I just visited Cave Creek on May 1st--what a beautiful area. So different from where we live that it felt like we were on a different planet. I was enthralled with how colorful it was--I never expected so many blooming plants in the desert. I sacrificed my jacket (the pocket was full of little thorns) to bring back a lavender colored piece of a prickly pear, only to have it rot already from all the rain here.

Promise, I've definitely been watching the specific places where I want to put my plants. Right now, the living room window and garage window are my best bets for south-facing window lighting (as shown in the pictures). After I get that sofa table up, and we get more of our crap unpacked and put away, I want to put something similar in the garage beneath that window; so that'll be a place for my more cold-tolerant plants. My office gets really not a lot of light, so I'm trying out my medium-light plants in there (none of which are succulents). Of the plants I currently have outside, those that will remain out there will go into a little greenhouse setup - nothing big and fancy, as I don't have the room (or the money), just a little something with enough racks for me to comfortably house my little lovelies and protect them from frost. I'm looking for something along these lines: 4-Tier Grow-Rack Mini Greenhouse Of all my potential outdoor location options, by the front door seems to be the best, as it's protected from wind and rain. The walls also tend to retain solar heat, so that'll help keep the plants warmer a bit longer as evening sets in. I'm still trying to get a feel for placement for a few other plants, mostly non-succulent house plants - I have a ginormous peace lily that would love bright sunlight, but wouldn't survive the cold outdoors, and it's not something I can just bring inside in the evening (plant + pot + soil = at least 100#s, if not more). My Dracaena Dragon Tree and Queen Palm are desiring more light than they're presently getting (I don't know who's bright idea it was to get a Queen Palm - those suckers are thirsty buggers, and this is a desert - but I'm doing my best to keep it happy); and I have a ginger that seems to be about ready to give up (even when it's warm enough out to put it outdoors, the air is just too dry here, and the leaves desiccate in a matter of hours). So I'll certainly be making observations for a while yet. I'm just glad we got the unit that we did. Our place is part of a duplex (two separate units in one housing structure), and the adjoining unit doesn't have any south-facing windows. If we'd ended up in that one, I'd have been completely screwed. %P *CG*

There's evacuations all through there...it's right in the path, hurricane force winds and a lot of rain. If your son is not there, he should not go down.

bpath, lots of people retire to SA and like it. It is certainly a very popular city that many people seem to like. There has been a huge influx of newcomers and there is no sign of a slowdown. The city is sprawling and there is constant new housing development construction to accommodate all the new arrivals. There are traffic jams and slowdowns pretty much any time of the day now, complicated by road expansion, so it takes a lot longer to get from one part of the city to another. Summers are usually hot, humid and uncomfortable. Public transportation is not great. So a car is pretty much mandatory unless you live right downtown, which is quite walkable but very expensive. On the plus side, it is pretty laid-back, people are usually friendly, lots of ethnic markets, the River Walk, the Alamo, many historic missions, good museums, very nice city parks. Many lovely old homes especially in the King William neighborhood, lots of shopping/antique stores, Mexican Imports, etc. The main grocery store is HEB, which is the best grocery store we've ever shopped at anywhere. Also, lots of really great hospitals and general medical care. The downtown area is pretty and there is great Tex Mex food to be had all over the city. Also, no state income tax, but if you buy a house, property taxes are really high.