Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can help you with Tempe since I just lived most of the last four years of my life there (as an ASU student). I almost know Phoenix even better than I know Denver, even though I was born and raised in Denver. Where in Tempe is your job located? Where in Denver is your job located?
Climate wise-- are you looking for a complete 180 degree swing from where you're living now (from searching your posts it looks like you live in Wisconsin-- is that correct?)? Or do you still want four seasons, but drier and more sun? Phoenix is the land of EXTREME heat. If you have never visited Phoenix during the summer time when it can easy be over 110 for days and days on end, where the temperature is above 100 degrees every single day for a good 3-4 months out of the year, and above 90 degrees for half of the year, you have NO idea what you're getting into. From my days living in Phoenix and posting on the Phoenix forum (of all the 2365 times I've posted... the majority of my posts are still on the PHX forum), I've observed that midwesterners, especially people from places like Wisconsin and Michigan seem to react to Phoenix in one of two ways; they either absolutely love it at first, but then end up hating the place after a year or so and go back home, or they end up loving Phoenix so much they end up becoming life long Zonies and part of the real bread and butter of Phoenix society. I think you almost have to live there for at least three years just to know if it's right for you; the first year things may feel so exotic you may be intoxicated by the new-ness of everything. The second year may or may not bring disillusionment, and by the third year you have a more mature understanding of its stengths and weaknesses.
Both cities are acquired tastes, but I think Phoenix will seem even more exotic to someone coming from the upper midwest. Maybe that's why so many people from that part of the country are attracted to Phoenix-- because it is so radically different from where they come from? Opposites attract?
Have you ever lived in a big city before?
What does your family do for recreation?
What's your hunch as to which city would offer the best job opportunities should you end up needed to get a new job some day?
I would also recommend you jump into Boulder webpage and look at the posts on Longmont. There are also lots of varying opinions on the city and some also get quite heated but many people who live there will give a fairly honest assessment of what it's like for a family to live in.
There are no towns that i know of in CO with high zombie populations, so I think you should be fine. Also, not too many alligators in our yards. Bigfoots may be a different story though.
For whatever it is worth, I have been to Tempe and I thought it was great. Lots of people on their Main Street and activity. The down side with Tempe is that it is hell on earth in the summer.
I have been to Denver as well. I was rather impressed with Denver as the city center seemed to be quite busy and some of the residential areas have a very Victorian feel to them. The Main streets that are outside of the city center seemed to be dead which was rather sad. It would have been nice to see more people out walking in Denver, but at least there were a few out and about. Certainly the weather in Denver seemed lovely, at least in May.
Longmont is *almost* a suburb of Denver. It's about 40 miles from Denver. It's possible you could live in Boulder and work in either place. There is mucho information about Denver/Boulder/Longmont on CD.
I would suggest, if at all possible, leaving the kids with someone and coming out for a look-see. Sometimes you can get some good airfare deals, and car rentals are not *that* expensive these days. I would recommend that for Phoenix as well.
Where in Tempe is your job located? Where in Denver is your job located?
I'm not sure where the job is located in Denver.. there's one company in Longmont. the job in Denver would be DH starting a new office for an established company.
In Tempe, the job is near Sky Harbor Int'l Airport, on 1st St.
Climate wise-- are you looking for a complete 180 degree swing from where you're living now (from searching your posts it looks like you live in Wisconsin-- is that correct?)? Or do you still want four seasons, but drier and more sun?
i'm not incredibly picky about the climate, the cold and humid are what i'm trying to get away from.. it's waaay to cold here (frostbite temps on a regular basis) and way too humid. we are hoping that my arthritis would improve out there. Wisconsin is correct. waaay northern wisconsin. i don't mind 4 seasons i guess, but it's entirely possible that i'd be completely fine with skipping winter all together lol i enjoyed the GA heat when i lived there, except for the humidity. i sure didn't cry about the lack of snow LOL
you have NO idea what you're getting into.
understood
I think you almost have to live there for at least three years just to know if it's right for you
yeah, we're not about to give up after just 3 years anywhere.. i've hated this place for 8 years now, and we're just now moving lol we are very adaptable, it's just these long frigid cold dead winters are killing us!
Both cities are acquired tastes, but I think Phoenix will seem even more exotic to someone coming from the upper midwest.
yeah i'm sure of it. i am so drawn to the cactus and palms.. pools in the yard are the norm (you'd never get your $'s worth here), and i LOVE the mountains... also, i'm sick of having to mow the lawn LOL this is me being optimistic about scorched earth.
Have you ever lived in a big city before?
i've lived the Flint/Detroit area for about 18 years and the Athens/Atlanta area for a couple... also i spent a few months living in Denver as a teen.. but for the past 8 years i've lived in an ice cave in the middle of nowhere, surrouned by deer and lumberjacks...
What does your family do for recreation?
well my husband likes to sail occasionally, which, i know, DESERT DUH, but i know there's lakes around there, i googled it LOL i like to shop and try new restaurants (mexican food is the best food) and my kids don't really do a whole lot.. my son really wants to be in theatre and my son wants to learn fencing. my daughters love to just get out... they want a pony lol they don't have anything at all here for them besides the YMCA. nothing agains the YMCA, but we feel deprived. we need some stimulation, and we can't even leave the house between October and May. 5 kids trapped in a house for 7 months... we need change. we are just not winter people lol if we moved somewhere that winter prevails, it would just have to have more to offer than here. a reason to spend half the day bundling the kids up, other than to go to doctors appointments or grocery shopping.
What's your hunch as to which city would offer the best job opportunities should you end up needed to get a new job some day?
my guess is that would be the job in NY. but we'd really like to scratch that one off the list lol where we'd be moving is between 2-3 hrs from NYC and Boston, and about 4 hours from Montreal... so i'm assuming it would be easier to find a job between those choices if need be... we are just really hoping these other work prospects are as promising as that one, cause i'd hate to move to a crappy place just for a job. we're also not going to turn it down till we can find something comparable in CO or AZ.
well my husband likes to sail occasionally, which, i know, DESERT DUH, but i know there's lakes around there, i googled it LOL i like to shop and try new restaurants (mexican food is the best food) and my kids don't really do a whole lot.. my son really wants to be in theatre and my son wants to learn fencing. my daughters love to just get out... they want a pony lol they don't have anything at all here for them besides the YMCA. nothing agains the YMCA, but we feel deprived. we need some stimulation, and we can't even leave the house between October and May. 5 kids trapped in a house for 7 months... we need change. we are just not winter people lol if we moved somewhere that winter prevails, it would just have to have more to offer than here. a reason to spend half the day bundling the kids up, other than to go to doctors appointments or grocery shopping.
thanks for all the replies!
Sailing can be done here, but. . . This is not Wisconsin. This stuff comes up a lot, people wanting to live/play near lakes where they can go boating. It's here, but it's sure different than WI and MN, both of which I have been to.
Shopping and restaurants are not a problem here, though like anywhere, you get tired of the same old, same old, especially with restaurants.
Lots of kids activities here. You might find horse property a bit too expensive for your budget, I don't know. There are riding stables around that offer lessons, etc.
As far as being trapped in the house for 7 months/yr, my cousin lives in Scottsdale (sub Phoenix, as is Mesa), and that's how she describes the Phoenix summer. She has lived there 20 yrs or so, so I'd trust her word. In fact, she tries to take an extended trip to her family in WI in the summer! You will not be trapped in your house in Denver/Longmont for more than a few days at a time, summer or winter. It does get hot here, and it does get cold here, but the "Keep you indoors" heat and cold don't last more than a few days (usually; we had a very lengthly 90+ degree stretch this summer which was quite hot, some temps over 100).
As far as being trapped in the house for 7 months/yr, my cousin lives in Scottsdale (sub Phoenix, as is Mesa), and that's how she describes the Phoenix summer.
Famlife - this whole trapped in the house theory is a great exaggeration. Yes it is warm starting mid May and lasting through September. That's 5 months. It's the same theory of telling one person a story and by the time it gets passed on to many people it is a completely different story. I have been in Arizona 15 years and never once did I feel like I was trapped, even in the summer. With almost 4 million people here the city has alot of things to offer both indoors and outdoor's. It's not like the city goes into lock-down mode. Good luck with your decision as both places have good characteristics that make them unique and a great place to live.
Famlife - this whole trapped in the house theory is a great exaggeration. Yes it is warm starting mid May and lasting through September. That's 5 months. It's the same theory of telling one person a story and by the time it gets passed on to many people it is a completely different story. I have been in Arizona 15 years and never once did I feel like I was trapped, even in the summer. With almost 4 million people here the city has alot of things to offer both indoors and outdoor's. It's not like the city goes into lock-down mode. Good luck with your decision as both places have good characteristics that make them unique and a great place to live.
You're correct, nobody is literally "trapped" inside their house. However, I think it is accurate to say that outdoor activities are severely limited during those 5 months out of the year (especially June-August), especially during the bulk of the daylight hours. Last summer I stayed in Phoenix for pretty much the whole summer, and it was definitely not fun. However, as a matter of principle, I made an effort to jump on my bicycle at around 6:30 pm every day and go for an hour bike ride, no matter what the temperature was-- 108 degrees, 112, 117. I remember last fourth of July, the day where it was 117 degrees as the high, I woke up at around 4:30 in the morning and went on a two hour bike ride through Papago Park. Then I went to work in the afternoon, and at night watched the fire works at Papago Park again, when the temperature was probably still at least 110 degrees. It was not very comfortable, but I did it. I even went with a bunch of guys mini-golfing one night at around 10:00 when it was well over 100 degrees and humid as well, steaming hot, so hot I felt like I was getting a headache, and giant alien looking cicadas flying around all over the place. Point is, people down there still do things they would anywhere else, especially at night.
It's not a good feeling though stepping into your car when it's 112 degrees out at 3 in the afternoon, even with the sun reflector behind the windshield. I remember turning my air conditioning, which normally works great, at full blast, and it wouldn't even get cool until about 20 minutes later. One of those nights as I left work my car battery died and I had to get my car towed the next day. It's not a very pleasant feeling when you step outside and it feels like your eyeballs are smoking in the heat. And when you go to the grocery store, you had better go at night and shove your bags in the cabin of your car as fast as you can and turn the AC on full blast if you still want your food to be fresh by the time you get home. Bringing home ice cream in the summer there is a logical challenge. The bugs there are really bad, especially during the summer months. Not so much inside-- in fact, I rarely had any bugs inside my apartment, but when you walk outside at night, try to eat outside at night it is not a pretty sight if you look at what's crawling around the ground. The scorpions and giant cockroaches and beetles that come out at night there are sick. At least in central Phoenix/ Tempe they were bad, don't know about way up in Carefree. And then about a week before I moved out I had a beehive set up camp right outside my bedroom window. It was pretty freaky listening to the tapping sound of Africanized bees against the window a few feet from where I slept. Fortunately at night the bees go to sleep. They sent an exterminator in the next day, but the actual cone shaped remnant of the hive was still there when I moved out.
But then again, I say this as living proof that humans can adapt and survive there in Phoenix-- and maybe even enjoy it in a sadistic sort of way. I'm still planning on starting my career in Denver after I graduate next May, but just this last week I found out about a tempting job opportunity at the Phoenix office of one of the firms I'm applying for. In fact, in general it might actually be easier for me to get a job in Phoenix than in Denver, since most companies put their Phoenix office in the same region as LA, whereas Denver usually gets shoved with "Central" or Texas for some godforsaken reason. I'm still leaning towards Denver way more strongly but now I seem to have Phoenix on my mind lately, even miss it a little bit. Phoenix really is an acquired taste-- and as I wrote on their forum recently, after living there and going to school there for four years I may have a piece of Phoenix still in me.
I'm still leaning towards Denver way more strongly but now I seem to have Phoenix on my mind lately, even miss it a little bit. Phoenix really is an acquired taste-- and as I wrote on their forum recently, after living there and going to school there for four years I may have a piece of Phoenix still in me.
If you have spent any time in Phoenix, there is always something about it that leaves a lasting impression. For anyone who has spent some years here there is that mentality that you have turned the corner and conquered yet another summer once you get close to the end of September.
Speaking of miniature golf, we were just over at crackerjax tonight with our son and the temperature was about 87 degrees around 7:00. Up in Carefree the low has been dipping down close to 70 degrees. It truly is a welcome feeling knowing that the true heat has passed and it is only going to get better.
Best of Luck in your job offer decisions. You should truly go where you feel it is the best opportunity for yourself. We are hoping one day ourselves to be able to experience life in Denver Metro. Take Care
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
we're also not going to turn it down till we can find something comparable in CO or AZ. 
And when you go to the grocery store, you had better go at night and shove your bags in the cabin of your car as fast as you can and turn the AC on full blast if you still want your food to be fresh by the time you get home. Bringing home ice cream in the summer there is a logical challenge. The bugs there are really bad, especially during the summer months. Not so much inside-- in fact, I rarely had any bugs inside my apartment, but when you walk outside at night, try to eat outside at night it is not a pretty sight if you look at what's crawling around the ground. The scorpions and giant cockroaches and beetles that come out at night there are sick. At least in central Phoenix/ Tempe they were bad, don't know about way up in Carefree. And then about a week before I moved out I had a beehive set up camp right outside my bedroom window. It was pretty freaky listening to the tapping sound of Africanized bees against the window a few feet from where I slept. Fortunately at night the bees go to sleep. They sent an exterminator in the next day, but the actual cone shaped remnant of the hive was still there when I moved out. 
