In another thread I mentioned that I live in AZ because of its very free view of "carrying" (concealed and otherwise no permit required), and because the great bulk of the land here is public property on which anyone can hunt.

Another reason is the winter weather. It was 78°F at my house on Christmas Day, and 77°F on New Year's Day...both days with clear skies and
humidity in the 20% or below range.

Day before yesterday it was 81°F, with not a cloud in the sky and humidity of 26%.

Yesterday it cooled off (79°F), and had a very high, very thin, cirrus cloud layer...humidity 27%. It is opposed to be "jacket" weather for the next 5 days...74° to 77° with no rain in sight, but then the week after is supposed to go back up to the high 70s, low 80s. They're also predicting we may get a few drops of rain sometime in late February.

Watching the weather reports for the nation for the last 6 months or so, I can sure appreciate why 80% of my neighbors are from places like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, the Dakotas, or New England. Even if they still own homes back there, they spend 6 months of the year or more here, every year.

As the old side-kick on TV used to say, "No brag, just fact".

As I like to say ,'that's the punishment you get for living in Arizona'. I have lived in Southern Arizona since 1978 having moved here from the Pittsburgh area. I was born and raised in the deep south and would not live ,by choice, anywhere but here. I had a concealed carry permit in Pittsburgh so that makes little difference here. There was actually little to compare with the weather. To tell the truth I was greatly influenced by Jack O'Conner and a room mate in Gunsmith school who was from Gila Bend and had some experience from a TDY to Ft Huachuca. When the opportunity came it was no real choice. I have lived in Oklahoma,Colorado,California,Ohio,Pennsylvania and Mississippi so have experienced most of the geographical areas of the US. To say I LIKE Southern Arizona is a slight understatement.

I don't like bitter cold but you can function/work outside in cold weather. Doing so at some of the summer temps in Southern Az is nearly impossible. If you live high enough that you don't get Phoenix type temps, it is a lovely place.

Like the old saying goes, I can put on more clothes but naked is as bare as I can get, and that won't help in 110 degrees.

Once you get used to it Gato, working outside in high temperatures such as central AZ summers, is not at all difficult.

I have used a pick to dig 400" long ditches on my property through solid caliche* in temps as high as 122° F. Not at all tough, you just have to dress appropriately, be in decent physical condition, and stay hydrated.

Dressing appropriately means very light weight long-sleeved cotton or blended cotton/polyester shirt, light full length trousers, and a cap/hat with enough brim to cover the back of your neck. Not only will that keep you cooler than the short-legged, short-sleeved stuff, but it will guard against sunburn without greasing yourself up with sunblock. The long sleeves and trouser legs also mean you don't get the direct radiant heat of the sun on your skin, and the cloth acts as a sort of "towel" to absorb your perspiration so that it evaporates more slowly. Gives one a sort of continuous cooling akin to what our old evaporative coolers did for homes before refrigerated air conditioning became available.

Having lived most of my life in either the AZ desert or the Northern Canada extreme frost, I can tell you it is much easier for me to work outside in the extreme hot than in the extreme cold. Just one of the many problems with working in the cold is the loss of sensation as your hands get cold (or as you keep them warm by adding gloves or mitts) and the loss of sensation can be deadly when working with moving machinery or edged tools. Also, frostbite is much more painful than sunburn, and the effects last longer. Been there, done that.

[*Caliche - Many southern Arizona soils have layers of caliche either on or under the surface. Caliche is a layer of soil in which the soil particles have been cemented together by lime (calcium carbonate, CaCO3). And when that soil is primarily crushed granite and sand, what you have is basically natural occurring concrete.]

I like northern Arizona but you could not bribe me to live anywhere near Phoenix/Tucson. Hot, brown, and boring. Plus the average age is 95. Fuggitaboutit!

Yuma is nice in the winter months I'll take being in the north the other times of the year

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Yuma is nice in the winter months I'll take being in the north the other times of the year

When we lived in Logan, there were a number of people who lived in Arizona during the winter and rented apartments that had been vacated for the summer by Utah State students. Landlords loved it; good occupancy rates year-round and the oldsters didn't make messes to clean up.

Of course EVERYONE would like to be able to live where it is relatively warm in the winter and cool in the summer. For those who don't have the money to do that, something else is required.

Before it overflowed with immigrants from the East, coastal California and the gold-mining country of the Sierra foothills used to fill the bill perfectly. They still do weather-wise, but now they are chock-a blok full of people who came there for the weather and property/rents are in the unobtainium price range for most human beings.

Western Oregon is just as nice temp-wise, but it rains 8 months a year.

So the rest of us are left with having to live somewhere else. I was expressing what AZ is like, and stating I would prefer my extreme living condition to be one of extreme heat rather than extreme cold.

For those who feel the same, AZ is a good place to live...at least until little LA (Phoenix) becomes so big as to be not worth the candle. Even then there are lots of small towns within 60-70 miles of Phoenix.

For those who prefer their extremes to be cold rather than hot, I would (in jest) recommend Snag, Yukon Territory. We had a pumping station there where one calm, sunny day it was -83° F, with no wind chill....the all-time Canadian national record for an inhabited mainland community where bona-fide temperatures were recorded.

Seriously, the info I was reporting about AZ is for those looking for warm winters. For those who love the cold I have no advice.

My wife was born and raised in northern Alberta (Bruderheim and Edmonton) and it only took one winter and summer here before she DEMANDED we move here from southern Alberta (Calgary) where we then lived...and 31 years later she still loves it here. The mere thought of more ice & snow make us both ill, especially as here we don't have to worry about slick roads & sidewalks, frozen water pipes, ice-downed power lines, and all that crap. As everyone here says...at least you don't have to shovel heat..