6 yrs living here, I can't help but miss the ocean and greenery! (Chandler: camping, taxes)

[Discovery1]

Originally Posted by Colt Cassidy

Not to worry. When California slides into the Pacific, there'll be plenty of Arizona beaches & ocean for you to enjoy!

Yeah, a view of the pacific ocean

[Phxrider]

Maricopa is a dump in the middle of the desert , I will say it also, no wonder lol. Move up to the valley and I think you will see things different .

[deboinair]

You can always move. I never saw the sense of complaining when you know automatically how the place is before you move. That is definitely an East coast thing.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by Phxrider

Maricopa is a dump in the middle of the desert , I will say it also, no wonder lol. Move up to the valley and I think you will see things different .

Awww, no fair! It may not be your cup of tea, but it's not that bad!!! Although, it is quite hot.

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by jmac1

I was going to post something like this yesterday. Some people act as if kids can't adjust. When I was a kid the extreme cold of growing up in Michigan's winters didn't keep me in the house, nor did the 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity summers.......you just played.

My daughter never had a problem in the summer. From sixth grade through high school here.

Man, the beach stuff is killing me too. How much did people go to the beach when they didn't live here? You'd swear it was everyday; and if it was, why would you leave, knowing there isn't one with-in 5 hours of here?

Everyone on City Data goes to the beach, bars, and shopping everyday, but still find time to post and complain about how expensive things are or how long their commute is....how is that possible?

Sorry about the rant.

It's ok, we are just having a conversation. I really like Phoenix as well.

[go09]

There is so much that is nice here in AZ but I, too, miss frequent closer trips to the beach and mountains as well as the plants I used to grow.

[LagunaMom]

Dear fellow beach bum:

I've had an increasing longing for the beach and ocean most of the time over the past few years, so I feel your pain. Laguna's been like our second home since the mid-70s (as one can see from the LB sticker on my Jeep), and while we own property in SoCal, we don't live there. Yet.

No, you're not crazy to consider moving. I came from Chicago in '73 (hated it) and while I'll always love Phoenix, it's getting time to leave. I'll always be a Cardinals and Suns fan, as well as being a Sun Devil, but I miss the ocean too much. The older I get, the harder it is to deal with the intense heat. In our case, it really would be like going from one home to the other.

In the meantime, the trick to keeping your sanity is to accept that you miss the ocean and to emotionally connect with it, even if you live here. Here's some ideas:

Connect online with wherever makes your heart sing. For me, that's the webcam operated by the Hotel Laguna at Main Beach (it has audio!), reading the local papers and blogs, watching streaming TV news from LA, trolling the CA forum on City-Data (specifically where we own our rentals) and supporting a local animal rescue, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

Don't decorate your home in a desert or Southwest theme. Decorate in ocean colors. Yes, I have lots of browns, but browns are at the beach, too. I use lots of greens and blues, as in sea glass. I've subscribed to Coastal Living for several years. I swapped out my everyday Mikasa china pattern with flowers to something beachy in blue and green that I bought at the TJ Maxx in OC. I've got some typical beach decorations around, too.

If you miss all that greenery, try using Mediterranean plants that are suitable for the desert. I miss the plants along PCH, but who knows how it'll be with the drought? The HOA at one of our properties is killing much of the lawn to replant desert landscape. Sign of the times.

As bad as the heat is...remember that Halloween is just 4 months away!

[HTY483]

Originally Posted by beachbuminAZ

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

The desert is not for everyone and besides, who cares what anyone else thinks. If you want to move then do so.

[jmac1]

Originally Posted by LagunaMom

Dear fellow beach bum:

I've had an increasing longing for the beach and ocean most of the time over the past few years, so I feel your pain. Laguna's been like our second home since the mid-70s (as one can see from the LB sticker on my Jeep), and while we own property in SoCal, we don't live there. Yet.

No, you're not crazy to consider moving. I came from Chicago in '73 (hated it) and while I'll always love Phoenix, it's getting time to leave. I'll always be a Cardinals and Suns fan, as well as being a Sun Devil, but I miss the ocean too much. The older I get, the harder it is to deal with the intense heat. In our case, it really would be like going from one home to the other.

In the meantime, the trick to keeping your sanity is to accept that you miss the ocean and to emotionally connect with it, even if you live here. Here's some ideas:

Connect online with wherever makes your heart sing. For me, that's the webcam operated by the Hotel Laguna at Main Beach (it has audio!), reading the local papers and blogs, watching streaming TV news from LA, trolling the CA forum on City-Data (specifically where we own our rentals) and supporting a local animal rescue, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

Don't decorate your home in a desert or Southwest theme. Decorate in ocean colors. Yes, I have lots of browns, but browns are at the beach, too. I use lots of greens and blues, as in sea glass. I've subscribed to Coastal Living for several years. I swapped out my everyday Mikasa china pattern with flowers to something beachy in blue and green that I bought at the TJ Maxx in OC. I've got some typical beach decorations around, too.

If you miss all that greenery, try using Mediterranean plants that are suitable for the desert. I miss the plants along PCH, but who knows how it'll be with the drought? The HOA at one of our properties is killing much of the lawn to replant desert landscape. Sign of the times.

As bad as the heat is...remember that Halloween is just 4 months away!

That's too much. If you need to do all of that-faking the beach scene-it is time to move, otherwise you are just fooling yourself. IMO.

I say accept the beauty of the desert and desert living. Fake is never good.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by jmac1

That's too much. If you need to do all of that-faking the beach scene-it is time to move, otherwise you are just fooling yourself. IMO.

I say accept the beauty of the desert and desert living. Fake is never good.