All of Arizona gets sun and is dry, save for the predictable rainy seasons of the year that are short-lived but often monsoon. Life in Arizona depends on this periodic rainfall, it’s what keeps the plants, animals, and people from turning to dust.

Arizona residents in the north and south often do a flip-flop in terms of outdoor recreation depending on the season. For example, the summer is the high season in the north, providing perfect temperatures for hiking, boating, camping, mountain biking, and overlanding—all popular activities with Arizonans, or “Zonies.”

Summer in the southern region of Arizona is obviously different though, with residents attempting to bake raw cookie dough from their car dashboards or fry an egg on the sidewalk. Jokes aside, the high temps of southern Arizona are no laughing matter, and the insane heat keeps many residents indoors during the hottest months.

And like you’ve probably guessed, in the winter, the Zonies switch roles. The colder months of winter in southern Arizona, (and by cold we mean upper 60s and in the 70s) draw residents out of their air-conditioned enclaves and out into the beautiful winter sun.

In the north, snow sports are popular and there is still a lot to do, but freezing temps means bundling up before heading out.

Surprisingly, Arizona’s metropolis of Phoenix is located in central-southern Arizona. This massive population center is home to millions of year-round residents with many more residing in the state seasonally to soak up the sun. 

Maricopa County, the most popular place to buy an Arizona condo, is home to Phoenix, the state’s capital, and other huge cities like Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Gilbert, and Tempe all located in the area. The county spreads across more than 9,000 square miles, an area larger than four of our U.S. states, and is the year-round home to nearly 4.5 million people

Seasonally, Arizona grows by the millions. In what has been dubbed The Great Snowbird Migration, the Phoenix Metro Area and many other surrounding small towns swell from around October to mid-April when retirees from the frigid locales of the North, Canada especially, make an annual migration to the state. 

For example, the tiny town of Quartzsite increases from a sleepy, four thousand year-round residents to a hopping two million. No other state besides Florida sees such a large influx of Snowbirds stopping by.

Snowbirding is a major boon to the Arizona economy, and mobile homes in Arizona are incredibly popular dwellings for them. Houses in Arizona are great options too, but the former is far more affordable for those on a fixed income.

Age-restricted retirement communities that cater to snowbirds and year-round retirees were first developed in the 1960s. Sun City, by Del Webb, was one of the first communities to do such a thing. 

Yuma, Arizona is one of the most popular cities that the Snowbirds pick, and that probably has something to do with Yuma earning the (self-proclaimed?) title of the “Sunniest Place on Earth”. Behind Yuma, Tucson is another popular choice, and is the state's second-largest city, and is home to some of its best cuisine.

Arizona is the 6th largest state in the U.S., and because of that, land for sale in Arizona is plentiful. Compared to the rest of the 49, the State of Arizona ranks 14th in states with the largest population with over 7.25 million people calling it home.

The population is extremely diverse, too, with a quarter of the state consisting of Native American reservations. There are 27 federally recognized tribes, including the Navajo, the largest tribe in the U.S. with over 300,000 members. Arizona has a large Hispanic population as well from growing migration from neighboring Mexico.

It is an entirely land-locked state, owing its desert conditions to its location on the eastern side of California’s coastal mountains. These mountains usurp all of the Pacific Ocean’s precipitation and offer Arizona a supremely dry climate, devoid of all humidity in return. (That’s what makes Arizona so popular though.)

Arizona is one of the Four Corners, a place where four states’ boundaries touch perfectly. Visitors to the Four Corners visitor’s center can play the southwest’s version of Twister and place both hands and feet at once in the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Arizona also shares boundaries with two other states: Nevada and California, and its southern boundary with the country of Mexico.

Arizona is the 48th state, the last of the contiguous to join the Union. Arizona entered statehood on February 14, 1912.

The state continues to draw new residents in, growing its economy at a rapid clip. Is it the business-friendly policies? Good quality of life? Or maybe folks are moving to Arizona just because of its refusal to participate in Daylight Savings Time?

After WWII, the population and as a result, the economy, grew dramatically after the widespread use of air-conditioning, making the harsh climate more bearable year-round. Arizona is now a major economic hub of the Sun Belt, the predominantly sunny region of the United States that stretches from the southeast to the southwest, or roughly, the region south of the 36th parallel. Major companies headquartered in Arizona are retail power players like PetSmart, Circle K, and Sprouts Farmers Market.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a single soul who would admit that they don’t want to live in Arizona. The Grand Canyon State has grandiose appeal when it comes to investing in Arizona real estate. Mountains, rivers, canyons, valleys, Saguaros, and even a major metropolis make Arizona’s endless sunshine an endless attraction.