Detroit Area to Phoenix Area? Good Idea?? (Tucson, Mesa: transplants, for sale)

[Sunvixen]

Stop laughing!!


We have been considering moving to the Phoenix area if we can sell our house up here. We have even thought about renting it out and moving since the outlook here isn't very good (understatement) and we've had enough of this cold, grey weather to last ten lifetimes.

Been out to visit many times, and simply LOVE it there.

I'd love to hear from transplants from anywhere, but especially Michigan. Do you have any regrets? Is there anything special to keep in mind? (I've been told not to move in the summer since you won't acclimate well to the heat, is that true?)

Any information would be appreciated!!

[fdxboy]

Move here in the summer. If you can move right in and tolerate the heat...then everything else is downhill from that.

[Captain Bill]

Sunvixen, my wife was born in Detroit, and I lived there until I was about 27. We moved to Dayton, Ohio for 3 years, then I went to work for Pan Am and was based in California for the rest of my flying career. We never wanted to move back to Detroit, or Dayton, because of the weather.

When our snow shoveling days ended, and our days of driving on icy roads ended, we were ecstatic.

We moved from CA to the Phoenix area and we love it here. The great weather 8 months of the year make the 4 hot months a piece of cake.

As long as you can take the dry heat and learn to drink a lot of water, you'll love it here too. If you do move here in the summer, make sure to not over do the outside activities until you learn to deal with the heat. And that means, again, drink water before you think you need it. Do any yard work early in the morning. Just good common sense things that are easy to over look.

[Lovegun]

I moved from Flint 3 years ago and hate it. Love it at first when everything was new but now tired of the heat, rude people, crazy drivers, and the sun. Yes I miss snow, clouds, rain, at times. Moving back to the mid west when my lease is up.

[azkidmom]

we live in maricopa and LOVE IT. if i never see snow or ice again it'll be fine with me. we had our house up for sale for 6 months, no offers and barely anyone to even look. good luck!! i moved here in june to work and went through the 115 degree heat. don't care still love it. in maricopa we run about 5 degrees cooler than phoenix. we moved into our newly built house from Livonia in November. Couldn't sell our house but our older son is renting it from us.

[smurf underoos]

There are places in AZ that aren't as hot as Phoenix if you're worried about the heat. Places like Payson, Flagstaff, Globe, and even Tucson don't get as hot. If you want to stay away from snow, however, Flag and Payson (I think Globe too) are not the best choices. Once in a while Tucson gets snow, but it doesn't seem to last more than a day. I have family right near Mt. Lemmon who get snow occasionally, but, like I said, it doesn't last long.
I grew up in the East Valley (Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler) and LOVED it. Now, we're on the west side in Goodyear. It's not as crowded here as the east valley, which is nice. The only downsides are the public schools are TERRIBLE (I think we're the worst in the nation...) and we have the unfortunate problem of being so close to the Mexican border, so you see a lot of news regarding crime and illegals. For the most part, I love AZ and if you have young children, you can compensate for the schools by sending them to private school or just being a dilligent parent and making sure they are keeping up with what they need to know...

[trudawg]

I moved here a year ago from Ypsilanti, MI. Lost my job and was hard pressed to find another one in MI. Didn't even attempt to sell my house as I Knew I'd have to come to closing with a check to make up the difference in the dropping propety value. (rented it out to great tenants however) I don't miss the MI weather one bit, the heat out here is similar to the cold back east where as you go from your climate controlled house to the car, then to work or stores. Only difference is it's unbearably cold in MI during the night and day, where here in AZ it's only unbearably hot during the day! The night is when it is really comfortable. The people here are so-so, it just depends on what area you live in. I lived in a predominately hispanic area so I was treated and felt like an outsider. The work down here is abundant, granted you do something that not general labor orientated. I Just love seeing blue sky the majority of the time where as there are a few grey days scattered here and there. Unlike MI where it's grey the majority of the time with a few blue sky days scattered within.
I'd say go for it! I don't know if I'll live here forever, but I'm making good money, getting good training, and with the skills i'm learning soon I'll be able to get a job anywhere in the country, including sucky MI

[steve22]

I'm a MI native, moved to Phoenix back in '02 and left after 4 years. Just absolutely couldn't stand the city of Phoenix- see any of my previous posts in numerous other threads. Trust me when I tell you, the grass may seem greener, but in reality it often isn't. You have no idea what 100+ temps literally EVERY DAY for 5 straight months feels like, and often high 80's for overnight LOWS in the summer months, until you actually experience it. Hell on earth would be putting it mildly. There are no cold fronts in Phoenix, no relief other than confining yourself to the a/c for months on end. It's truly miserable.

Of course, I also had lived in other parts of the mountain west before moving to Phoenix, so my index for comparison was a little different and more diverse than those who move to Phoenix only having experienced the cold, cloudy winters of the midwest. Trust me, there are many great areas in this part of the country with weather which is, on the whole, much better than both MI's and Phoenix's.

But honestly, weather notwithstanding, there are so many other reasons that I just did not like Phoenix at all. Imagine what essentially is the world's biggest suburb, with no epicenter, no real downtown to speak of, no cultural nucleus or real sense of community identity. Imagine what L.A. would be like if there were no ocean, none of the vibe of being in a global city, and the weather was brutally hot half the year, and you're getting close.

Believe me when I tell you, there are many great, beautiful places out West, including numerous communities in AZ, in which to live. Phoenix (or anywhere in Maricopa County, for that matter) is not one of them. I would strongly urge you to try it out before you move there permanently, and preferably spend some extensive time there in the summer. Remember that for every 3 people who move to Phoenix, statistically 2 will leave within 5 years. The grass is NOT always greener, many find out, as I certainly did. Don't make a long-term decision before really experiencing it first and doing your homework.

[Patrick754]

Heat and a suburban feel are the two most obvious qualities of Phoenix. It always amazes me that people move here and then proceed to complain about them. Then again people move next to the airport and complain about the noise.

[Captain Bill]

Some people can't tolerate the heat, and that is very understandable.

I just received my 2007 account summary from SRP, and this information may help you.

• A 3400sf house cost $2772. for the electric bill for a year. That includes electricity, pool equip running, and electric heat/cooling.
• There is an average of 102 days over 100 degrees.
• There were 108 days above 100 degrees in 2007.
• We do get rain
• 80% here is pleasant because the humidity is low
• Today it's 70 degrees outside, very pleasant and I had breakfast on my back patio. This is February. One can't do that in the northern states.
• The high will reach 78. That's perfect. Hawaii has an average pleasant temp of around 78 all the time, (with more humidity).

Again, if one can tolerate the days when we have the 110 plus days, you'll love it in the Phoenix area. If you can't then you may not like it.

Arizona does have about 2 relocations in to 1 leaving. But the outbounds are not all related to the heat, just as all relocations here are not just for the weather.