Do you tolerate better humid heat ( Miami ) or dry heat ( Phoenix) ? (live, rated)

[BackHomeMIA]

Riverside, CA. Big dump!! Sorry, I hope I am not offending anyone. Oh well, that summer I was also pregnant, maybe that's why it seemed so hot!
Overall, Southern California is very overrated, unless you live on the coast, in which case be prepared to pay serious $$$.

[Shoegal1075]

LOL - I have to laugh at the statement "phoenix summers - I wouldn't live there for free" - I have a friend who moved here from vegas (similar/same to phoenix) and said that when it is 110 it doesn't matter that your hair isn't frizzy because the sun is so damn hot it is frying your brain. she said she would never move back to vegas.

I agree with Rock - I think texas sounds awesome and it is very up and coming.

[SoCal35]

Originally Posted by BackHomeMIA

Riverside, CA. Big dump!! Sorry, I hope I am not offending anyone. Oh well, that summer I was also pregnant, maybe that's why it seemed so hot!
Overall, Southern California is very overrated, unless you live on the coast, in which case be prepared to pay serious $$$.

No offense taken...we are all entitled to our own opinions/tastes and I do NOT even live in Riverside.

That said, I'd take Riverside's SUMMER weather over Miami's....though Riverside is getting pretty close to the desert/Palm Springs territory. (Of course, the air quality in Riverside is even worse than LA. Very bad really.)

At least in Riverside, you do get "relief" at night....Miami is hot and sticky all day and all night.

Riverside's avg. daily highs/lows in the summer months:

High - Low
June 94 - 63
July 91 - 61
Aug. 91 - 61
Sept. 83 - 54

Riverside, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Miami's avg. daily highs/lows

High - Low
June 88 - 75
July 89 - 76
Aug. 89 - 76
Sept. 88 - 75

Again, considering ONLY climate I'd take an average summer in Riverside at DAY and NIGHT over Miami's humid summers.

Factor in all the other variables and it's a different story.

[BackHomeMIA]

Yes, considering ONLY climate!

Factor in pollution (the worst in the country, I bet!), wildfires, gangs - and I mean, REAL gangs - bad schools, far from the ocean...ok, I will stop! This is not the I hate Riverside thread!

Please keep in mind, though, you have a wonderful breeze here in Miami, even in the summer, if you live close to the beach. I live in Aventura, and it makes everything tolerable. In inland SoCal, the "breeze" will only kick up the dust and swirl it around in the air.

[SoCal35]

Originally Posted by BackHomeMIA

Yes, considering ONLY climate!

Factor in pollution (the worst in the country, I bet!), wildfires, gangs - and I mean, REAL gangs - bad schools, far from the ocean...ok, I will stop! This is not the I hate Riverside thread!

Please keep in mind, though, you have a wonderful breeze here in Miami, even in the summer, if you live close to the beach. I live in Aventura, and it makes everything tolerable. In inland SoCal, the "breeze" will only kick up the dust and swirl it around in the air.

Actually, the MURDER RATE for the City of Riverside is considerably LOWER than the City of Miami's (based on city-data's 2008 FBI stats).

Riverside: 6.3 murders per 100,000
Miami: 14.7 murders per 1000,000

I realize you live in Aventura which is a pleasant, small town type atmosphere.

I really like Miami/So.Fla.....yes, as a tourist when I've stayed on the ocean I've found the SUMMER weather far more pleasant than one might expect.

However, I was in Miami on business in May a few years ago and it was very UNCOMFORTABLE to be in slacks and a long sleeve shirt (no tie or jacket). I am comparing Miami to lving in the LA basin where I live....far more pleasant summer in LA.

That said, I envy your winters down there in So.Fla. Very nice!

Plenty of LA people will dump on Riverside (or the "Inland Empire" as it is called) so you are not alone.

[BackHomeMIA]

Maybe so, regarding crime rates, of course it depends on what part of Miami you live in. Bottom line, in the areas I've lived in Miami I've always felt safe, but in Riverside, I could see "ghetto" type of activity in the best part of the city, not far from the country club.

Of course, if you're in Miami in the summer and you walk around in a business suit, you're gonna die (so says my husband!!). LA has much better weather in the summer, I agree. But I like this humidity and the warm breeze by the ocean too. The best part, I can go hang out by the pool till midnight without shivering (which happened to me many times in CA even in the summer), and let's not forget the differences between the FL and CA beaches. I for one won't swim in the Pacific in the summer, just don't feel comfortable.
But, as they often say around here, to each their own, that's what the forum is for, a plethora of different opinions.

[SoCal35]

Originally Posted by BackHomeMIA

Maybe so, regarding crime rates, of course it depends on what part of Miami you live in. Bottom line, in the areas I've lived in Miami I've always felt safe, but in Riverside, I could see "ghetto" type of activity in the best part of the city, not far from the country club.

Of course, if you're in Miami in the summer and you walk around in a business suit, you're gonna die (so says my husband!!). LA has much better weather in the summer, I agree. But I like this humidity and the warm breeze by the ocean too. The best part, I can go hang out by the pool till midnight without shivering (which happened to me many times in CA even in the summer), and let's not forget the differences between the FL and CA beaches. I for one won't swim in the Pacific in the summer, just don't feel comfortable.
But, as they often say around here, to each their own, that's what the forum is for, a plethora of different opinions.

Yes, I AGREE with you on this point. The Pacific Ocean is TOO cold and the summer nights (esp. by the ocean) are a bit TOO COLD in So.Calif. for my taste too.

[allcladrad]

There is another side to the comparison and that is the winter temps. Miami has a smaller spread from high to low.

Phoenix's temps dip into the low 40s and are too cold for my comfort, plus the winter dryness factor seems to me, to be even worse than the summer's, I remember red chapped skin and cracked lips.

Were I working I would still be in Southern California, but retired I much prefer hot and humid vs hot and dry. But, on balance many more of my friends and retired co workers chose Arizona.

[AliveandWell]

I'll take Phoenix's mostly dry desert heat over the humid Miami heat because the heat in Phoenix although hot and like hell in many people's opinion is better because it doesn't last the whole year. I've studied weather and climate long enough to know that even in the months of April, May and June, Phoenix's temperatures cool off at night. It is usually beginning in July that Phoenix heat can start to get uncomfortable according to some people. Miami is too hot and humid for too long. Yes they get thunderstorms there but I'd still say Phoenix is the better option just slightly even though the dry weather will leave your skin and throat dry. But its a tough call. In both places during the summer hydration is a must.

[Milwaukee City]

LOL, I love these Humid vs Dry Heat arg's.

I spent one week in Reno, NV and I coming from Milwaukee in October I was very excited to be in warm weather again. Wrong, the dry heat killed me, it wasn't so much the heat b/c it wasn't even close to being hot in Reno in Oct but the dry air almost killed me. Every day my lips dried out, I was getting bloody noses every night and sometime during the day there. So thought the day and at night I would run the shower at full blast hot and the sinks on hot and full blast to put some humidity in the air for the night and during the day. We would run the hot shower and sinks all night long b/c it was so dry out there. Having lived in Louisiana and Boca and Wisconsin I am used to humidity.

During the winter in my house I run two humidifiers for just 600sq ft in my upstairs and I have to move them to the downstairs at night so I am comfortable.

BTW, I think Louisiana is more humid than Florida.

Give me humidity or give me death.