083 2d ago edited 2d ago
We're 40 miles north of the US-Mexico border in AZ, and it hasn't been crazy hot too much so far this year. We need the heat to bring on the monsoon rains, tho, so bring it on. (June is usually our hottest month.)
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u/Smokey_heat 1d ago
Hey hey hey, don't be sharing what you found. Keep AZ a secret 😁
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u/ededdedddie 1d ago
Haha this is how towns in west Texas feel. Alpine and Marfa are now overrun by fancy people. Jeff Bezos bought a huge ranch near Van Horn where Blue Origin launches and he built a giant stupid clock into a sky island (Sierra Diablo Mountains)
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u/yiotaturtle 1d ago
The nature thing is seriously insane. There's a scenic drive near Flagstaff where every time you turn a corner you're in a different land.
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u/ededdedddie 1d ago
If it’s the one down to Sedona, it is amazing
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u/yiotaturtle 1d ago
Loop road - so adjacent. I do always take 89a on my way north. There's no reason not to.
You know how it is, you live in Phoenix and someone visiting is like can we visit the Grand Canyon, that's close to Phoenix right? The answer is always yes.
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u/Chase-Boltz 2d ago
Wait another month for the monsoon storms to arrive. The skies are beyond beautiful!
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u/Stock_Category 1d ago
The lightning those storms produce is awe inspiring. Never seen anything like it.
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u/AZ-Sparda 2d ago
Pretty damn affordable is the only one I have to disagree with lol. Only because our cost of living increase is so much worse and our housing costs are some of the highest rising. But that’s an America problem in general
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
Yeah it seems to be everywhere. Though, I should have specified that I meant affordable as a visitor
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u/chromaticdeath85 2d ago
Glad you enjoyed it! Worked and lived in 8 different states and for the past 20 years It's been home and no plans on leaving.
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u/ededdedddie 2d ago
Yeah I grew up in Chicago, and have lived in San Diego, Ft. Collins CO, Dallas and Houston. Arizona is amazing
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u/GrannyTurtle 1d ago
The Sonoran Desert has saguaros instead of trees. The Gila woodpeckers drill nesting holes in them - a new one every year. So other animals move into the abandoned nests. A mature saguaro is like a condominium.
Another cool feature of our state are the mountains - they form what are called “sky islands.” Because of how our weather works, the mountains get more rain than the desert floor. This makes the taller mountains much more lush with many varieties of trees, which supports a greater variety of wildlife. It is also much cooler at higher elevations.
Thanks for visiting our beautiful state!
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u/DMZim Casa Grande 2d ago
Nice pics! Arizona doesn’t get enough credit. Thank you!!!!
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u/FactsActuallyMatter 1d ago
Those are great pictures! Im going to make 2 watercolor painting with 2 of your pics!!!
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u/Aye_Harambe 2d ago
That’s how I view it as a resident
(Well, it’s not cheap anymore though and the 9.1% sales tax sucks)
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u/spudwellington 1d ago
The southwest has some of the most eye-catching veiws but its just hot as fuck and no one talks about all the bugs and biting flies and stuff once you get into the mountains, its miserable.
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u/Disastrous-Bid3948 1d ago
Number 6 you forgot to mention the horrible drivers on the road
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u/Strugglingstoner2 15h ago
Affordable? 😭 maybe if you have enough money to go on a trip in general it’s probably not that bad but I’d say a good amount of us living here are struggling to even afford gas to get us to work for the week let alone the power bill for a/c
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u/JennC137 2d ago
The people were….nice?? Did you visit Phoenix? Lol We’re a bunch of assholes 😂
Arizona is such a beautiful state. Makes me happy how much wildlife you were able to see!!
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u/takingthehobbitses 1d ago
Lol affordable? Where did you come from? This is not what us natives consider affordable.
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u/biggbunnyy 2d ago
I think number 1 depends on who you’re talking to. We have a lot of transplants from the Midwest and California and other parts of the country. It could be that those people that you consider very very nice and kind are not native Arizonans and instead, transplants. As a native from the state, I actually don’t consider native Arizonans to be the nicest people.
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u/Holiday-Term-4085 2d ago
Native of arizona here, I think we can be plenty friendly! Now, can we come off a bit prickly before you talk to us, sure, but overall we are a friendly bunch.
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u/alfredobubblebath 2d ago
I love to see positive posts about our beautiful state like this 😊 Come back and visit us anytime!
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u/Western_Heart5384 2d ago
I moved here at 8 yrs old from cold and wet Mo. And Ky. I had polio and Drs. Told mother To Get me To a warmer climate. Boy It was that…warmer!
I love it here. Make sure you see or get post cards of Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction. Beautiful in spring. I lived at the base at one time. Amazing experience. It has alot of wildlife including Mountain Lions. I’m glad you’ve had a good experience. I’ve not been back to Mo. Or Kentucky in 55 years. I love it here. I got healthy and stronger from the polio living in this weather. The people are nice. I love Mexican food. Come back again when you retire. Hee Hee🥰 I’m 78 now. , and can’t imaginge living anywhere else. The summers are dreadful. But winters are just the very very best. Good and safe travels home. Bye
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u/pickin-n_grinnin 2d ago
Have to agree. I have lived in Phoenix for 3 years and I hate it, but..... The state as a whole is awsome.
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u/PuzzleheadedWatch489 1d ago
Aaah you were so in my neck of the woods! Chiricauhua mountains are a nice reprive I've seen mountain lion, bears and tons of javalena. Great photos
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u/Lovely-flutterby 1d ago
My brother has a ranch and I’ve seen three there……from a good distance away.
Gila monster was my nickname when we were young because once one of my brothers was teasing me unmercifully, with his hand on my forehead and he wouldn’t let me move anywhere. If I tried to back up, he followed me while pushing my forehead. Tried to dodge side to side and he followed me, pushing my forehead. Tried to push forward and he held me in place. It didn’t matter what I tried to do. To make it worse some of my brothers had their neighborhood friends over and they were all laughing. I was little, maybe 4 or 5, and I had a vicious and wretched temper back then. So I grabbed his wrist to hold it in place and turned my head up enough to get a good, solid bite right into the base of his thumb and I sunk my teeth in. He hollered and tried to shake me off, but the more he whipped his hand around, the harder I bit down until he started really yelling. Turns out I got almost all the way down to the bone. I was Gila monster from that day on. Lol
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u/efuentes61 1d ago
Since when does AZ have turkeys??? I would've figured it's to dry for them.
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u/ededdedddie 1d ago
I’m sure most of your sky islands have turkeys but can be elusive sometimes
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u/Certain_Plant2409 1d ago
Thank you for your nice comments! Arizona has all the colors and beauty I truly ❤️🔥 FYI: We found one by our mailbox in the natural landscaped yard🇺🇲😊😊
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u/RandomUserinAz 1d ago
Arizona is beautiful, get through the summers and it’s all worth it, our winters are the reason for snowbirds
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u/Rapierian 1d ago
#5 is underrated by most visitors. They only think of the sun valley.
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u/AnnaH612 Chandler 1d ago
Beautiful picture!!
And by affordable, you mean compared to where?
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u/Soggy-Highlight4677 1d ago
I’ve lived here off and on my whole 62 years and I’ve seen two. The funniest was a gila rapidly walking down a hot sidewalk perched on his tippy toes to keep his belly off the cement!
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u/dddd11122233 1d ago
Az is a beautiful state. Glad op enjoyed. If you’re in Phx it’s a mixed bag. Half of actual Phoenix is pretty gross and we do have lots of transplants. Everyone wanted to leave LA and many did. We have a ton of East La type gangster wannabes running around acting tough…true native Az people are pretty cool but Phx is too much nonsense. I’d live in Flag or similar in a flash if life allowed it.
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u/lantana98 1d ago
No javelinas?
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u/ededdedddie 1d ago
Actually, no which was surprising. I was hoping to see coati. No go on that, They’re here in West Texas but pretty rare to see
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u/r0ckchalk 1d ago
These are som fantastic shots, OP! Especially that first one, wow!
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u/crack_pope 1d ago
Unfortunately the cost of living follows the more desirable climates. I was raised in Flagstaff, but after graduating from UofA, I stayed in Tucson because I can’t afford to move back to Flag
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u/lechiengrand Peoria 2d ago
Glad you enjoyed your visit. You may be interested in our wonderful magazine called Arizona Highways. It profiles interesting locations, details scenic drives, and showcases incredible photography of the Grand Canyon State.
The magazine is so impressive it was forbidden in the Soviet Union:
“In 1965, we were blacklisted in the Soviet Union. We got the news from Walter Schroeder, a subscriber in Rosamond, California. A day or two later, there was a story in The New York Times. According to the paper, the censors at the Kremlin considered our magazine "provocative literature clearly intended to conduct hostile propaganda among the Soviet people."
Nyet, no place could be so beautiful, they sneered.”
It’s worth getting a subscription even for just a year - the annual photography issue is worth it alone.
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u/rebelvong1 1d ago
We are not affordable. We are like the 7th least affordable state. 42 states are more affordable than us.
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u/SuborbitalTrajectory 2d ago
Roads and cities are clean!? What post apocalyptic wasteland did you come from? Polar pop cups are the state flower in AZ.
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u/dotnsk 2d ago
Our roads are veerrrrry clean compared to a lot of the country. Much better maintained, too, both in terms of the actual road and in terms of the landscaping that surrounds it.
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u/ededdedddie 1d ago
Dude, Houston has sooo much money and yet none is spent on road maintenance and cleaning the city 💩
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u/bsil15 2d ago
Nice! Agree with everything you said as a transplant. Where’s the forested mountain pick from?
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u/nick-james73 2d ago
You’re lucky to have happened across a Gila monster. I know locals who’ve lived here their entire lives and never seen one.