A State that is nice to visit, but not to live. It is stereotyped by ignorant people, primarily Midwesterners, who think they know the place without ever spending some significant time here. I am here to say that not everything is as it appears.

Here’s the good: outdoor opportunities, National Parks, the Grand Canyon, hiking, biking, camping, skiing and golfing but only during the fall and winter. The weather is nice ONLY FROM NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH. The rest of the year is an unbearable, searing heat that can kill you. Generally, the gas prices tend to be lower than much of the country for some reason.

Here’s the bad and unfortunately there is more of it than the good: 1. the taxes are high, and getting worse. You pay a high sales tax, State income tax, property taxes (which are also on an upward spiral), and ridiculous automobile taxes and ridiculous automobile insurance. Arizona has one of the highest rates of auto insurance in the country because of the surge in illegal immigration and numerous drivers without insurance. On top of this the State government wants to add on a full sales tax to car sales, in addition to the annual property tax. You end up paying almost European level taxes when you add in Federal, but get little in the way of government services. Good luck paying for all the crap and handouts this state wants after they milk you on property taxes to pay for a system that they mismanage. 2. the schools in Arizona are HORRIBLE so prepare to send your kids to a private school if you have them and want to move here for some reason. It was ranked as the “dumbest” state by ACT and SAT scores. Numerous people drop out of school and Arizona leads the nation in dropout rates. 3. Arizonans shoot themselves in the foot at every election by re-electing the same jerks who continue to screw them. They re-elected a lesbian Governor that has awfull approval ratings and continues to lie and mismanage. It is for this reason, that I think they have no intention whatsoever of fixing anything. They use the lottery money to send kids to college who didn't even recieve a proper education in high school, and are therefore not prepared to survive college. 4. Arizona has one of the highest incarceration rates, the nation’s fastest-growing incarceration rate, among the highest poverty rates, the highest rate of high-school dropouts, the highest rates of sexual diseases and the fourth highest rate of violent crime 5. the price for real estate is high in many areas, but wage levels are a joke. Be prepared to get into a lot of debt to live here. You will make less but have higher bills. Is that something you want? To prove it, Arizona's educators and State employees are among the lowest paid in the U.S. Phoenix was ranked as one of the most over-priced housing markets in the country. Not to mention, the second highest number of foreclosures. 6. the people here can't drive if their life depended on it!! If you don't believe me then drive in Phoenix or on I-17 anywhere in the state. People don’t use their turn signal, they speed, drive wrecklessly, run red lights, tailgate, cut you off, flick you off, and Phoenix has numerous accidents everyday. Phoenix ranked as the worst city for auto accidents and was the number one city in all those things. Also, if your car breaks down or stalls on any road, drivers will scream at you or flick you off for causing a two-second inconvenience for them. They will not stop to help you. 6. The people are mean as I have just shown you. 7. TERRIBLE AIR POLLUTION. Phoenix ranks #3 for bad air quality. There is a constant orange and brown cloud over the Valley. When it rains, it calcifies on your car and you can’t get it off. The sun fades your car. 8. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION GONE AMMOCK. Police are always raiding homes finding this Mexican trash. You see ‘em all the time on the road and hanging out in Walmart parking lots on major streets. They have brought in crime and drugs. And I’ve never seen a city like Phoenix having so many child kidnappings. It is sad and sick.

Bottom line...don't live here. Please reconsider if you’re hell-bent on moving to this part of the country. New Mexico is much nicer than Arizona and without its problems. It’s Arizona with a nicer and smaller profile. Arizonans and their government have their priorities way out wack. If you plan on getting something done right, you need to be willing to do it for yourself. I HATE this place. I moved here 3 years ago and am moving back to the Midwest. Arizona is not what it is perceived. Stay away from this sorry-ass place. I will NEVER dog the Midwest again. Illinois isn’t so bad after all.

Arizona - It's the devil's playground

The devil wanted a place on earth, sort of a summer home, a place to spend his vacation, whenever he wanted to roam.
So he picked out Arizona, a place both wretched and rough, where the climate was to his liking, and the cowboys hardened and tough.
He dried up the lakes in the valley, then burned and scorched it all, He dried up the streams in the canyons, and ordered no rain to fall.
Then over this barren desert, he transplanted shrubs from Hell, the cactus thistle and prickly pear, the climate suited them well.
Now the home was much to his liking, but animal life he had none, so he created crawling creatures, that all mankind would shun.
First he made the rattlesnake, with its forked poisonous tongue, taught it to strike and rattle, and how to shallow its young.
Then he made scorpions and lizards, and the ugly old horned toad, he placed spiders of every description, under the rocks by the side of the road.
Then he ordered the sun to shine hotter, hotter and hotter still, until even the cactus wilted, and the old horned toads looked ill.
Then he gazed on his earthly kingdom, as any creator would, he chuckled a little, rolled up his sleeves, and admitted it was good.
T'was summer now and Satan, lay by a prickly pear to rest, the sweat rolled off his sweaty brow, so he took off his coat and vest.
"By golly", he finally panted, "I did my job to well, I'm going back ...

You know you live in Arizona when:

You buy salsa by the gallon.
All of your out-of-state friends start to visit after October but clear out come the end of April.
You think someone driving while wearing oven mitts is clever.
Most of the restaurants in your town have the first name "El" or "Los."
You think six tons of crushed rock makes a beautiful yard.
You notice your car overheating before you drive it.
Your house is made of stucco and has a red clay tile roof.
You can say Hohokam(?Hohokam (HO-ho-ko'm) and people don't think you're laughing funny.
You no longer associate bridges or rivers with water.
You see more irrigation water on the street than there is in the Salt River.
You know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink.
You can say 120 degrees without fainting.
Every other vehicle is a 4x4.
You can be in the snow, and then drive for an hour and it will be more than 100 degrees.
Vehicles with open windows have the right-of-way in the summer.
You have to go to a fake beach for some fake waves.
People break out coats when the temperature drops below 70.
You discover, in July, it only takes two fingers to drive your car.
The pool can be warmer than you are.
You can make sun tea instantly.
People will drive over 100 miles just to see snow.
You run your air conditioner in the middle of winter so you can use your fireplace.
Most people will not drink tap water unless they are under dire conditions.
People with black cars or...

The only state where you can see asphalt in its liquid phase.

Word used to signify defiance. This is seen in the sudden popularity of products with the word 'Arizona' on them. Having nothing to do with immigration necessarily, just opposition to federal government interference. This is used synonymously with 'resistance' and 'states rights'. To be seen with Arizona means you stand with anyone who believes the federal government has become too powerful.

The Grand Canyon State. Arizona lies in the southwest region of the U.S., in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. As a result, Arizona is known for its oppressive summer heat, dryness and strong sunshine. Arizona is also home to the Grand Canyon and the most golf courses and resorts of pretty much anywhere else. Phoenix is the capital and largest city, and 5th largest city in the US. About 6-million-plus people live in this already overpopulated state--most of whom need to move back where they came from--as the influx has hurt the quality of life.

A strain of hydroponic marijuana. Sometimes confused with kush because of the red veins in it. Much cheaper than most strains of equal potency, so it is often chopped and mixed with ditch weed, to give the crappy weed the appearance of actual smokable stuff.

Ironically, Arizona is more popular in California than Arizona.

Abbreviation: AZ.

The best state in the country to live in if you want to avoid natural disasters and horrible weather. There are parts of the state where it doesn't go above 100 in the summer and it doesn't go below 20 in the winter. The only bad weather you have to worry about is a bad thunderstorm with strong wind. There are no earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes etc...