Why We Love the Valley of the Sun

The recent issue of Phoenix Magazine published a list of the 101 Things We Love About the Valley.

Here’s a synopsis:

1. Sublime, surreal moments in a desert metropolis.
2. The solidarity forged by our unholy summers.
3. Abundant parking.
4. Our pizza.
5. Location, location, location.
6. Our casual, no-fuss fashion habits.
7. Binkley’s.
8. The private karaoke rooms at Geisha A-Go-Go.
9. Unusually accessible celebrities.
10. Lincoln Drive.
11. Year-round golf.
12. Everybody’s a transplant.
13. We own “desert chic.”
14. We have teams in all four major pro sports leagues.
15. The intense wildlife.
16. Our marvelous resorts.
17. Upward mobility.
18. Our splendid Mexican grub.
19. The Waste Management Phoenix Open.
20. The hiking.
21. All the pretty cars.
22. Downtown Chandler.
23. Our literary scene.
24. Our menagerie of semi-retired heavy metal stars.
25. Shorts in December.
26. Casino buffets.
27. Biking the canals at dusk.
28. McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.
29. Little Miss BBQ.
30. Haboobs.
31. We’re the birthplace of the New Times.
32. Homeboy’s Hot Sauce.
33. Cougars.
34. Jeff Flake.
35. TGen.
36. Verrado.
37. Changing Hands Bookstore.
38. UnderTow’s subterranean cocktail lounge.
39. The Phoenix Suns.
40. The Suns Dancers.
41. Bob Parsons.
42. The Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt.
43. This old cowboy, Marshall Trimble.
44. Ahwatukee Farmers’ Market.
45. Scottsdale Old Town Farmers’ Market.
46. Uptown Farmers’ Market.
47. Peoria Farmers’ Market at Park West.
48. Open Air Market at Phoenix Public Market.
49. Watching cult classics at Pollack Tempe Cinemas.
50. Emma Stone is from here.
51. High Tea at English Rose Tea Room.
52. Phoenix poet laureate Rosemarie Dombrowski.
53. Our awesome music venues.
54. Our odd-looking churches.
55. Survivalist self-improvement classes at TechShop.
56. Plant-spotting at Desert Botanical Gardens.
57. Outdoor adventure in Desert Breeze Park.
58. The Arizona Renaissance Festival.
59. Vegetarian food options.
60. Singh Farms.
61. Maya’sFarm.
62. Two Wash Ranch.
63. Steadfast Farm.
64. Devour Culinary Classic.
65. Spring festivals in general.
66. The Great Picnic.
67. West Valley taquerias.
68. Our seasonal aromas.
69. We finally licked this artisan ice cream thing.
70. Paul Goldschmidt plays here.
71. Phoenix-style sushi.
72. La politique de Phoenix.
73. Tubing the Salt River.
74. Primo bachelor(ette) partying.
75. Arizona State University.
76. Roosevelt Row.
77. Drinking cascara at Peixoto Coffee.
78. The faint but lingering echoes of the Old West.
79. Sky Harbor Airport.
80. Local dive bars.
81. Local hooch.
82. Local recovery programs.
83. Our emerging generation of artisan chocolatiers.
84. You can see champions play on the cheap.
85. The Cactus League.
86. Our epic sunsets.
87. Mid-Century Modern architecture.
88. Our geek culture.
89. It’s a gosh-darn sandwich wonderland.
90. Hayden Flour Mills.
91. Antique Sugar.
92. Pink House Boutique.
93. urbAna.
94. Local Nomad.
95. Shirts ‘n’ Things.
96. Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
97. The rest of our craft beer scene is kicking butt, too, actually.
98. The Bianco empire.
99. Tovrea Castle.                
100. The kindness of strangers.
101. Our “sentinels” of the desert..saguaros.