It sucks that mars is so far away. It would be technically much easier to colonize on mars than the moon but the amount of time spent in open space makes it more dangerous to get there.
A martian day is comparable to earth. There is at least some atmosphere so suits and habitats could be built for minimum pressurization. Daytime temperatures can be warm enough to require minimal heating.
Mars is probably "so far away" for a reason. If it were significantly closer, gravitational interactions with Earth and the other inner planets could result in a chaotic orbit that would result in an eventual collision with the Earth, ruining a lot of people's weekends.
Also, Mars' inner moon, Phobos, is inside its Roche limits, so that it eventually will be torn apart and crash into Mars (sometime in the next 100 million years). The collision would result in a large amount of debris ejected into space, some of which will collide with Earth. If closer to Mars, Earth would just catch more Martian flak, again ruining a lot of weekend plans.
It ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids.