Phoenix is perhaps, for lack of better term, my adopted city. I am originally from Alabama, via Colorado and all points in between and have lived here since right around 1995. I have watched this city grow to the size it is and I refer to it anymore as "little LA" as it just reminds me of when I did live in California. The highway system is really reminiscent of LA too. Thank God that we don't have the concentration of people here that LA does, though it's only a matter of time before we are just as bad.We are the 5th largest city in the US now, the 13th largest TV market and we have more square mileage (486 miles the last I heard) than even LA. We are closing in on 4 million people 
here in the valley of the sun. Yes, it has just been growing and growing. When I started at a TV station here in '95, we were market 18, we have grown 5 markets to become #13 which is no small feat. My former Chief Engineer, I called him Dad, god rest his soul and I would talk about how fast we were going to get into the top 10 TV markets and if I stay here, it won't be that long. People often think of Phoenix as the "hellhole on earth" because of the heat, well, it's not. See, once you get used to it, it's not bad and then we can laugh at all our northern and eastern neighbors when they are disappointed since Al Bore's Gl0bal Warming good time show hasn't materialized and they are sitting in -20 degree weather. Yep, it gets hot here in the summer, around May-October, but the rest of the year, damn, why do you think we get so many out of town visitors, AKA snowbirds?
here in the valley of the sun. Yes, it has just been growing and growing. When I started at a TV station here in '95, we were market 18, we have grown 5 markets to become #13 which is no small feat. My former Chief Engineer, I called him Dad, god rest his soul and I would talk about how fast we were going to get into the top 10 TV markets and if I stay here, it won't be that long. People often think of Phoenix as the "hellhole on earth" because of the heat, well, it's not. See, once you get used to it, it's not bad and then we can laugh at all our northern and eastern neighbors when they are disappointed since Al Bore's Gl0bal Warming good time show hasn't materialized and they are sitting in -20 degree weather. Yep, it gets hot here in the summer, around May-October, but the rest of the year, damn, why do you think we get so many out of town visitors, AKA snowbirds?I have been giving a thought though, of leaving Arizona once my legal troubles are resolved, though I am not sure where I would want to go. But that is nothing new. I have toyed with that idea for awhile and perhaps it's the road-jones that I have that still drives me. The only place haven't lived or worked in the US is the Northeast and the Northwest. I am still not even sure I will leave. I mean I have been here this long and I don't know if I am up to just starting over again somewhere else. I have thought of finding a decent job in a smaller TV market and just living a simple quiet life, but anymore, everything is just growing and I probably wouldn't make enough money in a smaller market. It's not all about money, but making a decent amount of money would be nice so that one day if and when I retire, I could do so without having to depend on the guv'ment to help me. We shall see.
Peace,
No comments:
Post a Comment