Is Phoenix worth it if you don't like the heat? (Tucson: hotel, home)

[fcorrales80]

It is funny, we have a thread open and very active about the heat AND "cold" in Phoenix on top of one another. LOL! Only in the deserts...

[cmist]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

It is funny, we have a thread open and very active about the heat AND "cold" in Phoenix on top of one another. LOL! Only in the deserts...

The funny part is... When its cold you miss the hot, and when its hot you cant wait for it to end. Its a land of extremes with short transitions in between. (I mean you in the general sense and not you personally)

I don't know if its just me but it seemed to go from hot to instant cold I hope someone from North Dakota doesn't peek into our threads and laugh at what we consider cold.

[acrylic]

Originally Posted by cmist

The funny part is... When its cold you miss the hot, and when its hot you cant wait for it to end. Its a land of extremes with short transitions in between. (I mean you in the general sense and not you personally)

I don't know if its just me but it seemed to go from hot to instant cold I hope someone from North Dakota doesn't peek into our threads and laugh at what we consider cold.

Someone from Minnesota tends to peek into the threads here often.

I can totally see how you all find that cold. Though I'm sure even weather in the 50's would seem downright balmy to me when visiting quite soon here, I'm just hoping for more.

We've been dealing with temperatures in the below zero and single digits. Though yesterday, we had a day with a high in the 20's. I stepped outside and said "Wow, it's not that bad." But you become acclimated, I guess.

But overall, I find 50's and 60's chilly. That's what most of the summer was in Duluth this summer, and it was quite disappointing.

It must be quite a shift from the norm for you guys, huh?

[Pfhtex]

The answer is NO.

Even if you LOVE the heat, the answer is NO.

The Heat Miser would find this place boring and move away.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by cmist

The funny part is... When its cold you miss the hot, and when its hot you cant wait for it to end. Its a land of extremes with short transitions in between. (I mean you in the general sense and not you personally)

I don't know if its just me but it seemed to go from hot to instant cold I hope someone from North Dakota doesn't peek into our threads and laugh at what we consider cold.

Which is to say we crave change. Then again, many who crave change fear it as well and do nothing to effect it in their lives. It's less risky to pi$$ and moan about the weather than to do something. It's been said often and I don't think you are much impressed, but one advantage we have in our corner of the world is that we can change the weather around us in a few short hours. Of course, at this time of the year, there is less advantage in that as we can only get colder by leaving our little valley for the surrounding higher ground.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by cmist

The funny part is... When its cold you miss the hot, and when its hot you cant wait for it to end. Its a land of extremes with short transitions in between. (I mean you in the general sense and not you personally)

I don't know if its just me but it seemed to go from hot to instant cold I hope someone from North Dakota doesn't peek into our threads and laugh at what we consider cold.

That is my one big gripe about the Phx area climate; the sudden drop in temps from summer to winter ca. October/November although no snow/ice does amelierate things

Frankly; for that reason alone, I prefer the high desert locales i.e. Kingman (except for the wind), Globe, Sierra Vista, Verde valley, etc. sinc the summers are definitely more pleasant and the winters are still tolerable.

[cmist]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Which is to say we crave change. Then again, many who crave change fear it as well and do nothing to effect it in their lives. It's less risky to pi$$ and moan about the weather than to do something. It's been said often and I don't think you are much impressed, but one advantage we have in our corner of the world is that we can change the weather around us in a few short hours. Of course, at this time of the year, there is less advantage in that as we can only get colder by leaving our little valley for the surrounding higher ground.

I understand the point about different weather being a few hours away. I've done that often, but to me its not that accessible. I am not one to spend about 6 hours round trip to go up for one day alone, so I usually reserve trips like that for when I have the time and money to go up for a full weekend, which in this economy isn't as frequent. I used to do all those short accessible trips all the time. I even drove up to Sedona for lunch one day just for fun when I was dating.

I will also say that I do like driving up north when it is colder than the valley to ski/snowboard, sled with kids in the winter. Its not always about escaping heat. But as I said earlier, the idea that you will want to drive up there, get outfitted up, spend an entire day skiing/snowboarding, which is fairly expensive, and then drive home exhausted all in the same day is less likely... but I do agree that they are two different worlds not that far apart, just not quite as accessible financially and as whimsically as its suggested.

As time goes on though, the prospect of such a lengthy drive with an equally lengthy drive home gets less motivating (for me). So thats why in general when I see people using those events as cause to live in Phoenix, I have jumped in there with a little realism. Not trying to argue, just my opinion.

[AliveandWell]

I was sitting here and thinking today that while PHX summers would be a challenge to handle, they can be dealt with because they are usually dry with the exception of the monsoon season. Based on that one fact alone, the dryness of the heat and air, PHX would definitely be easier to deal with than a humid place. But on the other hand, your skin, hair and nails will be dried out which means the use of one thing very frequently: LOTION! Its kind of annoying but its a small annoyance so no big deal The thing is, as funny as this may seem, 80+ degrees wouldn't be a bad idea now, strange as that thought is.

When I was younger, I'd play basketball outside in the heat and the famous L.A. smog. It wasn't too good on my lungs though, I'll tell you that. In those days, temps of 105F were common and in fact one day we got as high as 108F which is hot!!! But when I look at where I am now, I'd say I've handled it quite well and I am still here in sunny CA. True, I'm not a hot weather lover but also I don't make a habit of complaining about the weather too much now that I've grown up. Every place has its pluses and minuses. Another thing is that when you're out of the house during the week working and if you're working indoors, the heat isn't a problem. And by the time most people are home from work, the sun goes down enough, which provides for some relief. And when you get home, turn on the AC, problem solved, right?

The thing that gets me kind of anxious sometimes is the amount of bugs and critters in the PHX area like scorpions, snakes and things like that. But of course, it is the desert after all so things like this should be expected. If you keep those scorpions under control, not much else to worry about

[cmist]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

The thing that gets me kind of anxious sometimes is the amount of bugs and critters in the PHX area like scorpions, snakes and things like that. But of course, it is the desert after all so things like this should be expected. If you keep those scorpions under control, not much else to worry about

Thats overblown. I rarely see many. They are in some areas worse than others. I maybe ran across one scorpion in 10 years in this house, maybe 5 or 6 over 30 years and ZERO snakes.

If you ask people who report seeing alot of scorpions you will find they are concentrated in certain areas near the bases of mountains, and not so much in the flat areas that used to be farmland.

You probably have a greater chance of encountering a black widow, or a weird spider and those are everywhere in the country in dark corners.

[Lilina]

I agree that people who haven't lived here seem to have an exaggerated fear of the creepy-crawlies that supposedly plague us .

Yeah, I've seen a few scorpions while living in Arizona. I can count those encounters on one hand and I've lived in Arizona for over 10 years. Sure, some people do end up having a problem with them in their homes, but it's definitely not the norm. Like Cmist, I've had zero snakes in any of the places I've lived.

Now lizards, on the other hand, you will see (outdoors). I especially like the little tiny baby ones...they're really cute! Other things I've seen near my home are bunnies and road runners. Scary, right?