Arizona charm

We are finishing our time in Arizona. The last week was with Bozeman friends who stayed with us. That week just blew by. We are also friends with two other couples from Bozeman who own houses down here, and have spent time with them as well.

We thought briefly about the snowbird life, and even looked at some houses, as they are ridiculously cheap down here. Then we realized that owning a house here carries with it an obligation to come here, and that would foreclose other possibilities. We quickly backed off, thanked the realtor and will probably head back to Colorado before our time in this house is up.

But it has been fun. We’ve lived now in Montana (Billings and Bozeman), Colorado (Boulder and Morrison), and Phoenix (Tempe).

Where once we thought that Bozeman had it all, we now know that there is too much “all” to be had, and that while Bozeman has some of it (more than Billings!), each area has its own unique charm. Bozeman draws in retirees, especially skiers. But often people drive by in May and June when it is at its highest appeal, and base their retirement decision on that. Real estate prices have gone up there, so that retirement is only for the well-heeled. In the past that has meant real-estate rich people from the larger cities who could sell their home, reinvest in a cheaper home in Bozeman and pocket the difference. We are now in the underwater era, so Bozeman real estate should be stagnant for a while.

We lived south of Bozeman off of 19th. Just south of town there is a traffic light and a four lane section on that road, complete with street lamps. It was to be a subdivision, but it never came about. That yellow traffic light flashes away twenty four hours a day, for no one. And of course they run the street lamps every night! Why should hay fields be exempt from light pollution?

Boulder, Colorado was a nice place to be, much like Bozeman in that it is a college town and so has a large professional class. That means high-end restaurants and coffee shops. There are also large corporations like IBM and Google with offices there, and so lots of research and knowledge-based jobs. It’s a very smart community, and so expensive that we could not afford to live even in the run-down houses in the nearby hills, much less the kept-up ones. A ranch-style home in town that might fetch a couple of hundred thousand in most places in Boulder goes for $700K. Staying there was not an option, but renting there was fun. It’s a lively place.

We don’t live in Morrison, but our zip code says we do. It is ten miles away. We are very close to Aspen Park, Colorado (not to be confused with John Denver’s home town, Aspen). It’s a small town with two large grocery stores, four banks, two gas stations, three liquor stores, three Mexican restaurants and one very crappy pizza joint. Restaurants have a hard time there – Chili’s went under, as have others. The rumor constantly circulates that Safeway is not making it, which will leave only Kings Sooper.

We live at 7,800 feet, and this winter have had twelve feet of snow. Spring and summer are wonderful, and even with all the snow, most winter days are sunny and icy roads are rarely a problem. And yet we know that we are not settled there for good. The grand-kids are ten miles down the road and in Boulder, and they and their parents were the big draw. But someday we have to live on flat land, give up our car, and walk and bus our way around. Phoenix draws thousands of people in that situation.

Our friends who live here are in Mesa and Sun City. They each live in neighborhoods that offer all the accoutrements of retirement living, including swimming and golf, crafts and horse shoes. In Sun City golf carts are legal transportation on city streets. Shuffleboard is a big draw. In Mesa I watched residents playing tennis and thought that even I could kick some ass here. In the evenings the citrus trees give off an intoxicating smell, like perfume. Life here envelopes us.

The area around Phoenix, much to our surprise, is mountainous. Only to the southwest does it flatten out. Northern Arizona, like Western Montana, is mountainous as far as the eye can see.

The Sonoran Desert, which comprises much of the American Southwest and Baja, gets more rainfall than most deserts and so is lush with growth. It has amazing beauty and charm – the Eagles singing “I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight” were singing about the Sonoran, and not Gobi. This time of year the evenings are chilly so that we have routinely used the back yard fireplace. By June the days will be 100 degrees, the nights 80, and all the charm will be gone. So too will we and all of the Spring Training crowd. The snakes will be out in force.

Spring training baseball is big business, we have learned. We went to see the Angels and Rangers play yesterday, and parked a quarter mile from the packed stadium. Most teams have newer complexes, but Tempe Diablo Stadium, home to the Angels, is a mid-nineties complex that lacks the stadium television screen and light show. Our seats were on a grass area that overlooks the outtield. As we made our way out that way a ball left the yard and landed there. We later learned it was hit by Albert Pujols, and that it never got more than 25 feet off the ground. So the same Pujols who clobbered the Rangers in the Series last year will haunt them for the whole of the coming season.

But these things don’t matter if one is not branded to a team, and I care neither about the Rangers or Angels. Our house guest had a sore foot and could not hike or stand in a museum, so we chose the closest ball field nearby, which just happened to be that game. (While there we opted not to pay $11.00 for a 16 oz Coors Light, aka “beer.”)

I follow the Cincinnati Reds, and their complex is in Goodyear, about thirty miles from where we are staying on the west end of the Phoenix metropolis. The Reds don’t draw well, and much of their fan base is pissed that they moved to Arizona from Florida. Though not organized, there seems to be a snowbird boycott. Consequently, we can buy berm tickets for $8 and wander the stadium during the game. The views behind home plate are not obstructed, and even though we stand instead of sit (and thereby save $40), it’s a fun time.

The Reds are said to be a good team with playoff hopes this year. I’ve heard that before. They’ll find a way to lose, just as St. Louis finds a way to win. (I expect that even a Cardinals team without Pujols, Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan is still the team to beat.) And for so long as the Reds are a losing team, spring training here will be a delight.

Cincinnati fans might do well to give Arizona spring training a chance. We’ve been to both Florida and Arizona sites, and there is no comparison. Florida teams are miles apart, and they do not play the teams on the other side of the peninsula. So Florida spring training for Cincy was the Sarasota Reds and the Bradenton Pirates … again and again and again. In Phoenix we are within thirty miles of ten stadiums and fifteen teams.

One piece of advice, if you are thinking about coming down here for spring training – renting is a whole lot cheaper than staying in motels, but you’ve got to do it early. Most bookings are done by September for the following spring. There are thousands of houses for rent down here during March (for a week or more), and even more sublets of basements and bedrooms. Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) is a good place to start. We did not book until January, and used airbnb.com, and just got lucky. I spent many hours looking for places, and the one we are in is the first one I stumbled upon.

But we’re not moving here. As we looked over the Mesa and Sun City retirement villages, we realized that we ain’t that old yet. I don’t own any white slacks, and still do not wear black shoes and socks with my shorts. We can still knock out a 10-15 mile hike, climb mountains (walk-ups only), and stay up past 10 PM. We’re not ready yet.