Hi Janice,
I grew up in Az and moved to Michigan and then to DC, and for me the moving wasn't bad, but for my parents who refused to let their only daughter be over 2000 miles way, hate it with total passion. I've gottne offered so much stuff if I'd move back to Az, but due to having Lupus, the nice bright sun and heat is a very big emeny for me, I didn't know that until I actually moved to Michigan, the first time in my life I ever felt good going out side and doing things. And I felt good general, I had energy, I felt human, I could do so much more, teaching aerobics didn't drop me in bed at the end of the day, I still had energy. So for me, the yucky, cold, gloomy weather is great.
But for my mother, she hates it. Every day she calls me up and complains about it. As there are a lot of days that all you got is dark clouds, and then the rain and snow. The first year I think we were all out in Michigan, out heating bill was ski high. In Az we kept our house at 78 degrees in the summer, and we were lucky at 3 pm it wasn't 85 in the nouse most days, as the A/C just couldn't keep it 78 at that time of day. And I lived in the hottest part of Az, so if we got down to 50 degrees in the winter, it was a very odd and very cold night. And our first winter nere we hit - 20 about 4 times, with a lot of other negative numbers thrown in. I personally tried to keep my house 70, but my parents, had their heater up to 80 and really froze when they went out side, but they were so cold in general, that I honestly don't think it would have matter if they would have put their house on 70, they still complain when they come over how cold my house is.
So depending on your age and how well you do with climate changes. If you haven't you may want to try running up to Flastaff during the winter when they have pretty good cold days and eveyrone is up their snow skiing. And see how you do with the cold
Also how well do you do with limited sun light? Are you a person who loves to walk out and see the nice sun, or can you sit in side and not care about it? As if your the first way it could lead to depression, as even people born in Michigan seem to have this problem in the winter if their mood depends on having the nice bright sun shine down on them. They can't take all the cloudy days, as there are a lot of cloudy days, anywhere you go in the mid-west.
I really think it depends on why type of person you are, can you adapt to change easily? As the weather changes at the blink of an eye here. Kind of like those desert stors that one minute its 120 and no cloud in the sky, and thirty minutes later it's pouring down rain. This type of change is pretty common here. The big joke is, if you don't like the weather wait an hour and it will change.
I also think it depends on how much your like to do or spend time outside, and how much you like the other kind of weather. As those two factors I think will affect you most of all. As the sun's rays do give you vitamin D, but also does have affect on your mood. And if you use that, as your escape, you may find it hard to escape, in your new location. As you get some where between 1/2 to 3/4 of the days of sun shine you now are use to having.
Also the one thing I notice moving back east was how green was every, and when I moved it was just the beginning of spring, I was walking around going wow, everything is so green, it took a lot to really understand that every where I looked it was green. I had seen very little grass and anyone from back east would have laughed and told me my desert grass was dead. They thought I was nuts when I commented on how great and green the lawn was, and told me, wait a month this grass is dorment, it has yet to be green. That was the hardest things for me to get use to. I didn't have my desert browns and grays, that I grew up knowing, I loved 1/2 mile from a sand dune, I looked at that off my back poarch and watched the sun set every day, in the front yard we had nice gray gravel, and some catus, the only green I seen was the catus and the only flowers I had ever seen were the ones the grew for a day after the monsoons. Road runners, rattle snakes and scorpions were about the only wild life I seen and I really didn't like either of those, I like the road runner as it ate the rattle snake and scorpions, but sure didn't like it trying to kill and eat my dog. And that's another thing I notice, every where I looked there were animals, their were birds everywhere, rabbits, geese, deer, all live along the roads I drove up and down. It seemed like I was missing a whole lot of stuff I had only seen in pictures.
But the one thing I didn't like about moving back east, is the poor attitudes. In the winter months it seems like everyone hates each other. And people are just down right nasty when there is a bad storm coming in or has hit. And I'm not the only one that has noticed this, both my parents who work with the public as well as quite of few of my co-workers who are transplants from the west side of the US all have said the same thing. And have gotten their heads nearly bitten off for being cheerful and friendly.
But I do really enjoy it here besides the bad attitudes, some days I really wish I could make everyone workout and work all that tenson and anger out of them. Then I'd like to be around them so much better.
Anyway good luck with your decision, if it's possible take a trip or two out to where your thinking about different times of the year, and see how you feel there. If you can get some nasty weather, it will give you a better idea. I know that's horrible to say, your on vaction you usually don't want nasty weather, but if you got to live there and live threw it, a little bit of a pre-view can sometimes help before you jump in head first.
Kit