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Obviously by the title, there's a great difference with climate at the top of the list of differences. I've posted on several city pages here as I'm trying to figure out where to move. I'm not only writing here but also researching Best Places and other resources, looking at cost of living, things to do, and more factors too.
My story is this. I'm 62 years old, originally from Miami, FL. I have lived in Cleveland in the past, along with here in North Carolina for the last 18 years. I came here to gain a TESL certificate at Duke University and have been teaching ESL in adult education, supplemented by other mostly part-time jobs either in the school system as an instructional assistant (due to lack of a teaching degree; my degree is in communications), or doing administrative support type work.
I've reached a point where it's definitely time for a change. I've been researching for a couple years now but haven't taken any action in big part because I'm afraid if I make a change and it's a mistake I'll be sorry. However, I am miserable here now, and because I'm alone with no family and no close friends here where I live, I don't want to be here for the holiday season and beyond. So I'm thinking of leaving my stuff in storage (am currently renting a room month to month) and taking off rather than be here during Christmas. If I were to go I'd stay at an extended stay or Airbnb to check things out. I have been sending resumes but it seems out of state applicants aren't looked at as seriously.
I'm not a fan of long gloomy winters having experienced this in Cleveland, but at the same time I miss the ethnic diversity there. Milwaukee looks like a really great city with lots of ethnicities living there (my ethnic background is Hungarian; my grandparents all hailed from "the Old Country." It looks like people from Wisconsin are really nice people too and being that I'm alone, I'm longing to make some friends and belong to a community. Here in North Carolina I've never really fit in. I live in the Triangle and it's not a place for someone my age alone. And then there's the southern culture too which I don't fit in. Wisconsin also has a big Catholic presence - lots of churches to pick from. And maybe more tutoring opportunities to tutor non-native speakers. But yes, very cold! And getting older concerns me living in the cold alone.
In case anyone wants to know, politically speaking I'm blue, more middle of the road but not red. I vote more for the person than the party though and no, I did not vote for 45.
I have been to Arizona twice, not to Tucson but to Phoenix. Once was in April and once in December. It was starting to get hot in April, but I wasn't there in the heat of summer. The desert, although not what I grew up with living in tropical Miami lacked the obvious green there and in Ohio and North Carolina too; however, it had the most beautiful sunsets I ever saw! I loved waking up every morning to sunshine. I told myself it would be like being on vacation every day if I ever moved there. I attended a singles function and had a great time while I was there. I have noticed there are several over 50 Meetup groups in both Phoenix and Tucson. As I mentioned earlier, I really long for a community to belong to as I've never found that here in North Carolina.
The things I like to do are to attend concerts, the symphony, go to festivals, especially art festivals, volunteer, walk my dog, enjoy nature (not heavy hikes), go to the library, sing in a choir, go to movies, dine out, dance now and then, listen to music.
Like I mentioned, I like ethnic diversity, including going to restaurants and enjoying cultural ethnic events. I've worked a lot with international students and particularly enjoy the Latin/Hispanic culture too, especially Mexican, which I know there'd be more of in Tucson.
Any positive ideas or insights would be appreciated!
I grew up in Tucson so I can offer a little bit of insight. Tucson is very vibrant and culturally rich which is something I didn't appreciate when I lived there (being very young). The city's connection to its Mexican and Native American heritage as well as it's unique location in the Sonoran Desert is heavily reflected in the art scene, festivals, dining, and cultural activities.
There are lots of great nature exploration options. Saguaro National Park is gorgeous. There are a plethora of hiking options in the Santa Catalinas, the Rincons, and the Tucson Mountains. There are hikes of all difficulty levels.
It is one of the sunniest cities in the US so you will definitely be avoiding the gloom. Summers are super hot but also very dry. Some people hate the dry heat, though I prefer it to the high humidity that you get east. One nice thing about Tucson (compared to Phoenix) is that cools down at night during the summer
It's very popular for retirees so you should absolutely be able to find communities to connect with.
Tucson's significantly smaller than Milwaukee, but it offers many amazing cultural opportunities for its size. I was there for most of the 90s (91 to 98) and went to school at the University of Arizona. Back then, people would joke that Tucson is "the cultural black hole" of Arizona, meant in a good way!
Tucson has phenomenal winter weather--sunshine 95% of the time and highs in the 60s and 70s with lows in the 30s and 40s. Just perfect weather really. Summers can be super hot and super long--but not sticky hot. Think 110 degrees with 10% humidity--basically put your hand under a bathroom blow drier and that's the heat feeling--dry.
Milwaukee winters can be very cold, very snowy and very grey. Pretty much the opposite of Tucson. Tucson also has amazing hikes nearby, with Sabino Canyon, Starr Pass, Mount Lemon, and the Saguaro National Forest nearby.
Tucson has about a million in its metro, and about 550,000 in the city. For its size, it has some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. For "bigger city" amenities, Phoenix is about 1 hour, 15 minutes northwest, and LA is a short hour and a half flight.
Mexico is 45 minutes away and the desert sunrises and sunsets take your breath away.
I'll plug Milwaukee.
First, the weather kinda cancels each other out. Milwaukee summers are fantastic. Winters aren't any worse than Arizona summers and they're about the same length.
Having lived in 7 states, Wisconsin has easily been my favorite, and Milwaukee in general is a great area other than a few bad neighborhoods primarily in the city itself that are easily avoidable.
Overall, it has an extremely good quality of life factor, affordable, diverse, pleasant, friendly, unpretentious, underrated and relatively unknown. It's more outdoorsy than people might think and the lakefront is a gem. One of my favorite cities anywhere.
Milwaukee has tons of festivals, including lots of European influence, OP. WI also has a great parks system for hiking. I think you'd enjoy the city other than the winter gloom/cold. Maybe plan on a vacation south to avoid the worst of winter?
I'll plug Milwaukee. First, the weather kinda cancels each other out. Milwaukee summers are fantastic. Winters aren't any worse than Arizona summers and they're about the same length.
Having lived in 7 states, Wisconsin has easily been my favorite, and Milwaukee in general is a great area other than a few bad neighborhoods primarily in the city itself that are easily avoidable.
Overall, it has an extremely good quality of life factor, affordable, diverse, pleasant, friendly, unpretentious, underrated and relatively unknown. It's more outdoorsy than people might think and the lakefront is a gem. One of my favorite cities anywhere.
This is very true. Much of it depends on whether you would prefer to suffer through miserable summers or miserable winters. I can handle the summers better than the winters. It's not the cold that bothers me but snow, slush and ice sure do. That's the deal breaker.
I'll plug Milwaukee. First, the weather kinda cancels each other out. Milwaukee summers are fantastic. Winters aren't any worse than Arizona summers and they're about the same length.
Having lived in 7 states, Wisconsin has easily been my favorite, and Milwaukee in general is a great area other than a few bad neighborhoods primarily in the city itself that are easily avoidable.
Overall, it has an extremely good quality of life factor, affordable, diverse, pleasant, friendly, unpretentious, underrated and relatively unknown. It's more outdoorsy than people might think and the lakefront is a gem. One of my favorite cities anywhere.
I don't see the seasons as comparable at all.
- Warm & hot weather does not impact your daily routine nearly as much. You're not going to need to shovel the driveway before you can leave the house, deal with treacherous driving conditions or deal with nearly the same level of winter time blues. It's normally a blue, sunny day when you look outside.
- Even in the summer most outdoor activities can still be accomplished in Arizona by just going early or at night which is the time most people with 8-5 jobs have an opportunity to do leisure activities. In the winter up North it's only colder at those times of day and also dark.
- AZ has quick escapes to the high country where it's considerably cooler than Tucson. Just driving up Mt. Lemmon to Summerhaven which sits at 9,000' elevation is a drastic difference in temperature and quite comfortable even on the hottest of days.
- Having opposite seasons means there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the winter when it's nice in Tucson, summer is already vacation season when endless destinations in the North are in there prime. Including Northern Arizona.
- WI summers are good but not perfect, you still deal with bugs plus humidity/heat, which can combine to make it surprisingly hot still. AZ fall-spring time is pretty hard to beat, it's rarely rainy, there are minimal misquotes. if those are things you desire it's hard to beat the quality of Tucson's best season.
- Warm & hot weather does not impact your daily routine nearly as much. You're not going to need to shovel the driveway before you can leave the house, deal with treacherous driving conditions or deal with nearly the same level of winter time blues. It's normally a blue, sunny day when you look outside.
- Even in the summer most outdoor activities can still be accomplished in Arizona by just going early or at night which is the time most people with 8-5 jobs have an opportunity to do leisure activities. In the winter up North it's only colder at those times of day and also dark.
- AZ has quick escapes to the high country where it's considerably cooler than Tucson. Just driving up Mt. Lemmon to Summerhaven which sits at 9,000' elevation is a drastic difference in temperature and quite comfortable even on the hottest of days.
- Having opposite seasons means there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the winter when it's nice in Tucson, summer is already vacation season when endless destinations in the North are in there prime. Including Northern Arizona.
- WI summers are good but not perfect, you still deal with bugs plus humidity/heat, which can combine to make it surprisingly hot still. AZ fall-spring time is pretty hard to beat, it's rarely rainy, there are minimal misquotes. if those are things you desire it's hard to beat the quality of Tucson's best season.
To each his own.
Where I live in Wisconsin the summer temps might get above 80 for a couple weeks in total. 90 a day or two and 100 comes along maybe once in a generation.
Humidity is usually significantly better than where I grew up in the southeast.
I’ve been to Phoenix in March and the temps were already hitting 90 by 10am. The hot searing sun is just too much there. Even at night it’s not all that pleasant unless temps dip into the 60’s.
If I absolutely had to go back to a hot climate, it’d be southern Utah, or maybe the Flagstaff area if it were more affordable. No doubt the lower humidity of the west is appealing for those who want warm weather without the oppressive humidity.
I don’t mind shoveling a little snow from time to time because when it’s hot out, I hibernate. It’s too depressing.
Mountains are nice to look at off in the distance but otherwise I’m not sure what to do with them.
As for the bugs, I can agree on that for rural areas and camping/hiking type of activities. I live in town and of course spend most of my time there where bugs simply aren’t an issue at all.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sub
To each his own.
Where I live in Wisconsin the summer temps might get above 80 for a couple weeks in total. 90 a day or two and 100 comes along maybe once in a generation.
Humidity is usually significantly better than where I grew up in the southeast.
I’ve been to Phoenix in March and the temps were already hitting 90 by 10am. The hot searing sun is just too much there. Even at night it’s not all that pleasant unless temps dip into the 60’s.
If I absolutely had to go back to a hot climate, it’d be southern Utah, or maybe the Flagstaff area if it were more affordable. No doubt the lower humidity of the west is appealing for those who want warm weather without the oppressive humidity.
I don’t mind shoveling a little snow from time to time because when it’s hot out, I hibernate. It’s too depressing.
Mountains are nice to look at off in the distance but otherwise I’m not sure what to do with them.
As for the bugs, I can agree on that for rural areas and camping/hiking type of activities. I live in town and of course spend most of my time there where bugs simply aren’t an issue at all.
I've lived here over half my life and I call BS on this. The two hottest days in March since I've been here were 3/16/2007&3/17/2007. The high both days was 99°F (back to back record highs), but it was 79°F at 10am on 3/16/07 and 87°F at 10am on 3/17/07.
Note: we average only 3 highs 90°F+ in March, and the last 2 years had 0.
In reality, we won't see 90°F at 10am until early May in a heatwave, and not until Memorial Day on a day with average weather
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