Living in AZ, pros and cons?

I am a native, so take my views for what they are worth. I love it here. Gilbert is a nice part of the valley although I live on the west side of town.

Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the nation. Driving from one end of town to the other can take 90 minutes or more. Crazy.

Schools are good in Gilbert as well.

Summer. Is. Hot. No sugar coating it - the heat is just hitting right now and will last through Sept. You learn to deal with it. In the summer, that means time indoors, at the mall or at the movies between 1 and 7. However, be forewarned - it can easily still be 100 degrees at 10 or 11 p.m. Easily. If you have a pool, you can't really swim in the middle of the day - it's too hot. People love swimming in the evening and at night.

Lisa

My brother and his family live in Ahwatukee and seem really enjoy it. One thing that really impresses me is that if the kids get a certain score on the state standardized test they get free tuition to any state college. He has two kids at U of A and two more in high school, so that makes a big difference!

I live in 'Tukee too. Passed a coyote on the way home late night the other night coming home. Not sure if that is a pro or a con, so I will let you decide.
I love it. Love the community, the weather, the ease in getting to the mountains or the shore in a reasonable amount of time.
On the other hand, I travel frequently for work to SoCal and Denver, so it is much easier to get through the summers when you spend half of it in those places.

oh no it's ok it was just some one who was also making the move let me see if I can find it.. here it is  Arizona Thread

Honestly, you will probably not encounter that many scorpions. In all my 46 years of living in the middle of the desert I have probably only seen 10 (definitely no more than 15) in the wild with maybe 5 of those being alive inside the house. 

I'm not in AZ, but DH's cousin moved from CA to UT to AZ. They didn't want to leave CA and only had a year in UT but have settled nicely into AZ, finding they like the weather even with the hot summers better than dealing with cold winters. They also have loved the lower cost of housing. I don't know if it is much different from UT, but they couldn't afford to buy in CA and actually found a house with a finished basement in Chandler. The basement gives them a cooler living space in the hotter months, but I think they they are rare.

The biggest shock for them was school going back into session the third week of July giving the kids a super short summer the year they moved because their UT school didn't finish until early June. A bonus though was getting a week off school in the fall and heading to Disneyland at a quiet time of year.

Wow--I had no idea there were so many peas here in the valley! I live in East Mesa, but work in Ahwatukee and typically see 1 to 2 scorpions every summer, both at home and at work. I'm terrified of spiders and would much rather see a scorpion in my house than a spider.

Right now I'm sitting on my patio, and all of the windows and doors are open, which to me is definitely a positive. I love this time of year, but it won't last very long. Last weekend we were over 100 degrees, and soon we'll be well into the 100's with lows around 99. That's definitely a negative. I really like the Gilbert area and may move there myself within the next year or so. There are some great restaurants and stores and it's pretty central located. AZ has a lot more to do than people think. We go camping up North during the summer to cool off, and then head South during the winter. There's pretty much something to do just about every weekend.

For what it's worth, I'm originally from Oregon and love clouds, rain, mountains, trees, grass, and lots of green. I got married almost 24 years ago, moved to AZ, and here I've been ever since. I think every place has its pros and cons; you just learn to live with the negatives and really enjoy the positives.

I just moved to Florida after 25 years in Gilbert. Its really a nice place to live. I especially recommend The Islands as its a lovely neighborhood. There are lots of opportunities to socialize because the womens club there is very dynamic. Its also close to downtown Chandler with some very fun restaurants.
Cool weather in the mountains is only 2 1/2 hours away in Flagstaff/Munds Park. Biggest drawback is that Phoenix is turning into LA...traffic is getting worse every day. We moved because of that and we were ready for new adventures. AZ is really a good state to live in compared to CA or Washington...I've lived in both.
Still fun scrapbooking going on in the Southeast valley.

check out this thread:  living in AZ pros / cons


eta:  oops! someone beat me thru it- I should read the entire thread first!! 

Um, scorpions? They outweigh any possible positive.

(shudder)

All you need is a shoe.

I haven't seen a scorpion yet, alive or dead, in 11 years. <knock on wood.>

--or a tarantula, thank goodness! <whew!> Have seen a couple DEAD black widows, though.


And the 'dry heat' phrase really IS true-- it doesn't feel as hot as the true temp actually is. I'll take dry heat over humidity any day!

--sorry to scare you-- I hate spiders too!!

Get a good pest control service and you'll be fine!! Plus, if there aren't any crickets, there's no food for the scorpions. The best pest control services spray around the house perimeter, take care of any cobwebs, and put bait (pet-safe) inside the house (under sinks, cabinets, etc) and spray around the window frames, as well. The black widows were when our house and neighborhood was first being built and it was an empty construction site; we haven't seen any scary spiders (small ones occasionally, but that's it) since we've gotten the regular pest control services.