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Statements like that are what make us Zonies seem arro most people prefer greenery and changing seasons? Michigan, IMO, is the most underrated state in the nation. Its gorgeous beyond words. If I lived along MI's upper Western shoreline, I wouldn't leave it for AZ, that's for sure.
I love the desert, but to pry me away from this? It would take A LOT of convincing.
::shrug:: People I know who live where it is cold and spend months of their life every year hating life because of the miserable weather act like they are stuck there. My statement of "you know you can leave, right?" refers to them. Why stay someplace where you spend 4-6 months of the year wishing it would hurry up and warm up rather than moving someplace where they aren't as miserable?
Seasons are overrated.
And please don't ever use the word "zonies" again! That's as bad as "RoRo!"
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OP, the biggest thing that wore on me being from the midwest (granted Minnesota winters are actually pretty sunny even though they're are some frigid days)
Cloudy means " having little or no sunshine" during the waking hours. In the winter when it is sunny, it's actually normally FRIGID (thanks to the air pressure which means little or no clouds). In other words, generally you cannot win. If it really is sunny, it's damn cold. It is is warmer, it is generally cloudy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minntoaz
In a perfect world, you escape Phoenix from June-August and all is good in the world. Working on that...
Careful. the world isn't perfect. It's a royal pain jumping back and forth. I know, a 1st world problem... Worse yet, is to own two places. Unless of course you have "people" (meaning plenty of money) to hire everything done. Take it from a guy who owned 2 or 3 homes at a time for over 20 years. It wears on you. Conclusion it is a PITA. My current strategy is to exit one place. And I'm not going to pick MN.
Statements like that are what make us Zonies seem arro most people prefer greenery and changing seasons? Michigan, IMO, is the most underrated state in the nation. Its gorgeous beyond words. If I lived along MI's upper Western shoreline, I wouldn't leave it for AZ, that's for sure.
I love the desert, but to pry me away from this? It would take A LOT of convincing.
That's like saying "if I lived at Havasupai it would be impossible to pry me away", yeah but nobody lives there because it's missing jobs, an economy, opportunity etc... there's tons of beautiful places in Arizona that are quite remote and nobody really lives there.
You also only picked pictures in the summer or during beautiful fall days, there's a lot of frigid days where it's quite grey and nobody is on the frozen lake.
Every coin has two sides, I wouldn't leave AZ for anything you posted here but I'd go visit there sometime.
::shrug:: People I know who live where it is cold and spend months of their life every year hating life because of the miserable weather act like they are stuck there. My statement of "you know you can leave, right?" refers to them. Why stay someplace where you spend 4-6 months of the year wishing it would hurry up and warm up rather than moving someplace where they aren't as miserable?
Seasons are overrated.
And please don't ever use the word "zonies" again! That's as bad as "RoRo!"
Well said on the seasons and I also can't help but point out the whole attitude of needing seasons is only in part of the worlds, more people live in places without traditional US seasonal change than do. I also find it extremely easy to visit any season I want, by driving a few hours here. I much prefer that than having seasons come to me.
I totally agree on people who aren't happy where they are, do something about it then. It's a free country for just that reason.
Statements like that are what make us Zonies seem arro most people prefer greenery and changing seasons? Michigan, IMO, is the most underrated state in the nation. Its gorgeous beyond words. If I lived along MI's upper Western shoreline, I wouldn't leave it for AZ, that's for sure.
I love the desert, but to pry me away from this? It would take A LOT of convincing.
I'm from Michigan's UP and I recognize some of those scenes, they bring back some fond memories.
As beautiful as it is there in the summertime the winters are the total opposite, and they can be ten times worse than Phoenix's heat.
You're often physically stuck indoors because the conditions are too dangerous to step outdoors to do anything. When the weather clears you're often bundled up head to toe shoveling or blowing snow and scraping ice.
By spring you're often dealing with a mixture of wind, rain, and snow, slushy muddy conditions and drastic changes in temperatures.
I don't like the heat here at all but I'll contend with three or four months of it versus six months of cold miserable weather.
Title says Michigan and then post says Midwest so I hope I'm not intruding as I'm from the Midwest, but not Michigan. Born and raised in South Dakota and then moved to Arizona in 2010 so I've been living here about 7 years now. This is solely my opinion but yes, I am absolutely sick of the sun/heat. It's becoming miserable for me. I haven't left the house much at all during the summer for the past 3-4 years especially since the heat has progressively gotten worse. That and I suffer from a condition that causes me to overheat easily when it's too hot out, which unlucky for me I only found out 2-3 years after I moved here. Even if I didn't have it, the heat has just become unbearable nowadays. I can't do another summer of 115-120 degree temps for weeks to months at a time and a nightly "low" of only high 80s or low 90s. It doesn't help that we've had our AC bust in two separate houses in two different cities (Chandler and Gilbert) due to the excessive heat. Last summer alone we ended up having to fork over $500 to replace the hot water heater (or w/e you call it) and then another solid $300-$700 for fees to replace our AC all together (thankfully we had home warranty which ended up caving and replacing but then of course cancelled our warranty with them afterwards). That's not including the many times we had to pay people to come out and check it as well as the hotel stays we had to do when the AC would start messing up. The AC usually cannot keep up when it hikes to the higher temps. We are selling our house (closes on the 18th) and living in a rental just to ensure we don't have to foot the bill in case the AC stops working.
I'm at the point where I finally cannot handle staying inside all summer anymore with an AC that may or may not keep up and may or may not bust on us. I want to enjoy myself and do activities outside again. The landscape is fine, I don't have issues with it. Gotta say though that one thing I really hate is the overabundance of overbearing HOAs here. Good lord they jump down your throat for every stupid issue and fine you for the dumbest things. We barely had weeds and our neighbor has tall weeds and another has a busted up car in their driveway and yet we got a notice threatening a fine if it wasn't handled by a certain date. The house we're selling had a terrible one too. They just sent a notice complaining about "missing roof tiles" (which we just fixed after having the inspection -- thanks to the monsoons) and general nonsense. I have to say I love the monsoons though. They're awesome. I'm gonna miss them when I'm gone.
Overall, it's up to you and truthfully I'd say it'd be worth visiting to see if it's for you. What can be considered misery for me could be the best climate/place to live for you. It's all perception and tolerance, I guess. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you end up doing though!
That's like saying "if I lived at Havasupai it would be impossible to pry me away", yeah but nobody lives there because it's missing jobs, an economy, opportunity etc... there's tons of beautiful places in Arizona that are quite remote and nobody really lives there.
You also only picked pictures in the summer or during beautiful fall days, there's a lot of frigid days where it's quite grey and nobody is on the frozen lake.
Every coin has two sides, I wouldn't leave AZ for anything you posted here but I'd go visit there sometime.
Michigan's UP is an economic disaster and has been for decades. Pretty much everyone is on some sort of government program or other. I visit family each year and it gets more run down with each trip. Your kids grow up and move away and the place is fast becoming a sort of wooded, dilapidated old folks home where little changes. Even the bars are closing down. As for natural beauty, yeah, its nice - better than most anything in the midwest. But Arizona blows it away in diversity and sheer grandeur.
I can't do another summer of 115-120 degree temps for weeks to months at a time and a nightly "low" of only high 80s or low 90s.
It's never that hot for that long. We do get 110+ for days at a time, but 115+ are not all that common, and after 7 years I finally got to experience my first 119 a week or so ago. Not pleasant, but very rare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by countchocula
It doesn't help that we've had our AC bust in two separate houses in two different cities (Chandler and Gilbert) due to the excessive heat. Last summer alone we ended up having to fork over $500 to replace the hot water heater (or w/e you call it) and then another solid $300-$700 for fees to replace our AC all together (thankfully we had home warranty which ended up caving and replacing but then of course cancelled our warranty with them afterwards). That's not including the many times we had to pay people to come out and check it as well as the hotel stays we had to do when the AC would start messing up. The AC usually cannot keep up when it hikes to the higher temps. We are selling our house (closes on the 18th) and living in a rental just to ensure we don't have to foot the bill in case the AC stops working.
Gotta say though that one thing I really hate is the overabundance of overbearing HOAs here. Good lord they jump down your throat for every stupid issue and fine you for the dumbest things. We barely had weeds and our neighbor has tall weeds and another has a busted up car in their driveway and yet we got a notice threatening a fine if it wasn't handled by a certain date. The house we're selling had a terrible one too. They just sent a notice complaining about "missing roof tiles" (which we just fixed after having the inspection -- thanks to the monsoons) and general nonsense.
House repairs and HOA's are not any different here than elsewhere. I had to replace a 5500 hvac system in my house back on OH. That's no reflection on Ohio. I've never lived in an HOA and never will, for the reasons you mentioned. There are plenty of places here that don't have them.
Statements like that are what make us Zonies seem arro most people prefer greenery and changing seasons? Michigan, IMO, is the most underrated state in the nation. Its gorgeous beyond words. If I lived along MI's upper Western shoreline, I wouldn't leave it for AZ, that's for sure.
I love the desert, but to pry me away from this? It would take A LOT of convincing.
I lived in Phoenix for 4 years.I adored Phoenix and all the art the rocks and sunsets. And the Indian green jade jewelry that seemed popular then. I loved it...but moved with my husband to Michigan...I cried about Michigan but I learned to love Michigan...for 30 years I lived in Michigan with family. Michigan to this day has a place in my heart for the nicest down to earth people...more home body people in Michigan. Lake Michigan is such a perfect lake with waves & Lake Michigan to me was always a small secret ocean. I always wanted to return to Phoenix. Raising a family I just never got the opportunity. But I know our kids got a much better education in Michigan then Phoenix so it was a good move for us. When I was pre kids...living in Phoenix it did get hot!! Just like they say...but to me I loved it because there are pools and a/c. I at times missed the snow...to cool off! Phoenix has a different vibe to it then Michigan. A southwest culture just like in the photos.
(My personal experiences are that the people in Michigan seem more intelligent.)
Last edited by ellie84; 07-01-2017 at 07:46 PM..
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