9 Differences Between Central New York and Arizona

Hi, it's Dean Fettes, heard every weeknight from 7 to midnight on 96-1 The Eagle. After moving west to Arizona a few years ago, I am happy to once again call central New York home.During my time in Arizona, it didn't take too long to realize there's a lot of differences between this area and the southwest, in terms of population, crime, weather and more. Here's a few differences between the East and West Coast

1. Time Zone Difference: In the spring and summer, we are 3 hours ahead of Arizona because they do not observe Daylight Savings Time. The only thing I found strange about the whole time difference was on Sunday. While the rest of the country was watching football at 1pm, it was on at 10am on the west coast. Which meant I had to wake up much earlier than I was used to doing, living on the east coast and in central New York.

2. Population: Growing up and being from central New York, I found the massive amounts of people in Phoenix very intimidating. Grocery stores and the malls were jam packed with people, almost as if it were Christmas shopping season all year long -  times ten. The same with the highways (or freeways as they call them). I understand how morning and evening rush hour can be busy, but even during non-peak driving hours, the traffic was horrendous.

3. Weather: There's only one word that can describe the weather in Phoenix: HOT. Even in the so-called winter months, it's still pretty warm. I remember my first Christmas in Phoenix. By noon it was in the upper 70's and by mid afternoon it was close to 85°. However, that is nothing compared to the summer months. By late May and right through July and August, afternoon temperatures could reach over 110°. If you want to escape the cold and can handle the extreme heat, Phoenix is the place to live.

4. Crime: Crime is everywhere, but it seems the bigger the city, the more crime there is. The thing that differentiates central New York from Phoenix is the type of crimes. Of course there's robbery and burglary, car thefts, etc., but in the southwest kidnapping seems to be the major crime. The reason for that is due to the drug trafficking from the Mexican drug cartels. According to Wikipedia, Phoenix became known as the "Kidnapping Capital of the World" in the late 2000's. Do you see why?

5. Cost of Living:  The cost of living in the Phoenix area seems to be much higher than it would be here in central New York. Rent in a semi-decent part of the city seemed to have been considerably higher than in the same type of neighborhood here. Gas prices however seemed to be less than they are here. I remember paying just a little over $2 a gallon while the prices in central New York were exceeding $3 a gallon.

6. The Desert. In central New York you'll find water. In Arizona you'll find dirt and lots of it. If you want water, other than from a tap, you'll have to hunt for it. Water is hard to find other than Lake Mead at the Hoover Dam. Anytime the wind kicks up, which is frequent I felt like I lived at the beach rather than in the desert because of all the sand blowing around.

7. Winslow, Arizona. While in Arizona I never had the chance to Take it Easy and stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona, but it's on my bucket list.

8. Route 66. There are no roads in central New York that have a song named after them.

9. The Grand Canyon. Central New York has the Adirondack Mountains which are beautiful but can't compare to the Grand Canyon. There's a reason it's one of the 7 wonders of the world.

BONUS VIDEO