If Phoenix is that hot, why do so many move there? (Mesa: to rent, affordable houses)

[cherrylimeade]

Originally Posted by Colt Cassidy

There needs to be way more reason to come to Arizona than just to escape! More thought should be given to entering an entirely new and foreign lifestyle.

Especially if people will undoubtedly continue to constantly PINE for those so-called "four seasons" which were left behind -- plus the incessant WHINE and whimpering about heat and sun.

Entirely new and foreign lifestyle? We moved to Arizona, not to Mars. Our life here is pretty much like back in MN except add hiking and sunshine, and subtract snow shoveling, Seasonal Affective Disorder, etc. We go to work, we go grocery shopping, we watch Netflix...

As for whining, I don't fault anyone anywhere for complaining about extreme weather. When we lived in Minnesota, natives and transplants alike groused about the -20F temps, icy roads, etc. Don't see why anyone gets bent out of shape by people saying it's hot. I love it here, but you can't deny that it's very hot. Just because I accept that tradeoff doesn't mean I'm never allowed to comment on it.

[deboinair]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Crap, man, just wait a month or so. Nothing like walking outside at 6:30AM to leave for work, and being hit in the face with 85 degree temps, with 60% humidity with a 70-degree dewpoint. Its just as awful as being in Florida. Last summer was particularly bad. There was almost an entire week where I walked outside into those conditions. Lucky for us the humidity burns off in the afternoon (not all of it, but most of it).

I won't be complaining. Try living in FL with humidity always cling towards 100% every day. I guarantee it won't bother you here anymore. Especially since here it won't be many months with high humidity.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by IceCat

True. Being from Minnesota I adore gardening ... and now must buy everything in pots and hanging baskets and water every day. Most of my flowers are hanging. If I water every day, they will last all year. Miss *one* DAY and they are finished. Or have indoor Mums for a week or so.

We have a well ... there are lots of properties with wells, but be careful NOT to get a shared well. We share our well with a neighbor and they are VERY wasteful and have probably contaminated the well in the short time they've been there so we buy bottled water. The advantage of well water is that you don't have bleach in your showers, baths, and laundry.

Looking forward to September, LOL

I have been on a well water in MN for 25 years. It has its trade-offs but I hate the (needed) chlorine here in AZ city water supplies.

In AZ, I can not stand the smell of chlorine in the water. In fact, use a pool chemical testing kit for an eye opening experience to see how much is in your supply. We constantly had 2-3 ppm right out of the tap. that's ideal for pools, you want 2-3 ppm (parts per million). See http://smchealth.org/sites/default/f...%20Balance.pdf .

Also, the pH levels are off by as much a point (from the dissolved solids). That's not so good for my skin (I itch). Because of these measurements, I need to correct the pH right out of the tap when I filled my hot tub. So yes, the city water is junk. In Surprise, it is preconditioned. It's much worse in other areas of town. Solution: a big carbon filter inline with the house water supply followed by a properly sized softener. You strip out the chlorine and correct for the high pH levels. Next up, I use a reverse osmosis on our drinking supply. All in, $1800 and I no longer have skin that itches, the smell of chlorine, and water that finally tastes great. I wasn't a fan of bathing and breathing in chlorine every day especially when the water.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I have been on a well water in MN for 25 years. It has its trade-offs but I hate the (needed) chlorine here in AZ city water supplies.

In AZ, I can not stand the smell of chlorine in the water. In fact, use a pool chemical testing kit for an eye opening experience to see how much is in your supply. We constantly had 2-3 ppm right out of the tap. that's ideal for pools, you want 2-3 ppm (parts per million). See http://smchealth.org/sites/default/f...%20Balance.pdf .

Also, the pH levels are off by as much a point (from the dissolved solids). That's not so good for my skin (I itch). Because of these measurements, I need to correct the pH right out of the tap when I filled my hot tub. So yes, the city water is junk. In Surprise, it is preconditioned. It's much worse in other areas of town. Solution: a big carbon filter inline with the house water supply followed by a properly sized softener. You strip out the chlorine and correct for the high pH levels. Next up, I use a reverse osmosis on our drinking supply. All in, $1800 and I no longer have skin that itches, the smell of chlorine, and water that finally tastes great. I wasn't a fan of bathing and breathing in chlorine every day especially when the water.

2-3 is actually a little low for drinking water. The EPA residual disinfectant chlorine goal is 4 ppm. And don't give me this AZ city water business. The standards are the same in MN as AZ. At least in AZ you are not drinking treated effluent that was dumped in the river by the town upstream.

As for well water, a well is getting the same water as the city well is getting or possibly a perched aquifer with limited and usually not so hot water quality. The big difference aside from the government requirement to chlorinate (we did not chlorinate groundwater here as a rule until fairly recently), is that city water has to meet EPA requirements for such things as arsenic and nitrates while domestic wells often exceed those same limits.

[WANative]

Originally Posted by deboinair

I won't be complaining. Try living in FL with humidity always cling towards 100% every day. I guarantee it won't bother you here anymore. Especially since here it won't be many months with high humidity.

More like low 60% humidity...Its actually been really comfortable.

[locolobo13]

On moving here to escape, it's not something I understand very well. Many years ago I moved to Show Low. Not to escape the heat but because it was an opportunity within my company then. The first day my quads went numb. We were working outside in a windstorm at 15°F. Adjusted my clothing choices and had fewer problems.

When I moved back to Phoenix, it was for another opportunity. Thought I would stay here a few years then find another opportunity in a small town somewhere. Didn't happen. That was in '88. Unless my extra retirement (the powerball) comes thru I will most likely live here in Phoenix the rest of my life. Que Sera. You have to make the best of what you got.

On gardening. Not an expert, but as a kid here we had a garden. You have to find what grows well in your particular soil. For instance we had great squash, cantaloupe, okra, various peppers and sometimes onions. Mom grew herbs in pots. But our tomatoes, potatoes and grapes were pitiful. Some of our neighbors had great tomatoes and grapes. But they had to work extra hard at it.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by deboinair

I won't be complaining. Try living in FL with humidity always cling towards 100% every day. I guarantee it won't bother you here anymore. Especially since here it won't be many months with high humidity.

Humidity in Florida most likely will NEVER be 100%. I get so tired of people saying "try living in Florida where its 95 degrees with 100% humidity". That cant happen! That wont happen! As temps climb, humidity drops off.

I agree that Florida's humidity is atrocious, but we're not too far off some mornings during monsoon season. When I've watched the news here at 6AM, on numerous occasions our humidity and dewpoint has been higher than Florida's. Granted, its not all the time, but it can and does happen. And its gross.

People who move here are duped into believing its a "dry heat". Its not. Our "heat/hot" months are June/July/August/September. Only ONE of those is dry. Then it starts to cool off rapidly in October, then its winter. Dry heat my a$$!

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by locolobo13

On gardening. Not an expert, but as a kid here we had a garden. You have to find what grows well in your particular soil. For instance we had great squash, cantaloupe, okra, various peppers and sometimes onions. Mom grew herbs in pots. But our tomatoes, potatoes and grapes were pitiful. Some of our neighbors had great tomatoes and grapes. But they had to work extra hard at it.

We have something in the vegetable garden year round. I built raised beds and bought some soil from Pioneer. Once a year I add some organic matter... compost, peat moss, etc.

We've had great luck with tomatoes, peppers, most herbs, squash, melons. Leafy crops do well during colder months, although they need to be covered on the few below-freezing nights we get. I built a shade structure which helps extend the season for certain things (like tomatoes) into the summer. Watering is on a timer using a soaker hose.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

2-3 is actually a little low for drinking water. The EPA residual disinfectant chlorine goal is 4 ppm. And don't give me this AZ city water business. The standards are the same in MN as AZ. At least in AZ you are not drinking treated effluent that was dumped in the river by the town upstream.

As for well water, a well is getting the same water as the city well is getting or possibly a perched aquifer with limited and usually not so hot water quality. The big difference aside from the government requirement to chlorinate (we did not chlorinate groundwater here as a rule until fairly recently), is that city water has to meet EPA requirements for such things as arsenic and nitrates while domestic wells often exceed those same limits.

I've been on well water so long I'm probably out of the loop as to what all cities use across the country actually do. Someone suggested to me that AZ has to have higher levels because the water coming out of the tap is warmer. That was logical so I bought it hook-line and sinker. BUT, the pH is not at 7. It's closer to 8(ish). Possibly that is causing my skin to be dry. Wifey was complaining about the feel of her hair. Too little on my head to worry about that....

With that said, then I will hone in my point of view and say I am not a fan of drinking pool water levels of chlorine and especially soaking in it every day (called a heated shower). The reality is your skin draws the chlorine out of the water. Hence, I was itching. I could easily taste it. Some days, I could smell in. When I tested it with the hottub kit, it was yellower. $1800 later my problems were solved.

[deboinair]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Humidity in Florida most likely will NEVER be 100%. I get so tired of people saying "try living in Florida where its 95 degrees with 100% humidity". That cant happen! That wont happen! As temps climb, humidity drops off.

I agree that Florida's humidity is atrocious, but we're not too far off some mornings during monsoon season. When I've watched the news here at 6AM, on numerous occasions our humidity and dewpoint has been higher than Florida's. Granted, its not all the time, but it can and does happen. And its gross.

People who move here are duped into believing its a "dry heat". Its not. Our "heat/hot" months are June/July/August/September. Only ONE of those is dry. Then it starts to cool off rapidly in October, then its winter. Dry heat my a$$!

If you haven't lived in FL your basically have no debate. There is a huge difference with the weather. Humidity here will never compare. Nobody is duped at all. You are crying about four months when in FL it's year round with that weird week or two where it's actually cool.