Ashley Feeder

JMC 301

Holstege

11 November 2021

Enterprise Story Final

Arizona is becoming the hottest destination in the country, as people all over the country flock to

Phoenix despite the triple-digit temperatures.

The 2020 Migration report by the U.S. Census Bureau found that Arizona is one of the top five

inbound states and that Phoenix is in the top three cities welcoming new residents.

Some of the factors that are causing so many people to gravitate towards Phoenix is the nice

weather, cost of living, opportunities, and political stance.

Emily Austin came to Arizona from California because college tuition in California would be

essentially the same price as out-of-state tuition at Arizona State University.

“I moved to Arizona in 2017 because of my acceptance into ASU and the nursing program. I also

moved specifically to Arizona because my brother also lived here and it was far enough away

from my hometown but still an easy drive away if anything urgent came up,” Austin said.

Since moving to Arizona in 2017, she was unsure if she planned to move back to California

when she graduated.

“I am currently debating this question as I graduate in December. I plan on practicing as a nurse

in Arizona for about a year before making the decision to move home...or not,” said Austin.

Jennifer Graff, 50, moved from Washington to Scottsdale in May of last year with her husband.
“Weather was a big factor. We lived in Washington basically our entire lives and we were done

with the gloom.  Also, the cost of living is more affordable here; however, we see a lot of growth

potential and view the move as a great investment,” said Graff.

Both Graff and Austin said that they know people that have moved to Arizona as well.

“I know of some people that have moved to Arizona because of school or prices for housing and

school. California is known for being expensive and overpopulated so people who enjoy the heat

and lifestyle will typically move further east,” said Austin.

Graff said that her friend from California recently made the move to Phoenix.

“My good friend moved here from California because of the cost of living here compared to

California. They couldn’t afford to buy a home where they lived in California,” Graff said. 

The cost of living is in Arizona is something that is attractive to many people moving to Phoenix.

The median listing home price in Phoenix is $429 thousand while a city like Anaheim,

California’s median home price is $788 thousand.

 “I’ve also heard people say they are here for political reasons…they want to live in a ‘red’

state,” said Graff.

However, all of the new residents may have already changed the ‘red’ state status; Arizona was

blue in the 2020 election and is now considered a purple state.

Some people believe that all of the people moving to Arizona will impact the state both socially

and politically.

“I think the college population and those moving from California will definitely have an impact

on Arizona's political stance. Just last election Arizona flipped blue for the first time in years,

and I think this was because of the shift of people,” said Austin.

Graff said that she thinks Arizona will change socially, politically, and economically over time.
“A lot of the folks moving here from Washington & California for sun and cost of living reasons

are liberal!” Graff said.

“Socially, I would say California people have more of a standoff personality and Arizona

personalities are more welcoming and appropriate. I hope the shift of people from California can

adapt to this mindset and hopefully not poorly impact the morale of Arizona,” Austin said.

“Comparing California and Arizona, that’s just what i’ve noticed since i’ve moved to Phoenix...I

just like the atmosphere better,” Austin said.

 GOP consultant Lorna Romero told azcentral.com that people moving to Arizona may already

be affecting the way the state votes.

"One of the common denominators that we've seen in all these battleground areas is these are

typically places where there has been an enormous number of people, whether it's because of job

relocations or new companies, that have moved to Arizona," said Romero.

Currently, Democrats hold a majority on the City Council and Registered Democrats outnumber

Republicans in Glendale and Tempe.

The increase of residents is not only affecting Arizona’s political stance, but also its economics.

“Economically, I know California is in heavy debt and I could see the transfer of people and jobs

negatively affecting Arizona,” said Austin.

“These people and businesses that have been unsuccessful in California could move to Arizona

and negatively affect the state,” Austin explained.

The CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Chris Camacho, told Fox10 News the

opposite, however.

“This is good news for Arizona’s economy because more people means more dollars. Businesses

moving here also means more jobs,” said Camacho. 

“We tend to always have a positive net inflow of residents. However, we’ve seen that go way

up," he said.

The heat has not deterred mass amounts of people from packing up and moving to Phoenix.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency found that the nation’s five fastest-growing cities,

Phoenix being one of them, are in counties that are at a “relatively high to very high risk” of a

natural disaster. The risks include things like wildfires and heat waves, which are effects of

climate change.

Although Phoenix isn’t necessarily at risk for natural disasters, it is highly susceptible to extreme

heat waves.

Phoenix is the 2nd fastest-warming city in the U.S. and Arizona is currently the fourth-fastest

warming state in the country based on warming rates since 1970, according to StatesAtRisk.org.

The heat may be what is attracting so many people to Phoenix, but all the new people are

contributing to the increase in temperature.

Leon Kolankiewicz, an environmental planner and the co-author of a 2021 study by Numbers

USA, said, "Arizona has experienced more urban sprawl than any state except Nevada."

 "As of 2017, there were almost 3,300 square miles of developed land in Arizona, a 114%

increase since 1982. This sprawl -- which is overwhelmingly driven by rapid population growth,

rather than increases in per-capita resource consumption -- is fragmenting habitats, exhausting

water supplies, and exacerbating climate change," said Kolankiewicz.

These concerns are not stopping people from moving to Phoenix for job opportunities, housing,

or even less traffic.

Graff in particular, likes the fact that there’s “a lot more sun!”
“We have a pool now which we didn’t have in Washington! There are so many restaurants

around us and we love eating out,” Graff said about her new home in Scottsdale.

Graff is far from the only person who feels this way. The Arizona Office of Economic

Opportunity said in their 2020 census that Arizona is projected to have a population of 8.3

million by 2030 and over 10 million by 2050.

If you told a long-time Arizona resident that Phoenix was going to be a hotspot, they would

laugh and tell you that it already is. Now, hot spot has taken on a new meaning, and time will

only tell what will become of the copper state.

 
 
 
Sources:

Jennifer Graf- 206-595-5734

Emily Austin- 951-541-7768

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-population-growth-is-damaging-
arizonas-environment-301215156.html 
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/were-a-magnet-for-people-californians-moving-to-arizona-
in-high-numbers 
https://azbigmedia.com/lifestyle/new-yorkers-californians-flee-to-move-to-arizona/ 
https://livinginphoenixaz.com/reasons-why-everyone-is-moving-from-california-to-phoenix-
arizona/ 
https://www.azcommerce.com/oeo/population/population-projections/ 
https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2020/10/12/arizona-battleground-
state-hispanic-vote-maricopa-phoenix-trump-biden/5818345002/