1. No Mexican food from anywhere else in the US, especially on the East coast, tastes quite as authentic and amazing.

2. When outside of Arizona and in places with a lot of greenery, you really appreciate it because you’re used to seeing dust, dirt, rocks, browns and oranges.

3. There are few extreme pains that you experience as often as coming in contact with a seatbelt buckle during the summer.

4. You’ve left Chapstick in the car melt and ruined upholstery or even worse, if it’s inside of a bag, gotten several things messy with liquified balm.

5. You’ve been inside of or within a few miles of those massive, end-of-the-world looking haboobs.

6. YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT EVEN IS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME AND WHY?

7. Early mornings don’t necessarily mean pleasant weather. 90-100 degrees in the AM happens often.

8. You’ve seen your share of gorgeous sunsets that combine with the mountains for some beautiful, aesthetically satisfying moments that are seen so often, many folks take them for granted.

9. The most intense rivalry you take part in is the Arizona Wildcat vs. Arizona State Sun Devil. You’ve chosen your side and love to rub it in the other’s face when victorious in particular college sports.

10. The lack of earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes and other natural disasters is great, but we have our terrors in the forms of various insects, reptiles, arachnids and potentially harmful animals (e.g. mountain lions, bears, peccaries, etc.)

11. If you haven’t lived in Scottsdale, but visited, you know that it’s widely considered a wealthy, dare I say, rude, snooty area. I mean it has a reputation, and you’ve probably heard people refer to it as Snobsdale.

12. You can identify the snowbirds just as a New Yorker would be able to recognize the tourists who stand out like a sore thumb.

13. When it rains you realize that a large portion of drivers can’t handle it well, which is frustrating considering we have heavy precipitation during monsoon season every year.

14. If it snows outside you can expect all of social media to be filled with photos and weather reports that anyone with a window is already aware of.

15. You’ve had bacon wrapped, bean, mayo, tomato, onion and mustard covered hotdogs, known as Sonoran-style.

16. You actually seen this screen before on your iPhone.



17. Arizona Iced Tea is something you’d like to be proud of, despite the fact that it’s based out of Woodbury, New York.

18. You have an opinion on illegal immigration and you’ve likely had debates with others about it.

19. You’ve mastered the art of driving with a pant covered thigh or just your index and middle finger because the steering wheel is so, incredibly, scorching hot.

20. “It’s a dry heat” is basically your unofficial slogan.

21. The appeal of a parking spot depends not on its distance, but on the amount of shade it provides.

22. You know what Eegees are.

23. Seeing people walk around with a gun on their side is just kind of whatever because adults can openly carry loaded firearms.

24. Leather seats + shorts = big mistake.

25. Even when it’s hot outside, you often have to carry a sweater around because restaurants and other businesses keep their A/C as cold as possible.

26. You’ve never driven an ambulance to the hospital emergency room, but you’ve tried to get chocolate from the grocery store to your home before it melts in an Arizona July, which is pretty close.

27. We don’t mow lawns; we pull weeds and rake rocks to upkeep our front yards.

28. You’ve almost, or actually have hit coyotes (and other animals) that make unexpected appearances on the roads from time to time.

29. You’re aware of what a bolo tie is and perhaps have even worn one.

30. You’ve felt genuine happiness inside because today it’s going to be less than 100 degrees!

31. You’ve never been to the Grand Canyon. That’s more of a touristy thing to do and a lot of actual Arizona residents don’t have a sense of urgency to visit because hey, it’s always going to be a short road trip away.

32. You see Breaking Bad and wonder why they didn’t choose Arizona over New Mexico.

33. During the summer you swear you want winter and during the winter you vow to appreciate summer. The grass dust is always browner on the other side, or something like that.

image – Shutterstock