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My biggest issue about a potential future move to PHX is the amount of bark scorpions they get. That's not the thing most people say is the biggest con. Most people say that its actually the heat, traffic and bad drivers. At the end of the day, if its hot its hot outside but if there's no scorpions or snakes to deal with, that relaxes me knowing I won't have to deal with those things. Spiders are one thing because a spider is small enough that you can kill it if you hit it hard enough.
Another thing that I know is that in PHX and Southern AZ(Yuma) air conditioning bills are going to be VERY high in the summer and I will be confined to it for at least 6 months. Somehow, I kind of knew that people in this forum would not suggest PHX if you don't enjoy the heat. When I think about it maybe I should just stay in L.A. in spite of the horrible expense involved for living here. A one bedroom apartment in a nice area will cost a minimum of $1100 or $1200 a month and that's just the rent only. This does not count the food cost, transportation, mobile phone and internet payments etc. Well folks, I have some hard thinking to do
I have never heard anyone express dissatisfaction with Phoenix or want to move away because of the scorpions. Even with all the resident whiners on the forum coming up with all things they don't like about living here, I don't think any of them (yet, LOL!) has complained about scorpions. Heat, nothing to do, schools, pay scale, traffic cameras, you name it; they complain. But scorpions? Nah. And snakes? That is just silly.
As for being confined to your house for six months. That is equally preposterous. Other than about 8 weeks, the mornings and evenings are comparatively pleasant even if you have to hide in the heat of the day. I'm not saying people don't fall into that stay-in-the-house trap. Many do. But many others do not. For them, there is more outdoor opportunity and available hours than just about anywhere. I guess if you really can't stand heat and feel you can't adapt your life a bit to manage it then you should stay put - high rent or not. Heat is reality here.
I have never heard anyone express dissatisfaction with Phoenix or want to move away because of the scorpions. Even with all the resident whiners on the forum coming up with all things they don't like about living here, I don't think any of them (yet, LOL!) has complained about scorpions. Heat, nothing to do, schools, pay scale, traffic cameras, you name it; they complain. But scorpions? Nah. And snakes? That is just silly.
As for being confined to your house for six months. That is equally preposterous. Other than about 8 weeks, the mornings and evenings are comparatively pleasant even if you have to hide in the heat of the day. I'm not saying people don't fall into that stay-in-the-house trap. Many do. But many others do not. For them, there is more outdoor opportunity and available hours than just about anywhere. I guess if you really can't stand heat and feel you can't adapt your life a bit to manage it then you should stay put - high rent or not. Heat is reality here.
I don't doubt your judgement at all. That was exactly my point, that most people complain about heat, schools, traffic and some other things. I guess we agree there. You are a respected contributor on this forum and your intentions are to tell people about the reality of living in PHX. Like I said, I have some thinking to do.
Okay, maybe I went a little too far and exaggerated when I said you would be stuck indoors for 6 months. Nowhere in the US is exactly perfect in terms of climate. Southern CA has smog and earthquakes. Phoenix has heat and dust storms. Nashville TN has high humidity and tornadoes. See what I mean? Like I said when I started this thread, if push came to shove and I had to deal with heat, I'd rather have it be dry heat. My heat tolerance has actually gotten better over the years, so there's a chance that I could make it work. I'm basically looking for higher quality of life and a place where people are not as stressed out. Don't get me wrong, I like where I am but future relocation is not out of the question yet.
It' absolutely not worth it if you hate the heat! With that said, I grew up in Texas so I know a thing or two about hot and humid weather. We've lived in Phx for a couple of years now and every time I go back to TX I can't wait to get back to AZ. I feel like I can barely breathe with all that humidity!! Quite honestly, I do not care for either types of heat but if I had to choose, I'd pick dry heat (there's always lotion!). I'd stay in L.A. where the summers are milder. If it's too expensive, can you move to a surrounding area?
Well I worked in L.A. for four years since 2003. I'm working in L.A. again. I'm a native Californian.
I also have a permanent residence in Phoenix and actually lived there a total of three years since the Fall of 2000.
I have lived in Phoenix over a summer. I lived in the Mojave Desert of California for over ten years. I know hot!
You bring up good questions.
I can handle the heat of Arizona only as long as I can live where the monsoon is active. I love active weather. I love to watch thunder clouds build up in the summer. I love volatility. I love it when the storm ends and the cycle begins. Tucson is actually a better place for me than Phoenix, but lacks the variety of Phoenix.
I would not worry about dry skin. The Mojave desert of California is much drier than the Sonoran desert because the northern Mojave has no monsoon. In the winter my skin around the knuckles would crack. Very painful.
Two words about Phoenix in the summer "Air Conditioning."
If you realize your apartment has it and your car has it, Phoenix is bearable in summer. Enjoy the monsoon and do your normal daily habit such as dine at your favorite restaurant. There are all sorts of nice restaurants in Phoenix and the service is as good in August as it is in January.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AliveandWell
Well, I've been thinking about this question for several days. I'm wondering if Phoenix is worth it for year round living if someone like me doesn't enjoy the heat? Is it still doable? I think that I'd rather put up with the dry heat over the humid even though it leads to dry skin which is an annoyance. Some people can even get nosebleeds but I've been lucky that in 26 years of living in Southern CA I've only had nosebleeds once.
I'd like to talk about another reason I thought about PHX. Here is my situation: I am still living in the L.A. metro and I'm happy to be here. I enjoy the diversity of L.A. and I grew up as a Lakers basketball fan. I also think that the Mexican food here is amazing. I also enjoy good rock and heavy metal concerts. However, L.A. is a VERY expensive place to live. I have only been to AZ once but it is a pretty state and this is one of the reasons that I am considering AZ as a future place to live. It is close enough to CA so that I could visit family anytime I wanted to. These are some of my reasons. If on the other hand, any of you think that PHX is not worth it if you don't really like the heat, then what can I do? Are there any other areas of the US that have a climate similar to PHX(except Las Vegas) that may be a better fit? I know I'm probably contradicting myself but I just want to make sure that I make the right decisions. I am definitely NOT moving anywhere now. I just want to let all you people know that AZ is a beautiful state with so much to offer. So, is PHX worth it if the heat is so bad?
Well, I've been thinking about this question for several days. I'm wondering if Phoenix is worth it for year round living if someone like me doesn't enjoy the heat? Is it still doable? I think that I'd rather put up with the dry heat over the humid even though it leads to dry skin which is an annoyance. Some people can even get nosebleeds but I've been lucky that in 26 years of living in Southern CA I've only had nosebleeds once.
I'd like to talk about another reason I thought about PHX. Here is my situation: I am still living in the L.A. metro and I'm happy to be here. I enjoy the diversity of L.A. and I grew up as a Lakers basketball fan. I also think that the Mexican food here is amazing. I also enjoy good rock and heavy metal concerts. However, L.A. is a VERY expensive place to live. I have only been to AZ once but it is a pretty state and this is one of the reasons that I am considering AZ as a future place to live. It is close enough to CA so that I could visit family anytime I wanted to. These are some of my reasons. If on the other hand, any of you think that PHX is not worth it if you don't really like the heat, then what can I do? Are there any other areas of the US that have a climate similar to PHX(except Las Vegas) that may be a better fit? I know I'm probably contradicting myself but I just want to make sure that I make the right decisions. I am definitely NOT moving anywhere now. I just want to let all you people know that AZ is a beautiful state with so much to offer. So, is PHX worth it if the heat is so bad?
Worth what? OK, here it is, believe it or not most of us don't live outside in a tent. You stay inside in the A/C, go swimming, drink lots of water (gallons), walk in the shade, don't ever try to take things too fast outside, and you will be fine. But, it sounds like you are moving here just for monetary reasons which are good, but you might want to think about finding a way to stay there. Nothing is as expensive as LA here, but there aren't the sports teams like what you mentioned, we DO get music concerts but some of them you have to sit outside and the wages here are commensurate with the lower cost of housing. You earn about one and a half what one does in Phoenix, but you pay that much and more in rent and expenses. You live in L.A. where you can get anywhere in ten minutes on the freeway. There are only a couple of freeways in Arizona. You can't get someplaces in Phoenix in less than 45 minutes in this heat you are talking about, sometimes 120 degrees. More people move here every year and if the population keeps rising we won't be able to drive more than 15 miles an hour maximum during rush hour.
And most people are here from somewhere else so we have some of the worst drivers in the world who moved here with different driving laws from all over the world. And don't get me started on the illegal aliens. This is the gateway for a bunch of people who don't buy mandatory auto insurance but can't drive and cause about half the traffic accidents, then change their name and ID before they are due in court and never pay for anything they dont have to. They didn't come here to enjoy life here, they want to turn our town (CNN and Lou Dobbs figured out a couple years ago that this was the gateway for illegals entering the U.S., Duh!) into the rathole in the dessert they came from. Yeah, come on down. You don't want to get stuck living next door to them because they play Mexican polka music during parties that they have for three days straight nonstop while they get falling down drunk and yell at each other from two feet away. Sometimes they sleep up to 20 of them in one bedroom the size of a little kids room. They eat garbage and you can guess how their sanitary conditions are, some of them have never used indoor plumbing. They come from a country where the police are all corrupt so they don't figure that obeying the law is anything to worry about and the only time they are in a hurry is when they are trying to cut in line in front of other people. As you can tell I have made the mistake of living in one of their neighborhoods. I used to be liberal about the whole thing and thought they were the myth of the "hard workers" until I actually tried to work with some of them and was run off so I wouldn't tell the boss on them for drinking on the job and hiding while they were supposed to be working. They work real hard when the boss is watching and then go hide when he goes somewhere. They aren't here to work they are here to take advantage of us suckers who let them break our laws, steal from us, and then want tax paid for benefits when NONE of them want to pay taxes and they refuse to learn to speak English even though that is the one thing they could do to help them hide out. Smart, huh? Welcome to Phoenix. If you are white, don't expect to be able to get certain jobs here. The only ones the employers will hire for some manual labor jobs are the illegals because the unsavory business owners can take advantage of them financially and they can't report it.
Otherwise you really need to know someone to find work here right now. Good luck on that, and ...Welcome to Phoenix!
Good Luck
Arizona Mildman
My biggest issue about a potential future move to PHX is the amount of bark scorpions they get. That's not the thing most people say is the biggest con. Most people say that its actually the heat, traffic and bad drivers. At the end of the day, if its hot its hot outside but if there's no scorpions or snakes to deal with, that relaxes me knowing I won't have to deal with those things. Spiders are one thing because a spider is small enough that you can kill it if you hit it hard enough.
Another thing that I know is that in PHX and Southern AZ(Yuma) air conditioning bills are going to be VERY high in the summer and I will be confined to it for at least 6 months. Somehow, I kind of knew that people in this forum would not suggest PHX if you don't enjoy the heat. When I think about it maybe I should just stay in L.A. in spite of the horrible expense involved for living here. A one bedroom apartment in a nice area will cost a minimum of $1100 or $1200 a month and that's just the rent only. This does not count the food cost, transportation, mobile phone and internet payments etc. Well folks, I have some hard thinking to do
Uh: that same quality apartment here may be $700 tops and you may need to 'settle' for a 2 bedroom plus the rent savings would pay your electric bill in the summer with $$$ left over.
Uh: that same quality apartment here may be $700 tops and you may need to 'settle' for a 2 bedroom plus the rent savings would pay your electric bill in the summer with $$$ left over.
Hi ArizonaBear,
I was thinking that I'd have to pay around $700 for an apartment in PHX. The figure of 700 bucks, is that for a one bedroom or a two bedroom apartment? That sure beats having to pay $1200 a month. My mobile phone payments here in L.A. are $40 a month and the internet is $30 a month.
Phoenix gets really hot in the summer but I'm sure that I can handle it because I am at a level spiritually that I don't allow things to get to me anymore. Yes there is a lot of high heat in PHX but it does not last the whole year and it is a DRY heat. I've experienced Las Vegas NV heat and that is like a blow dryer hitting you in the face which is not too bad if it is at 5-6% humidity. Another thing to consider is that even during the day when it is so hot, if you are working in an office setting and are in a building, the heat does not bother you. And by the time you get home, the sun's intensity is less. If you are flexible enough, when you are in a situation that you know you have to deal with something you just find a way. I was actually thinking about how nice it would be to come home after a long day of work and sit in a hot tub in the evening and relax ahhh!! Well, there are advantages to heat also. At least when you are in PHX you will have the benefit of sitting outside at night and not worrying about sweating Sure is better than summers in Boston or Miami.
Well, with this kind of attitude, life will get me far and only to the best places with the best results
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Is Phoenix Worth it despite the heat?
Welcome to Phoenix. If you are white, don't expect to be able to get certain jobs here. The only ones the employers will hire for some manual labor jobs are the illegals because the unsavory business owners can take advantage of them financially and they can't report it. 
