Will the heat be too much in Phoenix to move permanently

[okmunky]

The real truth of the matter is that no choice HAS to be permanent. Maybe you should lease a home for a year before deciding for sure. I still suggest you start that year in the Fall.

[dpinvidic]

Originally Posted by okmunky

The real truth of the matter is that no choice HAS to be permanent. Maybe you should lease a home for a year before deciding for sure. I still suggest you start that year in the Fall.

The would be OK for the "Normal" person....but you have not seen my garage Metal lathe, big table saw, milling machine....you get the idea. I cringe just thinking about this next move....and the plan is to have a shelf in the new garage for my ashes

Dan

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by SpaceNorman

My son recently relocated to Phoenix after having lived in the metro Detroit area all his life. It's hot .... deadly hot ... in the summertime. We drove out for a visit this past fall ... and were there from late September thru the end of October. It was hot then ... although bearable. The air conditioners in the coach ran constantly during the day. The cabinet that contains the electronics for the coach stereo system, satellite controller, DirecTV HD/DVR and Blue Ray player outright cooked. On a couple of occasions - we had equipment "thermal" (i.e., shut itself down due to overheating).

Conversely, the winter weather is pretty sweet. Warm and sunny during the day, cool in the evenings.

One of the things we came to appreciate was the impact that elevation has on temperatures. Move a couple thousand feet "up" in terms of elevation and average temperature drops significantly compared to the temp on the desert floor in Phoenix.

If you've got some flexibility in terms of exactly where you end up staying - consider looking for someplace near to Phoenix - but at a bit higher elevation.

Tucson is higher......and hotter. Lived there for 2 years.

[BillJinOR]

The couple places we looked at that were stick built "real" homes were small living space and nice insulated garage/ shop a/c for the house and a swamp cooler for the garage space to keep costs down.
We are in a snowbird park model / rv park in Phoenix and those that stay year round state its brutal in the summer only a very few stay. but great in the winter

[RV Vagabond]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXuc7SAyk2s

[FrontRangeRV]

I lived in the Phoenix metro area for 43 years. Made it through the record of 122 in Phoenix in the early 90s. Yeah, it's hot from sometimes as early as May through mid-October, and bloody hot June-August. Then there's the "monsoon" season from late June through early August on average. Temps drop down to the low 100s, but humidity goes up. Not way up, but it's noticeable.

With AC, all is well, and yeah, you can adapt your lifestyle to the early mornings and/late nights. And the pay-off is spectacular weather after Halloween until Easter, and you are only 90 minutes to 2 hours from mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, and all kinds of adventure, all year 'round. I wouldn't have left if my employer hadn't closed the facility and moved us (at their expense) to Colorado.

My caution to you is that Scottsdale is very expensive, as is Carefree and Cave Creek on the north side of Maricopa County. Maybe coming from Cali that won't be a big deal, but wages/salaries are also less in AZ. Homes with RV parking, especially enclosed with a purpose built RV garage are even more expensive.

If you want to live in the Phoenix metro area in a home and have an RV, you can "escape" the heat in the summer and spend great times all over the state. If you plan to live in the RV... All I can say is I wouldn't try it. My wife and I are going back to give my brother a break and stay with my mom for a week, but we won't risk our modest 28' TT until October at the earliest.

Best of luck with your decision.

[dpinvidic]

Thank You all for this very valuable input. Some things were mentioned that I had not thought of. No decision yet....and no rush.....YET!

Maybe we will make another trip there in the summer....and agree to make a decision at "High Noon" while standing on asphalt pavement

Dan

[AZGypsie]

Prescott is close enough to drive to Scottsdale on the spur of the moment and considerably cooler! Some of the northern outlying communities, like Black Canyon City aren't horrible either! Like many are saying, the key to surviving the heat is to follow the example of the desert animals! Up and out early and hold up in the heat of the day! Make the most of your evenings! The siesta was invented to allow people who live in this heat do do just that!

[Glenn and Kathy]

Originally Posted by dpinvidic

Thank You all for this very valuable input. Some things were mentioned that I had not thought of. No decision yet....and no rush.....YET!

Maybe we will make another trip there in the summer....and agree to make a decision at "High Noon" while standing on asphalt pavement

Dan

I would advise against wearing flip flops when standing on that soft asphalt.

Glenn

[FrontRangeRV]

Originally Posted by slickest1

A friend of mine used to live in Phoenix and he said at times the lowest heat through the night would be 95 deg. He would go out and do his shopping at 5:00 in the morning. His air conditioning bill was over $400. at times. He had his shop right inside his house ( he was single and his house was his man cave). He was the late Dunner that used to frequent this forum.

I have a cousin that moved to Lake Havasu from CA. years ago and really liked it there. They would travel to Canada and stay with their kids there in the summer months.
They have now moved to the Phoenix area due to their age and wanting to be closer to more medical facilities and a daughter that lives there

It's more common in the summer for the overnight low to be in the 70s or 80s, but yeah, on those really hot days, it may not drop below 90 all night.

My wife and I spent New Years Eve in Lake Havasu City close to a half dozen times. We'd go geocaching or just exploring in the Jeep. I've heard the campgrounds along the Colorado River, especially south of Havasu are great (on both sides of the river).

But I'd caution against spending summers in Havasu, unless you plan to live IN the lake. [emoji4] It's consistently hotter there than Phoenix--often the hottest town/city in the nation in the summer. I know they hit 128 degrees for three days straight one summer, and routinely top 115.

[manderson2228]

I couldn't make it a week in Scottsdale area in Aug. I went on business and couldn't wait to leave. It's a nice area, but the coolest it got in the evening some nights was still over 100. When its 103 at midnight, and the heat off the parking lot radiating up oh god it was miserable. I dont know how people live there.

[vsheetz]

As for electric bill in Phoenix, solar if installed and bought right will be a very good investment and mitigation to the ever increasing electric costs.

[DonDee]

Originally Posted by dpinvidic

Don,

You got me all excited...then I saw that it was a 1 1/2 hour drive to Scottsdale. Not sure the wife will by that. Any suggestions for something closer with this same elevation?

Just did some research:
Spring Valley and Scottsdale are about the same elevation 1,000ft and 1,200ft
New river is at 2,000ft (1hr drive). This might have possibilities.

Dan

Spring Valley is 3980', I've lived here for 10 years and love it. maybe you have Green Valley in mind? I don't know. But yes, it is a 1-1/2 hr drive to Scottsdale.

[Shoemaker]

I plan on going there this may for a month in the coach. Probably will spend most of the time in Utah. How's the heat this early in the year.