Choosing where to (or not to) live

"Thinking of the best places to retire causes one to balance the three 'T's' - taxes, temperature, and tyranny. We don't have hot, hot temperatures in Minnesota, but we sure have the other two 'T's'."

Holy hot sidewalk Batman! Today is the last day of an extremely hot month in Pheonix, Arizona. How hot? How about every day this month, the temperature got to one hundred and ten degrees or warmer. Plus, the monsoon season is arriving late. Is anyone surprised about this?

I remember as a boy, we went on a trip out west. One of the stops was to visit some old friends who had recently moved to Pheonix. Even back in the early sixties, I had never felt heat like that. I was amazed that most houses in their development had either a swimming pool, an air conditioner, or both.

I remember telling my folks once we got home, how fun it would be to live in Pheonix. I could swim all day, and then come into an air-conditioned house to spend the evening. I was told that much of the time in Pheonix, you are not in a pool nor an air-conditioned house. Most of the time you are out in the desert heat.

These days, I think anyone who wants to move to Phoenix might want to rethink that one. Until we produce new ways to move or create water, this desert city in the southwest will only get hotter and dryer. Plus (not to get too political), since Joe Biden has declared a war on fossil fuel electricity, keeping cool in Pheonix can cost a mint. 

With the climate getting hotter and dryer in some spots of the country, choosing a place to settle is a serious business. If we had Telsa-type free energy, then the water thing would be the only issue. But we do not have free energy right now. Snowbirds might appreciate still going down to winter in Arizona, but the investment of property down there might become dubious and unsure.

The last time I was in Arizona was towards the end of my career when I was doing business with a company in Tuson. It was in July, and the weather was brutal. I asked some of the folks who worked at the plant how they did it since many were transplants. Their answer - spend as little time as possible outside. I wondered, what kind of a life is that? Sure, no winters. But to bake all summer? No thanks.

As I pen this, the temperature is fifty-nine degrees, with a nice cool breeze coming in the patio door. We had a hot spell earlier in July, but nothing like the desert Southwest gets. Thinking of the best places to retire causes one to balance the three "T's" - taxes, temperature, and tyranny. We don't have hot, hot temperatures in Minnesota, but we sure have the other two "T's".