[chopper]

Cobish:

Is it hot here? That depends on where in Arizona you intend to live. It is hot in the valley during the summer. But, as one who moved here from Pennsylvania a couple of years ago, I guarantee that the three months you curtail your outdoor afternoon activities in the summer is more than compensated during the rest of the year when your buddies in PA are shoveling their driveways out from under the snow and ice. Personally, my idea of the ideal way to do Christmas shopping is to put the top down on the Miata and drive to the mall. The dry climate, clean air and beautiful scenery are further enhanced by the friendly folks residing around here. Keep in mind that while it's hot here in the southern portion of the state, there are sections where it's much milder. Flagstaff and the northern areas see temperatures closer to those in Colorado than to Death Valley. Daily summertime temperatures in Flagstaff usually average 25 degrees F below those in Phoenix. We have hot desert, cool mountains, pine and aspen forests, saguaro cactus, wildflowers all year, and some of the most interesting western history in the country. Is it perfect? No, but it's pretty darn close if you ask me. Moving here from the East coast was one of the best things I ever did. You won't be sorry.