Being rich in old-time Phoenix


Let's travel back to old-time Phoenix, and be rich. Since this is a journey of imagination, we can be as rich as we want. Let's be stinking rich, and live in a mansion.

Of course, no one really considers themselves to be "rich". In a longish life, I've known a lot of very wealthy people, who live in houses whose mortgages I could never dream of paying, and who vacation in places that make me wonder how there could be enough disposable income in the world to pay for them. People will only use the word "rich" if they're dreaming of wealth - once they have it, they will consider themselves comfortably well-off.

So let's be comfortably well-off. We owned some desert land that we got a lot of money for recently, and is now a subdivision. We're the same people that we were before, except that now we have a lot of money. A LOT of money!

I like Phoenix, so I'm going to stay here. A lot of people who became wealthy moved to California, but I'd rather not. Phoenix is my home. Yes, of course I'll buy a second house in California, but I'll only be there in the summer. I love Phoenix, but not the summers! Maybe I'll get something near Santa Monica, I like that area. Pasadena is nice, too.

Here in Phoenix I'm going to live on Millionaire's Row, which is on Monroe east of Central. That's where all of the fashionable mansions are. It's close enough to the city to be convenient, but far enough away to be exclusive.

Let's see, what else do I need? Yes, a carriage with some nice horses. No need to walk anywhere, and I certainly wouldn't use the Street Cars now that I can afford not to! Of course I'll have a nice big cellar, stocked with wine. I'll also have whiskey and gin, and nothing but the best. No more rot-gut for me!

It's good to be rich, it beats being poor!

Image at the top of this post: Houses on a side street in Phoenix in 1898. 3rd Street and Monroe, Millionaire's Row.
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