On a scale 1-10, how do you rate Phoenix climate to where you've lived in the past? (home, school)

[Potential_Landlord]

Phoenix 7.5/10
Northern Climates I've lived in 5/10

I would probably answer the question different in September when I'm sick of the heat. LOL.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

What I always found to be baffling is how so many people move here strictly for the climate (which is a rather silly reason to move to a large metro area). But why so many people think our climate is so wonderful is beyond me. We have decent winters, and the spring & fall can be nice as well, but when you factor in the prolonged blast furnace heat that we have from June through September (and even now to a certain point), as well as the extreme dryness & intense sun which is common during much of the year, I really don't see how our climate is "excellent" most of the time.

Most coastal areas in California have significantly better climates than Phoenix does: particularly southern CA locations like San Diego, L.A. area, Santa Barbara, etc. Yes, I realize those areas are very expensive and many people can't afford to live there ... however, we're not talking about cost of living or other things. On a climatic scale, Phoenix gets a C grade overall, and a D grade when compared strictly to coastal CA.

You've never lived in the northeast Midwest or the south, so you don't realize just how good the weather is here. You grew up here, so you're jaded. We really do have the second best weather in the country behind coastal California

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

You've never lived in the northeast Midwest or the south, so you don't realize just how good the weather is here. You grew up here, so you're jaded. We really do have the second best weather in the country behind coastal California

I have to agree with Firebird on this one, especially since I have lived in the areas he is talking about.
Hard to beat Santa Barbara and San Diego, but the COL is off the charts there, so I love phoenix, as long as I can stay out of the sun mid days from now until September..

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

What I always found to be baffling is how so many people move here strictly for the climate (which is a rather silly reason to move to a large metro area). But why so many people think our climate is so wonderful is beyond me. We have decent winters, and the spring & fall can be nice as well, but when you factor in the prolonged blast furnace heat that we have from June through September (and even now to a certain point), as well as the extreme dryness & intense sun which is common during much of the year, I really don't see how our climate is "excellent" most of the time.

Most coastal areas in California have significantly better climates than Phoenix does: particularly southern CA locations like San Diego, L.A. area, Santa Barbara, etc. Yes, I realize those areas are very expensive and many people can't afford to live there ... however, we're not talking about cost of living or other things. On a climatic scale, Phoenix gets a C grade overall, and a D grade when compared strictly to coastal CA.

I don't think people from coastal California are moving to Phoenix for the climate but people from the Midwest and PNW are and from the responders so far, they rate Phoenix climate ahead of the Midwest, Colorado and the PNW.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

What I always found to be baffling is how so many people move here strictly for the climate (which is a rather silly reason to move to a large metro area). But why so many people think our climate is so wonderful is beyond me. We have decent winters, and the spring & fall can be nice as well, but when you factor in the prolonged blast furnace heat that we have from June through September (and even now to a certain point), as well as the extreme dryness & intense sun which is common during much of the year, I really don't see how our climate is "excellent" most of the time.

Most coastal areas in California have significantly better climates than Phoenix does: particularly southern CA locations like San Diego, L.A. area, Santa Barbara, etc. Yes, I realize those areas are very expensive and many people can't afford to live there ... however, we're not talking about cost of living or other things. On a climatic scale, Phoenix gets a C grade overall, and a D grade when compared strictly to coastal CA.

I don't know anyone that moved here strictly for the weather and our economy/population trend pretty much mirrors that statement, if we aren't adding jobs there really aren't too many people moving here. So jobs come first along with probably big city amenities, as evidenced by Tucson's anemic growth since forever compared to Phoenix, despite having virtually the same or even a slightly better climate.

How many people actually can live in the nice areas next to the beach in SoCal? Maybe 5 million or stretch it to 10 million? And it takes pretty incredible wealth to afford it these days anyway, you're probably talking top 10% of wage earners to even get in there now. In a country of 330 million that is a drop in the bucket. The reality is most people aren't comparing coastal CA life to Phoenix, they're looking at paying a fortune to be in on the valleys, where it's about as hot as here but a lot more polluted or they're coming from somewhere East of here.

The sun is intense here, yes but people like seeing the sun, it's a natural part of human existence and I can tell you after 5 winters in the Northeast I was more than ecstatic to come back to the "terrible" Phoenix sunny weather.

I personally find life in the desert much easier to adjust to, if you work in an office like the majority of us do, you can easily adjust outdoor activities to lower sun angles of the day... Presto, intense sun problem solved. After 4, 6 or 10 weeks of cloudy/dark winter days, there's nothing you can do to adjust for it... except fly somewhere sunny.

I've met plenty of natives that loathe the sun like you seem to, I've also known several who moved away for a while and realized what they had here wasn't so bad after all. I know others that have moved away and stayed where they went as well. To each their own, but there are only a handful of sunny/desert climates in the U.S. to live in, I consider this a much more unique and interesting environment than anywhere East of the Mississippi which all pretty much looks the same to me.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

Phoenix 7.5/10
Northern Climates I've lived in 5/10

I would probably answer the question different in September when I'm sick of the heat. LOL.

LOL, I think we all do that, by Sept it's always time to cool off yet it continues on.... but then October hits and we remember why we live here.

[SarcasticPhxDude]

7. I have lived in California, Washington, New York, Illinois and Lousiana.
California summers I guess were better. But I would take our summers over weather issues in the summer in the NW, and our summers beat the MidWest, South, or East Coast humidity. And bugs.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by locolife

I don't know anyone that moved here strictly for the weather and our economy/population trend pretty much mirrors that statement, if we aren't adding jobs there really aren't too many people moving here. So jobs come first along with probably big city amenities, as evidenced by Tucson's anemic growth since forever compared to Phoenix, despite having virtually the same or even a slightly better climate.

How many people actually can live in the nice areas next to the beach in SoCal? Maybe 5 million or stretch it to 10 million? And it takes pretty incredible wealth to afford it these days anyway, you're probably talking top 10% of wage earners to even get in there now. In a country of 330 million that is a drop in the bucket. The reality is most people aren't comparing coastal CA life to Phoenix, they're looking at paying a fortune to be in on the valleys, where it's about as hot as here but a lot more polluted or they're coming from somewhere East of here.

The sun is intense here, yes but people like seeing the sun, it's a natural part of human existence and I can tell you after 5 winters in the Northeast I was more than ecstatic to come back to the "terrible" Phoenix sunny weather.

I personally find life in the desert much easier to adjust to, if you work in an office like the majority of us do, you can easily adjust outdoor activities to lower sun angles of the day... Presto, intense sun problem solved. After 4, 6 or 10 weeks of cloudy/dark winter days, there's nothing you can do to adjust for it... except fly somewhere sunny.

I've met plenty of natives that loathe the sun like you seem to, I've also known several who moved away for a while and realized what they had here wasn't so bad after all. I know others that have moved away and stayed where they went as well. To each their own, but there are only a handful of sunny/desert climates in the U.S. to live in, I consider this a much more unique and interesting environment than anywhere East of the Mississippi which all pretty much looks the same to me.

I've seen a few on this forum who said they moved here strictly for the weather (one of them is a moderator). Also, lots of retirees still come here in droves to escape the cold weather, and the last thing they're doing is looking for jobs. I can somewhat understand why the climate would be one reason to move here from a place like Minnesota or Michigan, but when factoring in the hot summers & the drought conditions, I just don't get it.

You're right about the native point. I've known plenty of other natives & long term residents who are sick of the sun day after day after day because it becomes very monotonous. Add to that the 4 months of intense blast furnace heat (or 5 months if you want to count May since the heat is beginning earlier than normal this year). My form of escapism is the AZ high country, the CO mountains, or the CA coast during the summer. A little time away from the awful heat is enough to keep my sanity in tact.

[Hschlick84]

Despite the heat for 4-5 months, it's about a 8/10. During the other times of the year, the weather is predictable, sunny, dry and easy to adjust. I'll gladly take the weather here compared to my previous home. After living in Colorado a 1/3 of my life, grew tired of the snowy winters, unpredictable roller coaster spring/summer weather with hail, tornadoes and afternoon thunderstorms. The only thing that's great was the fall.

[Voebe]

The problem with your question is that for the five months when it isn't "excellent," it's not just that it's hot - the problem is that it's unbearably hot, heat that would send us all fleeing if it weren't for our dependance on all the artificial ways to endure it.

And another part of the climate is aridity. Taking that into account, it's even worse.