A bird’s eye view of McCain’s turf

ok, so I’m not going to take advantage of this time to rip apart either of the presidential candidates, my complaining isn’t going to change anything. I actually got to see Senator Obama a few days ago at a rally in north Philly. I frankly was inspired by my first attendance of a political rally to see how excited people can get about getting who they believe is the right person in to a particular position. So how is this blog political, its not but just to say that I’m registered to vote, and will do so absentee while I’m in China, if you want to know who I voted for and why, feel free to contact me.

What I do want to do is to share with you an amazing glimpse of an amazing city, or rather cities, that McCain calls his home, or homes. Phoenix, which to me seemed to be more of a city of ‘burbs than anything else, was a very attractive location with much variety. Not only does it rarely get below 40 in the dead of winter, but even the heat (it was mid-90s during my visit) didn’t feel hot at all because of the dryness. Not to mention the wide streets, picturesque sunsets, and clean air that Chinese would die for. I also realized a reason why so many older retired people spend the end of their lives there. Apart from avoiding the cold winters, word on the Arizona street says that the hot weather helps with thinning one’s blood that has health benefits. My favorite part was the several small mountains/large hills, that took no more than 8-10 minutes to walk up to where you could see the whole metropolis area. At the top, my friend, Austin, gave me a grand explanation of all the peaks, parts of “the Valley” and even Geronimo’s favorite hideouts.

On one day my sister and I decided to make the two-hour drive up to Flagstaff, up thousands of feet in elevation with a lush variety of desert, pine forest and everything in between. Great for skiing in the winter (2nd most snow of any American urban area) and filled with a hiker’s dream in the other months. All you Columbia brand fans and REI frequenters (like Gander Mountain) would be right at home. Not to mention the very strong New Age influence in many of the clothing boutiques and bookshops.

I quickly learned that Arizona should really be more affectionately named “the outsider state” as NO one calls Arizona there home (most people I asked were from Californians sick of the coast, retirees, and those form all over the US attracted by the amazing weather). Its population is supposed to double by 2030. After doing a little more research, in Phoenix, there were 35,000 residents between 2006 and 2007, second fastest growing city in the US (nothing compared to the mass migration of tens of millions in the US, but who can compete with China when it comes to quantity anyway). I mean we are are talking about a city which by 1900 still wasn’t even among the 100 most populous cities.

After just 4 days in Arizona, I definitely understand why its growing the way it is. I’ve never been a proponent of people moving anywhere just because they like the weather, but you might want to check it out. My sister and her friend both found a large availability and higher paying jobs than they ever did in the MidWest. And if things go well for Republicans in the next month, you might even be the recipient of a few “pork-barrel” benefits from being in the Presidents home state. Or then again, the fact that McCain raves against that each time he talks, maybe you won’t.