First Day of Summer in Arizona -- Yeah Right!! -- June 21 2011
I have noticed a few 'First Day of Summer' posts on ActiveRain. It brings back memories of my childhood, on Long Island, in New York. Ahhh, Summer... the end of another School Year, playing baseball with your friends, going to the beach or the lake -- picnics, bar-b-ques, fireworks!! Nothing like it.
Scene at the Ward Melville Heritage Organization's
88-acre wetlands preserve in Stony Brook, NY
I moved to Arizona, however, before High School. Ever since, I have experienced two seasons: the first 'season' lasts approximately from October to May and I would describe it as PARADISE. It feels a lot like Summer does in other parts of the country (but without the humidity), and it is why I continue to live in Arizona.
Arizona Sunset
Then there is the other 'season', which runs from June through September. If we are unlucky and the hot weather arrives early, perhaps May through September. Call it Summer on Steroids, if you like. Some people call it 'A Dry Heat'. But so is a blast furnace! Today, for example, it will be well over 100 degrees.
Here is the other great thing about Arizona, though. You can escape the heat of Central or Southern Arizona pretty easily. For example, today in the Phoenix area it will be over 100 degrees, as I mentioned. But as you drive north of Phoenix, into Northern Arizona, the elevation can change dramatically and the temperatures go down accordingly.
Flagstaff Arizona
As I type this, it is currently 102 degrees in Phoenix. But 89 miles north, in Payson, Arizona it is 88 degrees. In Flagstaff, Arizona -- just 146 miles north of Phoenix -- it is currently 79 degrees. We are also a cheap airline ticket away from the California coast.
It is, of course, much more difficult to get out of the nasty weather in some parts of our country. Not usually something that can be done in two hours, by car.
So yes, that is just one reason why I will remain a big fan of Arizona. And by the way -- with real estate prices down 50% or more in some parts of our region, now may be the best opportunity in your lifetime to obtain that winter residence you've been thinking about.
If you'd like information on some of the tremendous values that exist here -- either in a low-maintenance condo or townhome lifestyle or a single-family residence, please contact me at 602-327-8475 or drop me a note: ericcrane@hotmail.com
Have a Great Summer Everybody!
* Note: photos used via the Creative Commons License on Flickr.com, 6-21-11 (Stony Brook photo through the courtesy of gailf548. Arizona Sunset through the courtesy of BethinAZ. Flagstaff Arizona photo through the courtesy of Martin Ely)
First Day of Summer in Arizona -- Yeah Right!! -- June 21 2011
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