I applied to the U of A as an afterthought, but I am so glad that I ended up going here. It's like destiny pointed me to this place. I nearly did not get my application done in time, and it was one of the last places on my list, but they really wanted me and threw lots of money my way.
I have struggled with being homesick all of my life. I was very homesick my whole mission, I was very homesick in Connecticut, I was even homesick at scout camp. However, here I have not been homesick once. Of course, I miss home and the people associated with it, but I am so happy here.
Arizona has the perfect weather for school. Sure, August and September are hot, but afterwards it is gorgeous. Like low 90s to 50s for pretty much the rest of the school year. No snow. My biggest complaint weather wise is the summer, which is a little intense. June is pretty bad, when it gets to 110+, and in Phoenix approaches 120. But most places inland have a few bad months out of the year, and for AZ its the summer. The monsoon really helps starting July and going through September.
AZ has the most beautiful sunsets in the world, I swear. You get the silhouette of a Suagaro with the sun setting in the back, it is ridiculously beautiful. The plants stay very green here since they are all adapted to the desert.
Another thing that I have really liked about Arizona is the people. Unfortunately, there is lots of property crime here, but I like the attitude of the people in general. In Utah everyone is really nice and helpful, but there is this nagging church vs state rivalry that goes on. It seems that so many issues come back Mormon's "running" the state. It is also well represented in college rivalries. Here in Arizona, issues come up, but it never seems to become religious.
I would also describe Utah as a very emotional state. People get very excited if anything happens there. For example, the sports teams--people really support them, as few as there are, both college and professional. The community support is good, but it seems that everyone only has one or two baskets to put all of their eggs, including their college team (usually Utah or BYU) and the Jazz, and of course Real Salt Lake if you care about soccer. It seems that with other places, there isn't so much hype. It's just annoying at how rude people are to each other, how much they taunt opposing players and opposing fans, and, surprisingly, how drunk they get.
Of course there are lots of great things about Utah, like the mountains, generally nice people, four seasons, family, etc., but there are certain things to which Arizona is providing welcome relief.
