Great thread. I love it.
I've been to Phoenix twice. It never occurred to me anybody would actually prefer it over Calgary. I know old people like going there during the thick of winter to get away from the cold, but I just assumed those were less well-to-do types that accepted they were going to be hanging out in a lifeless, depressing desert in exchange for warm weather. Like they were picking what they perceived to be the lesser of two evils. I'd take California for six weeks over Phoenix for six months every time.
Personally, I love the winter. I love the different seasons (with the exception of April, which is an ugly month around here). My family has been snowboarding about 20 times so far this winter and there are a lot of days left. We've been tobogganing, skating, built a snow fort, etc. How fun is that? We've been to the mountains numerous times. They're beautiful in the winter. I'm totally not ready for winter to end. Isn't all that stuff objectively better than hanging out in a nasty ass desert?
As for the hiking, I've hiked in one of those in-city desert walks in Phoenix. It was hot and very, very ugly. What's so great about rocks and cacti? It's a very ugly landscape imo. I prefer to see life, or at least a huge blanket of snow.
Anyway, I kind of get why old people that can't really enjoy the winter outdoors like Arizona, but somebody in there 20s, 30s or 40s actually opting to live in that shizin hole? That's a new one to me.
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