I would not survive without a/c here! However I have lived with a swamp cooler and while it wasn't the most comfortable it was livable so I didn't mind if too much. It was at least very economical. My current apartment just has two window units which cool really well, but the problem is they are so expensive. If I shut them off during the day it's way too hot for my kitties. Once I made the mistake of leaving it off and when I came home it was 102 in the house! My kitties were panting and I had to cool them down with water.

So while my house is nice and chilly I have to deal with VERY expensive electric bills, I would rather have a swamp cooler. However I can't wait until I move out of here and into a place with central air so I can actually set the temp, have a decent electric bill and keep my kitties cool.