# Arizona Living Questions (AC)



## SD33

Hey all, 

I asked some questions about moving to and living in Arizona on here a while back and everyone was really helpful and cool (much better than City-data.com), so I thought I would ask again. My wife and I visited down there in September and fell in love with the place. We are now officially relocating from Seattle to the Phoenix area summer of 2012. 

My current question is about air conditioning. How much does it cost to install a system? Do most new homes come with it installed? How much do you spend on average per month and what months do you operate it and at what temperatures? Also, does anyone use a swamp cooler and what happens during the monsoon seasons? 

I would like to think that when we move we will be able to find a nice 2000-2600 square foot home that can be kept at a comfortable temperature the whole year without pinching pennies, but is this realistic? We loved Arizona, even in the 110 degree weather because we always knew we could find some AC when we needed it. But do those of you who actually live there put up with a certain amount of uncomfortableness in your homes in order to save money? 

Also, is it better/cheaper to use AC if you have a single story home vs. a two story home? 

Ok, I think that is all for now : )

Thanks for any information you can provide!


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## PHXscuba

First off, this is just me ... others may brag about toughing it out without using AC, but I'm pretty middle-of-the-road, I think.

There's no getting around, it, your AC bill will be high in July and August. Period. We use ours from when it gets too warm in April until often into November. Obviously those first and last "shoulder months" are where AC use really varies. I set mine around 76 in off-peak hours and 81 during peak hours (see below).

If you are looking at a Phoenix-area house that doesn't have AC, RUN!!! Every house built here in the last 30 years has AC, I have to think. How old the system is may be in question, but that's for a good home inspector to help you figure out. Swamp coolers are more common on older homes, For example, my in-laws' home was built in about 1979 and has a swamp cooler. Our home was built in 1995 and doesn't. More than likely you will have a heat pump, which runs as AC in the summer and heat in the winter if you don't have gas heat.

As for cost, lots of variation. Ask the people you buy a home from how they used energy and what their power bills have been. If the home has high ceilings (lots here do) you'll pay more to cool each square foot of home. If you have a two-story with separate condensers, you can set them to not use the downstairs at night, for example. If you are gone all day and set an electronic thermostat to cool your house only just before you come home, you can save some money. They have time-of-day plans that charge you more during peak times and less during off-peak to encourage you to bump up the thermostat during the afternoons. It's a whole education figuring it all out.

With all that, you can still probably expect a $200-300 power bill in the peak summer months for the size of house you mentioned. After a year you can get on a managed-payment plan where they average your usage over the whole year and that spreads the pain out.

We relocated here in the summer of 1998 and the first few months were hard. I had to get used to sleeping under ever-present ceiling fans (a must here). If I recall, you've already visited when it's warm. The nice thing is after toughing out the first few months, the rest of year is beautiful. I am typing this on my driveway watching my daughters ride their bikes around, in T-shirts.

I'd be happy to answer any more questions about living here. 

PHXscuba


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## SD33

Thanks, PHXscuba! That is really helpful information!


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## Desert Dwellers

I agree with PHXscuba, the houses you'll be looking at will all have AC.  I have a friend that bought an older home in Tucson which had the original swamp cooler and had been updated with AC.  A great combination, I think. 

I had a two story in the Midwest, but I only want a ranch here. I have the budgeted plan with SRP which means I pay $115 a month regardless of usage.  So to run my house a year costs around $1500 in electricity. My gas bill (stove, water heater) is about $35, except when running my furnace, then it jumps to $70 or $80. 

I keep the house at 79 in the summer, and run ceiling fans in every room. They really make a big difference in comfort. I love March, April, November and December when I don't use any AC or furnace at all.


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## SD33

Can you tell me a little more about the "budgeted plan with SRP". How do they determine how much to charge you? And wouldn't you be able to take the house down to say 72 instead of 79 if it doesn't matter how much you use the AC? Or do you just like it that way? 

This is all very interesting. I like that you can spread out the cost and just plan for it. That's kinda what we are trying to do now. I'm hoping we can have a general idea of how much we will be paying monthly for utilities before we buy a house so we can budget accordingly.


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## eeyoremommy

A little OT...my aunt and uncle packed up everything about a year ago because my aunt swore that she wanted to live in Arizona (the medical, relatives, weather, etc., etc.).  They have just recently returned to Washington State where they are staying with a family member until they can find a place to live.  They were unhappy with the level of taxes.  Her doctors in Arizona wouldn't accept her old medical records and wanted to run all new tests for conditions she has had her entire life.  Although they lived in a safer suburban area of Phoenix, people began to feel less safe and were more brazen about flashing their firearms around (something that freaked her out).  They were less than pleased with their decision.  My aunt has flightly tendencies, but I think some of her fears were well grounded.  I hope your decision works out much better.


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## kailuagirl

Although I never lived in Phoenix, we did live in Yuma, way down south, where it was very very very hot.   To keep our electric bill's down, my dad would have our a/c on a timer and it would be off when we were all gone during the day and turn on about an hour before we would start getting home.  He would also turn off the a/c vents in the rooms that weren't really being used or not at all.   Also, their electric usage in the later years reminded me of green acres in a way.  In the daytime, during the weekday, electricity was at its prime and most expensive, so you couldn't use say the microwave and the stove at the same time, it was kinda like use this first, then you can use that.  Also couldn't use the washer/dryer in the day.  But in the evenings, can't remember what time it would change, it was like go for it and get everything done.  It was kinda weird.   He also put in a swamp cooler (it was after I lived there) and they LOVED IT, they used in when they didn't use the a/c and it was way more efficient.

I don't think I knew anyone that didn't have a/c in their house, it was automatic.  I think we had to use the heater in the winter too sometimes.

If you can, I'd get a house with a pool, it will be so worth it on those hot summer days and nights.  We used our's almost year round, except in the winter of course).

Now as compared to hawaii electricity a $200 electric bill for us would be wonderful!  It's so expensive, my auntie runs an average of about $500 to 600 per month and our's is almost always at least $300, $350 and that's without any a/c for a family of 4.  

I really liked living in Arizona, weather was great, hard on your skin, but you get used to it really fast.  It's affordable.  Have a great move!!


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## Peri

I have lived in Arizona, with a three year absence, since 1961.  When we were young, parents had a swamp cooler only - really only wealthy families had A/C.  Now, as stated, everyone has A/C.  If your unit breaks, for a 2600 sf house you would pay arond 5,000 for a new unit (with heat pump).  We live in a 2700 sf house.  Bills go up as stated above, in the summer we pay 250 to 300 a month, keep house at 78 all day.  We have ceiling fans.  You will pay more to cool a two story house and the rooms upstairs will be significantly warmer.  The SRP program takes your average at your house, and then you pay a monthly fee but if you decide to lower the thermostat to 72, you will have to make up the difference - it does not mean you get to use all the electricity you want.  

You might want to look at homes with solar panels to help lower your bills.


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## disneyfaninaz

Yes, any house constructed within the last 25 years. at least, will have an A/C.  How efficient the A/C is depends on its age.  Don't buy a house with a swamp cooler, total waste of money in my opinion.  Costs for AC are just a fact of life here in the desert.  You can't live without it.  During the summer, you will pay more for it.  However, you may want to consider a house that also uses natural gas for heating. That really cuts down on the SRP bills during the other months.


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## PHXscuba

SD33:

The way the "managed payment plan" works is an averaging system. Say your usage for a year (super-simplified) is $100 per month in the winter and $300 in the summer. You would just pay $200 per month all year round.

They will only put you on it in the fall after you've lived in your house a year so they can make a good estimate of how much you should be paying. It hurts a bit to pay more the first few winter months instead of seeing your bill naturally go down, but it makes it a lot easier to budget and you don't get the nasty $$$ payment in the summer. I think they reserve the right to adjust that payment if your usage goes way out of their estimate, but they normally only a adjust the monthly payment each fall, based on how your usage has charged and how the power rates go up.

Our AC units are 15 years old and have been repaired but not replaced. Cross my fingers to eke a few more years out of them. They are starting to do more solar panels but they are dependent on the big government rebates and the industry is still ramping up. We have neighbors that just put in some solar panels and I will be interested to see how they do over the next year.

As for the 1 or 2 story question, it's a lot of personal preferences -- I don't know how they rate on AC. Almost NO newer areas in Phoenix build basements -- it's still cheaper to build out or up than to dig out a basement. So if you want more square footage without a bigger lot, you'll find many 2-stories in big homes until you get to the custom-home range. My sister has a 2500-square foot single story home (4 bed, 2 bath) because her knees are too bad for stairs. I know she might have wanted a slightly bigger house, but it was hard to find bigger in a 1-story (in the Chandler/Gilbert area).

PHXscuba


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## Carrie in AZ

You are very smart to plan ahead, but I don't think you'll have any problems at all finding a house that size -- there are a gazillion of them! -- or being able to afford your electric bill.  I have many friends with two story homes and all of them have two AC units.  Friends of ours were over last night and we started talking about our SRP bill.  They have a 3000+ sf, two story with a pool.  They keep their temp at about 78 during the summer and they said their highest bill they ever had was $400.  They said this month will be about $150 as they don't run their heat very much and don't run their pool much if at all in the winter.

We have a smallish home, 1600 sf, and we keep our house very cool during the day in the summer as I can't stand to be hot, so, around 74-76.  No pool.  Our highest bill this summer was $240.  This month it will be less than $90 because we rarely run our heat.

When moving to the Phoenix area, two things I like to remind people of are:  think heavily about your commute.  Do lots of research on this and ask questions.  If you live in the East Valley and need to commute to Downtown or to the West Valley, you are in for a long commute!

Another thing that I think catches folks by surprise is the cost of auto license and tags.  Compared to other states, I think it can be costly.

On the other hand, I don't think our property taxes are as high as they are elsewhere.  For example, our relatives live in a Chicago suburb and their taxes are  A LOT more, thousands more a year.  So, those are some things I would be looking at also.

Good luck!


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## SD33

Thanks again to everyone for contributing some facts and figures. This is all VERY helpful for my planning! 

I'm going to sneak one more question in here fully realizing that it may be a much harder one to answer. Anyone with _eczema_ down there that can speak to how the dryness of the climate affects your skin? My wife has small bouts with it in the winters here in Washington and we read that dry climates are not very optimal for this sort of thing. However, my wife says that hers has never been a problem in the summer but only acts up when it is cold and dry. Anyone know anything about how a desert climate will affect this?


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## Desert Dwellers

With the SRP budget plan, the goal is to build a sizable credit balance in the winter months. Then the higher summer bills are just deducted from your credit balance. You should end up pretty even around September.  If I'm having a party I don't feel bad turning down the temp to 72 to make sure my guests are comfortable.  But if I did that all the time, SRP would notice my usage was outpacing my credit and would adjust my monthly payment accordingly.  

Just a note though: It is much more energy efficient for your cooling units to maintain a constant temperature than to turn off the AC and let it run for an hour cooling the house back down. I don't adjust my thermostat more than three degrees if I'm going to be gone from the house all day.  Second, more efficient cooling is based on airflow. Turning off vents in some rooms restricts the overall airflow and actually makes your AC units less efficient. 

I lived in Indiana, and my car tags are actually cheaper in Arizona.  I drive an eight year old van, and my car registration is just over $100.  My husband drives a newer Acura, and his car costs several hundred dollars.  But I also lived in Wisconsin, and our property taxes are so much cheaper in Arizona. Compared to Illinois or New Jersey, for example, Arizona is a real bargin. 

(The only guns I have seen here have been carried by police.)


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## Desert Dwellers

Other disjointed thoughts -- on the car registration, the majority of your car tag cost is deductible on your federal income tax if you itemize.

I don't have eczema, but I do have trouble with contact dermatitis. It's much worse in the winter, not so bad in the summer.


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## pinktink83

My brother and my daughter both have/had eczema. It flares up sometimes, but with Rx cream it usually stays under control. My daughter only had it while she was 1-3 years old. Then it went away. My brother has flare up still into his 20s. I imagine the dryness is going to affect it a lot, at least at first. However, your body does acclimate to the new conditions after a year or so, so maybe it will level off then.

The areas surrounding Phoenix are a bit safer/homier, especially if you will be having children. Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe are all established suburbs. Chandler is especially nice since it is almost all new construction. Gilbert schools have long been heralded for being great. Tempe has awesome shopping and culture from the college campus being so near. Queen Creek is also very cheap and all brand new, but its a long commute, and there can be some empty housing developments from all the foreclosures (but it is turning up again). Mesa is nice, but you have to make sure you get on the right side of town- the other side (Little Mexico) is pretty run-down. Scottsdale is of course, great, but very expensive.

Definitely check out the commutes before you buy a house. It will make or break your decision of where you end up settling. The highways can be a nightmare here during rush hour. 

If I were choosing all over again, I'd probably aim for Chandler. They have such gorgeous parks and there is so much to do.


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## SD33

Ok, what about scorpions? Are they a problem down there and, if so, how do I prevent them? We plan on having a pool and I heard water attracts crickets which attract scorpions. I have also heard that newer developments tend to have more scorpion problems because the little buggers get into the homes before they are finished and sealed. I fully assume that we will see scorpions, rattlesnakes, black widows and other desert creatures while living there, but I'd rather not be stung or bitten by anything I don't have to. And from some of the sources I have read online, I am feeling a bit unnerved. People being stung in bed?? I've never worried about anything getting at me in bed while in Washington. 

Anyway, what's the scoop on these guys? And if anyone knows of a good pest control company they would recommend, please let me know


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## disneyfaninaz

If you are planning to purchase a home in a well established subdivision that isn't out in the "desert", like North Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Care Free or way out East Mesa, the chances of seeing rattlesnakes and other desert creatures are hugely reduced.  If you live in the suburbs, yes, you will see black widows and scorpions, but you shouldn't worry about them.

I have lived here for 45 years and have only seen a handful of scorpions and not the big ones you see out in the desert, but small brown ones.  We do have exterminators if you have a problem.


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## Desert Dwellers

My house was a new build ten years ago.  The first year here, we had terrible trouble with crickets.  Our pest control company came and sealed up a lot of openings around thresholds, and now I only see a few crickets a year.

We have quarterly pest service.  I have never seen a scorpion in the ten years I have lived in this house.  I'm not worried about them though.  I grew up in the New Mexico desert, and we had scorpions in our house all the time.  Unless you're allergic, it's no worse than having a spider in your house.

A few years ago, we had a really wet late winter/early spring.  That spring and summer we had black widow spiders like crazy.  I would be sure to turn over and clean the patio chairs everytime I wanted to sit on the patio.  I never got bit, although their bite really isn't bad.  Now I see one black widow a year.  

We have lots of lizards that live in our backyard.  They seem to do a good job of eating the bugs.  But they're just bugs, and I don't get too creeped out by them.


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## SD33

That doesn't sound so bad. Thats for the reassurance!


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## PHXscuba

I have lived here for more than 12 years and I've never seen a rattlesnake outside of a zoo. We get occasional scorpions (2 or 3 a year), but some places do get more. Partly it's killing the food source -- we spray every 5 weeks or so, so we don't get a lot of bugs. If your neighbor sprays and you don't, guess whose house the bugs will live at? I have been stung once and it only made part of my foot a numb for a day. (BTW, don't Google "scorpion sting" -- the Internet will convince you death is imminent)

A brand-new area that is displacing desert critters is the most likely to have them try to move in with you when their homes are eliminated.

PHXscuba


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## SD33

PHXscuba said:


> I have lived here for more than 12 years and I've never seen a rattlesnake outside of a zoo. We get occasional scorpions (2 or 3 a year), but some places do get more. Partly it's killing the food source -- we spray every 5 weeks or so, so we don't get a lot of bugs. If your neighbor sprays and you don't, guess whose house the bugs will live at? I have been stung once and it only made part of my foot a numb for a day. (BTW, don't Google "scorpion sting" -- the Internet will convince you death is imminent)
> 
> A brand-new area that is displacing desert critters is the most likely to have them try to move in with you when their homes are eliminated.
> 
> PHXscuba



So all of those new homes that we fell in love with out in Gilbert are the most likely to see scorpions inside? 

Fantastic! lol 

Oh well, sounds like it is just something you sign up for when you are moving to an otherwise attractive sun drenched desert that's a quick drive away from Disneyland and Las Vegas 

I'm going to resist the urge to Google "scorpion sting" now...


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## disneyfaninaz

Not necessarily.  Those new homes in Gilbert were built where old farms and orchards were located.  Scorpions are probably long gone.


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## PHXscuba

I guess I should qualify what I said about new homes. If it's virgin desert that didn't have stuff there before, it's more likely to have critters. Old farmland has probably been turned/pesticided/etc. many more times.

Ask some of the neighbors in the tract you want to live, because each pocket has its own set of plusses and minuses: road access, bugs, schools, noise, amenities, etc.

PHXscuba


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## SD33

PHXscuba said:


> I guess I should qualify what I said about new homes. If it's virgin desert that didn't have stuff there before, it's more likely to have critters. Old farmland has probably been turned/pesticided/etc. many more times.
> 
> Ask some of the neighbors in the tract you want to live, because each pocket has its own set of plusses and minuses: road access, bugs, schools, noise, amenities, etc.
> 
> PHXscuba



Thanks for the clarification. That is a bit of a relief!


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## Mrs. Charming

I'm so glad you asked this, I ventured down here to the DL section to ask the same thing.  DH and I (and kiddos) are thinking of moving to AZ, maybe even NM in 2012 at some point.  I looked at houses, great prices, but I am terrified by all the foreclosures.  Is everything really that bad, job-wise?  DH would probably transfer within his company, but if for some reason the branch closed, I don't want to be up a creek without a paddle.  

It's funny, the cooling bills don't seem too far off  if not identical to what we pay up here in PA in the summer.  From the beginning of June to probably early September, the AC is on constantly.  Our temps this summer were over 100 a LOT this past summer.  (I was pregnant, too... what a mess.)  It's a dry heat in AZ, right?

Oh, and how's the drive to DL?


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## PHXscuba

There are a lot of foreclosures and short sales right now. Unknown what they'll be like next year.

As for the drive to Disneyland, it's about 6 to 6.5 hours from my house here in the Easy Valley (the far side of Phoenix) to Disneyland. A very easy drive on a major interstate.

I was just remarking to DS14 yesterday (as we sat at the park without jackets) that I'll take our total-year weather over the Northeast any day. The people getting hit with snow are mostly the same people whose summers are warm/hot and muggy! So we get at least the fall/spring/winter to be comfortable rather than just fall and spring.

PHXscuba


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## disneyfaninaz

Mrs. Charming said:


> I'm so glad you asked this, I ventured down here to the DL section to ask the same thing.  DH and I (and kiddos) are thinking of moving to AZ, maybe even NM in 2012 at some point.  I looked at houses, great prices, but I am terrified by all the foreclosures.  Is everything really that bad, job-wise?  DH would probably transfer within his company, but if for some reason the branch closed, I don't want to be up a creek without a paddle.
> 
> It's funny, the cooling bills don't seem too far off  if not identical to what we pay up here in PA in the summer.  From the beginning of June to probably early September, the AC is on constantly.  Our temps this summer were over 100 a LOT this past summer.  (I was pregnant, too... what a mess.)  It's a dry heat in AZ, right?
> 
> Oh, and how's the drive to DL?



A lot of the foreclosures were people getting into way too high valued homes or "McMansions" beyond their means.  Yes, you can get some pretty good deals with all of the foreclosures and short sales here in the valley.  Some parts of the valley are worse than others.

As far as the dry heat, you can expect some humidity in July and August during our monsoon, but it is nothing like in the midwest or east coast.  Eveything is aircondioned here!

The drive to DL is not bad from the valley at all.  You can start out here in the morning and be having dinner in the park later that afternoon.


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## Mrs. Charming

Thank you both!! This is sounding great.    Totally do-able.  Haha, yeah we're those suckers with 15" of snow outside our door.  I've totally had it with winters.  No thanks, I'll pass.  30 years of snowy, blistering cold winters is enough for this gal.  

The short drive to DL is just the icing on the cake.  

I'm sure I'll have a few more questions, but you all seem so helpful.  Thank you!


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## Mrs. Charming

disneyfaninaz said:


> A lot of the foreclosures were people getting into way too high valued homes or "McMansions" beyond their means.  Yes, you can get some pretty good deals with all of the foreclosures and short sales here in the valley.  Some parts of the valley are worse than others.
> 
> As far as the dry heat, you can expect some humidity in July and August during our monsoon, but it is nothing like in the midwest or east coast.  Eveything is aircondioned here!
> 
> The drive to DL is not bad from the valley at all. * You can start out here in the morning and be having dinner in the park later that afternoon*.



I could just cry reading that.  Flying to WDW is a ridiculous ordeal from Philadelphia that begins at 4:30 AM and by the time we get there we're beyong exhausted.  A 6 hour drive would be heavenly.


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## PHXscuba

Totally driveable. My best friend and I went for a long weekend the beginning of December. We got our (combined 8) children off to school, left at 9 a.m., made one longish stop for lunch and Target in Indio, and were checking into our hotel about 3 p.m. (with a 1-hour time change).

I need at least 2 stops if the kids are coming along, but it's still an easy day. I got brave and started driving it without DH (to see family in the same area of CA) when our youngest was 3 and my older kids could help.

PHXscuba


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## justhat

We moved to Tucson last summer, but it's fairly similar in terms of the housing situation, cooling bills, and the bugs.  I second what people said about living in previous desert land.  Our home is 3yo, but was built into the base of the mountains.  There are new homes going up on the 2 lots north of us, but then above that is mountain preserve.  We see more scorpions, tarantulas, other crazy looking spiders, centipedes bigger than I ever imagined (we measured one that we killed, 7" long and 1" wide!!!), and animals: javelinas, bobcats, coatis, coyotes, packrats, rattlesnakes and other snakes.  You name it, we have it.

But my kids go to school closer to "city" and they don't really see any of that.  Well, I have seen coyotes run along the road, but that's about it.  


We have essentially had the AC on daily since we moved here.  There were a few really cold days where we needed heat, but probably 10-20 total.  Even when it is 75 out, the sun really heats up some rooms in our house so the AC kicks on.  I keep them all on a program and don't want it hotter than 77 in the main living areas, 75 in the kids bedrooms (because my daughter naps in the day and will sweat if it is any warmer than that).  The master I let get warmer, probably 78 is the max in there.  At night though, I want it cool in the bedrooms, and we need AC every night to get the temp to at least 72 degrees.  In the morning it's generally around 70 degrees, with no AC, so it does cool off while we're sleeping.


Mrs. Charming (I think you were on the MTB thread with me when you were pregnant with your 2nd?), we drove to DL over NYE and going wasn't bad, but on the way back we hit traffic just west of the Phoenix metro area (it was 9pm on a Sunday night).  OMG, it was miserable!  That was the one thing that made me want the NE corridor again cause at least there are exits to get off there, and alternate backroads and stuff.  Here we were just stuck!  We also went to DL in October, and I flew alone with 3 kids and that wasn't so bad either.  

I find that jobs here aren't terrible, but again, we're in Tucson, not Phoenix.  I don't know anyone who is out of work, but wishing they had a job.  Of course that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of people in that situation here, but it also isn't super prevalent.


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## nichellecr

I'm probably catching this thread too late but I just wanted to chime in as I too moved from Seattle to Phoenix. I rent in downtown Phoenix so I can't comment on some of your questions. It is generally dry here, especially with a/c and heaters - I use a cool air humidifier a lot.

Never seen a scorpion, rattlesnake, or black widow. That has partly to do with living downtown.

I give tours of downtown Phoenix so if you have questions about that, I can answer just about anything.


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## GottaLuvMickey

SD33 said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I asked some questions about moving to and living in Arizona on here a while back and everyone was really helpful and cool (much better than City-data.com), so I thought I would ask again. My wife and I visited down there in September and fell in love with the place. We are now officially relocating from Seattle to the Phoenix area summer of 2012.
> 
> My current question is about air conditioning. How much does it cost to install a system? Do most new homes come with it installed? How much do you spend on average per month and what months do you operate it and at what temperatures? Also, does anyone use a swamp cooler and what happens during the monsoon seasons?
> 
> I would like to think that when we move we will be able to find a nice 2000-2600 square foot home that can be kept at a comfortable temperature the whole year without pinching pennies, but is this realistic? We loved Arizona, even in the 110 degree weather because we always knew we could find some AC when we needed it. But do those of you who actually live there put up with a certain amount of uncomfortableness in your homes in order to save money?
> 
> Also, is it better/cheaper to use AC if you have a single story home vs. a two story home?
> 
> Ok, I think that is all for now : )
> 
> Thanks for any information you can provide!





Sorry if I repeat anything other people have said, I haven't read responses yet... but....

It's definitely cheaper to have a one story home than a two!  Most houses (all as far as I know) have a/c in them.  Some have swamp coolers, but from my experience with those when I lived in New Mexico, they're useless most of the time!    I live just southeast of Phoenix, in a 1,600 sqft house that was built in 2001, we keep the house at 85 during the day and 80 at night during the summer (May-September usually) and we pay about $250-$300 a month for our electricity.  There are 2 adults and a 2 year old in our house, so we don't use a lot of electric other than the basics...  On the plus side, there seems to be a LOT of people moving here from the Seattle area, so hopefully you'll feel right at home down here!


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## azdisneylover

Wow! There are lots of AZers on the boards! So cool! This AZer is on the west side of Phoenix (closer to DL! ). Used to live on South Mountain for 16 years, and moved to the west side of town about 10 years ago. I agree with the prior posters. Planting a few choice trees to provide shade to your home in the summer, will help with keeping it comfortable. 
When I lived on S.Mtn, I saw 2 tarantulas in my neighbor's driveway, found scorpions on a daily basis in my pool, and black widows were common. Now, I have seen an occasional black widow. 
The drive to CA is boring, scenery wise, but knowing we can get to DL in 5-5 1/2 hours is a nice treat, plus, when daylight saving time ends in Oct, we are once again an hour ahead of CA!


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## PHXscuba

azdisneylover said:


> I saw 2 tarantulas in my neighbor's driveway, found scorpions on a daily basis in my pool, and black widows were common. Now, I have seen an occasional black widow.



Reasons 1-1000 why we bucked the big real estate trends almost six years ago and moved closer INTO town (developed) vs. building a house out on the edges farther than we lived at the time! Every time we'd get serious about looking at acreage, another friend out there would find something crawly (or slithery) in their garage, bathroom, bed, etc. Not for me!

I love living in AZ, although by about mid-July I'm ready to go to SoCal for a week!

PHXscuba


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## justhat

We get our share of critters (scorpions, centipedes bigger than I ever imagined, tarantulas, weird spiders, but with a pest control service we're fine.  And we're in Tucson, which is much less developed than Phoenix overall, plus we're basically on State Park land, right on the base of a mountain.  Since we started pest control (days after we moved in last summer), we generally only see the bugs in our garage or outside the house.


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## PHXscuba

Yes, monthly pest control is our best friend. We get a lot fewer bugs than some people I know who don't spray. Plus, there just seem to be some "hot spots". I had a friend living less than a mile from us who found scorpions weekly (we find a few each year).

We are in the middle of the East Valley. Our area is 15-20-year-old homes built on former farm land, so I think that helps.

PHXscuba


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## VandVsmama

We've lived in the Tucson area for 6.5 years and in north Phoenix for 1.5 years before that.  Our house was built in 2004. It's 1 story, 2086 sq ft.  Has a pool in the backyard.  Running the pool pump + AC results in electric bill of $250-280/month in June-September.  This is with running the pool pump in the early morning hours, which for us means lower electric bills (we are on a time of day plan with varying rates based on the time of day).

During the winter months, our electric bill runs about $180/month.  Our heating is gas, so if your house has an electric heater, it would be higher.

Certain parts of Phoenix have problems with lots of scorpions, while other parts of town have problems with other bugs & roaches.  When we lived in Phoenix, we learned to keep the tub drain plugged all the time except when we were using the tub or shower because of the huge roaches that would crawl up through the drain.  Seriously, big honking beetles with 3-4" antennae.

I highly recommend getting some sort of regular exterminator service...you can do it once/month, once every other month, or once every quarter.  Or if you want to save $$ on your monthly expenses, you could get the supplies from home depot and spray around the house yourself.

Scorpions feed on crickets.  If there are lots of crickets around, the scorpions will show up some time after that.

One time, when ODD was 6 months old, we had a small bark scorpion inside the house on the carpet and ODD almost crawled right on top of it.  It scared me half to death.  The bark scorpions are very very poisonous.  We called the pest control co that we use and they came over the very next day to respray.


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## Mom2micayla

Another Tucsonan here. 

We have a 1900 sq foot, one story home and our average electric bill is around $200- $240 or so during the hottest summer months. We usually try to keep the a/c around 76. We tend to turn it down a degree or two when we get hot to just kick start it, then turn it back up. I rarely bother with adjusting the temp at night.. so we're at about 76 most warmer months. But the plus side of the "high" summer bills is our electric bill during the late fall and winter is very small. Usually my Nov-March electric bills (my house is 100% electric, btw) is well under $100. My main suggestion for buying a home in AZ is to go with a one story ranch home. The 2 story homes are a lot more difficult to cool and your electric bills will be higher.

I've lived up in the mountains before and currently live in a recently developed area that used to be farm land. I have yet to see a tarantula in Tucson, and I've lived here for 14 years. Guess I've gotten lucky with that.  I've seen just a handful of scorpions over the years. Never seen a rattlesnake yet, although my DH is a firefighter and they remove them fairly often from homes around here. Black widow spiders are VERY prominent in my area and we have an exterminator come monthly to keep them from overtaking the backyard. Honestly though, I've never seen them. I just see their webs. Really, the only thing I see on a regular basis here is lizards. Of course I'm happy to see our lizard friends, because they eat the bugs. 

The drive from Tucson to DLR is easy too. Takes us about 7 hours, and that's going I-8 to I-5. I prefer that drive as I don't have to deal with traffic in Phoenix and Riverside, CA. But even taking I-10 through Phoenix, it's a breeze. Leave early-ish morning and you're there by mid-afternoon.


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## darph nader

In my 40+ years in Tucson,I have yet to see a scorpion or tarantula. (outside the Desert Museum) 
Our 'swamp box' does a good job keepin the house cool and at only a buck and a quarter. (a buck fifty sometimes)


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## sand2270

I've lived in Tucson for 36 years...since I was 4.  Definitely saw more wildlife, bugs, etc. where I grew up near Old Tucson.  Since I have lived more in town (but still sort of on the outskirts) definitely see less.  I don't think I have seen one scorpion or snake since I moved into my new house 1 1/2 year ago.  Still see coyotes...I don't think we have ever had a tarantula just show up.  Lots of javelinas though where I grew up.

As far as cooling, my house is about 1300 sq ft. I do budget billing and my house is all electric, no gas.  I pay about $130 a month.  I work full time and have a programmable theromstat so it runs at a 85 degrees during the day when I am not here, switches to 75 about an hour before I get home. 

The short drive to DL is nice though SOOOO boring LOL.


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## justhat

I am envious of all of the Tucson people who don't see tarantulas, scorpions, etc. We get them all!


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## darph nader

justhat said:


> I am envious of all of the Tucson people who don't see tarantulas, scorpions, etc. We get them all!



Guess it all depends on what part of town you live in. We live just north of the base. (29th and Columbus)


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## trish.

Another Seattleite here with dreams of moving to AZ. We just returned yesterday from Surprise and we fell in love.  We have a pool here in Washington and just the thought of being able to use the pool more than 2 months a year would be amazing.  

Thanks for all the responses to the OP - 

We drove from Disney to Surprise and the drive was really easy.


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## SpectroMan71

Arizonans - I live in a very similar climate to Phoenix and have central air built in 1990.  To me, that's still modern (lol) but I'm very curious if anyone has replaced their units from that time period and noticed a marked increase in efficiency using today's systems vs. late 80s/early 90s?  It would surprise me if major advances had been made in that relatively short amount of time, but correct me if I'm mistaken.


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## MSPtoPHX

After researching on just about every topic brought up on this board, as a newbie to the area, perhaps I can offer you another viewpoint to your questions.

AC/Power. We keep our house at about 78-80 while we are in Phoenix during the summer. We also have a pool. Our largest bill yet was just over $325. In our home in Minneapolis, our highest electricity bill this summer (2011) was about $375. Our home in Phx is maybe a bit larger than in Mpls, but our home in Mpls is 2 stories and runs about 6 computers 24/7. We also keep it about 72 to keep the indoor air drier. The peak usage in a typical July AZ day can run up to 100kwh, a lot, but if you have SRP, just keep the pool, AC, microwave, washers off during the 3-6pm peak.

We have CT's (current transformers) for monitoring per circuit electric use (we are techies). The biggest hog is the AC unit, then the pool pump, followed closely by the AC blower. Also worth mentioning to a new resident. The utilities require a deposit (like $80) despite how good of credit you have. A little thing that kind of took us off guard. Guess it just reflects on the area.

RE: the statement about using solar panels, you're not going to get enough power to really make a difference. We are all for solar, but the 10-20 year payback isn't cost effective. It is more efficient to improve the insulation of your home (unless you have money to burn). The typical larger panel you will buy for a home is maybe [advertising] 233 watts, so you'd need several dozen to run an ac (about $600 per panel). Most people that have solar use it to heat their water. Get a solar pool cover for winter, cheaper and you'll feel good having something solar in the VOTS.

Also, buy a remote programmable thermostat. We can log in at any time and set the temp we want (Android, iPhone, web). Very handy and you can easily program settings via a web browser.

When our AC went out one time, the house got to 98. Candles started bending and I noticed some yellowing in a few cotton items. When the AC was repaired, it took several hours to cool the house and the contents inside. The 3 degree rule as someone mentioned is so true for efficiency (keep your program set for no more than 3 degrees difference when in house). We've been in-house about 3 weeks each month this summer.

Regarding the monsoon. As a midwesterner, the biggest yuck is the dust. Even if there isn't a dust storm, there is still dust. I've been there this summer for 3 of the 4 significant ha****s. The first one on July 2 (I believe) was horrible. Dust everywhere, even inside with doors shut. Prepare to clean your pool often (best to have a pool with a sand filter for this - the pool guy says) and ALWAYS change your air filter every 30 days. MERV 8 rating is what our AC guy gets us.

As far as scorpions, never seen one. Everyone in the "know" that I've talked to has said the same thing. You can't exterminate scorpions because the only thing that kills them is to smash them. Instead, you exterminate their food source. Cockroaches, spiders, crickets and even small rodents. Also, the news last week had a story on the outbreak of scorpion stings in the valley. 1,600+ in August alone. They say the hot temperatures are to blame. Ask your neighbors if they've seen any. Ours have not, friends on the other side of the mountain in Ahwatukee have. Get a black light flash light and go around your home at night. They love cinder block walls.

Don't be alarmed if you get the stray large cockroach. Be alarmed if you see little cockroaches. The city of Phoenix sprays their sewers to "control" the cockroach population. I'm told by a city worker that really all this does is move the cockroaches to a different part of the sewer system. They will come up through drains at times, so if you see a big one in your house, you may see another or a few more around that time. Likely they will be dead - or almost dead, then hopefully they will be gone for a while. Keep your house clean of crumbs and food and sugar well sealed. If you get a problem, call an exterminator immediately.

Never seen a black widow or tarantula. Sometimes these little black spiders with an orb body show up in the pool, but I don't know what they are. I hate spiders more than anything and really don't want to know. Snakes either, but we do see a lot of lizards and some praying mantis.

Our house is in a newer development in S Phx by south mountain (Baseline/24th st). South Phoenix isn't the best, but our development is newer and clearly separated from the nearest dumpy area. From what I've seen, you will see nice/poor areas next to each other in various areas throughout the city. I'm personally more afraid of areas in Minneapolis than anything I've seen in Phoenix - so far. Never seen a gun there either, but have here (pointed in someone's face as we drove by).

We've been going to Phoenix for the past 10 years (6 to the same house) and decided to buy this year when the opportunity came up. 1900sf, 14 years old, $95k. Taxes are around half (proportionately) of our place here in Mpls (where our homestead is). I don't remember how much car registration was, but the emissions test was $27.

A little OTT but worth mentioning. If you're a liberal from a blue state like we are, be prepared for the bit of culture shock. Sometimes you may have to grin it out. So far, it's harder there to co-exist among conservatives. Just saying ...

Hope this helps out a bit. Good luck with your new journey.


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## justhat

Just to comment on this recent post.  You can in fact exterminate scorpions, as we do.  We had a bug service, but recently my husband started doing it himself with stuff from the "Do it yourself bug poison" or whatever store.  The scorpions generally take longer to die than other generic bugs (but same is true for centipedes and spiders, simply based on their anatomy), but they die.  We can tell when they have encountered the poison as the start acting crazy, flip to their back, curl up, the eventually straighten out entirely (when you know they are dead).  And we have a LOT of scorpions, but very rarely a live one in or near the house.

You can also spray them with poison if you see a live one and they'll die pretty quickly.  


The other thing with solar, that we just did, is a lease program.  We went through solar city and have been happy so far.  The break even point is much earlier than purchasing outright, and all of the maintenance, installation, and other stuff is included.  We know a decent amount of people who have done it and been really satisfied.  Our neighbor is still building his house but has had solar panels on for a couple of months, with his meter just spinning backwards.  By the time he moves in he'll have so much banked that he'll be living free (electricity wise) for months).


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## eiimimi

First off, this is just me ...


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