[Austroturf]

MinnySunDevil Wrote: 
I kind of regret, in hindsight, dropping an Arizona dislike bomb on an unrelated forum.  Just can't help myself sometimes.  Suffice to say the fanbases do not get along, but you're right.  There are plenty of lovely people around U of A and Tucson, and the retired community in the area has some wonderful and interesting folks from all over.  The big divide is, when you boil it down, the growth of Phoenix.  The "little brother" school is becoming the bigger school.

Yes, this is what I also noticed.  Tucson is more laid back, though still sizable for a college town (over 500k, with Pima County over 1M).  Tempe, right next to Phoenix, simply exudes more dynamism; and the population of young people is exploding, which also explains some of the recent bluing of the state.  It is rather surprising that ASU is the only 4-year state university in the Phoenix area.

[Austroturf]

MinnySunDevil Wrote: 
I kind of regret, in hindsight, dropping an Arizona dislike bomb on an unrelated forum.  Just can't help myself sometimes.  Suffice to say the fanbases do not get along, but you're right.  There are plenty of lovely people around U of A and Tucson, and the retired community in the area has some wonderful and interesting folks from all over.  The big divide is, when you boil it down, the growth of Phoenix.  The "little brother" school is becoming the bigger school.

Yes, this is what I also noticed.  Tucson is more laid back, though still sizable for a college town (over 500k, with Pima County over 1M).  Tempe, right next to Phoenix, simply exudes more dynamism; and the population of young people is exploding, which also explains some of the recent bluing of the state.  It is rather surprising that ASU is the only 4-year state university in the Phoenix area.