Mesa, Arizona

Mesa is one of those places that feels more like an outdoor haven that happens to have access to a city rather than a city that happens to have access to the outdoors. Out here in Arizona, warm weather allows us to enjoy hikes, bikes, and trips to the river even in t-shirts while our relatives out east are huddled around their fireplaces. Legendary Usery Mountain Park understandably gets the most attention due to its beautiful landscapes and 3,500+ acres of outdoor adventures including long backpacking trips, horseback rides and family barbeque spaces. Nearby Saguaro Lake and additional local parks fill out the options for outdoor activities.

Here's a pov from a local on living in Mesa:
I live in the north east mesa. Power and Mckellips. (Not LaSendas) It is nice. good houses, low crime, lots of diversity, lots of families. It's not a heavily mormon area, like Mesa used to be so there are wine bars, and sports bars if you like to hang out. That part of mesa also is SUPER close to hiking and mountain biking trails. Its easy to get out and go camping, or to the river (5 miles).

For more local reviews check out The Reviews on Mesa:

If you can’t handle summer temps that consistently clip 110 Fahrenheit/ 40 celsius, Mesa is probably not for you. If you think you can handle those days on account of the shady neighborhood walks that you’re used to back home, be warned that you are in the desert. We’re not well acquainted with things such as shade. Nothing is growing here. The air quality also isn’t great, in part due to the necessity of cars created by the extremely sprawled nature of the city. Mesa is one of the poster children for unsustainable desert cities. Those inclined to think about things like environmental sustainability probably aren’t the ones considering moving here in the first place, however, as Mesa is one of the most right-leaning cities in the country.

Here's a local with a summary of what the weather is like in Mesa:
Outside during the summer: Imagine standing in front of an oven set to 500 degrees with the door open, add some breeze (maybe), and now add retina-destroying light. That's BEFORE monsoon. During monsoon, add some humidity to the mix. If you stay inside in the AC or the pool outside you just deal with it just like you do in Canada during the winter when it's cold.

Rest of the year: fantastic. Although it can get cold in late December or January (like 20's at night for short stints).

Mesa is the third largest city by population in the country without a significant downtown. This makes the lifestyle feel decidedly suburban. The city is working hard to change that though with a major housing and commercial district building effort that started in the late 2010’s. Apartments, condo developments, family housing and tons of new businesses are building the core traffic the area needs to support a restaurant and bar scene. Right now most people head to Scottsdale or Phoenix if they’re looking to “trip the light fantastic” but if you stick around it looks like that’s going to change.

If you want to check out what locals in Mesa get up to here's the calendar of events.