High Humidity or Dry Heat
 

Florida's high humidity and heat in the summer are unbearable to many and the reason for many part time residents. Arizona has higher temperatures with dryer, less humid heat.
Would you rather endure Arizona at 110 degrees with 20 percent humidity or Florida's 95 degrees and 90 percent humidity? Having played golf under both conditions I've found Florida's high humidity to be easier to tolerate, but not everyone feels the same.

Interesting question.

I enjoy the heat and the humidity (as long as I'm not working in it) is bearable. One of the distinct advantages here in TV is that during the summer months you can pretty much walk onto any of the executive courses in the afternoon without having to worry about crowds...I played nine holes on El Diablo yesterday using a pullcart and aside from one other couple about five holes ahead of me, I was the only one there. Pretty nice.

Hot is hot, I lived in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Anything over 100 degrees is hot 118 unbearable no matter where you at. Course I’m older and Florida hot still hot. I feel sun on my back and neck more down here, but I old…..

I got no problem with the summer heat and humidity in Florida, in fact I rather enjoy it. What I very much dislike is the frequent and unpredictable lighting, which wreaks havoc with outdoor activities.

I lived Arizona just before I moved here and hot is hot no matter where you go.

I’m in the “hot is hot” camp. I lived in Las Vegas for awhile and 110 there and 95 and humid here are both hot for me.

While walking the Strip in Vegas, we came upon a young gentleman lying
on a grassy area beside the main walkway. He look exhausted and overheated. I asked: "Do you need help?" Several onlookers looked worried. He waved his hand and moaned: "Please, go! All of you! Save yourselves! Don't end up like me!" A man passing by gave him an unopened bottle of water. The young man quickly poured it over his head. A second onlooker gave him another bottle. He gulped it down in seconds.

If you have ever walked the Vegas Strip when it is over 100 degrees, you know the agony. For those that never have, Don't do it! Save yourself the pure hell. Once for us was more than enough. Never again!

"It's a dry heat"
 

We were snowbirds out west for about 15 years. We had a winter house in Lake Havasu City AZ for most of that, but we would spend a few weeks there in the summer also. When we decided to settle in one location, we chose FL. We can handle the summer weather here better than the hot areas of AZ. Yeah, we sweat a lot when doing outdoor activities here, but at least we can be outdoors. In AZ when it is 110-115 for days on end you cannot even be outside after 9 or 10am. Once in a while it hits 120 degrees and the relative humidity near zero. Sure, a lot of people live in Lake Havasu, but you don't see many of them running around outside during the summer afternoons. At some point, usually in June, I would turn the water heater tank off because the cold tap water was hot enough to shower in. lol
The local joke was, "What are there more of, air conditioner techs or dermatologists?"

First of all the heat and humidity in Florida is far from unbearable. The summer months are actually the best time of the year unless you like the Florida cold winter months!

Moved here after almost 10 yrs in the Phoenix area. Much prefer Florida! The harsh desert environment leaches minerals from your body and causes health problems not faced here. Of course, you don’t have to dodge gators and hurricanes there!������������*♂️

I prefer the dry heat. 98° and dry heat as much more bearable than 98° with the humidity we have here in Florida.

I’ve been in both and hands down I prefer the florida heat and humidity. I also love the gorgeous hot sultry nights. No need for a jacket or sweater or layers like desert cool to cold evenings! The humidity also makes my skin and hair healthy where as the desert weather wrecked havoc on my skin.

We've been to both Las Vegas and Arizona. The former, several times but remember the year we went to an event there in August. We had some free time before the event so took in the sites. The guys played golf in the 100+ temps (something I'd not do) while some of the rest of us walked the strip---it WAS brutal and I was much younger. Arizona---went in the winter months but the dry air was wayyyyy too much. If one added the heat with this it wouldn't have been tolerable (MHO). Yes it's hot/humid here, but you can plan accordingly. I don't get why folks want to exercise (walk or run or bike) in the heat of the day---which is late a.m. to late afternoon. Do your activities either in the morning or later in the day. PLUS we are the lightening capital and in the rainy season it happens frequently. They say "hear thunder, take cover"....you rarely see folks doing that.

We were in Phoenix last week 117°. Was amazed how much cooler it felt when you found shade. Here it’s hot everywhere.
An answer to your question I take the dry heat.
PS- loved taking a Waymo driverless ride.

I had a heat stroke once—in upstate New York—and now I just can’t take high heat or humidity while doing things for more than a few minutes. Golf would be a misery. I gave it up. I grew up in Denver, and I remember an ENT surgeon telling me, “Do you know how you can tell you’re in Denver? [which is often very low humidity]? At every intersection, the driver next to you has his finger up his nose fishing.” In Arizona, the drying of nasal secretions can certainly make it hard to breathe. Lots of home run humidifiers to add moisture inside. I don’t have that problem here.

Consider air conditioning. It doesn’t pay attention to things like the “heat index” because removing humidity from the air is just a by-product of cooling. No extra charge. In The Villages, the temp (excluding the “heat index”) isn’t often above 90, and when it is, often clouds roll in so the sun isn’t shining on houses. It takes a lot more electricity to cool a house from 110° to 75° on a day where the sun shines the whole time than it takes to cool it from 90° to 75° where the sun shines for three or four fewer hours.

Would I want to play golf on a course surrounded by a desert or surrounded by paradise? I prefer it here.

We lived in Albuquerque for 16 years before coming here. I prefer the dry heat over humidity but the year round greenery wins us over. The desert has its own beauty but the green grass and flowers wins.

Arizona has scorpions, tarantulas, rattlesnakes, Valley Fever, Hantavirus, and plants that bite....and its all beige.... I don't care what the temperature or humidity is there.... no thanks. I'll take grass, trees and lush tropical plants over that.

Just got back from 104+ degree temps in St. George Utah. Give me Florida any day.

Great point. Humidity holds the heat at night. Arid climate’s day and night temps can swing wildly!!

Arizona heat will dry you up like a raisin and kill you. Florida will make you uncomfortable. Your choice.

I lived in Las Vegas and I remember it being 112 at midnight. Why don’t think they have misters all over spraying water on you. I remember telling an uber driver at least this heat is dry, he told me he is tired of hearing this. The streets start to buckle in areas and hot is hot. Planes can’t take off when it’s 109 degrees or warmer because the air is too thin to get lift. I’ll take floridas weather

I prefer the humidity over dry air, especially when sleeping at night. During the winter in Minnesota my skin was really dry and itchy and I always had a dry throat and mouth when I woke up. Even down here I partially open my window at night with a fan to bring in some humidity. I prefer it around 55 to 60%. With the AC constantly running it drops down into the low 40s.

That is a good question. I am amazed that you can play golf here at 95 degrees. You are a better human than myself. I would last for one drive at the 1st hole and then go home to the A/C. I think that in golf Meccas like here that there should be indoor golf with drives at a screen (I don't know the name for that) and then an indoor putting area. If you can golf at 95 degrees, I would have guessed that you were 35 years old, but since you are a Senior member - my guess would be incorrect. Keep up whatever you are doing.

Good point.

The problem is that Florida climate is NOT staying constant year after year. Florida (and the whole world) have been warming significantly for the past 15 years. And hurricanes therefore have the potential to get stronger every year. The western US is not without heat problems including increased forest fires.

I knew friends that have Valley Fever. It tend to lower your lifespan. It is serious stuff.

You forgot the Florida cockroaches, termites, fireants, armadillos, snakes, alligators, bears, bobcats and coyotes. I do agree with you about the "brownness" of Arizona but all in all, I'll take snow anyday over the temps in the 90's-100's.

Scottsdale had those dust storms which are quite a pain. I enjoyed Arizona in the winters though and you can experience different climates in Arizona.


I spent a few months during certain Summers in Apache Junction, Arizona in the 1970s and most of the Summer of 1984 in Scottsdale.

They are called Haboobs and they are NOT fun!

Haboob - Wikipedia

And the Plus is . . . .???
 

I prefer Florida. I've hiked many mountains in the AZ summer heat and it is stifling. At least here in Florida, there is usually a slight to moderate warm breeze to go with the heat. No such breeze in AZ.

We had some heat, some humidity but quite some huge mosquitoes in Minneapolis during the Summers of 1986 (late) through 1991. I think the joke goes is that mosquitoes are the State Bird of Minnesota.

I have very dry skin so prefer the humidity.

Ah perfect question for me as I just moved from the Phoenix area to The Villages. The biggest difference here in TV for me is that the temp is in the 70's in the morning until about 8 or 9am. I can go on really long walks here, even with the humidity. In Arizona, the temp is already in the high 80's at 6am and by 8am the temp is in the high 90's and will go over 100 95% of days in the summer. I used to play pickleball at 6am (getting up at 4:30am) and be done with pickleball by 8am. By then the temp was too hot to do anything outside and I would sit around the house too much. The backyard artificial grass was way too hot for the dogs paws to do their business (we weren't allowed real grass in our yards at PebbleCreek). And the sun being out constantly with no cloud cover absolutely killed me. I had gotten heat stroke twice in AZ. The fact Florida has a lot of cloud cover plus an almost daily rain storm in the summer is a plus as that keeps the temp down

So yes while I don't love humidity, my body seems to be adapting to Florida way easier than Arizona. In fact, I adapted quicker than I thought I would. My skin feels so much better here - in AZ the air was so dry that I would develop cracks in my skin, especially around the knuckles. My skin healed up in less than a month here. And sure I feel wet and sweaty when I am outside in the afternoon here, but that is okay with me as I didn't sweat enough in AZ (which possibly made it more likely for me to get heat stroke). Florida is by no means perfect, but it is better for me than Arizona.

Cindy

Where we lived in SoCal before moving here we didn’t have the FL cockroaches of course but there were other types, and we didn’t have fire ants (these guys have attacked me twice now, not fun!), and definitely no armadillos and alligators. We did however have an abundance of all of the other creatures mentioned plus mountain lions, too many raccoons, and far too many rats, which kept our outdoor feral cats very busy.

While I personally would choose SoCal’s summer weather over Florida’s any day, I would never choose AZ desert heat. Our kids asked us why we didn’t choose AZ over FL when looking for a retirement community since it was so much closer to them in SoCal, and we told them we’d never survive 115-120 temps for months at a time, not to mention the barren desert landscape. Plus, more importantly there is no Villages in AZ or anywhere else for that matter. We wanted the Villages lifestyle despite the summer weather that comes with it. Hubby grew up in MI so he’s adapting better than me to the humidity, but I, as a native Californian, am taking longer to get used to it.