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Have heard its the most American city in the midwest, not sure I agree about the whole USA. Yes there are worse places to be , well maybe not in the winter. But to each their own.
I also heard from neighbors that they hated the humidity there. I guess its what you get used to.
Of course things change what one may like when they are younger are not the same things one likes when they get older.
Personally I would live out here in Arizona from September or October until June and go north for the summer.
I am not a native out here, but there are probably only a few places better then here to live that I can think of.
Ive been to every major city in the US pratically, and IMO its the most American. Not to offend anyone, but thats just based on my observation. Its just your typical American big city. Plus, the quantity of things to do just cant be beat anywhere, except maybe NYC. Its also a beautiful city. Downtown sparkles and is safe and clean, something Ive yet to experience in any other city except Denver and Seattle, but their downtowns are microscopic compared to Chicago. Plus the city is suprisingly open feeling with the lake on the east side, you dont feel trapped like in NYC or Pittsburgh (another beautiful city). And the food? Superb. THOUSANDS of world class restaurants and some of the best chefs reside here. Steak is good, but our specialties are beef/hot dogs/etc. You know, the unhealthy good stuff.
Steve-O, well I always thought of New York City as the most American city, or maybe Philadelphia.
Since I am not one who loves big city life, I guess it would not be a place for me to live, but hey I would consider a visit. In my opinion the tucson area is getting too big and crowded, I prefer smaller towns, etc.
Is there any scenery there to speak of. I got spoiled living out here in Arizona, I look out my windows and see mountains and we are not millionaires! lol
Maine in my opinion is also one of the most scenic states.
But my favorite sight so far in my life is seeing the Grand Canyon.
Its absolutely amazing and got me way too emotional
According to www.wunderground.com, Scottsdale's weather is colder than Chicago's. I see this happen quite often throughout the winter, just curious how often it gets in the 40's, 30's, 20's? I mean, from the tourism books I get mailed to me from Scottsdale's CVB, they make it sound like its nice in the winter, yet often I see freeze advisories for the PHX area. What gives? False advertising? A cooling trend? There have been plenty of times where Ive been in AZ in October and had nights in the 50s and high 40s.
So basically, in a sense, due to lack of humidity, winter daytime highs can be somewhat comfortable, with downright bone-chilling nights? I often also see AZ's tourism bureau stating how nice the winter weather is, but lows are in the 40s on an average in January? Its not much cooler than that here, and a heck of a lot colder than LA or Honolulu and Miami. Can someone explain? I had thought about visiting Scottsdale again, in Jan or Feb, but it seems to me that Miami would be alot warmer? Anyone lived in both states and can give me an ACCURATE winter weather report?
I've lived in the midwest and in the mountain west (Denver) before moving to Phoenix, and I can tell you that the winter weather here, while pleasant and sunny, is hardly balmy. In fact, it's not really all that much warmer during the daytime here in Phoenix from December through March than it is in Denver; and certainly, in my opinion, not nearly nice enough to compensate for the brutally uncomfortable and long summers.
From my perspective, there are basically 3 seasons in Phoenix: oppressively, torturously, downright dangerously hot from May through early October (in other words, by far and away the longest-lasting, most predominant climate). Then, there's the sunny, cool and mild season which you're referring to, with daytime highs in the low to mid-60's and nighttime lows in the 30's-40's from December through early March (a solid 3 months when it's sweater-and-jeans weather- I'll take a midwestern or Rocky Mountain summer over that any day, by the way). And finally, there's the "perfect" season, which happens from mid-October through late November and again from mid-March through April. During the "perfect" season, it's basically 80's and sunny during the day, and low-to mid-50's at night. Every day.
Believe me when I tell you, during those 3 months total in the fall and spring, you'd be hard-pressed to find more consistent, gorgeous weather anywhere in the world. But also believe me when I say that it's not like that all the time- not even close. Anything else you might read or hear about it from brochures or the internet is just tourist bureau propaganda. Personally, I preferred by far the gorgeous summers and mild sunny winters, relative to the midwest, of Denver. And the city itself? NOOO comparison.
Steve-O, well I always thought of New York City as the most American city, or maybe Philadelphia.
Since I am not one who loves big city life, I guess it would not be a place for me to live, but hey I would consider a visit. In my opinion the tucson area is getting too big and crowded, I prefer smaller towns, etc.
Is there any scenery there to speak of. I got spoiled living out here in Arizona, I look out my windows and see mountains and we are not millionaires! lol
Maine in my opinion is also one of the most scenic states.
But my favorite sight so far in my life is seeing the Grand Canyon.
Its absolutely amazing and got me way too emotional
Scenery in Chicago consists of architecture and um, you know, babes. LOL You have to drive 3 hours NE or SW to hit any nice scenery. Starved Rock State Park and Mathiesson State Park are gorgeous, with limestone canyons and waterfalls/bluffs. NE (Galena area) is picture perfect: rolling hills, quaint Victorians (also home of 9 Union Civil War generals--including U.S. Grant's home), bed and breakfasts, rivers, lakes, small ski resorts (its not Vail remember). Other than that and the extreme southern Illinois region (Garden of the Gods State Park), Illinois is as flat as a pancake and quite boring. AZ is MUCH more picturesque. But, with that being said, I love flatlands and wild prairies. Theyre very soothing and beautiful in their own right. Illinois has taken great strides in preserving and revamping them, even on the highway medians. Do a little research on the above mentioned areas and see how you like it, you just might.
And yes, the Grand Canyon was simply awe inspiring. I stood on the North Rim for about 2 hours before I moved, just gaping at its size and beauty. But after that I was ready to leave. LOL I can only take so much of staring into a hole. But I will never forget that experience. Just awesome.
Actually I look at the weather here for most of the year as being like fall and spring, only time its horrible is the few months we get the heat & the humidity.
We can sit outside under the patio which is covered and be comfortable even when its 90 or 100+, because the humidity is so low, I wear long sleeves until it gets hot and humid.
But if you don't like sunny weather and miss the freezing cold and snow, this is not the place to live.
Mid may through mid septemebr, way too hot, no way around it. mid september till mid may, great weather sometimes perfect. I have been in the Pacific Northwest, East and South East, the only weather that drives me nuts is san Diego, almost never changes.
Ok, so you have to drive 3 hours to see scenery, I can walk out my front door and look at gorgeous mountains that are over 9,000 ft! We also have a lot of canyons, national parks, local parks with a lot of scenery. I have also fallen hard for our saguaro cactus. Also we have something or another blooming all year here! Believe it or not Tucson is home to the most southern ski area in the country, Mt Lemmon in the Catalina Mts, So, othey don't always have enough snow to ski, but its up there at 9,500+ feet. We can drive from the desert floor at approx. 2,500 feet in Tucson to the top of Mt. Lemmon, which is Summerhaven at 9,500+ feet, the drive is spectacular, supposedly every l,000 ft the vegetation changes, it is the equivelent of driving from Mexico to canada in an hour or so of driving. In fact some years we have seen snow up there in November !
On your next visit to the Grand Canyon, get on one of the bus's and do the stops, you will get a better appreciation for the Canyon, we got off and walked out to a lot of the scenic points.
I have yet to see anything more spectacular.
Yes buildings and architecutrure are interesting, but not really scenic, the babes , sorry can't comment on that.
Originally from the east coast, so have an appreciation for history and colonial architecture.
Ok, I see where youre going with this. Youre trying to have a pissing contest!
Yeah, well I can walk out my door and see a real city. I can drive 20 minutes and see a gigantic NATURAL body of water. I can walk out my door and smell REAL food, not that wanna-be cuisine (other than the good Mexican food you guys have) that I dread eating when Im in Phoenix. I can also step outside in summer and be in the sun all day w/o blistering. I can roll around in grass that I dont have to re-sod every year and do so without fear of scorpions, black widows and rattlesnakes. I can also run a mile and not have every inch of moisture sapped from my body. I can jump in a pile of leaves in the fall and drive through magical forests while sippin apple cider and head to a pumpkin farm at night. I can strap on some skis or hop on a snowmobile in the winter and get lost in a gentle snowfall in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but silence and snowflakes. I can walk for days in Chicago and still not come even close to seeing everything in the downtown area alone. I can head to one of our 2 Nascar tracks and soak up a nice race (or head to one of our local 4 dragstrips). I can take pride in planting a garden with my wife, instead of raking rocks around like you guys do. LOL All of this is in good fun of course.
Oh yeah, I can also head to a Cubs, Sox, Blackhawks, Bulls or Bears game. You know, teams with HISTORY. hahahaha
Excuse me? I asked a perfectly good question and received some nice answers from the first few folks until YOU come along and start crap. Whos the real troll I wonder? Kiss off and leave this thread to people I originally requested answers from (people whove experienced winter weather in Florida and Arizona).
Sunny all the time is great for some folks (if you like hiding from it and having a massive risk for skin cancer), bad for others. Rain is NOT gloomy as you put it, rain is soothing, relaxing, brings life. Whats gloomy is the desert, the dust, the lack of abundant life, the Groundhog's Day (the movie) weather. Wake up, sunny. Wake up, sunny. Wake up, sunny. I could go on and on here too, pal.
Anyways, back on track after I was so rudely interrupted by Mr. Ponderosa... Could someone answer my question? Someone whos expierienced winter weather in southern Florida, or PHX area, what would you recommend? Im trying to plan a winter 2 week getaway and would like some honest opinions.
Oh my! Steve-o, here is a quote of your reply on a thread a couple weeks ago. Aside from it being totally off-topic for that thread, a careful reading will make it clear that you know full well what the weather is like in the winter in AZ and you did not have to ask here to help you make a decision about where to vacation.
_______________
"UGH! If I hear that "too cold and too humid" crap from anyone else Ill puke. YES, it CAN get humid here, maybe 2-3 weeks total in the summer. YES, it can get cold, maybe 2-3 weeks in the winter with below freezing temps. WHO CARES?!?!? At least Chicago HAS STUFF TO DO!!!!! We have a downtown, we have fabled sports teams with history. We have good food and the best nightlife outside LA and New York. We have beaches and short drives to canyons and hilly terrain. Chicago is a WORLD CITY, something Phoenix can only dream about. Look it up! Anyways, Id rather have a few humid days here (rather than the south ie Florida, Georgia, Tennessee where they cant escape it) than 4 straight months of 110 degrees. Ive been to AZ in the summer (family lives in North Scottsdale) and it SUCKS! Winters aint so great either. Days are decently warm, but nights are downright COLD. Heck, its even been warmer here on some winter nights than in Phoenix!!! You guys arent Miami in the winter, thats for sure! Id rather face 4 seasons than be shackled to dust-world Phoenix and live a Groundhogs Day life forever with sunny-beaten landscapes and skin cancer epidemics that you guys have. Funny thing is, as soon as it snows in Phoenix, everyone and their mother heads towards the mountains to get a good look at it. Wanna know why? BECAUSE YOURE BORED DOWN THERE with the same ol same ol.
Chicago is a great place to live, theres a reason that more people live in Chicagoland than your entire state! Im sick of people coming down on Chicago. Its my home and I take offense to it. Its the most American big-city in this country. Schools are top rated (I wont mention AZ's education system) here too, which is another plus. Chicago is really nice, albeit there are bad spots, but what city doesnt have them?"
In spite of whatever intentions you may have had, the AZ people responded in their usual helpful and friendly way and much good information has come forth. Thanks for posting it!
We really like living in AZ and have been here for 2 years now. We lived in the constant rain and it does get old. I would go to Florida tomorrow if we could. We really like the balmy weather and the ecology there. The first time we were there in the winter we froze, but it was still a wonderful, balmy cold. Next year, Disneyworld for Christmas!
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I can also step outside in summer and be in the sun all day w/o blistering. I can roll around in grass that I dont have to re-sod every year and do so without fear of scorpions, black widows and rattlesnakes. I can also run a mile and not have every inch of moisture sapped from my body. I can jump in a pile of leaves in the fall and drive through magical forests while sippin apple cider and head to a pumpkin farm at night. I can strap on some skis or hop on a snowmobile in the winter and get lost in a gentle snowfall in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but silence and snowflakes. I can walk for days in Chicago and still not come even close to seeing everything in the downtown area alone. I can head to one of our 2 Nascar tracks and soak up a nice race (or head to one of our local 4 dragstrips). I can take pride in planting a garden with my wife, instead of raking rocks around like you guys do. 
Whos the real troll I wonder? Kiss off and leave this thread to people I originally requested answers from (people whove experienced winter weather in Florida and Arizona).
