How does El Paso compare to the cities in Arizona? Phoenix, Tucson or Mesa.

[desertrat14]

Originally Posted by Chuco

Phoenix is not too hot???
I'm sorry but that is one really hot town. The average high in Phoenix for the month of July is 107! From the months of June through September they average over 100 for highs.. sorry but that is hot.. no matter what.

El Paso is another hot city, but the average highs here for any month don't even reach 100.

I like Phoenix, it's a nice city, it has a lot going for it.. its very modern.. it's just too freaking hot for me.

I tell you what. I'm currently trapped in the Louisville area ( work ) and 93 degrees and 80% 0r higher humidity is hot and gawdawful miserable. I lived in both El Paso & Phoenix and anything over 90 to me is the same. Nothing a torquoise cold pool can't cure!

[lonewolfmccoy]

Originally Posted by 1979

I love the pictures. Has anyone ever seen a rattle snake on a hike? Or in their yard? How about tarantulas? I'd love to see some pic's of Arizona to compare...

I've seen rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions and other critters 100 yards from my house when i was a kid!

[Muhnay]

What ever happened to Horny Toads.. they use to be all over.. now I dont see them at all.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by 1979

I love the pictures. Has anyone ever seen a rattle snake on a hike? Or in their yard? How about tarantulas? I'd love to see some pic's of Arizona to compare...

I've only seen one rattle snake on a hike, up in the Franklins after the rain washed away their burrows in the 2006 rains. They're out there but usually when the sun's out they are under bushes or rocks. You have to dig around to find them. You see tarantulas now and then but they're not very dangerous.

They say if you're out camping and a rattle snake crawls into your sleeping bag, it's only looking for warmth and you should just lay perfectly still until the sun comes out and they will crawl off to look for a cooler place.

In my yard there are snakes once in a while but not poisonous snakes, more often turtles and skunks passing through.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by 1979

In the southwest I am only familiar with El Paso. I would be interested to hear from people who are familiar with Arizona cities and how they compare? Or maybe even Albuquerque,NM? Are the neighborhoods the same? Same type of houses? Is Phoenix, Mesa or Tucson more picturesque? Is there more grass? Is the traffic the same?

Is the desert vegetation similar? I know there are no seguaro cactus in EP, few Canary Island palms. It seems the two plants I think of most with EP is Mexican fan palms and pear cactus.

I'ved lived in El Paso and Albuquerque and have visited Phoenix and Tucson on vacation and temp transfer (apartment industry) so as far as housing goes for all the cities you list they mostly look the same. Places like Santa Fe, Taos or Placitas are extremely different in their New Mexico Southwestern style compared to El Paso and Phoenix although Tucson has that Souithwest style intertwined in many areas also from what i've seen on my travels to them.

As for picturesque .....Tucson has i believe 5 mountain ranges all around the metro area there which was nice that i remember and Phoenix has mountains on all sides of the valley it's in and also has many lakes and reserviors all around it to water/jet ski etc..The Sonoran desert in Southern Arizona is more hardcore than the Chihuahuan desert here in Southern New Mexico/West Texas and i only noticed the Saguaros as i got close to Tucson and they are also around Phoenix.

When i last visited Arizona in Aug 2006 it was so hot that i had to stop at a DQ every 30 miles or so along I-10 to get something cold as it was hot as a hell as the radio said 117 degrees that day. I wondered if i had a flat tire how would i change it as the asphalt would have scalded you while changing it out. You'd need to carry a mat or blanket in your vehicle there if you ever had that problem. Lots of Palm Trees all over Phoenix as i felt i was in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami, Florida without the Ocean as the whole city is just covered with them as they look nice.

Albuquerque is at 5,000 ft altitude and while it has the the coolest temps in the summer which many people like as it rarely goes over 90 degrees with little humidity but the winters are the coldest of all cities as it always gets down into the teens for 4 months or so in the winter and I-40 on each side of the metro is always being shut down by NMDOT do to ice and snowstorms. Albuquerque's mountain range the Sandia's at 10,500 ft are the most picturesque of all the cities listed here IMHO and it's east side is covered with Pine Trees however they are like the Franklins of El Paso and Organs of Las Cruces as they go straight up and come straight down where as the Superstitions of Phoenix and Mogollon Rim range next to them go back hundreds of miles up to Payson and Flagstaff etc..

As for size goes.....Phoenix and it's metro dwarfs all these other cities as you could combine El Paso, Albuquerque and Tucson as that would be around 3 million in metro for those and yet Phoenix has a 4.1 million Metro (Wiki Source). All of these cities have a major University and only Phoenix has Pro Sports if that's a concern (Not to me). Phoenix has the highest skyscaper of all these cities as the Bank One Tower is over 40 stories tall.

Anyway that's my take on the cities you mentioned. I'm sure others will weigh in as to what they think.

[WildWestDude]

Originally Posted by 1979

In the southwest I am only familiar with El Paso. I would be interested to hear from people who are familiar with Arizona cities and how they compare? Or maybe even Albuquerque,NM? Are the neighborhoods the same? Same type of houses? Is Phoenix, Mesa or Tucson more picturesque? Is there more grass? Is the traffic the same?

Is the desert vegetation similar? I know there are no seguaro cactus in EP, few Canary Island palms. It seems the two plants I think of most with EP is Mexican fan palms and pear cactus.

AZ's Sonoran desert receives more rain and is more green.
The Chihuahuan desert of NM and TX is in higher elevation thus it freezes more often and it also receives less rain.
The Sonoran desert is a bit more beautiful but you have to trade off with excessive heat.
Phoenix is indeed more upscale than El Paso, but El Paso is a pure hometown. Not cosmopolitan, more down to earth, more serene, less expensive, less self centered and more pure southwest.
The traffic is way much better than Phoenix.
Tucson is probably halfway between the two.
El Paso/Las Cruces have the best weather in all the SW and IMO in all the US!
As far as being more picturesque it is hard to say. It would depend on what you like and on the desert description given above and the city's architecture.