If Phoenix is that hot, why do so many move there? (garden, vacations)

[Itali4u]

Originally Posted by FromEastCoast

When is the humidity here? Dec looks to be highest avg: Humidity Averages for Arizona in December - Current Results

and Phoenix is lower than all of these cities: Relative Humidity in December at US Cities - Current Results

Its not about the comparison to other cities. It was to simply point out that we do indeed have such humidity that can certainly be felt. Most of which occurs during the monsoon between July 4th to September 13th and also there will be times after any given storm that happens any other month but I do agree, it isn't all so bad here as it usually only happens whenever we have a good storm and not exactly everyday so by average each month, it would be lower in comparison to other cities but when it happens, you bet it gets humid!

[Jukesgrrl]

I've been in Arizona nine years now and I've never experienced any humidity that was as bad as average humidity in places I've lived before (esp. DC metro and Western Pennsylvania). I agree with the proportion of 4 months hot-as-hades and eight months ranging from good to weather-paradise. Believe me, there are plenty of things I don't like about Arizona, so I'm not some nut who drank the kool-aid.

I could count the number of mosquito bites I've had in nine years on the fingers of one hand. And I have yet to have any damage to my property or my being that was caused by a weather event ... something that happened to me at least once a year when I lived in Pennsylvania. There I had everything from a tree blown down by a tornado ... to my parked car hit by a salt truck ... to roof damage from ice, etc., etc.) To me, that's not nearly as nice as serving my extended family Thanksgiving dinner on the patio, surrounded by my rose bushes that are still blooming at the end of November.

No one's forcing people to move here, so if Arizona weather is not to your taste, by all means stay in wherever-you-live-now. And for those of you who do move, please don't waste our water trying to recreate the lawn and garden you had in other regions. Don't plant grass or water-thirsty trees, bushes, and annuals. We have four seasons in the desert, too, and there is plenty of greenery growing here suitable to the desert once you and your pets get used to the minor change (which is mostly visual). In no time at all you'll learn to appreciate desert landscaping.

[Mini-apple-less]

8-9 months is a slight exaggeration, but Phoenix does see 7 months of the year that average highs of 80F or more. In other words, their summer is about 7 to 8 months long if you consider "summer" to mean average highs of 75-80F or greater.

[livingincavecreek]

Seems to me that climate and weather are only one piece of the puzzle when you look at a place to live. The weather is great right now but I am unable to partake in the beauty of the weather due to my seasonal allergies that crop up in April and early May. Aside from April and early May my life is quite glorious. I like not shoveling snow off my car and I like the general predictability of the weather. I love my neighbors I love my neighborhood I love being able to access a wide Varietyof arts and cultural , schools and sporting events within short drive. I came here from Milwaukee when I was 23 years old and turned 40 three days ago. I have an amazing life, and amazing kids, a safe place to call home and lay my head, my kids are very good schools. I am very very happy with my social life and connections with people on my friends. You go inside when the weather is too hot in there or you travel out You drive to Flagstaff or somewhere else for at least a day to get a little break you, suck it up only a couple of months. Personally I do not know they were all so I could go and get the quality of life that I get in the valley!!

[locolobo13]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

8-9 months is a slight exaggeration, but Phoenix does see 7 months of the year that average highs of 80F or more. In other words, their summer is about 7 to 8 months long if you consider "summer" to mean average highs of 75-80F or greater.

80-90°F very dry air is quite comfortable. 90-100°F is just warm. Everybody's different, for me 105°F is getting to be hot. But just hot, not really bad.

OTOH 75-95°F with 75% plus humidity is stifling to say the least. Never got used to it. Maybe I would if I lived there rather than vacationing.

The other side of that is you get conditioned by what you live in. Anything below 40-45°F is frigid to me.

[KurtAZ]

Nice 4-year old re-boot.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Nice 4-year old re-boot.

Yes. Another rookie prospector digging into C-D's "old & cold" mineshafts; panning away for gold, dragging the deep, forgotten waters; looking for some nostalgic nugget or sunken, hidden-away treasure way down there... back there... out there... in the depths; in the deep, deep depths of yesteryear...

[ibarrio]

Originally Posted by AZM

It was once a nice place to be all because it was not Los Angeles, that has changed with all the traffic, illigals and druggies

Pretty sure Arizona's drug problem is home grown.

[WriterDude]

Because of the relatively low humidity, perspiration works here. (It also works in other low-humidity areas of the southwest, such as New Mexico, and high-elevation states such as Colorado.)

I really thrive in low humidity. In humid climates, when it gets hot, you wind up soaked in sweat that never evaporates. The only time I perceive humidity here in Phoenix is during monsoon season (pretty much July & August), and even then, it's not like in humid climates, where you get months of oppressive humidity.

During monsoon, we also get storms through that break the heat. Here's an example. I was driving on Hwy 10 by Quartzite a few years ago, and the car thermometer indicated 108 despite a lot of cloud cover. Sure enough, we drove through a cloudburst that pushed the temps down into the 70s. By the time we got to Buckeye, it was back to 102, but it was delightful.

Having said that, it's certainly true that Phoenix works a lot better if you can do things to accommodate the heat in the peak summer between mid-June and mid-October. We tend to drive on the weekends - Flagstaff, Sedona - or take weekend trips (San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, etc.).

[UKWildcat1981]

Being that I used to live in the Middle East, Arizona summer weather is about average for me, not that bad.