I lived in Phoenix a couple of times in my life. The last time was in 1988. The city sits in a valley of sorts with dirty, cactus filled mountains. Don't think Rockies or anything pleasant. It is a very smoggy city. The last I heard even rivaling LA.
The heat in the summer is hot like an oven. Its dry and horrible. When the rains come the streets flood terribly because the city didn't put in adequate drainage. I once got stranded on a neighborhood road and had to call for help because my car was flooding.
It is big and like all big cities have its run down ugly sections and its very nice manicured ones. Tempe is a nicer looking city then Phoenix and the other smaller towns to the West.
I moved out of there and have no desire to ever go back. But thats just me.
