Planning the move from Seattle area to Phoenix...anyone from Seattle have regrets?

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

I can't impress upon you enough how HOT is gets in PHX in the summer...meaning May-Sept. Don't kid yourself...day after day of 105+ dry temps. People there come to SD to get away for 5 months of the year, we call them "Zonies" and we like them alot! Coming from the climate you have lived, I think the summers might be a deal-breaker. They would be for me. Desert terrain is beautiful but it would probably be an acquired taste for you after living in such a lush, green, watery place. Why did you pick PHX?

Sure, I know they visit San Diego a lot in the summer but they don't move there as San Diego is overpriced, and has ridiculously high taxes overall not to mention low wages for it's cost of living. Most can't afford to vacation for 5 months out of the year unless they are retired and elderly and most of them will move back east or up north to Canada or the Midwest. Vacation sure, move, I don't think so. If anything, there are a lot of San Diego residents who are moving to Texas, Florida and Arizona to escape the high taxation, and high cost of living. Reality strikes most San Diego residents after a while, they recognize their quality of life is quite poor relatively speaking because they can't afford to enjoy the luxuries of living in San Diego and Southern California unless they are earning a lot of money.

Think about it, your average person earning 20-60K per year can't afford the expensive housing, food, utilities, taxes, and transportation of Southern California. Sure it's gorgeos but your average person can't afford to live there any longer unless they are willing to accept a far lower standard of living. People making 50K per year there live like college students.

[PNWGuy]

I unloaded a 16 foot pod in 110 degree weather this summer. Yes it was hot, but I enjoyed the dry heat. Maybe in 5-10 years I will be dreading it, but for now, I'm enjoying it.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

I can't impress upon you enough how HOT is gets in PHX in the summer...meaning May-Sept. Don't kid yourself...day after day of 105+ dry temps. People there come to SD to get away for 5 months of the year, we call them "Zonies" and we like them alot! Coming from the climate you have lived, I think the summers might be a deal-breaker. They would be for me. Desert terrain is beautiful but it would probably be an acquired taste for you after living in such a lush, green, watery place. Why did you pick PHX?

Everything is a trade off. I've lived in the PNW for 19 years and most of my friends and acquaintants either vacation some place warm and/or dream of retiring in Arizona. Seattle is gorgeous but the weather just wears you down in the winter months. I bought 2 momes in Phoenix and when I'm retired, will either use 1 of them for a winter home or I may buy another home in Phoenix at that time.

I love San Diego but the price of admission is too high for all but the very wealthy so most will have to accept a downgrade in lifestyle to move there. We have vacationed several times at Coronado Island and met many of the "Zonies" you speak of. Most love to summer in SD which is understandable but again, too expensive to live on a full time basis.

[Freedom_Seeker]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

I can't impress upon you enough how HOT is gets in PHX in the summer...meaning May-Sept. Don't kid yourself...day after day of 105+ dry temps. People there come to SD to get away for 5 months of the year, we call them "Zonies" and we like them alot! Coming from the climate you have lived, I think the summers might be a deal-breaker. They would be for me. Desert terrain is beautiful but it would probably be an acquired taste for you after living in such a lush, green, watery place. Why did you pick PHX?

The heat is the only concern I seem to have right now, but the only way to experience it fully is to live there and try it!
I am an avid outdoors person and enjoy ATV riding in the sand dunes, camping and hiking, and want to be able to enjoy it more year round. Aside from the weather, economic opportunities in business and Real Estate Investing is my other reason for moving. There seems to be more opportunities for jobs etc, in many industries, than in Seattle right now. Arizona is a right to work state and I like that as well. Thanks for your feedback.

[NoMoreSun]

It is pretty here in Phoenix, but after a while it gets old. Too much concrete, and the heat really brings you down after a while. We have 3 seasons. Spring (winter time and quite lovely!), summer (a few months of everyone else's spring), and Hell (May through Nov).
I get very depressed during Hell season. I feel trapped in my house and bored. Going to work in a suit is a joke, too.
I think it is just going to depend on your personality, though. I am moving to Seattle in two weeks as I have had enough of the sun. I do prefer the rain, to be fair.
Make sure you have a cloth steering wheel cover ( and I use oven mits on really hot days) for the summer driving. Flip flops are also a must out here! There are lots of places to eat and shopping is pretty good.
Good luck and I do hope you enjoy it out here.

[Freedom_Seeker]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSun

It is pretty here in Phoenix, but after a while it gets old. Too much concrete, and the heat really brings you down after a while. We have 3 seasons. Spring (winter time and quite lovely!), summer (a few months of everyone else's spring), and Hell (May through Nov).
I get very depressed during Hell season. I feel trapped in my house and bored. Going to work in a suit is a joke, too.
I think it is just going to depend on your personality, though. I am moving to Seattle in two weeks as I have had enough of the sun. I do prefer the rain, to be fair.
Make sure you have a cloth steering wheel cover ( and I use oven mits on really hot days) for the summer driving. Flip flops are also a must out here! There are lots of places to eat and shopping is pretty good.
Good luck and I do hope you enjoy it out here.

Thanks for your feedback. Oven mits oh my!!

[christiner81]

Originally Posted by Tall Traveler

Everything is a trade off. I've lived in the PNW for 19 years and most of my friends and acquaintants either vacation some place warm and/or dream of retiring in Arizona. Seattle is gorgeous but the weather just wears you down in the winter months. I bought 2 momes in Phoenix and when I'm retired, will either use 1 of them for a winter home or I may buy another home in Phoenix at that time.

I love San Diego but the price of admission is too high for all but the very wealthy so most will have to accept a downgrade in lifestyle to move there. We have vacationed several times at Coronado Island and met many of the "Zonies" you speak of. Most love to summer in SD which is understandable but again, too expensive to live on a full time basis.

agree with this. i just moved to portland (a year ago) after 7 years in arizona. arizona was great when we first got there, but after being there for that long we were just ready to go. arizona can be a beautiful state but the concrete and sprawl in phoenix can be a downer. i really love portland and am not sure if we will stay here permanently but for now i'm glad we made the move.

i grew up in san diego and miss it terribly but it's just too expensive to move back.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Think about it, your average person earning 20-60K per year can't afford the expensive housing, food, utilities, taxes, and transportation of Southern California. Sure it's gorgeos but your average person can't afford to live there any longer unless they are willing to accept a far lower standard of living. People making 50K per year there live like college students.

Good points. The main thing San Diego has going for it is the climate: some of the best weather in the entire country year round. No intense heat to speak of, no harsh winter freezes, no snow, not too much rain but not too dry either because of the marine effect, and temps in the 70s much of the year. But I could never live there because of the cost of living, and good paying jobs are rather limited.

Originally Posted by NoMoreSun

It is pretty here in Phoenix, but after a while it gets old. Too much concrete, and the heat really brings you down after a while. We have 3 seasons. Spring (winter time and quite lovely!), summer (a few months of everyone else's spring), and Hell (May through Nov).
I get very depressed during Hell season. I feel trapped in my house and bored. Going to work in a suit is a joke, too.
I think it is just going to depend on your personality, though. I am moving to Seattle in two weeks as I have had enough of the sun. I do prefer the rain, to be fair.

I can relate to much of what you stated. Being a native, the constant sunshine, lack of moisture, and the summer heat become very monotonous after living here for a long time. Rain is a big deal around here ... so much so that half a TV newscast can be devoted to the weather alone. Personally, I don't really get the attraction so many people have to our climate. It's not the worst in the nation, but it's certainly not the best when you consider the four months of intense heat, and all the dust & pollution resulting from the lack of moisture. On the other hand, I couldn't live in Seattle either because of too much gloom & rain most of the year. You're going from one extreme to the other. Believe me, the constant gray skies & rain will get monotonous after a while, just like our constant sun & dryness gets old here. Variety and balance is the key!

[W014474]

You do get used to the heat. Your body becomes acclimated. We've been here 7 years and I can do yard work in the summer now. We do have a very long, very nice season starting in about October and going through May. LIVE SOMEWHERE WITH A POOL! No exceptions! My husband grew up on Bainbridge and loves it here, though we are starting to get a bit "burned out" (don't mind the pun) and are thinking about going back to Seattle. It has been fun for a few years, though. There are a lot of things I'll miss about Phoenix.

[pandaundercover]

We moved here from the Monterey area almost 5 years ago. Monterey weather is somewhat similar to Portland weather (based on my research)... lots of clouds, quite a bit of rain, temps usually in teh 40-60s, with random sunny days of high 70/low80s. That is weather my husband grew up with, while I lived in the Phoenix area for 8 years in my childhood before being moved to northern CA where the weather is somewhat similar to Phoenix, except we'd receive rare and small amounts of snow in the winters, and the summer nights actually cool down below 90, unlike Phoenix summer nights.

Really, it's all personal. I like the warmth of Phoenix as opposed to the constant cold of Monterey, while my husband prefers the cold weather, but not snow-cold weather. But we do hate the summers out here because you feel confined to your house for almost 4 months and you're always dreading having to get into your car (at least until the AC kicks in!) But the other 8 months of the year ARE quite awesome. and depending what part of Phoenix you live in, the "mother nature storm of Phoenix- the monsoons)", are either non-bothering, or a pain in the butt. But really, that's nothing compared to tornado alley, hurricanes, snow storms, and earthquakes.

On the other hand, it can boil down to the landscape. Do you prefer lots of trees, forests, and lakes? Or do you prefer the desert and cacti? My husband and I much rather prefer forests to this desert climate. We find the desert to be depressing... after all, it's a desert cause much of everything is dead. Dead = depressing. Haha. With all that said, we are playing with the idea of moving to the Portland area next year. CA is too expensive, so OR seems like the next best option that'll give us most of what we want. I don't think I'll like the constant cool temps up there, but I believe the environment itself will pay off. Being able to sit outside often without being concerned about being burned, would be great.

So again, it's all about what you prefer, want, and can tolerate. Good luck!