News · moment 16 of 21

Phoenix, America's Fastest Growing (and Most Dangerous) City

from Rodent Men & Justin Timberlake | The Tim Dillon Show #396 · #396

7 min

News

Tim reacts to an Atlantic article calling Phoenix America's most American city, describing extreme heat dangers like second-degree burns from touching pavement, dystopian desert homeless populations, and advising people to judge neighborhoods by the character of local homeless people.

In this bit11 moments
  • The Atlantic calls Phoenix the most American city, at 113 degrees.
  • Phoenix's fastest growth is a bad sign; most of it is uninspiring sprawl, not Paradise Valley or Scottsdale.
  • The pavement in Phoenix is hot enough to cause second-degree burns from a fall, yet people treat it as desirable.
  • The American desert has seductive appeal—sunsets, open spaces—but living there doesn't match the fantasy.
  • Desert homeless look different; they're caked in colorful dirt, giving them a Mad Max appearance like Star Wars sand people.
  • When touring homes with a realtor, ask immediately where people who aren't doing well live—that reveals the real character of a place.
  • Buy homes based on the character of the homeless in the area: their temperament, friendliness, and whether they have talents.
  • Austin's homeless are aggressive Texans; California's are laid-back; the desert homeless are terrifying to behold.
  • People flock to the desert because it seems untapped and full of potential development, but it's the surface of Mars.
  • As Phoenix gets hotter, people will die in front of you constantly, and eventually you'll become numb to it like junkies OD-ing in Whole Foods.
  • Heat will reach levels where people just pass out on the street as a normal occurrence.
Mentioned here

PhoenixhomelessnessThe AtlanticdesertAustinParadise ValleyScottsdale

All 21 moments in this episode →