6 yrs living here, I can't help but miss the ocean and greenery! (Phoenix: 2014, rent)

[tlvancouver]

Originally Posted by beachbuminAZ

We don't have a pool.
....

And yes I agree, these poor kids get no snow days...yet are stuck home during the worst weather months here. I'm sure the pool helps, but honestly how many days in a row can you do the pool without getting bored.

Don't even get me started on July 4th. We can't even bbq, we have to throw the food on the grill, run back inside, then back out to grab the food and back in again to eat to avoid the flies and heat.

Put a pool in - kids will be in it every single day, with friends visiting regularly. The pool also makes the yard feel cooler. Put in lots of umbrella sleeves (including IN the pool), a patio mister and you'll get a lot more use out of your yard!

Realistically, you will use your yard and a pool way more often than you'd go to the shore plus you have the benefit of a great winter!

[Phxrider]

I hear you, along with the food. Nothing like the shore back east

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by beachbuminAZ

We don't have a pool. We can pack up and drive to Grandma's house in town or down to her community pool, but it's not the same as being able to jump in in your own backyard. My almost 3 year old stares out the window at her playhouse and Little Tykes car, knowing it is too damn hot to go out. She won't even go out in the early morning. It isn't even July yet, and she is bored.

Please San Diego is a 5 hour trip with breaks for the little kids. Its at least $1k each trip. Sure if it were just my DH and I, we would go twice a month and stay at a crappy motel. But with a family It's a whole production. And it's crazy expensive there.

I miss the east coast vibe, the sense of community. In my neighborhood, I have no clue if my next door neighbor is alive or even in her home. Everyone pulls into their garages at night and out in the morning.

And yes I agree, these poor kids get no snow days...yet are stuck home during the worst weather months here. I'm sure the pool helps, but honestly how many days in a row can you do the pool without getting bored.

Don't even get me started on July 4th. We can't even bbq, we have to throw the food on the grill, run back inside, then back out to grab the food and back in again to eat to avoid the flies and heat.

If I were a desert/mountain/lake/boating/camping gal that I would probably love it here. But, I am more of a beach chair with a good book and my toes in the sand kind of gal. I'm hoping we can make a move back to the coast soon, before my kids get old enough to have crappy summer memories.

I get ya. It's a great place to retire but not as great with kids I admit. There are plenty of affordable places back about 35 min or so from the beach in S.Cal but back east and close to the water is probably better.
I have made some good neighborhood friends around Phoenix although I do see a lot of people complain about it. We have a lot of people who jog and walk dogs in are area so we talk often. Some areas aren't as active.

The east and west coasts and there surrounding states are a lot different in many ways. It must be culture shock for you. It will get better but you might want to go back and just come out when you retire like most people do.
I work in both AZ and CA so my benefit is 1/2 a year of beach living. But, it would be hard to just take a lot of vaca's all summer long. You need something closer. Good luck either way, if you stay I'd get a pool and start teaching your kids how to swim. That will help a lot, especially with bbq season.

[PinkElephant]

Something tells me an arrangement similar to Poppysead's kinda like reverse snowbird might be in order for you.

[goolsbyjazz]

Been here 16 years...and still miss the ocean! I learned to appreciate the desert for what it is, but growing up back east (Massachusetts) you never get over the ocean. It is tough here with kids, especially in the summer!

[DHart]

Yeah... this is probably better for people in retirement, not so great for kids. I can see why you would want to go back to where you lived on the east coast. Sounds like you should just do it!

[jaredC]

One common theme on this thread, and in every thread about the oppressive heat, is that everyone keeps saying to get a pool. While I can understand having a pool is great, its by no means an escape from the crushingly oppressive heat. I grew up with a pool here in Phoenix. The novel wore off after a few years and then you realize that despite how OCD you were about sunblock, it was always never enough and still got sunburns. So, you then resorted to swimming at night, which was fine, but still made summer days boring. I grew up mostly here in Phoenix, but up until the age of 16, Tucson is where I spent my early childhood. I have the best memories of my childhood in Tucson. Where a short trip up to My. Lemmon could alleviate all cabin fever.

I've got a little one on the way and would like nothing more than for my baby girl to spend her summers playing outdoors, preferably not here in Phoenix. I've spent quite a few summers in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The summers have me yearning to go back. The winters were bitter cold, but you could still go outside for hockey or whatever.

[seasick]

Originally Posted by beachbuminAZ

Any tips on overcoming me missing the ocean, beach, greenery, mature trees? Originally from NJ where I was 30 mins away from NYC, 40 min to the ocean and 20 min to hiking trails.

I've done a Sedona trip, but it just doesn't cut it. I don't like that my kids are growing up indoors during the summer, instead of playing outside with neighborhood kids.

Am I crazy to think about leaving AZ, when so many desire to move here?

If you look at these boards, you will see people crisscrossing the nation! Some just love it in Place X, some hate it, some are trying for Place Y, etc.

It's all due to the person's taste. Some people just don't care about the ocean and happy to be landlocked. Some care most about getting away from winter weather and pine for the Southwest or subtropical areas.

Go with what YOU want.

You don't have to justify your preference for the ocean and greenery and hiking trails that are familiar to you. I'm plotting to leave a fantastic job in order to get back near the ocean and some greenery!

That said, when I lived in Tucson, we had a mist system and an outdoor contractor's cooler set up. We had shade cloth strung across the yard. We lived in an old garage in the student slums so no one cared about our homemade shade haven. It let us be outside a lot more, and was fun for our pets, too.

[jk18gabr]

Just remember, your kids don't miss what they never had! Its like if you lived in Europe and moved back to the states when you had kids and now feel bad that they aren't getting a multicultural experience... A lot of kids grow up without living close to the ocean. Just need to take vacations to enjoy it or... move back home.

[MotleyCrew]

just returned from a long weekend in San Diego. It is our favorite place to escape the heat and it is only a 5 hour drive.
I would love to return to CA, especially San Diego, but income matters when you retire and we just don't have the steam in our engine. AZ is not a bad place to live in our opinion. But I do miss that ocean........