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Namaste Holobon,
I have lived in the metro Phoenix area twice in my life, seperated by thirty years. I am comfortable in desert living and the heat and the cool nights. I currently have one child living in Tucson and very close friends living just outside of Gallup. My friends near Gallup NM are very happy with all the space and the low cost of living. They live 15 miles out side of Vanderwagen NM. (find that on your map!) They love the scenery, the space and the 'feel' of the area. My child in Tucson would move back to Washington in a heartbeat except she has copd and it would probably cost her life. She is also dealing with lung cancer. When we left Mesa (can't tell the seperate towns anymore from Apache Junction to Sun City) the cost of living was too high, the crime rate was more than I wanted my son to be around all the time, and I just didn't feel comfortable in my own skin anymore.(trees just didn't look like trees) (have you tried to hug a palm tree?)
When we got back to Washington state I felt as if I could breath again. It hasn't been easy since we got back here but as a family, we know that this is the place on earth we are to be. There are trees and more trees (and they are green). Until you spend a spring here you don't know how many fantastic shades of green exist. There is ocean and rivers and lakes. There is blue sky with clouds that come in various colors. The public image of WA is rain. Yes, there is rain, but there are so many days of sunshine it is ok. We have a lot of peek-a-boo days when the clouds are chasing around in the sky and block the sun one instant and are gone in another.
There are great places in both Arizona (Prescott, Apache Junction) and New Mexico (Vanderwagen) but my personal choice will always be Washington state. We always have the mountians, ocean, lakes, rivers, trees and more trees. I am also spiritually at rest here. I love where I am but I am glad to have been elsewhere so I know what and where I need to be.
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