On a scale 1-10, how do you rate Phoenix climate to where you've lived in the past? (Tempe: homes, calculated)

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by CAHLUV

I have lived in many places because of a military background but will limit it to cities in the states:

Phoenix 6.5/10
Los Angeles 9/10
San Diego 9.5
Kansas City, Mo 5/10
Norfolk, VA 2.5 ugh not a fan
Honolulu, Hawaii 9.5
Everett(Seattle) 5/10

I'm surprised you'd rate KC above Norfolk. The winters in Norfolk are much less harsh and the summers are moderated a bit by being close to the ocean. I'd take Norfolk weather any day over KC (aside from the occasional hurricanes, but then KC has tornados to deal with).

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

I'm surprised you'd rate KC above Norfolk. The winters in Norfolk are much less harsh and the summers are moderated a bit by being close to the ocean. I'd take Norfolk weather any day over KC (aside from the occasional hurricanes, but then KC has tornados to deal with).

Norfolk is quite humid in the summer, more so than Kansas City, dewpoints average at least 5° higher, and at that level, it's noticeable

[hikernut]

I've lived in Madison, Portland (OR), Denver, Austin, and Phoenix. It's actually a few more places than that, but those five represent the various climates. I would not choose to live in Phoenix year round if climate were the only issue.

It's not easy, but here's a stab at my personal order ranking, assuming year-round living. Climate is the only issue for the ordering, I'm not factoring in cost of living, economy, traffic, etc. None are great year-round climates, to be honest.

Austin 7
Portland 6
Phoenix 5+
Denver 5
Madison 3

Austin barely gets a winter. The summers are a bit oppressive, but I actually prefer the lower temps combined with some humidity, and except for the worst days I find it okay to be outside as long as I'm in the shade. The uncomfortable part of summer is much shorter than in Phoenix.

Most people write off Portland because of the clouds. I actually did not mind it... apparently not affect by SADD. Again, it barely has a winter, and the "rain" is typically a drizzle. Just throw on a gortex jacket and go about your business. Everything is lush and green. Summers are fantastic.

Phoenix... 6 months are great, another two are tolerable, but four months are miserable. Need to have a lot of indoor interests to live here in the summer. I work indoors, so that makes it feasible, but if I had more free time to be outside I'd be frustrated living here.

Denver weather is unpredictable. If you average it out over the whole year it's not bad, but with little notice you can have hurricane-force winds, two feet of snow, 100+ degree temps, fierce hailstorms. During winter it's very unpleasant indoors unless one has a whole-house humidifier. It can be frustrating if you like to plan outdoor activities, so one needs to be flexible and have the right attitude.

Madison. Um, bad ass cold winters. Muggy summers. Nice spring and summer although spring can be a mudfest some years.

Now if I could combine any two of these, I'd choose Phoenix winters and Portland summers. That would be ideal.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by hikernut

I've lived in Madison, Portland (OR), Denver, Austin, and Phoenix. It's actually a few more places than that, but those five represent the various climates. I would not choose to live in Phoenix year round if climate were the only issue.

It's not easy, but here's a stab at my personal order ranking, assuming year-round living. Climate is the only issue for the ordering, I'm not factoring in cost of living, economy, traffic, etc. None are great year-round climates, to be honest.

Austin 7
Portland 6
Phoenix 5+
Denver 5
Madison 3

Austin barely gets a winter. The summers are a bit oppressive, but I actually prefer the lower temps combined with some humidity, and except for the worst days I find it okay to be outside as long as I'm in the shade. The uncomfortable part of summer is much shorter than in Phoenix.

Most people write off Portland because of the clouds. I actually did not mind it... apparently not affect by SADD. Again, it barely has a winter, and the "rain" is typically a drizzle. Just throw on a gortex jacket and go about your business. Everything is lush and green. Summers are fantastic.

Phoenix... 6 months are great, another two are tolerable, but four months are miserable. Need to have a lot of indoor interests to live here in the summer. I work indoors, so that makes it feasible, but if I had more free time to be outside I'd be frustrated living here.

Denver weather is unpredictable. If you average it out over the whole year it's not bad, but with little notice you can have hurricane-force winds, two feet of snow, 100+ degree temps, fierce hailstorms. During winter it's very unpleasant indoors unless one has a whole-house humidifier. It can be frustrating if you like to plan outdoor activities, so one needs to be flexible and have the right attitude.

Madison. Um, bad ass cold winters. Muggy summers. Nice spring and summer although spring can be a mudfest some years.

Now if I could combine any two of these, I'd choose Phoenix winters and Portland summers. That would be ideal.

Some people can tolerate humidity well. Not me, so no thanks to Austin. I agree with you on Portland. I don't mind clouds and cooler weather (like 60's). In fact, that's ideal to me. And yes the summers are amazing and beautiful. I'd probably prefer Portland weather of any of them, though Phoenix is second due to the awesome weather from November through April. There really aren't many bad days in that whole stretch. You rarely even have to think about the weather here. As for Denver...I lived there and I swear it's like Mother Nature is both drunk and schizophrenic there. It could be 80 at noon and snowing by late afternoon and that's almost any month of the year. Crazy.

[American Expat]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

Hyperbole much? Average summer highs in Kuwait City are almost identical to Phoenix. Riyadh is about 5 Fahrenheit degrees warmer.

Just saw this...yes it was an exaggeration but Kuwait's about 10F hotter in the summer than Phoenix and a bit cooler in the winter. What really makes the climate here suck is the dust storms that happen almost daily for months from Jan-May. Phoenix is cooler and less humid in the summer, warmer and sunnier in the winter and has far less wind and dust in the spring than Kuwait....so Phoenix scores 3 times higher on climate in my book than Kuwait.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by American Expat

Just saw this...yes it was an exaggeration but Kuwait's about 10F hotter in the summer than Phoenix and a bit cooler in the winter. What really makes the climate here suck is the dust storms that happen almost daily for months from Jan-May. Phoenix is cooler and less humid in the summer, warmer and sunnier in the winter and has far less wind and dust in the spring than Kuwait....so Phoenix scores 3 times higher on climate in my book than Kuwait.

When I read your article I googled Kuwait City weather and came up with some numbers that were apparently wrong. My mistake.

[Skerzz]

Currently live in Portland (OR), but seriously considering a move to Phoenix. The lack of sunshine 8 months out of the year can really wear on you (144 sunny days per year, with 90 of those in July - Sept ); there's so much pressure to take advantage of the rare sunny day in April that might pop up in between weeks on end of clouds and rain. Summers are amazing tho with very long days; the short winter days depressing. I've lived in the East Bay Area, San Diego, Portland, and now considering Phoenix with the hope that one day I'll spend summers in Portland and winter in Phoenix.

San Diego - 9.5/10: Perfect except for a little "May gray/June gloom"
Bay Area - 8/10
Portland: 4/10
Phoenix: ?? figuring (hoping) it will be a 7/10. with 8 months of enjoyable weather and 4 harsh summer months. Summer is the time the kidos are out of school which works perfectly for summer trips to San Diego, Portland, Idaho, etc. to escape the metro for cooler outdoor weather.

[American Expat]

Originally Posted by Skerzz

Currently live in Portland (OR), but seriously considering a move to Phoenix. The lack of sunshine 8 months out of the year can really wear on you (144 sunny days per year, with 90 of those in July - Sept ); there's so much pressure to take advantage of the rare sunny day in April that might pop up in between weeks on end of clouds and rain. Summers are amazing tho with very long days; the short winter days depressing. I've lived in the East Bay Area, San Diego, Portland, and now considering Phoenix with the hope that one day I'll spend summers in Portland and winter in Phoenix.

San Diego - 9.5/10: Perfect except for a little "May gray/June gloom"
Bay Area - 8/10
Portland: 4/10
Phoenix: ?? figuring (hoping) it will be a 7/10. with 8 months of enjoyable weather and 4 harsh summer months. Summer is the time the kidos are out of school which works perfectly for summer trips to San Diego, Portland, Idaho, etc. to escape the metro for cooler outdoor weather.

I think you're one of the first to compare the Bar Area and I agree, their climate is very good though not as good as San Diego/Orange County. I lived in Portland and Seattle many years and yeah, that gray weather for months is depressing....summers are great but then you start dreading the next winter.

[yukon]

I'd have to rank PHX an 8 for me. I 'd give a 10 to Albuquerque - all four seasons and none are normally extreme. PHX loses points for the heat of summer, but gains points for the awesome fall/winter/spring temps and all the flowers here ABQ has entirely too much brown going on. I've also lived in Tampa, Ft Lauderdale, Destin/Ft Walton Beach, Mobile, Huntsville, Houston, Dallas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Norfolk, San Diego and Okinawa. Dallas was by far the worst place climate/temp/weatherwise for me.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Skerzz

Currently live in Portland (OR), but seriously considering a move to Phoenix. The lack of sunshine 8 months out of the year can really wear on you (144 sunny days per year, with 90 of those in July - Sept ); there's so much pressure to take advantage of the rare sunny day in April that might pop up in between weeks on end of clouds and rain. Summers are amazing tho with very long days; the short winter days depressing. I've lived in the East Bay Area, San Diego, Portland, and now considering Phoenix with the hope that one day I'll spend summers in Portland and winter in Phoenix.

San Diego - 9.5/10: Perfect except for a little "May gray/June gloom"
Bay Area - 8/10
Portland: 4/10
Phoenix: ?? figuring (hoping) it will be a 7/10. with 8 months of enjoyable weather and 4 harsh summer months. Summer is the time the kidos are out of school which works perfectly for summer trips to San Diego, Portland, Idaho, etc. to escape the metro for cooler outdoor weather.

The Bay Area is reasonable sunny but the city is just too cold almost all the time for me to really enjoy it , personally.

It seems we’re all in agreement, there is no perfect place.