I am a long-time lurker, first-time poster. I have the opportunity to get some sun, and get a job in Phoenix. My wife is worried that this may be a big change. Except for the obvious (the weather), what are the pros and cons?
I have lived in Boston for 4 years in mid-late 90’s in the Back Bay.
The desert will a HUGE change.
You will notice the weather will be the biggest change(for the better if you like sun and less rain!) , then the general natural surroundings…no more forrests and lakes everywhere.
The people seemed very warm(no punn intended) and friendly.
Unlike Boston, where a lot of people were born and raised in New England, most people I met in the desert were transplants to the area from colder climates. Therefore welcoming to new people and conversations.
I live in San Diego now. When I go to Arizona, my sinuses get really, really, dry. It does seem like Tempe and Phoenix were cool towns.
Good Luck to you,
Trisha
I came from ID, a cold weather state, and have been in the PHX area for about 7 years now. Would never want to go back. It took me about a year to acclimate, my wife less time, but the heat does not bother me any more unless it gets above about 108. Once we got a pool put in, that solved the heat issue.
Pros: Sun 330+ days a year, I ride and run outdoors 12 months a year. I swim in my pool 7 mo. a year. The snow skiing was actually pretty good this year, so you can ski during the day, and come home and barbeque outside at night.
I actually have 5 lakes within about an hour of my house in the East Valley, so water sports are pretty big. The pine trees are only 1.5 hours away if you want to get up into the montains.
You are half days driving distance to the beach (San Diego), Disneyland, and Las Vegas, if you want to get out of town with the wife or kids for the weekend.
Every pro and college sporting event.
Excellent mt. biking trails. A city canal system to run on. Tri clubs.
Lots and lots of races to choose from in the valley and surrounding areas, as well as those in So Cal and Vegas.
Housing is reasonable as compared to Boston (but still going up).
It’s not Boston! (My Co. is HQ’d there).
Cons: growing rapidly, so the roads are always in catch-up mode (road riding can be a pain sometimes). The heat, but I’d still take 110 as opposed to 5 below.
if swimming outside at an uncrowded municipal pool in January while the sun is out seems appealing- then your going to like it
train outdoors all year long–early summer rides and runs
lots of tri clubs and lots of opportunities to race–
through most of the year you can find a race most weekends
.
But can you get a good lobster dinner…and what about leaving now that the Red Sox are finally on top?
I would recommend Boston; May - October then Valley of the Sun for the winter. 
I did the opposite move 5 years ago. I was living in Tucson for 18 months while the wife was in grad school. I really did not like it. I actually don’t like the “monoseason”. I like a good snow storm or rainy day every so often. I missed the green rolling hills of NE. I felt like the heat made people insane in the summer. The running joke around Tucson is that you build a house with 1 bedroom and 7 bathrooms…for your meth labs! Multiple times I had the “ghetto bird” TPD helicopter overhead chasing perps.
That said, I would visit Tucson for a week in March if the opportunity arose.
Good luck, I am actually moving further north to Maine!
Kurt
<<The people seemed very warm(no punn intended) and friendly. >>
Well we’re usually nice and warm but it’s been the coolest and rainiest winter that I can recall (10+ yrs). Didn’t even hit 100 yet. I grew up in New England (Maine, MA, VT, also NY) and love the desert, love the 12 month training, love the warm/hot weather. It is getting a bit crowded and everyone seems to drive a 6,000 lb monster truck (unlike VT where there is a reason to have 4WD but they all drive Subarus). All the Scottsdale women also have a face/boob lift by the time they’re 37, but don’t let that stop you.
If you miss the snow and pine trees just jump in the car and in 2 hours you can be trail running, road biking or or mtn biking in Flagstaff or the White Mtns, or hiking up @ 12,000 ft with snow in June.
Real estate is getting more costly, but probably cheap compared to BOS. I say go for it. Come to SASSI for some good Italian food and I will buy you a welcome drink.
I grew up in Boston, moved to Nevada for my enlistment in the Air Force, then moved back. I liked Nevada a lot. The desert is hot, but beautiful and mystical in a way that is very different from the Northeast. The people are nice, the livin’ is easy, and you don’t have to make $150K to buy a house, and if you own a classic car, it won’t rot while sitting in your garage.
As someone else said, a lot of the people are from elsewhere, unlike Boston, where nobody has ever lived anywhere else, so they think noplace else is worth living. And the folks in the Southwest aren’t dicks, and won’t look at you funny when you take the day off because you feel like going for a bike ride, or fishing, or for no particular reason at all.
I’m biased, though, I truly love the desert Southwest. Wouldn’t mind going back someday.
It will be a big change, but change can be a very good thing.
Good Luck!
I moved here from the Philly area and would never go back. I grew up in eastern Canada and have lived in Asia and Europe. This is a great place, esopecially for triathlon. That said, I have a house on the ocean in Canada to escape to in the summer. If I had to live here June through August I would have a hard time staying in the area.
One thing not mentioned earlier is the amount of public land we have in AZ. In the Philly area and most of the east coast, most of the land is private and there is nowhere to go mountain biking, trail running, etc. without a long drive. Out here, there is phenomenal access to desert trails. I can ride my mountain bike from my house very easily. Here are a few photos from a trail near my house that I posted on another thread about a month ago. Spring time in the low desert is about the best place in the world.
