You don’t say where you are coming from so it could be quite a lifestyle change. I am a native from the valley of the sun and live in the East Valley. The commute into downtown Phoenix is not fun via the freeways unless you carpool. Some people don’t mind the drive, I do and so I have always worked near home. Yes it gets very hot here. We do our outdoor activities in the winter and spring, hiking, off-roading etc. The valley is surrounded by mountains so you can pretty much go hiking when you want. This time of the year it gets very crowded with Snowbirds from the north. Lots of canadians all out on the roadways and in the stores. They leave as soon as the temp reaches 90 degrees so they should be leaving here in the next couple of weeks. You can escape the heat in the summer pretty easy, we have the mogollon rim 1 1/2 hours away or Flagstaff and temps are about 20 degrees cooler there. Plus everyone has pools. If you can afford higher cost of living then check out Scottsdale.
I do garden a bit. You can build a raised bed garden and put really good soil in it and put up a shade screen to help with the scorching sun. I do most of my gardening in early spring or fall. Zucchini is a great crop here. We store water in case of shtf. If you do want to have extra food on hand then you need to factor that into the sq footage of your house as you will need to store all food indoors due to the heat.