I grew up in Albuquerque, and this is the place I know. Even with close to a million people in the metro area, if I strike up a conversation with another long-time resident, we’ll discover we have at least one friend in common. My brother and one daughter live here; everyone else in my family is dead now, but my husband and I own two houses and 80 acres of property we’ll have to figure out what to do with.
New Mexico is a beautiful place for people who can appreciate high mountain desert. We are a reliably blue state, and we’ve become something of a refuge for people who are fleeing Texas and Arizona because of their increasingly repressive laws. We do our best to teach tolerance in our public schools, and we have laws guaranteeing the right to abortion and gender-affirming care. We pay taxes for services.
It’s hot here in the summers and our winters tend to be mild, but we do have seasons. Water is, of course, scarce, but the city has taken very successful measures to conserve, and we’re all aware that it’s necessary to do so. It’s more and more common to see solar panels on houses, and especially for such a poor state, we are generally very forward thinking about the environment. The only reason I’d consider moving is that I have a daughter and son-in-law in Michigan and there’s the prospect of grandchildren there. It would be a considerable wrench to leave home behind.
It’s not a hellhole, and although I may be an idiot, I don’t think it’s because I want to stay here.
I’ve known several people who have moved to Las Vegas, and it puzzles me: Yes, the taxes are lower, but how can you live somewhere where you could be broiled alive any time you step outside?
I dont mind Desert- hot & dry in the summer day, and chilly at nite. But when the temps get much over 100, it gets unlivable. I live in a hilly chaparral, and we get that, but occasionally it does get up to 104. That is too high but og well, its not 115. And it cools down a LOT at nite.
And that’s the thing - desert cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix don’t cool down at night. The July heat-wave in Phoenix the overnight lows were in the 90’s. Think about that - no relief at all, and the AC running constantly. The urban heat island is no theory. It’s the paradox of our time that the portions of the country dealing with the worst of the heat this summer are also the areas in climate change denial, who are also running their AC 24/7 and thereby requiring more energy, adding to the climate challenge.
I hear this refrain occasionally from my right-leaning friends about leaving CA for somewhere else. I ask them where, and then I say “Well, then you gonna have to live there.”
Actually, the nights have been pretty nice this summer.
Even though we have been having very hot days, it’s been a very dry summer, and when I go out to walk the dogs at night, I’ve been surprised at how nice it is - compared to other years.
Yep. Live from Cleveland on west to avoid the snow belt. The housing is inexpensive. The summers are nice. Seems like I have spent half the summer sitting/reclining on my front porch with just a ceiling fan to stir the air. Roadside fruit and vegetable stands everywhere. (drips Red Haven peach on the keyboard) Lots of boating on Lake Erie. We haven’t had a nasty winter in a long time. I know you can’t count on that but we are totally prepared to deal with snow anyway.
Why? Rochester historically averages more snow in a winter than Buffalo. It’s just that Buffalo gets the lake effect megastorms and all the press.
She was probably too early. Not clear if historic trends make sense any more. My wife and I watch the nightly national news (we’re old: it’s mandatory if you want your Social Security). Seemingly every night they lead off with yet another weather disaster. Hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, heatwaves, ice storms, floods, wildfires. Big CGI weather maps showing where the disaster will hit tomorrow. And it’s never Rochester. Storms go south or up the coast or stop in the Midwest or sweep down from Canada to the east. It’s like the city has a dome on it.
Besides, any temperature over 70 is intolerable. I’m a Never Souther.
I’ve lived north of Boston all my life, the last almost 30 years in a semirural, semisuburban coastal town, and would never move south. Yeh, winters can be bad, but not for all that long for any one stretch. Summers can be hot and humid, but again, not for long stretches. Both summer and winter are less extreme by the coast than inland thanks to the ameliorating effect of the ocean. And spring and fall are just glorious.
Of course, it’s damned expensive compared to those southern/southwestern regions, but as long as you can afford it it’s a great area to live.
And the risk of tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes, while not wholly absent, is markedly lower than in other regions.
Hehehe, the most amusing part of this is to believe it is a recent trend. The ranch land my school bus traveled by when I was in elementary became a neighborhood I worked in when I was in high school, and DFW has ballooned far beyond that as I grew into adulthood. That wasn’t due to birth rates, that was from people moving here. I was born in Texas, but the vast majority of people I know who live here were not*. Heck, my manager is from southern India, and she thinks we’re crazy for not enjoying the current weather. My co-workers from Iraq generally seem to think we’re silly for complaining about the heat.
So, basically people have been moving here for ages. They all have their different reasons, and I don’t see much to indicate our idiotic tax laws are the prime driver. The heat isn’t really a deterrent from what I understand. Tornadoes are a different matter. “How do you feel about the sky opening up at random and trying to kill you?” is less statistically dangerous than heat waves, but it’s more terrifying to the average human. Most of my co-workers think our normal thunderstorms are kind of terrifying in a way I don’t.
But then again, I am pretty sure my dumb ass is going to be killed by a thunderstorm that I’m sitting there admiring while it rolls in, or while ignoring the heat doing yard work.
*But by a curious coincidence, all of my current band mates are crazy people born in Texas. Go figure.
I’d be willing to test your theory out. People here in Chicago think I’m crazy enough for loving our winters. I know they’re not 1/10 of the snow you guys get, but I really don’t think I could ever get sick of snow. (Apropos of anything of significance, I’m typing this from Buffalo right now. Unfortunately, not in the middle of winter, but I’m awaiting Charlie the Butcher’s to open in a half hour for some nice beef-on-weck.)
Similiarly, extreme thunderstorm/tornado weather also thrills me. Extreme heat , though, nope. And yes, dry heat is a thing, and I don’t trust those “real feel” temps because 115 in the shade in Phoenix feels better to me than the 90s in New Orleans or even Chicago sometimes, even though the Real Feel never approaches the hundred teens. Still, 115 is an oven, especially if you need to walk over blacktop.
Hot is just hot and Phoenix is getting ridiculous (I have had family there for the past 30 years and went to ASU…I am very familiar with the state and Phoenix):
Full Title: Phoenix-area doctors are treating a spike of patients burned by falling on the ground
I think that is a bit much. I’ll deal with some humidity.
I’ve lived most of my life in various high-altitude (for values of high) deserts and semi-arid areas. Las Cruces NM (desert, 3900ft), Albuquerque NM (desert, 4900ft), and Colorado Springs CO (semi-arid, 6000ft). I’ve spend summers in plenty of other locations, from Winston-Salem in the dreaded SE, to Galveston TX and am part of the large group that’ll tolerate more heat before more humidity.
Still, I can’t deny that in years past I had considered one day retiring (though doubt I’ll ever afford it) and relocating back to NM with a somewhat lower cost of living. My folks still live in NM, but even they are finding the temperatures are getting too damn hot to manage. And the upthread concerns about water apply, even if NM has far fewer personal pools than CA/AZ, it has a lot of Rio Grande based agriculture.
So I’ll probably stay here-ish until I drop. Granted, Colorado Springs keeps growing in ways I find strange as a 20+ year resident (I mean, it’s beautiful, but the people are not the best Colorado has to offer IMHO), and cost of living (housing especially) keeps growing. It could end up where my property gains enough value to sell and do better elsewhere, but finding a place with secure water, a decent climate, and enough facilities without costing a fortune is a tough ask especially in the face of unpredictable climate change consequences.
To be clear, unpredictable in the micro-climates as well as political climate regarding water rights, not so much in the macro.
My aunts moved to New Mexico a few years ago. The arroyo is unmistakeably beautiful but they all live in enclosed enclaves with fences around so the arroyo can’t get them. Water prices are exorbitant. The weather is gorgeous but they are going to run out of water and have to buy them (are already buying them in some cases) from states like NY. I hope NY charges them a LOT. They were so happy to live out there with no regulation and now it’s all shocked Pikachu face.