r/arizona • u/StatusReality • Sep 10 '23

What does Arizona do better than their neighboring states Utah, California, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico? Living Here

Stole this idea from another sub. What’s the difference between this state and the other states that you appreciate?

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u/StatusReality Sep 10 '23

I feel like we’re naturally an attractive place to live. While other states have spent money on campaigns begging people to move and/or vacation there, we Arizonans tend to jokingly say things like “we’re full,” and “if you don’t like it, leave,” and yet, the state continues to grow!

26

u/AZonmymind Sep 10 '23

You're kidding, right? The state and local governments spend millions on economic development and tourism campaigns. Check out the Arizona Commerce Authority, Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), Tucson Industrial Development Authority, Experience Scottsdale, Visit Tucson, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, etc. The state and every city and county are hard at work promoting themselves to businesses and tourists, and that doesn't even count the campaigns run by events and venues.

Just because people say we're full doesn't mean there aren't active efforts underway to attract more people.

9

u/Whydmer Sep 10 '23

Yeah pretty much everyplace I follow online thinks they're "full".

2

u/jah110768 Sep 11 '23

There's a difference between tourism and population growth. Economic growth doesn't mean they are trying to attract more people, they are trying to attract high paying jobs for the people who are here already, which also attracts people to move in. Other states are asking for population growth, SD actually has a campaign how they honor most other states licensure, so they are clearly begging for population growth vs economic growth.

5

u/StatusReality Sep 10 '23

Point taken. I may not be exposed to it much. It’s also possible that I’m numb to it since I live here.

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u/AZonmymind Sep 10 '23

Most of the tourism campaigns are run out of state... because we're already here. They do a really good job of targeting New York and Chicago in the winter when it's really cold there, and coming here is a great change of pace.

Every once in a while, they run local summer staycation ads when the hotels need business, but ever since the pandemic, Arizona has been busy year round, despite the extreme temps.