Is the heat bad enough in phoenix that you have to stay indoors all day? (to live, price)

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by maverick974

Sounds like you and I have a lot in common when dealing with the heat. I really enjoy and hour or two in the pool every afternoon when it's sizzling out. I swim laps a lot. It's not that I'm so much into the fitness side of it, it's just enjoying the water and keeping cool. I just crank up the radio on an oldies station and hang out. I do a lot of thinking while I'm swimming. How I'm going to tackle certain tasks or problems. A little "me time". lol.
Love the pool.
During last winter, even though the weather is incredible, I surprisingly found myself longing for those sizzling days so I could be on the lakes and in the pool. I was very surprised that I looked forward to the summer here. I thought I'd be like so many on here that deplores the hot weather but luckily, I love all the seasons here. Makes me even happier.
A very good thing.



That's a great point. I don't have many complaints about the heat although I've only been here for two summers but yes, the hot steering wheel sure is an eye opener. lol.
I don't have a sunshade for my car or truck nor do I have remote starters in either vehicle. Parking spots in the shade are at a premium around here so what I do is just park in such a way that the car shades the front passenger compartment. The mornings aren't hot enough to worry about. It's the afternoons that get sizzling at time. That typically means I park with the car facing east if possible and that seems to work fine for me. The steering wheel and the front seats are shaded so no sizzling seats or steering wheel to deal with. Luckily my A/C blows cold within a minute or so. I can handle a little heat for that long. In some cases, they keep the grocery stores so cold that stepping outside into the heat is almost a relief.
Another tip is to get a steering wheel cover made of cloth. The plastic and leather ones get to hot in the direct sun. No matter how hot it is, the cloth ones don't get very hot at all.
Just sayin'

I don't mind summers here but your points about a hot car are right on! At work I have to park in an open parking lot and even using a window shade doesn't reduce how HOT it gets in a closed up car. Our entire parking lot is north/south so no slots facing east. Luckily my AC, like yours, cools off really fast so I just open the windows and let it blow the hot air out for a couple of minutes. It works! I have cloth seats so no sticking to leather and I have a steering wheel cover. It's thick, soft and I love it.

You're right about how cold the stores, etc. are too. I about freeze at work and it feels soooo good to step outside...for about five minutes. lol I am glad the monsoons are about over. I'm ready for some truly NONhumid days again. I 'tolerate' the humidity by telling myself "it's good for my hair and skin".

[CSD610]

I have never been to Phoenix however, from my own personal experience the amount of heat one can tolerate is purely an individual level of comfort. I can stay in the heat longer if there is low or no humidity. When the humidity is higher I physically cannot tolerate the heat. I am generally cold all of the time and bundle up in the winter however, when I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a week for training I did not have to bundle up, a long sleeve shirt and sweater was just fine for me. The difference is the snow and cold there was not a damp wet cold like it is where I am from.

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by CSD610

I have never been to Phoenix however, from my own personal experience the amount of heat one can tolerate is purely an individual level of comfort. I can stay in the heat longer if there is low or no humidity. When the humidity is higher I physically cannot tolerate the heat. I am generally cold all of the time and bundle up in the winter however, when I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a week for training I did not have to bundle up, a long sleeve shirt and sweater was just fine for me. The difference is the snow and cold there was not a damp wet cold like it is where I am from.

I dislike humidity whether it's hot or cold. Being born and raised in the desert I never knew what humidity really WAS till I moved to MI. Or cold and snow either, for that matter. lol I dealt with it for five years and came back home. I love, love, love our winters here. I might have to wear a nylon windbaker sometimes, and wear sweat shirts even at work, but no humidity to deal with. I have lived in that "damp cold" and my arthritis just about killed me. After less than a month being back in AZ I was fine.

[Bummer]

I could not agree more, AZDesertBrat and CSD . . .

High Humidity is much worse and more oppressive than High Temperatures. The beauty of High Temperatures with Low Humidity is the ease of becoming relatively comfortable merely by stepping into the shade. That definitely is not the case when the humidity is pushing 100%.

FLYING CRITTERS, aka: BUGS, are another huge negative accompanying high humidity. Sure we have bugs in the Desert Southwest but nothing compared to those Mosquitos the size of small cats flying around the Midwest.

[cy_flembeck]

The summer heat is brutal, the winter climate is brilliant. For some the trade off is worth it, for others it's not.

I think what does get to a lot of people is that the heat can feel relentless without a breeze, some shade or an occasional "cool day" where it gets down to 90.

[LS35a]

It's only awful in June. And July. And August. And September. October is no picnic either.

But by November it's really nice.

[sarichter]

Originally Posted by LagunaMom

Phoenix is why God created air conditioning. And malls.

aside from the 'God' comment... I agree with you! Indoors is the place to be 6 months out of the year! I guess you could say that about the northeast during the winter though

[jimj]

Originally Posted by sarichter

aside from the 'God' comment... I agree with you! Indoors is the place to be 6 months out of the year! I guess you could say that about the northeast during the winter though

Absolutely!

[Vinny536]

Personally, I can't stand the heat. I spent a few days here before moving and did fine, but now that I have to live in it I can't stand it. It makes me long for cold winters. I deal with the heat by staying indoors, and then when it finally gets nice out the sun goes down so early I don't get enough outdoor time.

Now, I'm in the minority. Most people I know love the summer, barely use the air conditioning in their cars and spend tons of time outdoors during the summer.

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by Vinny536

Personally, I can't stand the heat. I spent a few days here before moving and did fine, but now that I have to live in it I can't stand it. It makes me long for cold winters. I deal with the heat by staying indoors, and then when it finally gets nice out the sun goes down so early I don't get enough outdoor time.

Now, I'm in the minority. Most people I know love the summer, barely use the air conditioning in their cars and spend tons of time outdoors during the summer.

Personally I love the summers here but I also like to be comfortable. While the heat doesn't bother me much and it doesn't stop me from doing anything, I do like cold A/C. Most people that ride with me complain that I keep the car too cold. I'll have the A/C on full all the time.
I have no idea why I think the grocery stores are too cold yet I hop in my car and I keep the A/C at arctic levels.
Funny thing though. At home I keep the A/C very warm. I'm actually aclimated to the heat before I go outside so the heat doesn't seem that bad. If I kept the house cooler, the outside temps would be far harder to deal with. It's hard to explain but the colder the temps are inside, the harder it is to walk outside and do stuff.
It's the temperature difference that is the problem. Going from 75 to 110 is tough. Going from 85 to 110 isn't that much of a problem but that's just me.