Southern Arizona has killer floods and Northern Arizona has murderous ice storms. Phoenix has apocalyptic heat waves that make you want to repent.
Tucson can be considered the “blue dot in a red state,” but Northern Arizona leans liberal as well. It’s really the giant population of Phoenix and certain rural pockets of voters that make historically conservative decisions. Arizona is turning purple.
The United Nations did not declare Tucson the United States’ first Capital of Gastronomy for nothing. Southern Arizona food trumps all.
Arizonans are about three-to-five years behind most trends, especially fashion (and hair). Many young Phoenicians have a clue what’s up, but that doesn’t exactly make the city a center of style.
Southern Arizona and Phoenix aren’t showing off any shiny safety badges. Tucson has the highest larceny rate in the nation; Phoenix has nothing to brag about with its property crime stats. Flagstaff falls at right about the national average of violent crime, and in Prescott people still leave their car and house doors unlocked.
Northern Arizona has Lowell Observatory, where the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered. Southern Arizona has strict city light ordinances and there’s even a Sky Village in the southeastern part of the state. Astronomy contributes up to $250 million to the entire state’s economy. Even the Vatican has an observatory high in the mountains near Safford. But you can’t see the stars in Phoenix.
Nope. That prize goes to the whole friendly state. Arizona is dog-friendly, tax-friendly, and relatively gay-friendly. Just don’t ask about immigration policies. 