Any Phoenix (resident) regrets from past Midwesterners? (Casa Grande, Goodyear: hotels, homes)
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I came to Arizona 8 years ago from the Chicago area and yes it was a bit of "culture shock".
It took a while to get used to the way people think and act here vs. the midwest, but you do learn that some things are better here and some are better there. Some things will never be the comparable. The ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago, the dense green forests, the yards with NO FENCES, etc.
But, in exchange you have 300 days of sunshine (maybe more), stuff you have never seen before like Javelinas, Eagles, Rattlesnakes, Saguaros, etc.
The heat in the summer takes some getting used to, but so does 3' of snow, below zero temperatures and blizzards.
I often miss Chicago, but it is hard to say which is better. It is just different. All in all it has been an adventure and I am happy that my sons got to learn about living in other places. It has made them better people.
Those are pretty rare. Although, IIRC, the section of I-10 where that happened is the "deadliest section of freeway in the US". It's the patch from Estrella Parkway westward to Verrado Way. Something like 17 people died in 2007 there. The big rig drivers cause most of the accidents, weaving into the left lane with no blinker, speeding (I've been passed by ones like I was sitting still while I was doing 80mph) and not paying attention. There's been more than once where one plowed into the back end of a gridlock scenario during morning rush hour. I remember one hitting a tow truck (one of the big Ford F650 rollback trucks) so hard it sent the tow truck through 70 feet of guardrail and another that crushed a Chevy Silverado like it was a soda can - both times during morning rush hour when the rig was alleged to have been going over 50mph when it hit stopped traffic.
But, odds are you'll be just as safe driving there as anywhere else in the US. I drove on that chunk of freeway just about every day for nearly decade and was only involved in one accident the whole time I lived in Phoenix, which happened closer to downtown (also caused by a guy not paying attention and plowing into a stopped car on the freeway during rush hour).
That is not where the dust storm was. It was down by Casa Grande where they all are. I don't know that the stretch you mention was ever really what they said - Goodyear was hyping it to get highway funds. The traffic through there was pretty much a permanent parking lot in the past couple years. In any case, the road is now several lanes wider, wide open super modern freeway and no backups even in rush hour. I think it is no longer unsafe if it ever was.
I moved to Phoenix from the Chicago-land area (DeKalb) in 1995. I have had ZERO regrets and will never move back to the Midwest. I go back to visit family for about a week every summer and every time I cannot wait to get back to Phoenix.
I have not experienced a midwest winter in many years and I don't plan on it any time soon. I remember what they were like...misery. To me the heat of the summer in Phoenix is much more tolerable than the drab dreary winter in the Midwest. Maybe I'm more heat tolerant than most but I stay very active in the summer months. Golf...hiking...biking...can all be enjoyed all summer long if you stay hydrated and know the limits of what your body can handle. The winter months in Phoenix are great when the temps are around 70 but the days are so short this time of year. In the summer I can get off of work at 6pm and still enjoy some daylight.
I'm not one for a cold shower so I've never given much thought about the temperature of the cold tap water during the summer months. It definately is not the same temperature at my hot water, if it was I would have had my hot water heater replaced a long time ago.
One thing I greatly do not miss about the midwest are mosquitoes, flies, and gnats. The annoying insects. You'll see them out here every now and then but they aren't a constant pest like in the warm summer months in the Midwest. Most transplants are often worried about black widows and scorpions but encounters with them are rare (at least in my experience).
As far as the deadly dust storms...they are few and far between. I'd like to see figures comparing the deaths due to tornadoes in the Midwest and deaths due to dust storms in the Southwest.
As far as the deadly dust storms...they are few and far between. I'd like to see figures comparing the deaths due to tornadoes in the Midwest and deaths due to dust storms in the Southwest.
Or simply traffic accidents caused by snow and ice and fog on roads as opposed to dust storms. There is no comparison.
I came to Arizona 8 years ago from the Chicago area and yes it was a bit of "culture shock".
It took a while to get used to the way people think and act here vs. the midwest, but you do learn that some things are better here and some are better there. Some things will never be the comparable. The ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago, the dense green forests, the yards with NO FENCES, etc.
But, in exchange you have 300 days of sunshine (maybe more), stuff you have never seen before like Javelinas, Eagles, Rattlesnakes, Saguaros, etc.
The heat in the summer takes some getting used to, but so does 3' of snow, below zero temperatures and blizzards.
I often miss Chicago, but it is hard to say which is better. It is just different. All in all it has been an adventure and I am happy that my sons got to learn about living in other places. It has made them better people.
I would not want to deal with Midwest winters in the city, but I actually enjoyed it in the country. Being able to just walk out the door and jump on a snowmobile/ATV, go sledding, 4x4ing, plowing snow with a tractor, making tunnels/forts, messing around on the ice on the frozen river, etc., was all fun when I lived in the country.
I think living in the city around a bunch of cold cement streets and buildings and not having the at home outdoor opportunities and space would be much different.
I also must say there is nothing enjoyable to do outside in Arizona during the day in the city or in the country when it's 110 degrees Jun - Sep, besides tubing the Salt River or going to a lake. It truly does feel like an oven!
That is not where the dust storm was. It was down by Casa Grande where they all are. I don't know that the stretch you mention was ever really what they said - Goodyear was hyping it to get highway funds. The traffic through there was pretty much a permanent parking lot in the past couple years. In any case, the road is now several lanes wider, wide open super modern freeway and no backups even in rush hour. I think it is no longer unsafe if it ever was.
I have a feeling they were actually referring to the area West of Buckeye and East of Tonopah on I-10. If you remember, there was a nasty pileup a year or two ago that killed some people. At the time I think the news was counting back many of the other deadly accidents along the same stretch.
The accident that happened recently was on I-10 between Casa Grande and Ahwatukee, which was caused by a dust storm. That area is notoriously bad for dust storms when monsoons come through. And to answer the original poster's question, no, the monsoons are not very predictable. Most of us in the valley can see the storms starting to build in the summer afternoons, but they are only predictable 2-3 hours before the storms start.
I would not want to deal with Midwest winters in the city, but I actually enjoyed it in the country. Being able to just walk out the door and jump on a snowmobile/ATV, go sledding, 4x4ing, plowing snow with a tractor, making tunnels/forts, messing around on the ice on the frozen river, etc., was all fun when I lived in the country.
I think living in the city around a bunch of cold cement streets and buildings and not having the at home outdoor opportunities and space would be much different.
I also must say there is nothing enjoyable to do outside in Arizona during the day in the city or in the country when it's 110 degrees Jun - Sep, besides tubing the Salt River or going to a lake. It truly does feel like an oven!
Okay, and then what? You live in the country, and snowmobile and sled and plow snow with a tractor...then what do you do for work? Most of the people that even live in "the country" commute to the city for work. They have to deal with the headache as well.
To say that during the summer that there's nothing enjoyable to do outside in the entire state of Arizona is a big lie.
Okay, and then what? You live in the country, and snowmobile and sled and plow snow with a tractor...then what do you do for work? Most of the people that even live in "the country" commute to the city for work. They have to deal with the headache as well.
To say that during the summer that there's nothing enjoyable to do outside in the entire state of Arizona is a big lie.
I spend the whole summer outdoors. I take a long run in the morning, sometimes play basketball on the weekends, etc. It just makes the swimming pool that much more refreshing when I come home.
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