Trying to decide Dallas or Phoenix? Asthma is the question I have. (Austin: how much, allergies)

[surfingcowgirl]

Hi

First off thanks for having me and for the help in Advance.

I am living in Wisconsin right now but have to move by the end of this month and I am trying to make a decision between Dallas and Phoenix but I am getting differing information from the forums.

Wisconsin is possibly the worst environment for Asthmatics and I would like to know from people who had asthma, lived in the upper midwest, and then moved to Dallas did their asthma (use of inhalers, ER visits, Exercising much harder because of breathing, Etc) get worse or better? I see many people moving from the west coast or east coast that they developed allergies but asthma seems to be a different creature. My asthma seems to much better in mountain desert enviroments or right on the ocean. I just am so tired of feeling like I have the flu 10 months of the year and not being able to jog and exercise well because of asthma problems caused by being up here in Wisconsin. I would like to move to Dallas because of the economy and I generally get along with people from Texas exceptionally well.

I have sort of the same question in the Phoenix forum but there I wonder about the economy also there.

Thank you so much for the information in advance,

Cheers Ashe

[MaryS80]

It really depends on what your triggers are. People who have never had allergies in their life will get them once they move to Dallas. Allergies and asthma go hand in hand, if you have a lot of environmental allergies you may have a problem here. We also have Ozone/Pollution watch days in the summer, which trigger a lot or peoples asthma.

[Tami James]

I have lived in both Phoenix (well Tempe) and Dallas and grew up in Lake Geneva. Before I moved to Texas I never had allergies, now I do. Phoenix is a much dryer, arid air than Dallas, we get pretty humid and from what I understand that tends to set off Asthma attacks.

Phoenix has suffered a worse housing slump than we have, and even though I am a Realtor, I do think that even if your investment is better here (which I believe it is), it will not matter if you are miserable.

Based on what I have read on Asthma it depends on what your specific triggers are. I would think Phoenix would be better, but if dust is a trigger for you, it may not be.

Tami

[BstYet2Be]

Both the 2008 Spring and Fall Allergy Capital Rankings listed on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America - Information About Asthma, Allergies, Food Allergies and More! website rank Dallas considerably worse than Phoenix:

Dallas - Spring ranking = 22nd and Fall ranking = 27th
Phoenix - Spring ranking = 91st and Fall ranking = 85th

See 2008 Spring Rankings by City
and 2008 Fall Rankings by City

Note: Rankings 1-to-100 equals worst-to-best

[surfingcowgirl]

Hmm sounds like its probably not the best for me in Dallas which is a bummer across the board.

But all of you are right in that if i cant breathe and I am miserable it will be a worse situation across the board no matter how much better the economy is across the board.

I just wanted to thank you all for your quick and informative answers. One of the reasons I always liked Dallas and people from Texas they have always been friendly and helpful!

Thanks once again and have a good day,

Ashe

[Kootr]

It looks like a lot of areas (cities) that were ranked low last year are ranked high this year and visa-versa. Unless you are prepared to move each spring and fall based on the "expected" ranking I don't see where [in general] one place is any better than another when it comes to allergies and asthma. I would suggest that you find out exactly what you are allergic to (your specific triggers) and find a location that historically [always] has the least amount of those particular triggers that bother you. Anything else is just a shot in the dark in my opinion.

[ATXIronHorse]

I don't know about for Asthma sufferers, but as a city DFW is far better than Phoenix in every way.

[grhtex]

We moved here from Michigan in June of 07. My wife has chronic asthma and was steroid dependent for years while living in Michigan. The long cold winter months exacerbated her conditions and she would also frequently get pneumonia every year as well during the winter. Even though I believe Phoenix is probably a better climate for asthmatics, her asthma has been much, much better since coming to Dallas compared to Michigan. The mild winters really help. Plus moving caused her to get all new doctors and a complete re-evaluation of her medical condition. A clean slate if you will. As such she was put on a new medicine and now her asthma is completely under control. She rarely hits the rescue inhaler anymore and no more steroids. So was it the new meds, the relocation, the clean slate medical evaluation (they also found she was diabetic probably not helped by years of prednisone sp) or a combination of all? I don't know for sure but we believe it to be a little of all these.
On a similar note if you have allergies I doubt you'll get relief by moving here. To me they are just as bad in either place (MI/Dallas) for me that's seasonal allergies in the fall - same for my wife. FWIW we live north of the city in Prosper.

I think if you're looking at Phoenix and Dallas either will be better than the upper Midwest for Asthma. Keep in mind I'm not a doctor so things may or may not work out for you the same way they did for us.

I believe the economic conditions are much better here in the DFW area and most of the people we've met are very friendly.
Hope this helps.
If 'you'd like to converse with my wife on her experience let me know via a direct message and I'll hook you two up.
Regards,
GRHTEX

[Macbeth2003]

The fact is for most allergy and asthma suffers Dallas is bad, and Phoenix is pretty good
Most is the key word, My allergies and asthma are not great here in Dallas, but in Phoenix there is something that triggers them unbelievably. Wen I used to visit relatives there I was in agony.
Talk to your doctor about your own circumstances, ask your doctor why their evaluation would be. Everyone had their own triggers. No one believed me when I said I got worse in Phoenix, but my doctor did, and was able to explain why.

[Mckellyb]

I've just moved back to D/FW after being gone almost 11 years.

I was born-and-raised here, but never realized I had what can best be described as a 'smokers cough', caused by being allergic to something. I think it's ragweed, but that's a guess.

The first time I noticed it was when watching videotape I'd shot during a trip my wife and I took. I said, "I don't remember being sick on that trip..." She told me I wasn't, and that I'd always had that cough/throat clearing habit.

Once we moved (Denver, Portland, then Vegas), it disappeared. Now, when we were in Vegas for three years, the dust abused me, and everyone else, pretty good, and even though it's a desert, pretty much every plant is there so people can have a touch of "home" with them, so it's much worse for allergies/asthma than you'd expect. Plus, there's so much cigarette smoking in that town, I swear there should be a category for it in the daily smog report.

However, being back in Texas for six months (Austin), and D/FW (Arlington), for all of three days, I already feel the constant scratch/tickle which is now driving me nuts, since it's been gone for so long.

Like others say, it depends on the trigger.