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Denver is probably just as sunny as PHX, no joke. I believe Denver has over 300 days of sunshine a year, about the same as PHX. Sure it rains and snows in Denver, it rains in PHX too, and they get worse storms. And it does snow in southern AZ, but not as much as Denver. But in Denver they can enjoy the snow with the best ski resorts in the country.
I can tell right off the bat that statement you made is what you've heard, not what you've experienced. I've lived in Denver for 18 years, Phoenix for the last 3, and still go back to visit all the time (in Denver right now for a few weeks). The amount of thunderstorm activity in the summer in Denver knocks the socks off the so-called "monsoons" they get in Phoenix (which are pretty cool, admitedly). The Denver "300 days of sunshine a year" is an age old real estate/tourism promotion myth; the actual number is probably in the low 200s. And what is considered a "day of sunshine"? In Phoenix, almost every single day of the year is pure blue sky, all day long, day after day-- at most with wispy barely formed desert clouds. In Phoenix, you're lucky if you can get one overcast day a month!
Denver is simply not like this; clouds are constantly coming and going, the weather is always changing every hour. You want to talk about "snow"?-- whatever "snow" the outskirts of Phoenix may have gotton this year is anecdotally amusing (it also "snowed" in LA this year too), but statistically nothing: 0.0 inches. And even that occurs only once every 10 or so years. I remember that day when the news made a big deal about it; well, I didn't see one ounce of snow in Tempe. Maybe from your p.o.v in Chicago Denver is the "Sunbelt," but not by the standards of the southwest. I was home last winter when we got pounded with two major blizzards in a row. Here's a quick reality check, both pictures I took within a month of each other:
Some people are just oblivious I guess... I guess you want physical proof? Here you go... And I can also find MANY pics of Denver in January with no snow, and *GASP*, guess what? Pics of Illinois in January with no snow! Shocker! LOL
San Diego, like many "sunny" places, is fantastic for vacations, but not very good for realistic down to earth day to day living. It's overcrowded, congeested, polluted, mean spirited, with no sense of community and a transient population. Tough place.
Why do you pick January as the Tell All month of graat places to live or not live? Heck, I'd choose Arizona hands down for the best place to pass the winter, and I've lived for years in : Wisconsin, California - southern and bay area, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Oh, and New Mexico. I have to say that I just loved the New Mexico winters. SO SUNNY! And four seasons. Joyous people. Low cost of living. Pretty nice.
seashell, I didnt pick January, vegaspilgrim did. I just illustrated something along those lines... As for AZ winters? No doubt mild, but theyre hardly the best in the country, not even close. LA or San Diego or Miami or Honolulu have much nicer winters.
Does anybody care that there are cities missing off this list?
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