Is Phoenix livable without air conditioning? (Tempe, Surprise: to move, horseback, humid)

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by RenW

There are also some other stories of how people coped with the heat. Some people would dose there sheets before going to bed. Some women in families would get up in the early hours of the morning (3:00am+) to doing baking for the day when it was cooler. Laundry of clothing and sheets had to be done more frequently because of damp cloth from perspiration. People spent a lot of time on their porches in general to help cool down. Heat rose in the high ceilings in houses.

People became sick with respiratory problems from sleeping on damp sheets. Also, you have to remember that the life span back then was much shorter than it is now because people basically lived without too many comforts or advanced medicine. I will say, however, that the summer nights back then cooled off quite nicely because there wasn't an urban heat island like there is now.

Most of all, the population of Phoenix in those days was miniscule compared to the latter part of the 20th Century, and today. Better cooling methods (A/C) became standard in homes, businesses, and vehicles. There is no way the Phoenix area would have anywhere near the population it does today if it wasn't for air conditioning!

[TAZORAC]

Yes its liveable, comfortable? NO.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

Yes its liveable, comfortable? NO.

True about a year ago when this thread was last active, still true now.

[DavidBilly]

we were looking at houses 2 weeks ago and many of the homes we toured didn't have the AC on.
It was more comfortable outside and hotter in the houses w/out AC.
Just my 2c

[Ponderosa]

I came across the remains of a camp in the Bradshaw mountains several years ago. I don't know exactly where it was anymore. It was a national forest historic site. The camp was a summer camp for women and children who came up from Phoenix. Apparently, it was the thing for the well to do to send their wives and kids into the mountains for the summer while they stayed behind to work.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by DavidBilly

we were looking at houses 2 weeks ago and many of the homes we toured didn't have the AC on.
It was more comfortable outside and hotter in the houses w/out AC.
Just my 2c

Temperatures were unseasonably cool then. Lots of us didn't have the AC on in houses we are living in. That said, if I were showing a house to a potential buyer I'd have had it on. The A/C will be on now if you come look, for sure!

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by DavidBilly

we were looking at houses 2 weeks ago and many of the homes we toured didn't have the AC on.
It was more comfortable outside and hotter in the houses w/out AC.
Just my 2c

If I were to tour homes that didn't have A/C on, and it was more comfortable outside than inside, that would be a deal breaker for me. If the A/C isn't turned on (and/or not working), and it's uncomfortable, then they lose business from me. This goes for anything: grocery store, restaurant, office, etc. I'd be complaining to whomever is in charge. There's no excuse for it to be hotter inside than outside from now to about November or so ... that's just bad business.

[BIG CATS]

Could you survive w/o a/c here in summer? If youre healthy, Id say yes. If you were harboring infants or elderly, I would say no. Now, granted, if you are healthy, living without a/c here in summer would probably drive you nuts. Ive turned off the a/c in summer and our place will get to 90 degrees in a few hours, its very uncomfortable. During the monsoon season when the humidity soars it would be doubly uncomfortable Id imagine.

[Leaving Arizona]

To think that people survived, lived, and even thrived here in the days of corsets, longjohns, petticoats, and wool suits says something for the spirit of mankind. That answers the OP's question.

Is it possible? Certainly, and proven. Do you want to? No. Really, you don't.

My own great-grandfather would ride from Nogales to Tombstone on horseback all times of the year and in all weather, and did so often. Today, we quail at the thought of walking the tens of feet to the mailbox.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by Leaving Arizona

To think that people survived, lived, and even thrived here in the days of corsets, longjohns, petticoats, and wool suits says something for the spirit of mankind. That answers the OP's question.

Is it possible? Certainly, and proven. Do you want to? No. Really, you don't.

My own great-grandfather would ride from Nogales to Tombstone on horseback all times of the year and in all weather, and did so often. Today, we quail at the thought of walking the tens of feet to the mailbox.

Good post! I agree that mankind has been so pampered over the last 50 years that I dont think half the people on earth would be able to survive if we were suddenly thrust back into the pre-WWII era. Im serious when I say that, too.