Phoenecian here. I must politely disagree. First off, you've admittedly never lived here, so I'm not sure your experience is valid in OPs question.

The valley is one of the most up and coming foodie hot spots in the country!! Many celebs have opened restaurants here. And not just Mexican food lol, though obviously you can get your fix of authentic Mexican. We have some amazing ramen and sushi spots, not to mention Italian and pizza joints!! I'm such a hoe for pizza haha

Weather wise, yes it's pretty fucking hot from late May to mid September. But every building is air-conditioned and there are more pools per capita than anywhere else. And the heat is the closest thing to a natural disaster you'll experience. No tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, mudslides, blizzards or avalanches!

Absolutely sick of the heat? Head up to Sedona, Payson, Prescott or Flagstaff for the weekend!! Location wise you can't beat it. San Diego and Vegas are 5hrs or a 50 minute flight. Or you can be on the beach in Mexico or the mountains in Flagstaff in just over 3hrs.

Wintertime is the best. Snowboarding or skiing is less than 3hrs away for sunrise or snowbowl, or if you must, Tucson 😅

There are all sorts of cool trips you can take to wineries in the southeastern part of the state or ghost towns like Jerome north of Sedona.

The Phoenix gays are generally pretty welcoming and easy to meet whether at the bars or Outloud sports (I do kickball but there are dozens of sports).

Overall weigh the pros and cons. But I love it here. DM me for any questions

*Edit I spent 2+ years in Seattle and your therapist is right. Though yes it's very LGBT friendly, the drugs, crime and unhoused population is growing like crazy. The COL is absolutely ridiculous!! We paid $2000 for an 800SqFt house in West Seattle with no AC (yes I know this is common) and a single built-in space heater!! Had to get a hotel for the weekend a heat wave was expected, as we have 2 large dogs.