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ADB
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I moved to Tucson from CA almost 2 years ago. I love it here. Yes it gets hot, but much of CA, especially once you get away from the coast, is almost as hot, the humidity there is higher so most of the time it's actually more comfortable in the heat here than there, you just need to drink a lot more water that's all.
As others have said the experience depends on where in AZ you are, lower elevations are scorching hot in the summer, but depending on where you live you can escape to the mountains to enjoy cooler weather. Phoenix is typically close to 10 degrees hotter than Tucson for example. The Phoenix area has gotten so populated that the air pollution is enough to set off my asthma and reminds me of LA in the 70's, while Tucson is very clean in comparison.
It's not all barren and dry here, again it depends on the elevation and how close you live to a wash. I'm at 3200', two washes run through my property and there's a lot of mesquite and palo verde trees growing in and along them. Being that I'm in a rural area and not right in the middle of town, it's very alive, provides habitat for lots of critters, rabbits, roadrunners, squirrels, birds and lizards of all sorts, tarantulas, frogs and toads too! More scarce (especially as development is closing in around me) but still occaisional visitors are coyotes, javelina(wild pigs) deer, bobcats and mt lions. It's a wildland zoo I will never get tired of.
One of the things I enjoy here is the monsoon season, of course when it causes flooding it's a pain, but it's one of natures finest exhibitions, I never get tired of watching the lightning shows and the incredible downpours, it's like 2 months worth of 4th of july fireworks every night.
Arizona is an at will work state which generally translates into more difficulties finding good paying jobs, If you're not a professional, contractor or a business owner, a decent paying job is not that easy to come by. You can buy a nice house here in the low $200,000's but the cost of food and goods tends to be higher because relatively little is manufactured or grown here, much has to be transported long distances and that costs money.
Anyway, nuf said, for a few of the local sights I think you will enjoy the link below. |
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azflyboy6477
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its great its california without the ocean and without the snobs and without the high prices and without the slums and without the murders and without Paris Hilton |
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laura s
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crowded in the valley. Open in rural places. Cooler in mountains, 115 in deserts. Traffic constant, road construction on-going. Week-end trips up north are nice until you have to drive home on I-17. |
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terose1
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Its Heaven in the winter and Hell in the Summer. |
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Blue
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I just moved to Phoenix a month ago from St Louis, Its a really cool town so far, It is really hot here but the humidity is low, so playground equipment will blister you but at least you can breathe. Its really spread out but there's tons of stuff to do. Any kind of music youre into, its here somewhere. The economy is decent and they have prof. sports teams so there is always something going on. And I hear the winter is great, so instead of having 2 seasons to dread, theres only one. (I HATE snow) |
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Mel
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It is pretty nice in the winter but in the summer it gets way too hot. Even at night it doesn't get below the 90's in the summer. But it is a nice place to live and most parts of it looks very clean. |
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teajaze
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Very hot right now. What specifically are you looking for? |
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wiscman77
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Depends what part...
Northeast is the Navajo Rez. Desolate, sparsely settled (What, do think the US would have given them GOOD land???).
Southeast is Tombstone and Tucson.
Central is Phoenix and Flagstaff.
Northwest is not much.
Southwest is Yuma.
Temperature varies greatly. Flagstaff is at 7000 feet elevation. Flagstaff is colder and gets more snow than most of New Hampshire (except for the low temps in January - NH is much colder). However, it gets far more sun.
Phoenix winter is like Flagstaff summer. In July, you can watch lead flow down the street.
Southeast is milder. Temps above 100 are usually only in June, before the monsoons.
Prescott and Sedona are not as cold as Flagstaff but not as warm as Phoenix.
Southwest and Northwest are very similar in temps. Summer temps are well above 100 (if it doesn't hit 120 at least once, it is a mild summer!). The monsoons do not bring much rain...just hot wind and humidity.
The southern Colorado river basin (Blythe, Needles in CA and Yuma, San Luis, Ehrenberg in Arizona is the original home of the Aztec (the area is known to them as Aztlan).
The north has the Grand Canyon. The east has great skiing.
So, "What's it like?" Depends where you mean. |
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Joi D
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hot and dry |
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happymommy
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Hot. We live in Tucson, which is cooler than Phoenix. Not as much blacktop I suppose. It's very pretty in certain areas, trashy in other areas. I can't stand when everything is written in Spanish and sometimes nothing is written in English. The schools are awful, but there are some great charter schools and private schools. If you find your own little neck of the woods, it's fine. |
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Steven C
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18 years here and I love it. |
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farien3
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It's like living in a desert, because Arizona IS a desert. Other than that, wouldn't it depend on WHERE in Arizona you lived?
Yes, it would. |
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SLPsz
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Well I don't live there, but my brother lives in Tucson, and has for a couple of years. It's esactly the same, it's hottttt, like now.
Phew, but it's wonderful, nice community,
very well-kept, clean, it's a great place to be,
besides the heat. |
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US!!!*** I think
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HOT really.really HOT burn the bottoms of your feet even when you have shoes on hot! |
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RP McMurphy
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July and August are the dog days due to high heat and (for us) high humidity. Beyond that it's great. |
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mscrankyangel
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I love it here. So much better than Detroit, where I grew up. I dont mind not really knowing my neighbors... where I come from, everyone is into your business, and that is something I also wanted to get away from.
Also, I feel that there are lots of jobs here for the taking, as long as you are willing to work.
The cost of living is not as bad here as you may think, fellow posters. Imagine getting a combined electric and gas bill that is over 400.00 a month in the winter and 200.00 in the summer.
Upper midwest sucks, I am staying right here |
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luvme4eva
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Scottsdale is the nicest place! It's really nice yet very expensive. Tucson is also nice but Scottsdale is like OC in Az. There are also a lot of Monsoon storms here. |
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Any Republican 2012
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Phoenix area - Very hot, very crowded, not too much English spoken around here, and oh yeah, it's hot. |
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cornbreadsalad
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Whatever you do, don't move there. It's a great place to visit, but dealing with the people, the filth, the heat, etc., on an everyday basis is hell. Everyone should visit the Grand Canyon at least once, Sedona and Flagstaff are nice, but the rest of the state is diseased. Phoenix is dirty, full of criminals, flat and boring. Tucson is Phoenix's younger, smaller brother, but cursed with the same fate. I lived in Tucson and worked all over the state for 5 years - the people are rude, ignorant and disgusting - illegals run the place. |
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Neil P
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Depends where if you are comming to phoenix its a city with traffic, people, and big houses.. people think its small but its a huge city!!.. its hot of course and its cool and nice in the winter. there is shopping, water parks, entertainment, all kinds of things like Los Angeles.
Tucson is deserty and so is Casa Grande, Yuma, Lake Havasu and those areas i hate them!
Flagstaff and the higher elveations are o.k. They are like 90 degrees max in the summer and like 50's at night.. but its not a busseling area .. and winters have snow |
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dolcedee
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It's hot - Arizona has one of the highest obesity rates in children because kids aren't running around outside, it's too hot! They are stuck inside all summer playing video games.
It's culturally dead - Ever been to down town Phoenix in the evening? With the exception of the few events going on, there is no life. Not many shops, restaurants, places to "hang out" after 6:00pm.
It's unsociable - you don't really get to know your neighbors. People go outside to get their mail or put out their trash can so good luck catching them. |
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Kurt's
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We pride ourselves on dirt, sand, dead plants no water and urban sprawl.
Not that I am opinionated. |
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orlundo
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I would not recommend it.
Lots of extreme weather very hot, or sometimes very cold. Also theres a lack of variety and a huge lack of activities here.
Only positive is the cost of living here is very cheap (well compared to the rest of America)
If your interested in Firearms, Hiking or Golf this is the state for you. |
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