Essential English phrases

The Valley of the Sun — the whole metro from Surprise to Apache Junction. Nobody says 'greater Phoenix'; everything from traffic reports to job adverts says 'the Valley'.

The summer storm season, officially 15 June to 30 September. Violent dust and rain storms after weeks of dry heat, and the reason evaporative coolers stop working in August.

An evaporative cooler. Cheap to run and effective in dry heat, useless once monsoon humidity arrives. Whether a flat has one of these or refrigerated air is the most important rental question here.

The local defence of a 45°C afternoon. It is genuinely more bearable than humid heat up to a point, and that point is roughly 43°C.

Flagstaff, Sedona and the Mogollon Rim. Two hours away, seven thousand feet up, and around 15°C cooler — the standard summer weekend escape.

A wall of dust rolling across the desert ahead of a monsoon storm, sometimes a mile high. If one catches you driving, pull fully off the road and turn all your lights off.

Coccidioidomycosis, a fungal infection from soil spores endemic to the Sonoran Desert. Newcomers and dogs are most at risk because long-term residents have usually built immunity.

911 for emergencies. 602 is Phoenix proper's area code — 480 for the East Valley, 623 for the West Valley, and locals read them as geography.

The Loop freeways, always with 'the' in front. Arizona uses the Californian article, unlike Texas or the Midwest.

A winter resident from the northern US or Canada, arriving in October and leaving in April. They visibly change the traffic, restaurant queues and golf availability for six months.

The monthly art walk along Roosevelt Row and Grand Avenue — one of the largest self-guided art walks in the US and the most reliable way to meet people downtown.