2nd Summer in Phoenix-- How do YOU best deal with the heat? (Scottsdale: live in, restaurants)

[Quizillla]

Originally Posted by Phoenix602

The whole reason I came out here was because I couldn't take another winter in Niagara Falls. You spend from November - April inside because the roads/sidewalks are too slippery and aren't cleared; there's nowhere good to walk outside to and with the snow or -20 windchill you don't want to go anyplace. So for almost half the year your only exposure to the outdoors is go outside - go to work - maybe go to the 'Y' after work - go home. Over and over again, week after week, month after month. You feel like you're in jail and let out for work release for a few hours a day or something.

Now that I'm here - I knew about the heat of course and the one time I visited, I visited the last week of May/first week of June, and I didn't mind it. At least I can walk or hike outside (I'm up at 4-5am anyway) without worrying about rain or slippery sidewalks or anything. I live downtown, and now that it's getting a little lighter out at night, where's a good place to walk to or hiking paths near me? Is it 'safe' to walk around the city leisurely at night (I haven't ventured out through the neighbourhoods outside downtown yet)? Now that I'm here I want to enjoy this goldmine of weather that I've been waiting for. I have never been in weather that is 115 before, but I've spent plenty of summers in 80% humidity/85 degrees with no air conditioning (not a lot of places in the Falls or Buffalo have it) so I think I've been through the worst.

I actually go to school and work in Downtown Phoenix, but I live in Gilbert (****ty commute, I know! lol). Just from observation, Downtown is quite a bit "sketchier" than Gilbert, per say. Then again, Gilbert is one of the safest cities in the U.S. There's a lot more homelessness towards DT Phoenix, but it's no Oakland and trust me, I know Oakland!

I would say it's GENERALLY safe to walk around, but as a woman... I wouldn't really want to be walking around parts of DT Phoenix at night without someone with me. It's also not a very well-lit city, as the Downtown is pretty small.

As a grad student attending ASU Downtown, my night classes always walk back in a group-- just in case. That being said... I HAVE sometimes walked around alone and nothing has ever happened to me.

I would check out the Roosevelt district and "First Friday's" specifically. I really liked Roosevelt, having come from San Francisco. It's a pretty cool artsy-vibe.

[Quizillla]

Originally Posted by Phoenix602

The whole reason I came out here was because I couldn't take another winter in Niagara Falls. You spend from November - April inside because the roads/sidewalks are too slippery and aren't cleared; there's nowhere good to walk outside to and with the snow or -20 windchill you don't want to go anyplace. So for almost half the year your only exposure to the outdoors is go outside - go to work - maybe go to the 'Y' after work - go home. Over and over again, week after week, month after month. You feel like you're in jail and let out for work release for a few hours a day or something.

Now that I'm here - I knew about the heat of course and the one time I visited, I visited the last week of May/first week of June, and I didn't mind it. At least I can walk or hike outside (I'm up at 4-5am anyway) without worrying about rain or slippery sidewalks or anything. I live downtown, and now that it's getting a little lighter out at night, where's a good place to walk to or hiking paths near me? Is it 'safe' to walk around the city leisurely at night (I haven't ventured out through the neighbourhoods outside downtown yet)? Now that I'm here I want to enjoy this goldmine of weather that I've been waiting for. I have never been in weather that is 115 before, but I've spent plenty of summers in 80% humidity/85 degrees with no air conditioning (not a lot of places in the Falls or Buffalo have it) so I think I've been through the worst.

How are you liking Phoenix as a city overall? I'm interested to know, comparing it to NYC. I like Phoenix, but I wish the Downtown was a bit more centralized. There's no real sky-line/ or "center" where people gather. I think Scottsdale has that vibe and is more walkable.

[Quizillla]

Originally Posted by amazinmets73

Does anyone here have experience with Florida heat? I lived in Tampa 2 years and didn't find the heat unbearable, but Tampa is humid heat where the temperature rarely goes above 90, a far cry from the scorching, dry southwestern heat.

I'm planning to move to Phoenix in a month and the heat is giving me trepidation

I've never been to Florida, but I've been to Texas (humid as well). I think BOTH heats are VERY uncomfortable to deal with, but luckily we live in a society that makes it easy to deal with. Water parks, indoor malls... etc. The nice thing about Phoenix is easy access to cooler climates (Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, etc).

People do seem a LOT crankier in the summer though! :P I don't blame them

[Jane09]

What's the average monthly electric bill with the AC running nonstop? 3,500 square foot house?

[Heath V]

Originally Posted by Jane09

What's the average monthly electric bill with the AC running nonstop? 3,500 square foot house?

Same size house, 2 AC units, thermostat set at 77 and it runs high 300's.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by Jane09

What's the average monthly electric bill with the AC running nonstop? 3,500 square foot house?

My in-laws have a 4K sq ft home in Scottsdale, and they've said their bill is right around $400 a month during peak summer heat. Its gone as high as $700.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by Quizillla

How are you liking Phoenix as a city overall? I'm interested to know, comparing it to NYC. I like Phoenix, but I wish the Downtown was a bit more centralized. There's no real sky-line/ or "center" where people gather. I think Scottsdale has that vibe and is more walkable.

What kind of skyline does Scottsdale have?

It's mostly overpriced shops, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants where the plastic millionaires roam but not much of a workplace center.

It has more nightlife activity compared to central Phoenix though.

[Heath V]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

My in-laws have a 4K sq ft home in Scottsdale, and they've said their bill is right around $400 a month during peak summer heat. Its gone as high as $700.

My goodness that's horrible.

The good thing is, in the winter I never turn on the heater as I love the cold so we tend to save a lot of money this time of year.

[Bert_from_back_East]

Originally Posted by Heath V

The good thing is, in the winter I never turn on the heater as I love the cold so we tend to save a lot of money this time of year.

That might be a practical cost-saving measure for someone who has just moved to the Valley from the Midwest or Northeast and has a high tolerance for cold, but after a few years, the blood of most transplants from colder areas of the country will "thin out," leading to a much lower tolerance for cold.

That's not to mention that the Phoenix area can and does get quite cold in the wintertime. It's certainly not cold in the same respect as Chicago or Detroit, but there are plenty of evenings, early mornings and even many afternoons when a jacket or sweatshirt in addition to long pants are required. From about mid-November to mid-March, the second the sun goes down, the temperature drops about 15-20 degrees. It even snows on rare occasions in the outlying areas and higher elevations of the Valley.

Point is, most people will be heating their homes in the wintertime in addition to running their A/C around the clock for approximately five months straight. And since most homes in the Valley are not insulated well for cold weather and have forced hot air as heating systems, heating is expensive and of little effectiveness.

It's a common misconception, especially among people in the eastern half of the country, that Phoenix has warm, balmy winters like much of Florida when that couldn't be further from the truth. Even though Phoenix has a hot desert climate, it's still located within the temperate zone, so winters, although mild, certainly aren't "warm" by any stretch of the imagination.

I always said to myself and others that if I'm this hot and for this long in the summertime (roughly early May to early October), then I shouldn't have to wear a jacket or sweatshirt or run the heat in the wintertime. YMMV.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

That might be a practical cost-saving measure for someone who has just moved to the Valley from the Midwest or Northeast and has a high tolerance for cold, but after a few years, the blood of most transplants from colder areas of the country will "thin out," leading to a much lower tolerance for cold.

That's an old wives tale, which brings up the question is climate acclimation a psychological process or is there a physiological component to it as well? The blood viscosity, the technical term for the thickness, doesn’t change from warm to cold climates or vice versa, but it does change with changing elevations because high altitude can thicken your blood. How cold/hot a person feels is highly individual, and has nothing to do with blood coagulation.

Blood is part of the body's thermoregulation system, where in cold weather, surface capillaries get smaller, pushing warm blood deeper into the body to help keep it toasty. In warm weather, more blood fills those capillaries so heat can escape through the skin. So if your vascular system gets used to year-round warmth, and then in January you board a plane to upper Minnesota, it'll take time for your blood delivery system to readjust. For a while, you'll feel like the cold you left behind is colder than you remember.