Would you move to Las Vegas purely for better weather? (Phoenix: sales, mover)

[timothyaw]

Originally Posted by observer53

I don't think 1000' difference in elevation matters that much...
Yes, it's generally cooler there. Quite a bit cooler in winter. But, you are right about Phoenix's advantages over LV as well. It's not exactly a long trip to LA from here, either.

1000' does make a difference, cause most of the "metro" is not Cave Creek etc. Um, yes it is a long trip from here to LA...280 from Las Vegas and 377 from Phoenix. That extra 100 miles makes a huge difference.

[Kris000]

My experience living in Vegas is that summers feel about equal in terms of heat, although less humid when compared with monsoon season. Winters are colder. I liked the colder winters, but anyone who moved to the desert to escape cold weather would probably prefer the winters here over Vegas. It snowed a handful of times in the 3 years I lived there, and there were plenty of nights in the 30s and sometimes high 20s.

Some other observations:

Vegas due to the tourism industry had a lot more options of indoor activities to do in the hot weather. I definitely find summers in Phoenix to be more boring when I'm trying to stay out of the heat. No matter what your schedule is, in Vegas there is always something open. Bars and casinos don't close, and it's nice to have the feeling of being able to go anywhere at any time. [off topic]

[observer53]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Phoenix is windy? That is pretty much news to the other 4.6 million people who live here. You do realize
that Phoenix is surrounded by mountains and is in a valley. Windy places are located in the plains or right next to water. Phoenix may not have perfect weather but wind is not one of them. That's like someone criticizing Phoenix for being too overcast. It just doesn't make sense.

Well, technically, it may be in a basin, not a valley, but that's not the issue. It's not characteristically windy, but I'm not the only one I've talked to about it who has noticed an upswing in the number of windy days in the last couple of years. So, to some it may seem like a windy place, depending on where else they have lived.

Originally Posted by timothyaw

1000' does make a difference, cause most of the "metro" is not Cave Creek etc. Um, yes it is a long trip from here to LA...280 from Las Vegas and 377 from Phoenix. That extra 100 miles makes a huge difference.

An hour and a half longer on a flat freeway, and the extra gas, doesn't matter that much, IMO. I suspect people in Vegas who like to go to LA, and people in Phoenix who like to go there, travel there about as often. I can't imagine very many people in Phoenix moving to Vegas primarily to be 90 minutes closer to LA. I don't think the difference in elevation explains all of what difference there is between LV and Phoenix weather, either.

[new2colo]

The average high so far this month in Phoenix is 108 compared to 106 in Tucson and 100 in Las Vegas. I'm not sure that Tucson is all that much cooler than other desert cities... I'm also not sure where this myth that Tucson is consistently 8 degrees cooler than Phoenix is from either.

[new2colo]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Phoenix is windy? That is pretty much news to the other 4.6 million people who live here. You do realize
that Phoenix is surrounded by mountains and is in a valley. Windy places are located in the plains or right next to water. Phoenix may not have perfect weather but wind is not one of them. That's like someone criticizing Phoenix for being too overcast. It just doesn't make sense.

Not true. Ever driven through Palm Springs? It's one of the windiest places in the SW. There's a reason that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of windmills on either side of the freeway to LA. I will agree that Phoenix is not windy at all, especially compared to Vegas, where it will get incredibly windy completely out of the blue on a clear night and will die down a few hours later. The only time I have experienced high winds here is during an actual thunderstorm (we all know how rare that is) or as a dust storm is sweeping through.

[locolife]

As an avid mountain biker\cyclist I prefer the weather in Phoenix over Las Vegas. I do travel to LV quite a bit in the winter months to ride quite a few of the best trails their valley has to offer, great stuff by the way. But we regularly run into windy conditions near Boulder City that stir up quite a bit of dust and cause for some bad headwinds. Phoenix certainly has it's share of windy days, when crossing the ridge portion of national trail on the West side of south mountain these winds become very apparent. Having lived in SLC, PHX and Boston I have to say I still prefer the Phoenix climate above all. The mix of access to outdoors and great sunny weather is hard to beat almost anywhere else in the country. As an outdoorsy enthusiast, I find Phoenix a top notch place to live and weather has a lot to do with that.

[asufan]

No way. I used to go to Vegas 5-6 times a year (or more) before we had kids, now maybe twice a year and we enjoy it, but no way would I live there. [off topic]

It is a closer drive to LA. I go to OC quite often and it's a 5 hour drive for me from my driveway to the Newport area, and a 50 minute plane ride to John Wayne Airport, really a negligible difference in my opinion. The temperature is also not really a big factor. If you said San Diego, you'd be on to something, but Vegas?

[swbrotha100]

I wouldn't move to Las Vegas from Phoenix just for the weather. If I was still living in the Northeast, that would be a different story.

[enigmadsm]

Las vegas may be 80-90 minutes closer to LA, but its a mere 15 miles closer to San Diego. There is also the benefit if places like flagstaff, the Rim, and other towns nearby in Phoenix. I'd rather ski/snowboard in Flagstaff than Mt. Charlston

Personally, I haven't found the weather in the summer much different between places. i do realize the figures show a 5-7 degree difference and slight humidity difference. But personally above 105 or so it all feels about the same...and we generally have such low humidity as it is (other than monsoon season) that it would be a non factor for myself.

As others have mentioned, scenery is better in Phoenix in my opinion.

A repetitive comment was that LV is closer to LA....I doubt there are as many LV residents that come to visit/vacation Phx, but here in Phx we have the option to not only vacation in Southern Cal, but Vegas is just a hop skip and a jump away, and not living there makes the trip more enjoyable when i do visit

[AZguy99]

Phoenix and Las Vegas aren't that much different based on the climate. They both have a subtropical desert climate, with extremely hot summers and warm winters. Humidity is usually low except during the summer monsoon season, although Phoenix gets more monsoon rainfall than Las Vegas due to it being closer to the monsoon ridge to the southeastern portion of Arizona. The monsoon season usually doesn't raise the humidity much in Las Vegas as it is pretty far from the ridge. They are also the only two major cities in the country to average less than 10 inches of rainfall a year. Both cities enjoy abundant sunshine year round. June is the driest month for both cities. July is the wettest month in Phoenix, while February is the wettest month in Las Vegas.

If you're deciding which one is better between the two, it just depends on what time of year it is. If it's the monsoon season (July-September), than Las Vegas would be a better choice, but any other time of the year either city would be fine.