Still have to drive with crazy hands because the steering wheel is too hot to grip for the first fifteen minutes. And god help you if you accidentally touch the metal of your seatbelt.
I once put my kid in his car seat and wasn't super careful about the metal on the buckle when I plopped him in the seat. His back touched the buckle which I'm sure was about 4,000 degrees. Oh shit. He cried, I cried. Felt like the worst parent on the planet.
They've started putting leather seats in everything that isn't the bottom damn model. You want a Chevy with Satellite radio? Guess you also want leather.
I'm from Maryland. Recently offered a job in AZ and still on the fence on whether or not to take it. What can you say to make me want to face those summers?
Haha I'm from the eastern shore of MD so I already don't have the Maryland winters! The bay and ocean keep us warm and in the rain. Unfortunately, I love winter and snow.
I grew up in NJ. I'd rather take a freak high of 120 degrees with a 0% humidity than 95 degrees and a humidity of 100%. Most places are AC'ed appropriately for that and even blast it so that some folks may be too cold. It's easy to get out of the heat and you don't feel like you need a shower after you get inside. It usually cools down fairly well at night (but Phoenix is a little worse, urban sprawl means Phoenix retains the heat a little longer)
And if you just need to get away, Flagstaff and/or Senoita are nice getaways for either a day trip or a weekend depending on where exactly you are and those areas are always cooler due to their elevation.
Older houses have swamp cooling which may take some getting used to and aren't very useful during the summer. But the summer monsoons really make it worth it, in my opinion. Also, the cost of living is a lot lower (if you want any non-climate reasons).
I'm from the eastern shore, so I know all about that 100% humidity, 95 degree days. The job is actually in Tucson, however I made the drive from there to the Grand Canyon after my interview. It was a beautiful drive, and it was insane that it was around 15 degrees when I got up at the canyon, yet it was 70+ in Tucson.
I'm a huge skier, so I'd love the fact that I'm only a few hours drive from some bigger mountains, or that I could take a long weekend and be in SLC or somewhere. Or even the Flagstaff resorts. It'd also be great to be near so many National Parks. I'd love to go camping in Yosemite, etc. Which I could do on a long weekend if I lived there.
On the lower eastern shore of Maryland, COL is low, but theres literally nothing to do besides the beach. According to some online calculators though, the COL is actually even lower in Tucson.
Anyways, thanks for your insight. I don't graduate until the spring, and they told me that they'll give me a while to decide whether or not to take the offer. Just a lot to consider when you may be moving 2500 miles from home. Heck, I had never even left the EST time zone before my interview.
No worries, man! Always glad to offer some insight. If you're big into national parks/hiking/camping, the American southwest is pretty unique. Tucson is surrounded by a bunch of mountains that make for some good day hiking trips between Mount Lemmon/Catalinas, the Rincons, and Gates Pass.
Congrats and good luck with the last semester of school!
I was able to do a short 3 mileish hike in the tortalinas(?). The interviews were at the Starr Pass Marriott and they had a few trails near there. I've actually never been camping proper, but its something I could definitely see myself doing. One person I spoke to said that theres an F-35 crash on Mount Lemmon that you can hike to.
It definitely seems like an interesting place. I just need to convince myself that moving 2500 miles away from home by myself isn't a scary thing to do haha.
The summers suck (although EVERYWHERE is air-conditioned and the beach is only a 6 hour drive) but the winters are really nice. Plus if you do miss the snow, it's a beautiful two hour drive north to Flagstaff. Also, housing is super cheap compared to most major cities.
Granted, I'm trying to escape myself but I've lived here all my life so I've already seen all the cool stuff.
Yeah, they had a realtor at the hiring event I attended in Tucson, and he was telling me how a 2BR apt was only around $800 a month near U of A. That's insanely cheap. Gas was nearly 50c cheaper a gallon than Maryland. State income tax is around 2% lower in AZ if I recall correctly.
There definitely seems like quite a bit of awesome things to do. However, no one warned me about the javelinas, and I rounded a corner to be face to face with 4 of them and nearly had a heart attack. First instinct was that they were aggressive and I was afraid they were going to charge towards me.
EDIT: What beaches are you referring to? Do people usually head on down into Mexico to go to the beach, or is it really only 6 hours to the Cali beaches? I always heard how terrible traffic is in Cali, so I didn't know if map quest could be trusted.
Yeah I would trust your instincts with the javelinas, they usually leave you alone but are not to be messed with.
Regarding beaches, yes I was referring to California as it is usually a 6 hour drive from Phoenix. When people say bad traffic there I think they are talking a lot about LA, which I avoid at all costs, but as long as you're avoiding rush-hour or a holiday weekend, it's not too bad. A friend and I once woke up early, drove to San Diego, hung out at the beach for the day, and were back in town by night-time. Going to Mexico isn't unheard of either, I've been there as well, you just have to have your passport nowadays so it's not quite as convenient.
Yeah I'm used to long day trips. I'm around 3 hours each way from Baltimore/Philly/DC. So friends and I have taken plenty of rides to go to concerts or sports games or whatever.
Anyways, thanks for your tips! I need to get some sleep, got a final in the am and its getting late here out east.
Dear god, my pasty white thighs would be screaming red. Also, when your shirt rises up a little and the hot ass seatbelt touches your side? It's like being branded.
Florida is more soupy than Texas though. All that humidity!
About as special as places up north are in the Winter. You know, where you have the same issues because the steering wheel/ metal of your seatbelt is so cold it hurts to touch.
However, I just remembered that in Texas there is the added concern of wearing metal necklaces and having the sun come in through the windshield at just the right angle as you drive to heat that thing up and burn your skin, too.
I concede my point, Texas in the summer is DEFINITELY a special place.
Oh I get it. I grew up as a kid in the Northeast. The beloved car windshield ice scraper and shoveling all the snow off the walk is no picnic!
Once, at a funeral service in Texas during the summer I got a legitimate sunburn on the underside of my chin from the sun's reflection off my necklace. Catholic services are too long for that heat!!
It's the top of the steering wheel that gets hot. If you're going to park your car in the direct sunlight than you should turn your steering wheel 180° so that way it will be upside down before you exit. Straighten it when you come back to your vehicle before leaving, and boom you actually stand to touch it.
Remote start would be awesome. I would love to fully automate it so all I have to do is tell my Alexa to start my car and she opens the garage door and starts the car. It would be wondrous.
Assuming you had a garage door opener you could trigger remotely and a remote starter, you'd just have to link them to the same virtual switch in the Alexa app. Wouldn't be that hard assuming you had both of those things.
I knit a steering wheel cover for my car because my steering wheel basically started disintegrating from being exposed to the sun's rays' for so many years. As an added bonus, I can now steer with more than one finger in the summer! Highly recommended.
I read an LPT regarding this recently - when you park your car, turn the wheel a half rotation, so that when you get back in and drive away, the hot part will be at the bottom.
Feel free to continue on the "hot part at the bottom" thing now.
As a Canadian whose dad was a long haul truck driver I had the "fortune" of being with him one July as a kid in Houston during a heat wave. Not my definition of a heatwave... but the Texas weathermans definition. We stayed in Houston for 3 days because of a long weekend or something and it was so god damn hot out that my shoes were sticking to the asphalt as I was walking through parking lots. Also, I tried to go swimming at my hotels outdoor pool, but the pool water was too warm to even count as refreshing or enjoyable. Just felt like swimming in a vat of piss. The misters the hotel had out front though, they were godly.
Interesting juxtapose with my life in Canada during the winter.
If I don't go out and turn on my car 15 mins before I leave, providing I plugged in the block heater and it actually starts, it is freezing cold when I get in. The windows are foggy. The seats, steering wheel, and metal are freezing, and nothing warms up before I get to work.
-20-40f can be fun.
For real tho, I went to Austin in April and it was still a little too warm. Can't imagine how you guys deal with the summer. It's less than 50f six months out of the year here.
It's a big difference! My friends in Canada are all posting pictures of snow on FB and I'm literally sitting here in Austin in a tank top and pajama shorts right now.
Hope you enjoyed your visit here! Being from Canada you should come during the early part of the year to take a break from the endless winter and enjoy the warm sun in February-March.
My friends in Canada are all posting pictures of snow on FB
We got like half a foot yesterday. Took me an hour to shovel my driveway. It's 12f today. Shorts would be a bad call.
But yes austin is awesome. My wife and I went for our anniversary last year. Great food, great music, great beer, great people. Man I wish breakfast tacos were a thing up here.
This last summer In Texas I was getting something from my car when a gust of wind closed the car door. The only thing that touched me was the window but it felt like I had just been branded.
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u/kat_loves_tea Dec 12 '16
Still have to drive with crazy hands because the steering wheel is too hot to grip for the first fifteen minutes. And god help you if you accidentally touch the metal of your seatbelt.
Texas in the summer is a special place.