If Phoenix is that hot, why do so many move there? (Mesa: closing, live)

[locolobo13]

Originally Posted by jaada

no its not an exaggeration, it does not really cool down enough in some areas until after thanksgiving in fact it is still so hot that the christmas trees here are wilted if you dont buy them as soon as they come to town. the sun is sooo much more intense here than anywhere i have ever lived it can be 90 degrees in nevada and 90 degrees here and it feels much hotter here than there. now sedona is awesome i love it year round. oh btw i am far from being uneducated and just cause someone sees things differently does not make them uneducated or ignorant as you have said many times

LOL. You really got a thing for Phx don't you? 90° in Nevada feels just as hot to me. And I like Nevada too.

[Zinkle]

No snow!

[Heidi60]

Stay were your family and friends are; they can't be replaced. The divorce rate is high in Phoenix in part because many people leave their family support system in Michigan or elsewhere. Be sure to compare crime rates there to where you currently reside. The weather is only part of the story, although when I lived there I had tires explode because of the heat and also lost a windshield for the same reason. It just isn't for me.

[movedoften]

The year I spent in Phoenix included the summer of 2005 which was exceptionally hot. It was routinely 115 or so. I noticed the following summer it seemed daily temperatures were 8-10 degress lower on average.

For 6 months a year, you really cannot beat the climate in PHX, 2 months are still pretty good and 4 months can be miserable for a lot of people.

The air one month can feel perfect and others it is stifling.

I felt like I was living on the sun. The neighbors I saw almost everyday disappeared from June-September. There were no cool spells or a week where there would be cloud cover, a nice breeze and the temp would drop to 95 or so.

The heat just seemed relentless to me. There is virtually no shade so almost anything you do outdoors you are exposed to direct sun and incredible heat with no relief.

A lot of natives there described to me that PHX was not as hot before the population and building explosion. If you look at the density of some of the neighborhoods (2000 sf homes on 4500 sf lots) it makes sense that it would be hotter.

I actually prefer a moderate East Coast climate now (in NOVA). I get some snow, but not a lot and moderate to slightly high humidity. There is a nice balance of sun, cloud cover, rain, lots of shade trees and the occasional snowfall. There are fewer extremes over the course of the year.

To me, 90 and moderate humidity feels better than the proverbial "dry" 110-115.

PHX is still a city that I would consider returning to someday.

I would take the PHX climate over Florida anyday.

It goes back to the trade off issue and what makes each individual feel good.

[sarahrose]

Dry heat baby!!!! I loved it!!! Can't wait to move back!! Here in MN we have all extremes, but I have to say...driving in snow is NOT any fun, nor is the 6 months that it lasts. Don't get me wrong, MN is beautiful in the fall and spring, but that's about it.....give me the desert scenery and sunrise/sets ANYDAY over MN's. This summer here was HORRIBLE!!! you walked outside and sweat poured off you from the humidity...I never sweated in AZ.

[crunchtime]

Originally Posted by sarahrose

Dry heat baby!!!! I loved it!!! Can't wait to move back!! Here in MN we have all extremes, but I have to say...driving in snow is NOT any fun, nor is the 6 months that it lasts. Don't get me wrong, MN is beautiful in the fall and spring, but that's about it.....give me the desert scenery and sunrise/sets ANYDAY over MN's. This summer here was HORRIBLE!!! you walked outside and sweat poured off you from the humidity...I never sweated in AZ.

Never sweated in Phoenix? Well you must of stayed indoors for the entire summer like most people do here. Dry heat? Never been here in July and August? The dew point here is higher than most cities in the midwest during this time. Not relative humidity, dew point. The true indicater of moisture in the air. USATODAY.com - Weather answers: Dew point vs. relative humidity
Made a comment to my wife the other day when we were driving through where we live. Passed by the community park and no one was there. I said "I couldn't believe how deserted the place looked on a hot day. Like a ghost town". Now when I lived in Michigan there where things to do on a dreary, cloudy, cold day. All we did was to put on our ski jackets, a scarf, gloves and hat and we had a blast tobagoning, skating, building snowmen etc. In Phoenix you can only take so much clothes off to get cool and even if you ran around naked it wouldn't do any good. When it was really cold we went bowling, watched movies, go to school. Summers were a blast as the weather was tolerable and we stayed outside during the day. July 4th was a all day event. Here they don't start the events until 5pm. Kids can't even play a game of baseball without passing out from the heat here in the summer. That why they have baseball in the spring untill 10pm on school nights when they should be doing homework and getting sleep. And from a parents viewpoint, ever watch a game when its 110 degrees? Won't last long before running to the car to cool off. Driving around in snow wasn't fun but during a snowstorm you shouldn't be driving anyway. Snows everyday? I doubt it. 100 plus degrees in Phoenix everyday in the summer? Pretty much guaranteed.

[Ritchie_az]

100 plus degrees in Phoenix everyday in the summer? Pretty much guaranteed.

Phoenix averages 89 100+ degree days a year. The average "first" 100 degree day is May 13 and the average "last" 100 degree day is September 28.
Between May 13th and September 28th is 139 days.
The second half of May and the first third of June, plus the last third of September, tend to have a number of days where the high is between 90-99 degrees (going by averages, obviously this year has not follwed the "averages").
Most of the 89 days of 100+ degree temperatures are between the 12 weeks (84 days) between mid-June and mid-September. Obviously, a number of them fall outside of that, too.
100+ degrees in Phoenix everyday in the summer? Not quite, but not too far off, either. Depending on when you think summer begins and summer ends, it's somewhere around 2 out of 3 days....

Dry heat? Never been here in July and August?

The Monsoons can be both the best and worst part of summer, all at once.

Now when I lived in Michigan there where things to do on a dreary, cloudy, cold day. All we did was to put on our ski jackets, a scarf, gloves and hat and we had a blast tobagoning, skating, building snowmen etc. In Phoenix you can only take so much clothes off to get cool and even if you ran around naked it wouldn't do any good.

I'd much rather deal with the blistering heat than the bitter cold anytime. That's the trade-off with Phoenix: hot summers and mild winters vs mild (or sometimes hot) summers and cold winters. It's all what one prefers.

[crunchtime]

Your absolutely correct. Personal preferences is the only way you can look at weather. It makes for good reading though when you read 100 different opinions on lets say hot weather, and every one is correct according to the poster. But I don't understand when people write "I'd rather face a summer in Phoenix than winter blizzards in Chicago". On the average the Midwest gets 1-2 blizzards per year. Just stay indoors and relax for a couple of days when these happen.The rest of the winter is 2-3 inches of snow one day, sunny and cold the next 2-3 days, dreary and grey a couple of days then another 2-3 inches. Its not like they get a blizzard every other day. Meanwhile we already know in Phoenix how many 100+ degrees days there are in the summer. Believe me.

[jasper12]

Must be the excellent Mexican food, night life, and...jobs.

[me_hot_in_phoenix]

Jobs yes 2 years ago This place has NO WORK anymore and they are leaving daily, businesses closing daily --- night life ends at sundown.
BUT WE CAN CONCEAL OUR GUNS WITHOUT PERMIT Wild West BABY ...