Arizona Isn’t Just Desert—Here’s What Newcomers Discover

I’ve lived in Arizona longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. My nomadic parents had our family moving from state to state every 5 years or so when I was a kid. Even though my Arizona roots are now planted deep in a bed of caliche, I can still relate to the challenges newcomers face when they move to Arizona.

shallow focus photography of short-coated brown dog

Desert living isn’t for everyone. If you’ve lived in a place with an abundance of green trees and lush grasslands, four distinct seasons, and words like “heat index” that help you understand the heat-to-humidity ratio, Arizona can be quite a shock to your system.

Let me break down a few things newcomers to the “is that really the temperature in Phoenix” state might find difficult to get used to.

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a brown and white bird standing on a rock

1: Arizona Is More Than Just Desert

If the only thing you know about Arizona is what you learned by watching Wile E. Coyote chase a Road Runner, you might be in for a bit of a shock.

Arizona's desert is much more abundant than you might have pictured. Many people picture the entire state as cacti (cactuses?), tumbleweeds, and scorching heat. It’s not that we’re not, but the climate and landscape are much more diverse than that.

a forest filled with lots of tall green trees

Many folks are surprised to discover pine forests, mountain towns, ski areas, and places that get regular snowfall. You can drive from the Sonoran Desert to cooler mountain communities like Flagstaff, Show Low, or the White Mountains in just a few hours. Arizona's elevation changes create dramatically different climates across the state.

READ: Discover the Amazing Biodiversity of Arizona’s Sky Islands

Val Davidson/TSM

2: Monsoon Season Is a Real Thing

Deserts are so arid, they rarely get any rain. Right?

Well, not exactly. Arizona newbies think the weather is the same year-round. Then the summer monsoons arrive, bringing dust storms, lightning, heavy rain, flash flooding, and sudden power outages.

green grass and trees on brown sand

Many long-time Arizona residents cite monsoon season as their favorite time of year. For newcomers, it's often their first time watching a wall of dust move across the landscape or seeing a wash go from dusty and dry to a flooded, flowing river in mere moments.

READ: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Near Tucson Showcases Wildlife

3: Driving Distances Are Bigger Than They Look

Recently, a friend from out of state told me she would be visiting and wondered if there was a chance we could meet for lunch. She was going to fly into Phoenix, then head up to Sedona.

Unfortunately, I live in Cochise County, and when I broke the news that it would take me nearly 4 hours round trip to have lunch with her in Phoenix, she was surprised. If you’re looking at a map, Arizona towns can seem relatively close. In reality, the state is huge, and places are farther apart than they look.

a welcome to arizona sign with a cactus in the background

A day trip to the Grand Canyon, Tombstone, Sedona, Bisbee, Lake Havasu, or Monument Valley involves way more driving than you might expect. Most new residents quickly learn to measure distance in hours, not miles.

On the plus side, these roads usually don't have much traffic, so it’s not like driving through downtown Chicago or Los Angeles.

smiling woman in pink and blue shirt

Some Other Things that Surprise Arizona’s Newcomers

• You need sunscreen and/or protective clothing year-round. The sun doesn’t play around.
• Winter visitors can dramatically increase traffic in some communities. Seriously, Snowbird season is real.
• Desert wildlife appears in some unexpected places. Like snakes in your pantry or tarantulas on your kitchen floor.
• During the summer, we typically plan outdoor activities around sunrise and sunset.

The air quality on a windy day in Arizona | Val Davidson/TSM

Arizona is way more than just desert living, but it helps to know what you’re in for before deciding to move here. It’s not just a coyote chasing a roadrunner across the desert floor. It’s all of that and more.