OT- Thinking of moving to LasVegas area---info?

Just my personal opinion, of course, but in my estimation, if you were going to give the world an enema, most of Nevada would be a great place to plug it in, especially Las Vegas. I'm not big on the gambling and party scene and find I dislike the impersonal air in that region, although driving the strip certainly is a spectacular experience, a huge display of man's excesses. I have friends that have moved there by choice and seem to like it, however, so I guess it's just what ever turns you on that should drive your decision. My choice would be to avoid living there. I'm not keen on anywhere that gets hot and stays that way for a prolonged period of time. YMMV.

Harold

Hmmm, there is so much to say. Boulder City doesn't have casinos and over looks the drying up lake. Green Valley in Henderson is ok.

I crested the mountains for the first time in '84 and just hated it. It was like living on the moon with 75mph sand storms. I left and came back many times and now have been here for over a decade. The summers are HOTand the rest of the time is nice. I'm here for only two reasons , everybody wants a swimming pool which I do and it's the best place for solar energy except Dagget CA.

It depends on what your looking for. It's growing like crazy , they are up to all the mountains except the north. Lots of retired people move here and the mexicans are taking over. I can try to help, but need more info. Just a couple of years ago it hit a million people , now its up to 1.75.

I don't gamble and only go to a casino for food. I use to play Black Jack / 21, but always get in trouble. I must be on the brown list cause there is always at least one pit boss at my table the entire time and they don't like losing $. If they ever ask you if your counting cards don't say something like "Isn't that the name of the game... To count to 21?"

Just curious why someone would pick a place to live not knowing anything about it?

Desperation? Never threw darts at a map have you? LOL I can distinctly recall idling just south of Chicago staring at the continental US map trying to figure out which way to go.

I moved to Vegas last november and i realy like the area and the lifestyle, best thing to do is come down on a extended vacation and judge for yourself. Henderson/Boulder area is nice.

Best Regards Tom.

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 10:08:53 -0700, JohnF wrote (in message ):

John, Las Vegas is like any other city in that it has good points and bad points. I transplanted myself to here from Michigan in 1976, primarily to get away from the damn snow. Food is cheap, housing expensive, smog and crime bad, climate wonderful if you can afford true airconditioning, outdoor recreation plentiful. The city is trying to lose the "Sin City" image........and losing. The growth rate is outta sight and causing problems and we're in the worst draught ever, so water is becoming a problem. Boulder City is nice, Green Valley also, North Las Vegas is the pits; do not even consider it. Give Pahrump (Just over the county line) a once-over. I suggest you get info from the Nevada Chamber of Commerce and the local Chambers before loading up your gear. Or, contact me directly and I'll try to answer questions for you.

Why would you want to move to someplace you don't know anything about? I was in Las Vegas 0ct 2003. I went to Boulder city. Nice town no gambling allowed. Small town attitude nice big lake in your back yard. Hoover Damn is really cool. The housing prices are a little high but not compared to San Diego. Not much metalworking going on there. If you like the weather in San Diego you may not like the constant 100 degree for months in neveda. I did notice one big thing in las vegas I didn't like all of the houses look the same. It is as if somebody has a house cooky cutter and went around town stamping out houses. Stucco with red tile roofs. No grass in yards. Dirt and weeds. Sorta like the moon, but without the earth in the background. I was told that Las Vegas is growing soo fast that the city has to build one school a month to keep up. You need to visit Las Vegas and Boulder and find out for yourself if you like it. I would not live in Las Wages if you give me the whole damn town, but Boulder wouldn't be bad. Find a job before you move the jobs in Vegas are low pay service job. You need to ride the roller coaster at the New York New York. Driving in Vegas is like bumper cars with a few rules.

michael

Thanks for the info guys, keep it coming.

My primary employer is moving to the Vegas area this fall and wants me to go. My problem is that I work 2-1/2 side jobs for cash that I'd be losing out on (programming, tooling and drinking beer). My main employer will make me some consessions on the move but then there's my house/home of 23 years and all my "projects" laying around....sort of the pre-casino-indian-reservation look.

I'm an off-roader and love the desert but haven't lived in one for 40 years so can't rely on those memories for much. Not a gambler so that holds no attraction for me. I am going to Lake Mead this weekend for some debauchery but ain't gonna get much looking around done.

My house here in San Diego is worth a little over 1/2 mil (starter home) but I don't really want to sell it. My older son is moving back here from Maui this fall and his brother just moved back in with me a month ago or so they could handle payments and costs on the house. I'm happily divorced for 10+ years so that's not an issue.

Don't know, it's a tough decision......but a potential adventure.

JohnF

Give you a pristine 55 gal. barrel and you stomp on my neighborhood , I like honesty. Technically N. LV and Henderson go pretty far west and the neighborhoods change.

There is an article in yesterdays Review-Journal "ZIP code 89123 one hot number" (Its on the net) that talks about the housing market. Stuff like waiting lists cause there are not enough houses to sell and the prices jumping quite a bit. Found out that I live in the cheapest part of town even naked city is better. In my zip code the price is up to $113,203 , cool , I paid 45k for it about 10 yrs. ago. Anybody know if its true that I should sell at 130k cause the lower class usually can only get FHA loans and they stop at 130k? If so I just might go back to TX. in a couple of years. IIRC I refinanced last yr. and it was appraised at 95k so it's climbing fast.

The most expensive area is Lake Las Vegas at $775,613. Got me, I've done a number of pools at houses that must be twice that cost and they weren't there. Must be cause they are averaged from zip code and houses sold in the last 1/4. I just did a pool that was 1/10th of that.

On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 9:03:42 -0700, JohnF wrote (in message ):

You get paid to drink beer?

Seriously, there are a lot of things that are legal in Nevada that aren't in California. (Is ANYTHING legal in California?). There is no state income tax, and other taxes are comparitively low. Fireworks booths line the empty lots just before the Fourth. Safe-and sane fireworks to be sure but the good stuff is available on the Indian Reservations and in Pahrump (Different county). But don't get caught with them here. If you are so inclined and can afford it, you can legally own and operate machine guns here. I do. Off-roading opportunities abound. There are restrictions, but isn't that true everywhere? Snow ski? Mount Charleston. Water ski? Lake Mead. Camp? Hike? Hunt? All here. Debauchery is good also.

That's one of the attractions for me is the reduced "big brother" atmosphere. I love it here in SoCal but get tired of all the BS. One of the guys I work with over here, and only get paid in beer, makes and repairs machineguns and misc artillery (his other car is a half track....and a Sherman....). He's moving to Pahrump somewhere.

JohnF

Rising electric rates for the air conditioning may become a factor if we are truly at the end of cheap oil.

Nevada and other desert states will be on the water war front lines when they really heat up. Something to think about.

Sounds a good move not to sell it. Buying back into major cities tends to be almost impossible. Is it "rentable/leaseable?"

Ive been considering the Carson/Reno/Taho area for myself.

Gunner

I spent about 19 years in Sparks Nevada. I liked it there but the winters were cold. Not too bad if the Sun would shine. Gambling towns (in Nevada at least) had good restaurants and the prices were good. I was/am not a gambler so that activity was just ignored.

Lots of interesting country near both cities of Las Vegas and Reno.

Bill K7NOM

I see the Resort Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas is still being offered for $80/night on priceline. I got it by mistake once. Not a shabby place to scout out the area from.

OK, I was over there this last weekend (4th) but was mostly at the lake. The people I delt with at the stores etc seemed to be very unhappy. Curt and un-helpful for the most part. Is this a common problem with the area or was I just lucky? I can assume everyone has to deal with a boatload of tourists all the time but where I was at that shouldn't have been a problem as I was well off the tourist track in North LasVegas and out towards the lake. It was the 4th weekend and these people were working...could be a factor. I didn't get to Henderson or Boulder City this time.

I'll be spening more time over there in other areas as soon as I can.

JohnF

||OK, I was over there this last weekend (4th) but was mostly at the ||lake. The people I delt with at the stores etc seemed to be very ||unhappy. Curt and un-helpful for the most part. Is this a common ||problem with the area or was I just lucky? I can assume everyone has ||to deal with a boatload of tourists all the time but where I was at ||that shouldn't have been a problem as I was well off the tourist track ||in North LasVegas and out towards the lake. It was the 4th weekend and ||these people were working...could be a factor. I didn't get to ||Henderson or Boulder City this time. || ||1st impression.......shakey, just got a cold feeling everywhere.

Maybe the drought has 'em a bit edgy ;)

Texas Parts Guy

Interesting. You seem to support what I had to say: "I dislike the impersonal air in that region"

I've always found the place *cold* (even on the hottest of days) and impersonal. Reno, on the other hand, was quite the opposite, at least back in the early 70's. Don't know about today.

Harold