If Phoenix is that hot, why do so many move there? (Flagstaff: ski resorts, metro area)

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Jim Mac

A question for fishermen near Phoenix, do you fish in the summer, or is it just too hot? If so, do you fish at night?

People still go fishing, but for me it is just too hot taking the boat out when the day is over. It's not that bad with a bimini top out on the water and you can always jump in. The Salt River Lakes are higher and cooler than Phoenix and can get big monsoon storms in the PM. I do night fish. Put lights on the water and have at it. It's pretty popular. And, don't forget, in AZ you ALWAYS have a climate option a couple hours away. So mostly in summer I go to the mountains and fish for trout. Many, many places to do that. We have rainbows and brown and our own native trout.

[MNtoAZ]

In reading this thread, I have gone back and forth so many times with whether moving my family to Phoenix next fall is the right thing to do. But then, I always fall back to IT CAN'T BE WORSE THAN A MINNESOTA WINTER. Six-seven months of bitter cold, ice and snow storms, howling winds...not to mention having to warm the car, shovel the drive, bundle yourself and the family. I still think moving to Phoenix is BY FAR the right decision for us!

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by MNtoAZ

In reading this thread, I have gone back and forth so many times with whether moving my family to Phoenix next fall is the right thing to do. But then, I always fall back to IT CAN'T BE WORSE THAN A MINNESOTA WINTER. Six-seven months of bitter cold, ice and snow storms, howling winds...not to mention having to warm the car, shovel the drive, bundle yourself and the family. I still think moving to Phoenix is BY FAR the right decision for us!

You will grow tired of the heat after several months of it, especially if there is no relief.

But I agree that if I had a choice I would choose the dry heat over frigid temperatures, blizzards, icestorms, and having to winterize everything.

I put up with enough of that in northern Michigan and it became very tedious.

[Finger Laker]

both are tiring and having lived in both I definitely feel that it's a lot more convenient out here ..... especially since I took the bus in MN - the 15 minute walk from the stop would have my legs still feeling cold for a while when I got back in the house, bundled up for the trip to work then having to adjust so I wouldnt' sweat all day inside

would have to have different sorts of footwear on hand for those that couldn't get wet, salty, etc or if a pair did get wet I'd have to have a pair when they dried out .... I hated that dirty, often slushy, muddy bit by the front door

sure the summer can get long, but it's easy to deal with

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

both are tiring and having lived in both I definitely feel that it's a lot more convenient out here ..... especially since I took the bus in MN - the 15 minute walk from the stop would have my legs still feeling cold for a while when I got back in the house, bundled up for the trip to work then having to adjust so I wouldnt' sweat all day inside

would have to have different sorts of footwear on hand for those that couldn't get wet, salty, etc or if a pair did get wet I'd have to have a pair when they dried out .... I hated that dirty, often slushy, muddy bit by the front door

sure the summer can get long, but it's easy to deal with

As I always say, yes, it's hot, but we don't have to shovel heat!

[randian]

Originally Posted by Howard Roark

The real proof is to answer this question: Does your steering wheel melt in Florida or Phoenix. My steering wheel in Phoenix melted. I don't think it would in Tampa.

Of course it wouldn't. One of the big things you'll notice is that it takes a lot more work to cool from 105->75 than 92->75. Your car will cool off a lot quicker in Florida, where it's a very reliable 92-93 degrees every day, compared to Arizona where it's 105-110. That's also why electricity bills are so high in Arizona. Humidity doesn't significantly impact an air conditioner's ability to cool, but it takes a lot less energy to cool a room by 17 degrees than it does to cool by 30 degrees.

[randian]

Originally Posted by mjd2k

Is the protocol in AZ to not idle vehicles to keep them cool?

I've sometimes done that, but only where I can see the car. I'd be too worried about theft otherwise.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by randian

Of course it wouldn't. One of the big things you'll notice is that it takes a lot more work to cool from 105->75 than 92->75. Your car will cool off a lot quicker in Florida, where it's a very reliable 92-93 degrees every day, compared to Arizona where it's 105-110. That's also why electricity bills are so high in Arizona. Humidity doesn't significantly impact an air conditioner's ability to cool, but it takes a lot less energy to cool a room by 17 degrees than it does to cool by 30 degrees.

Humidity does make a difference in the load on an ac and it is not negligible as you suggest. When that moisture condenses on the coils, it releases heat - kind of the opposite of evaporative cooling. It's called "latent heat". An AC has to deal with both "sensible heat" - the heat you feel - and that latent heat.

While I do agree that it will take longer to cool the AZ vehicle to 75, it is not necessary to cool air to 75 in the desert to be comfortable. It's my experience that a car parked in the shade will cool to reasonable comfort within a mile or so of driving. Sun? Well that is a different ball of wax as the high temp thermal mass of all that interior needs to cool also.

[IceCat]

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!

Did not read the pages of posts, but Sedona is a great compromise and NOT polluted. Flagstaff is cooler than Sedona but has Midwest winters with below zero weather and lots of snow. Sedona doesn't normally get to zero and no snow except for a couple of snows that melt within 24 hours.

Phoenix now has triple digit heat for 6-8 months, I played a tennis tournament mid-day in 118, so on the court it was 135 or so.

More humidity, higher temps, more pollution, VALLEY FEVER, I could not live there.

Love to shop there but after a day in that environment I'm exhausted.

[ivanabacowboy]

Phoenix does not have triple digits for a solid 6-8 months? This is our first lengthy flirt with the triple digits and it is already end of June. It will not stay that hot until February lol! I am originally from Cleveland and far far prefer the heat.