I thought that since I had lived in the Southeast all my life, moving to the Southwest would be a breeze.
I soon found out that I was so wrong about this assumption.
The climate is hot and dry and I was used to hot and humid. I could turn on the air conditioning in my home or in my car, and the AC would not just cool the air, but it would remove the humidity from the air. I have an air conditioner in the apartment I am renting, and it seems to do a really good job of keeping the apartment cool. I soon found out that the homes and the businesses in this area, all have what is called evaporative coolers. These coolers not only cool the air of the home, but they also add humidity to the air. I don’t have an evaporative cooler in my car. The air may be cooler from the air conditioning, but there is no way to add humidity. I need to have a lot of water with me all of the time because the air is very uncomfortable. The heat makes it difficult to breathe if you don’t have any moisture. It dries out the skin, the throat, and the sinuses. I am being told that it isn’t nearly as hot during the winter, so I am waiting to see what happens then. They also told me that winter lasts for only a short time, in the desert. The odd thing is that I prefer the need to have an evaporative cooler, than to need a dehumidifier.