Pros and cons to live in Phoenix (Mesa, Flagstaff: house, universities)

[french paris]

Just curious!
All opinions..

[Pretzelogik]

Give you one big con....it's feels like the surface of the sun in summer.

[PoppySead]

Weather rarely cancels your plans, and rarely kills someone.

[Magnum Mike]

Pros:
1 - Weather is nice from October, sometimes through early June. In comparison to other cities in the northeastern region of the United States, we have mild falls, winters, and springs
2 - Phoenix is in the center of the State of Arizona, so you'll have convenient access to other areas in the state, which is advantageous because you can go from desert climate, to mountains in about an hour or two. All the mountains are north and north east of the Phoenix area, that vary in elevation from 4,000 to 9,500 feet, so you can go from sun tanning in Phoenix, to skiing just west of Flagstaff in about two hours.
3 - There are many scenic areas that are close to the Phoenix area, the Grand Canyon is about 3 hours north of Phoenix, Sedona, with its spectacular red-rocks is about 2 hours north of Phoenix, Mogollon Rim has a lot of scenic areas, Monument Valley is about 3-4 hours northeast of Phoenix.
4 - Phoenix has a population of around 1.6 million, the entire metro area has about 3.7 million people, it's not the largest metro area in the United States, but it still creates a healthy economy in many sectors.
5 - Phoenix has the open space feel, even in populated areas, unlike other cities, where everything seems to be built on top of everything else, with little or no space in between.
6 - Wherever you live in the Phoenix area, you're always not too far from a shopping center, we have plenty of them.
7 - Phoenix is not too far from other large cities, the Los Angeles and San Diego areas are a 6-hour drive away, and Las Vegas is a 5-hour drive.

The Cons:
1 - It does get hot here in the summer, maybe not as hot as "The surface of the sun" as Pretzelogik mentioned sarcasticly, but it's a dry desert climate, and the daytime highs can get up to 118 degrees F in July. The daytime highs from the beginning of June through the end of September average about 105 degrees F. The one good thing about it is, the humidity is very low, typically around 10% during the day.

[observer53]

There are MANY threads on this issue already. And, you need to keep in mind that both the overly positive and overly negative posts should be taken with a grain of salt, and that what are "pros" or "cons" in terms of whether someone likes living somewhere are entirely personal to them. You cannot, and should not, base any decisions on what anyone else says. No place is for everyone. If you are considering moving here, you need to come see for yourself. And, summer is the best time to do that, because the weather only gets better in other seasons.

[jt1969]

Some places are nice, but have very cold winters. Phoenix is like that, but instead of being really cold in winter you'r just really, REALLY hot in the summer. I'd take the hot over wind, sleet, hail, and snow any day...

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

Pros:
1 - Weather is nice from October, sometimes through early June. In comparison to other cities in the northeastern region of the United States, we have mild falls, winters, and springs
2 - Phoenix is in the center of the State of Arizona, so you'll have convenient access to other areas in the state, which is advantageous because you can go from desert climate, to mountains in about an hour or two. All the mountains are north and north east of the Phoenix area, that vary in elevation from 4,000 to 9,500 feet, so you can go from sun tanning in Phoenix, to skiing just west of Flagstaff in about two hours.
3 - There are many scenic areas that are close to the Phoenix area, the Grand Canyon is about 3 hours north of Phoenix, Sedona, with its spectacular red-rocks is about 2 hours north of Phoenix, Mogollon Rim has a lot of scenic areas, Monument Valley is about 3-4 hours northeast of Phoenix.
4 - Phoenix has a population of around 1.6 million, the entire metro area has about 3.7 million people, it's not the largest metro area in the United States, but it still creates a healthy economy in many sectors.
5 - Phoenix has the open space feel, even in populated areas, unlike other cities, where everything seems to be built on top of everything else, with little or no space in between.
6 - Wherever you live in the Phoenix area, you're always not too far from a shopping center, we have plenty of them.
7 - Phoenix is not too far from other large cities, the Los Angeles and San Diego areas are a 6-hour drive away, and Las Vegas is a 5-hour drive.

The Cons:
1 - It does get hot here in the summer, maybe not as hot as "The surface of the sun" as Pretzelogik mentioned sarcasticly, but it's a dry desert climate, and the daytime highs can get up to 118 degrees F in July. The daytime highs from the beginning of June through the end of September average about 105 degrees F. The one good thing about it is, the humidity is very low, typically around 10% during the day.

One of the best of these lists I've ever seen. I'll add one con, though. Everything is very spread out. This means that where you live is largely based on where you work, which isn't the ideal situation and can cause significant issues if both spouses work.

[stasi_crystals]

This thread is going to attract nothing but negative replies. It might as well be closed. Yes, Phoenix is hot If you don't like the heat(some of us do) then don't come here. Simple as that.

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

One of the best of these lists I've ever seen. I'll add one con, though. Everything is very spread out. This means that where you live is largely based on where you work, which isn't the ideal situation and can cause significant issues if both spouses work.

Thanks for the con you mention - As a native Arizonan, I can agree with you on the Phoenix area being spread out, I guess that can be a disadvantage in some cases, especially if you own a house in Surprise, and you work in Mesa.

[SubconsciousMe]

Pros
-- If you need to go to college, in-state tuition is low (all things considered) for public universities.
-- Weather is nice 6 months out of the year. I say 6 months because I'm pale, with freckles.. you get the idea. I'm a bit more sensitive to the sun.
-- You don't need a ton of variety in your wardrobe.
-- I love to local scene in shopping. Love.
-- Cost of living is great.

Cons:
-- Because of the heat... you cannot slack with car care. I tend to slack and I can't. Last summer, our radiator in our xTerra was 20% blocked and caused the A/C to shut down on 119 degree days. No one could figure it out for awhile and it took a month to fix.
-- I hate driving. Public transportation has been improved by leaps and bounds but still has room for major improvements.