My wife hates the heat. (Phoenix, Scottsdale: house, to buy, living in)

[azriverfan.]

Okay, I've kept this secret hidden from all of you for a while. The best way to cool down is to open a bottle of Coors light. What happens is a sudden influx of snow penetrates your immediate surroundings. Some polar bears and snowboarders will appear. Snowcapped mountains will emerge in your backyard. A hot tub in the shape of an igloo will emerge with beautiful women stepping out of it. Just keep some of these in your refrigerator. If the snowboarders and bikini clad women disturb your surroundings , you can always ask them to leave and enjoy the frost that arrived with opening the bottle. Just provide proper warning because my wife opened one of these and wasn't too happy. Since it's supposedly 120 degrees everyday in the summer, it's important to have this valuable tool with you at all times otherwise the heat is not tolerable.

[hart4july]

We too were transferred from IN to Scottsdale work address, and I had previousl problems with heat in muggy hot weather. We were a bit concerned. Here I am OK and actually feel better overall in the hot dry weather. I nearly passed out once at the North Carolina Zoo in Summer, but here I just wear a cotton floppy hat and sunglasses, ALWAYS tale a cool water along and take a shade break if needed. If its dry heat, you can get relief in the shade, but oppressive humidity like in the Midwest and South follows you everywhere outside.
You have to shift your thinking- get out in the Fall and Spring, take it easy in the Summer. My sinuses love it here and I find relief from cold feet and hands all winter, so I accept the trade off. Bring her here and treat her to dinner outside at night in February under a heat lamp at a patio restaurant under a blanket of ebony starry skies, point out the beautiful colorful plants that bloom all winter when the Midwest is all gloomy gray, and point out that Sedona is 2 hours away and San Diego is 5 hours away-when we went to SD last Summer I was chilly! And Spring in the Valley of the Sun is perfect for anyone- neither too hot or too cold. In the Midwest- only September was so nice. I do miss September...but this weather right now is a dream

[CheyDee]

There are some very good replies in this thread, especially Bummer's.

Some people find it's not as bad as they thought it would be (because of the low humidity) and not only tolerate it well, they surprise themselves and actually enjoy it. Others, (like me), live here for years, never acclimate and dread every summer.

If your wife is like the former, that's great! If she is more the latter, she will stay indoors in air conditioning as much as possible during the hot months and look forward to short get-aways, in places like Flagstaff.

She really has to experience the weather and give herself some time, before she will know what her real tolerance for it is.

Good luck with your move and welcome to Arizona.

[RememberMee]

Originally Posted by Markomalley

Hello everyone-

I was just transferred to Scottsdale from the upper midwest. My wife gets sick in extreme heat, worried about how she will handle it. It is not a matter of choice, we have to move. Any suggestions on how to handle the heat? What makes it bearable for you?

Thanks!
Mark

People are just like rats we can get used to the wide range of environments if we try. The only suggestion, get out and embrace the heat, rest during noon, wear straw hat and drink some water. You need nothing else to get used to it. "Uncivilized" folks populated AZ for thousands of years without AC.

[smilinpretty]

The older I become the less I am able to tolerate the heat. Prescott is 90 minutes away, you can be in the pines. Spend your weekends in Prescott, during the month of August and enjoy the lower temps. Or you can drive or fly to San Diego for a vacation. Scottsdale is a beautiful town.

[Jukesgrrl]

I've lived in many parts of the country from Washington, DC, to Washington State, but this is my first time in the Southwest, having been in Southern Arizona for six years now. I've been in Phoenix when the heat was so intense it could take your breath away, much the same way sub-zero weather does. I've been in Tucson when a colleague of mine arrived at work with his hand bandaged and said sheepishly, "It's a bad burn. I touched my car."

That said, I have NEVER been hotter than when I lived in DC, which is barely considered by some to be the South. It was because of the humidity. I absolutely know the feeling of being sick from heat. It's like having the flu. I used to ride to work on a bus that was often unairconditioned, wearing a suit and pantyhose. I would be soaking wet before I even got to work. And even when I got into the A/C at work, I didn't feel any better because then I was clammy and would have a headache all day. I had similar situations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania when I was literally sick from oppressive humidity and heat.

Please tell your wife I have NEVER felt that way the entire time I've lived in Arizona. Other people have explained the concept of the dry heat, so I won't go into that. I will just add that even the air conditioning feels different in the Southwest. In other places I have lived I had either no A/C, window A/C, or whole-house A/C with the cool air coming in through the same radiator opening the warm furnace air comes through. Arizona air-conditioning doesn't feel like any of those things. Here, other than when I'm in a room when I can hear the compressor kick on, I don't even know if the A/C is running or not. The cool air comes from ducts in the ceiling which -- especially when aided by ceiling fans -- moves the air around the room in a comfortable way. Even my elderly mother, who hates being chilled and seems to feel what she calls "a draft" like she's the Princess and the Pea doesn't mind the Arizona A/C in the least.

When you're outside it might feel hot as blazes but when you move indoors it just feels normal. None of that A/C dampness or chill or some-rooms-are-cool-and-others-aren't that I've felt from A/C as it is used in humid parts of the country.

As others have said, proper hydration is key, especially as here you may not feel the need to drink water because of the A/C. You must drink it anyway. Dehydration is what gives people a headache or muscle aches that they feel when they're overheated. If your wife carries around a water bottle like most people in AZ do, she will eliminate those symptoms. And she won't feel sweaty because the perspiration evaporates instantly. She might find, as I did, that the cure for feeling sick from too much heat is ... more heat.

The advice you received on windshield tinting is spot-on. You can also get window tinting and sun shields for home windows. I put a do-it-yourself film on my east-facing windows and that also alleviated heat. Thermal drapes also do. Plus, Arizona houses are built to address this particular temperature extreme through the construction methods used. Please tell your wife to keep an open mind. The heat experience in Arizona is much different than I expected. And, as many have noted, she might find herself being able to experience more beautiful days outdoors here than she did in the Midwest. You'll also find the reduced annual utility bills to be another reason to like Arizona. And having sunshine come in your windows all day -- instead of looking out to see cloudiness, drizzle, pouring rain, or snow -- is a great mood enhancer.

Good luck!

[psychomantis]

Keep cold bottles of water in the fridge. Any time you leave the house, take one with you.

Dress in light colored, loose clothing when you can.

Get a car with air-conditioned seats. Tinted windows def help too.

Invest in a good pair of sunglasses.

[Cida]

She'll be like everyone else, going from her air-conditioned home, to her air-conditioned car, to her air-conditioned office...

Then again, maybe she'll find that if it's long-term, she won't get "sick."

[wretched wrench]

Originally Posted by SubconsciousMe

-- Drink water!

Also, if you have pets--be mindful of them in the summer too...

Good point. A number of breeds have breathing difficulties in extreme heat. I experienced this with a Boston Terrier, and have observed it with some of the breeds listed below.

A number of airlines will not accept dogs or cats for shipment that are of breeds prone to breathing difficulties.

Breed Restrictions

American Airlines will not accept brachycephalic or snub-nosed dogs and cats as checked luggage. The following is a list of brachycephalic dog breeds and any "mix" of will not be accepted:
Affenpinscher Bulldog (All breeds) Lhasa Apso Pug (All breeds) American Staffordshire Terrier Cane Corso Mastiff (All breeds) Shar Pei Boston Terrier Dogue De Bordeaux

Pekingese Shih Tzu

Boxer (All breeds) English Toy Spaniel Pit Bull Tibetan Spaniel Brussels Griffon Japanese Chin Presa Canario




The following is a list of brachycephalic cat breeds and any "mix" of will not be accepted:

Burmese Persian Himalayan Exotic Shorthair

The above list is just to get you thinking.......Get advice from an AZ vet on this.

Dogs cool themselves by panting, so dogs with restricted breathing ability will suffer more in the heat. It is a little known fact that they also sweat through their pads, so a rug will give them better cooling than, say, a vinyl floor.



.

[DellNec]

What happens in Phx from June - October, is that people stay indoors with A/C and outdoor activities are limited to early morning or nighttime. During peak summer it is not uncommon to be hovering at 100F around midnight. With the intense sun gone it does make the 100F much more enjoyable. The sun is brutal in Phx, that is for sure. If its 110F in the shade, it will be 130F in the sun, but all temps are "recorded" in the shade.

People in Phx get "cabin fever" during the summertime. November - May in Phx is gorgeous but June - October can be difficult and requires mandatory A/C in both home & vehicle use.

Prescott is 2 hours north of Phx and is a great getaway during summer. It is usually 15-20 degrees cooler in the daytime vs. Phx and at night Prescott is 20-30 degrees cooler than Phx.

That is the desert, just have A LOT of water, stay in shade, stay indoors during the daytime, have sunglasses (mandatory - we have a very high rate of retina damage due to UV), and if you can make it through those 5 months, you will be happy the other 7 months.

Another noteworthy point, people who come to Phx during winter think that they can walk around in shorts during Phx nights. That is NOT TRUE. I had a friend visit and we went to Phx at night, he wore shorts thinking it was going to be in the 70s, I warned him but he didn't list. At night during winter, Phx temps drop to the 40s and even 30s, it's cold and requires pants and a jacket at night. It's warm in the daytime (70s) but it gets cold at night (30s-40s).