when I arrived in Phoenix, it took me a while to understand what was wrong with the roofs here: often there is no gutter.
other oddity: some people water the lawn by simply flooding it (some front lawns are specifically lower than the sidewalk for that). At first I though it was stupid, then I saw people "watering" their lawn with sprinklers in the middle of the afternoon. I am curious what ratio of the water even reaches the grass.
Flooding might be a bit excessive but its better to water less frequently with more water as the water penetrates deeper and encourages root growth so the plant becomes more tolerant of lower water conditions. Watering the lawn during the hot parts of the day is silly in any climate.
Best solution is to get rid of most/all of your lawn if you live in the desert with limited water, ie. no large river or something.
other oddity: some people water the lawn by simply flooding it (some front lawns are specifically lower than the sidewalk for that). At first I though it was stupid, then I saw people "watering" their lawn with sprinklers in the middle of the afternoon. I am curious what ratio of the water even reaches the grass.