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On weekdays maybe. Weekends the traffic will leave you wishing you had just stayed home. I-17 is a hot mess anymore with traffic snarling accidents more the rule than the exception. 87 to Payson is a little better with respect to accidents, but it goes to Payson where the temps really are not much of an improvement over Phoenix and you can't find a place to park your car on weekends.
The easy weekend escape to the high country used to be a part of living in Phoenix, but with all the people who have moved here it is now just a distant memory.
I go about one weekend per month June-September, so that’s 4-5 times over the summer season. I’ve hit a few snags but figured out timing and routes that work pretty well.
It's going to be interesting to me to experience a summer here, although Sierra Vista is supposed to be cooler than Phoenix.
I moved here Sept 1 & so far am loving it. I visited in July & decided right then that this was it. I suppose I should have come in June but it wouldn't have mattered. Last summer was hardly even a summer in Minnesota. So many gray, cloudy days it was depressing. So experiencing the sun, heat & sunsets was wonderful.
When I think how hard the previous winter was on me, I really relished being here this past winter. I was housebound so often in Minnesota.
Yes, I enjoyed many aspects of Minnesota when I was younger. There's a lot to be said about living in a state with 10,000 lakes. But, now that I'm retired, I had enough of winter. Winters weren't so bad when I was into ice fishing but the energy to accomplish that was gone as I got older.
I will say that September was a bit on the warm side last year & I assume June will be warm, but it's pleasant mornings & evenings so expect that's when I'll be out. It will certainly be an experience.
Summer is decent in Sierra Vista. I lived there for about a year when I was in the service. Unlike Phoenix where there is far more dust than rain in the monsoon, it rains nearly every afternoon in Sierra Vista and that knocks down the temps and keeps things interesting too. Sierra Vista is a tad cold in the winter, but the sun is warm and it is one of the better places in the country for year round climate, I think. It's a far cry from Phoenix, that's for sure.
That's the point. So many are rationalizing away the unpleasantness of a Phoenix summer with the argument that cooler weather is just a quick trip away. It's not. It is like you do. To enjoy it you have to schedule so that you are going "in the opposite direction". You need to pick places that are further and further out - start going to the 2nd and 3rd tier locations because the best ones are all no vacancy.
Heck, I even have a cabin on the rim at 7000 feet. It is a mile or two from East Clear creek below Blue Ridge dam. A couple weeks back some Phoenix (doubtless) a-hole left his illegal campfire burning and burned up some of the most beautiful country in the state along with the homes of about 30 of my neighbors. The whole place smells like a stale campfire now and the ash blows in the relentless winds of this miserable spring. Arizona is nothing but a depressing memory of what it used to be. Let's be honest here. This place sucks in summer and there is little convenient respite from it. It's boredom or frustration. Pick your poison, I guess.
It's all perspective really
Imagine being in the midwest, central TX or the deep south right now where there IS no escape from the hot humid temps. No beach, no mountains of signification elevation-barely any scenery change. Yes the southerns have some beaches closer to them than we may but it's still hot after you come out of the ocean. From Miami to Orlando to Atlanta and New Orleans, it sucks. Yes summers here are not desirable but why sit around and complain and cry. The point of this thread is that millions of people live with it and move on
Imagine being in the midwest, central TX or the deep south right now where there IS no escape from the hot humid temps. No beach, no mountains of signification elevation-barely any scenery change. Yes the southerns have some beaches closer to them than we may but it's still hot after you come out of the ocean. From Miami to Orlando to Atlanta and New Orleans, it sucks. Yes summers here are not desirable but why sit around and complain and cry. The point of this thread is that millions of people live with it and move on
Yes. Pity the poor midwesterner out at the lake, picnicing, laying on the cool grass under a big shade tree. Sitting in a wooded park having a few beers and cooking bratwurst for the family. Or maybe playing a game of softball on a diamond with real grass. Maybe they went to a farmer's market or some local festival. Maybe they just stayed home and sat on the deck watching the kids play outside. Life is hard, back there. They can't ever know the joys of loading up the car and driving for 3 hours each way to find temperatures in the 90s.
Yes. Pity the poor midwesterner out at the lake, picnicing, laying on the cool grass under a big shade tree. Sitting in a wooded park having a few beers and cooking bratwurst for the family. Or maybe playing a game of softball on a diamond with real grass. Maybe they went to a farmer's market or some local festival. Maybe they just stayed home and sat on the deck watching the kids play outside. Life is hard, back there. They can't ever know the joys of loading up the car and driving for 3 hours each way to find temperatures in the 90s.
Yeah, right. Nobody is that happy, especially in the Midwest. And why compare our bad season to their better one. Nobody is picnicking there in the winter, they have a bad season too.
The reality of Midwest weather is more like this (since I have family there)-
“We’ve waited for months and now it’s still May, it’s cold outside and there’s a snowstorm coming, why do I live here again?”
“We went from the 30s to the 90s, we get no spring or fall anymore which is my favorite time of year and the only time it’s not muggy or freezing”
“It’s finally warm outside but I’m being attacked by bugs the instant I step outside”
“Summer is way too short, we have 12 weeks and it can be super hot and muggy or rainy a lot of that time”
Nobody is walking around as you describe above, I travel frequently for work and the one thing everyone likes to do is complain about weather, followed by traffic. Here in Phoenix it’s no different at all.
If Phoenix is that hot, why do so many move there?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie
This is not meant to be sarcastic at all, but a real question: If it is so gawdawful hot there--and I really have never been there but am interested--why do so many move there? It seems folks there are stuck in the air conditioning for 4-5 months of the year. Can someone clarify this for me?
I'm seriously looking to move there because there are so many baby boomers there, but people in the Midwest keep telling me how hot it is there and that I will not like it.
The Phoenix region surely has to be better for my allergies than Houston was where I had cold-like symptoms way more than I ever should have had.
But, if people are getting stuck living in their homes for 4-5 months of the year due to the heat, that's just like living in Chicago where folks get stuck in the house for 4-5 months of the year due to the chilling cold. Dang!
The reason people move to Phoenix even though it is extremely hot is because most people don't anticipate just how severe the heat is until it's too late. Many people think of living in a place where it does not snow as a utopia, with no regard to the other drawbacks which can be equally worse, if not more so. Some people may regard the winters as inconvenient or confining, but the snow or cold really doesn't force people to stay indoors as implied for any sustained periods. Many people hate to shovel as well, like its a big deal, but truthfully, after the snow plows clear the roads, life is pretty much back to normal. The cold air in winter can be exhilarating and refreshing as opposed to the intense stifling hot air of the Southwest. Truthfully, the AZ heat in summer can be in every way as life threatening, as is the extreme winter cold is in the midwest or the northeast. Heating your home in the midwest, or northeast is necessary to sustain life. Air conditioning in AZ vital, and is also necessary to sustain life, it is not just a convenience as it is in other parts of the country it is a dire necessity. Any kind of power failure in AZ for an extended period of time, can lead to death for many AZ citizens. Driving down the highway with no AC is like having a wind driven blow torch blasted in your face.
The reason people move to Phoenix even though it is extremely hot is because most people don't anticipate just how severe the heat is until it's too late. Many people think of living in a place where it does not snow as a utopia, with no regard to the other drawbacks which can be equally worse, if not more so. Some people may regard the winters as inconvenient or confining, but the snow or cold really doesn't force people to stay indoors as implied for any sustained periods. Many people hate to shovel as well, like its a big deal, but truthfully, after the snow plows clear the roads, life is pretty much back to normal. The cold air in winter can be exhilarating and refreshing as opposed to the intense stifling hot air of the Southwest. Truthfully, the AZ heat in summer can be in every way as life threatening, as is the extreme winter cold is in the midwest or the northeast. Heating your home in the midwest, or northeast is necessary to sustain life. Air conditioning in AZ vital, and is also necessary to sustain life, it is not just a convenience as it is in other parts of the country it is a dire necessity. Any kind of power failure in AZ for an extended period of time, can lead to death for many AZ citizens. Driving down the highway with no AC is like having a wind driven blow torch blasted in your face.
You are getting a little carried away with the need for AC. Needed to sustain life! People lived here for centuries before AC was invented. Pleasant, no? But deadly, not, though I suppose some weak individuals would succumb. Humans are well adapted to life in hot, dry climates. One can survive with ease with water and shade.
I do tend to agree with you that people don't realize just how hot hot is around here. They rationalize it - even after they have moved here. But then it is gone and all is well again. Year after year.
Imagine being in the midwest, central TX or the deep south right now where there IS no escape from the hot humid temps. No beach, no mountains of signification elevation-barely any scenery change. Yes the southerns have some beaches closer to them than we may but it's still hot after you come out of the ocean. From Miami to Orlando to Atlanta and New Orleans, it sucks. Yes summers here are not desirable but why sit around and complain and cry. The point of this thread is that millions of people live with it and move on
Also, in much of the Midwest, there is no great escape because the weather & scenery are pretty much the same regardless if you're in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, or Illinois. At least here in the west, we have diversified climates & geography. I despise the heat, so that's why I take vacations frequently throughout the summer, and they're usually trips to high terrain where the temperatures are much cooler, the air is fresher, and the traffic is minimal. Quite a difference from Phoenix, and only 150 to 200 miles away.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa
You are getting a little carried away with the need for AC. Needed to sustain life! People lived here for centuries before AC was invented. Pleasant, no? But deadly, not, though I suppose some weak individuals would succumb. Humans are well adapted to life in hot, dry climates. One can survive with ease with water and shade.
Sure, but the life expectancy was under age 50 and the quality of life was vastly inferior compared to what it is now. To this day, much of the SW would be virtually uninhabited if it wasn't for air conditioning. The proof of this is in the population growth. Phoenix had its highest percentage of growth after WWII when cooling systems became standard and more affordable. I would say that life without A/C can definitely be deadly. Most people can't survive four straight months of hellish heat with just water and shade ... especially the elderly.
I would say that life without A/C can definitely be deadly. Most people can't survive four straight months of hellish heat with just water and shade ... especially the elderly.
Absolutely true. The elderly, and young children have difficulty regulating body heat, and are the ones who die most often in extreme heat. And since that area is a mecca for retirees it stands to reason that they, for the most part, need a/c, or they couldn't live there.
And don't forget Hyponatremia where so much water is drunk that their electrolytes are diluted, mostly sodium. This can cause heart failure. Heat stroke, and heat exhaustion can also be a problem.
Even when life expectancy is low that is almost entirely due to increased child mortality. People still lived to be old but many people didn’t make it out of childhood. People weren’t “dying of old age” at 38
2. Survivability
As long as you have water and shade you can easily survive in Phoenix temperatures and settled humans have been doing so both here and in Mesopotamia for literally 10,000+ years
3. Cold is less dangerous, easier on people
This is just completely false, cold winter nights are literally a death sentence if you are not in shelter. Not the case I the desert at all, the only true death sentence is lack of water. Not to mention rain and cold very much forces you indoors for days on end and months on end, you need t buy special clothes and equipment just t operate normally.
Any claim that living in cold climates is easier is just blatantly false. You might like it more but it’s not easier, nor safer
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If Phoenix is that hot, why do so many move there?
