Relocate to..Arizona or Florida...opinions? (Phoenix, Tucson: for sale, rent, employment)

[observer53]

To turn down Arizona because of Valley Fever is wrong. Most people never know they have it when they get it, and the overwhelming majority doesn't take antifungal medication for long periods, if at all. Dogs do get it, but recover more often than not, and the ones that do DON'T all take meds for the rest of their lives. And, the cost of the meds is not a big deal either. I wonder where some people get their information.

[algia]

We're from Florida and next summer we will be in AZ....as of now we are stuck in the house here for the next 6 months with nowhere to go to cool off within a 4/5 hr drive, I would move to AZ yesterday if I could....forget FL...everywhere you go here you end up on another beach, there is no diversity, you'd be bored to death here.....I guess that's why they call it "the retirement state" LOLOLOL .......I would never retire here! can't wait to get to AZ....

[exlexisnexis]

I have lived in both Florida and Arizona , I have lived through 15 Florida summers and my opinion is that the summers in Arizona are better because of the low humidity factor.
You cannot do weeked 6 hour trips from S Florida because it is much to far to travel in a weekend to get out of the state,in AZ you can do weekend trips to Vegas, N AZ , CA and mexico if you want a change of scenery,from S Florida you cannot. I suggest you do a mapquest search to see how long it will take to drive from S Florida to Georgia or North carolina which are the 2 closet states from S Florida. It will take you almost 12 hours to get to NC and 9 hours to get to Georgia which makes a day trip almost impossible.
Over 1/2 the population from S Florida are from New York where in Arizona they are from the Midwest and my 15 years of S Florida experience tell me New York City people do not have the same mentality or values as people from the midwest.

AZ is better than Florida because
I
[1. better weather(7 months are better than Florida and the summer is more bearable than Florida)
2.closer proximity to weekend vacation areas(california,vegas,mexico and N arizona)
3 less bugs
4 friendlier people( more people with core family values live in Az)
5 better housing available in AZ (newer and cheaper)
6 cheaper food costs due to having over a dozen different food stores in AZ as opposed to 1 major monopoly in Florida (Publix)
7 This is the reason I moved (no natural disasters in Arizona where in Florida you never no when life or property will be ruined by a hurricane or a tornado)

[jefffla01]

We live in Boynton Beach, about 12 miles from West Palm Beach Fla. I have lived in South Fla for almost 26 years now and my wife and I are seriously considering Arizona for retirement.

I will list some of the reasons that are driving me away for S. Florida:

1. the climate----the summers are brutal---the constant 85-90% humidity is a killer. I already
ruined three wardrobes due to humidity rings.

2. cost of living----is quite high in south Florida. Homeowners insurance costs are prohibitive.
It is almost impossible to rent a decent apartment for less than $1000-$1100 a month

3. people------yes the New York element here is overwhelming. This may be fine if you a
a New Yorker----but yikes it can be suffocating. The Caribbean and Haittan domination here
also is amazing. Diversity is fine, but when you start having trouble understanding anybody
it gets difficult.

4. crime-----one or two posters on this topic have indicated they will take Florida over
Arizona on the crime factor-----please give me a break. South Florida is a pretty dangerous
environment----the crime, corruption, and terror of life here is becoming a daily occurrence.
Sure, if have enough money and can segregate yourself in gated and patrolled community in
Boca, Wellington, Weston, or Palm Beach things are better. However, to conclude that the
crime factor in Florida is better in Florida than Arizona is preposterouis.

There are many factors to consider in moving----life is not always better and the grass in not always greener on the other side of the hill. Yet, at this stage of my life at almost 61 years old, a
a change seems to be beckoning.

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

We live in Central Florida and are looking for a change to Arizona or somewhere in the south west. The main reason for our move is:

Diversity. We live in a largely retirement city where all the old people want to do is go out for early bird specials and sit at home in front of the TV. There's no culture here so it can be quite boring. The restaurants are all fairly low grade and the school system is so-so.

The only upside to living here is we live on 5 wooded acres. I don't like matchbox housing on postage stamp lots that I've seen in Az. We like to be close to nature.

Also, jobs.. there are no jobs here.

[jasper1372]

Ok....I'll admit I'm very partial towards Arizona. My wife and I have vacationed in both Florida and Arizona. Regarding just the weather, Arizona is so far superior to Florida I can't imagine anyone picking Florida over Arizona if just considering the weather.

It can be 100 in AZ and if you're doing your normal daily tasks (not working out in the direct sun doing heavy manual labor) and you'll not break a sweat even. It can be 80 in FL and you're just sitting in the shade on your deck with beads of sweat forming on your body.

The dry climate is just wonderful for outdoor activities due to the fact that you can actually do things without feeling like a dripping dishcloth. Not to mention that the times we've been in florida it rains almost ever day (might be a seasonal thing...not sure) and it might rain three or four times and an hour later the sun might be out. Try to plan any outdoor activities with that happening every day. We've over the years probably spent 40 weeks in AZ and I think we've experienced rain 2 or 3 times for a few hours. You can experience rain 2 or 3 times in one day in Florida.

The florida climate just left us feeling like all we wanted to do was sit in the cabana all afternoon....oh did I mention misquitoes ? Oh yes...they have them in florida too.

We just got back from AZ (2 weeks of fun) and it never rained, we didn't see one single misquito and had 13 sunny warm days with one day that was mostly cloudy but warm, but no rain. It was a slice of pure heaven.

[Gandalara]

Originally Posted by BillyBobJoeBobWilly

The only upside to living here is we live on 5 wooded acres. I don't like matchbox housing on postage stamp lots that I've seen in Az. We like to be close to nature.

If you want 'close to nature', just don't live in one of the big/bigger cities. There's plenty of 5 acre parcels of gorgeous desert. If you want wooded acreage, look in Northern Arizona - the White Mountains, and Rim Country.

The state is not just Phoenix or Tucson or Mesa or Glendale or Scottsdale ...

[Huckleberry3911948]

i visited AZ yesterday and went here. never been b4.
i love it.
took this photo with my kodak Easyshare z740

[AZDesertBrat]

I always say that the word "awesome" was made just for Grand Canyon. And it IS!

[sholomar]

I'd prefer a happy medium like (southern) Missouri personally. Plenty of rain, plenty warm, still a taste of winter, still humid (the way I like it) and nice lush tree filled state with not so many people as Florida (a good thing) and it wouldn't be all that hard to drive to either on vacation (dislike airports) Better economy then Florida, though not by much and probably a better cost of living too.

Given a choice between the two... Florida.. because I like to garden and Florida would make it easy on me. Like it humid, like thunderstorms and rain, but again, it's all personal preference here.