[storm10093]

Hi Everyone - as you can see I'm a newbie so forgive me if this is a little out of sorts.

My husband and I are looking for a change. We currently live in Michigan and absolutely hate the drastic weather changes that we experience here. Also, the environment just isn't "us" around here anymore. I am going to be 26 yrs old this year and he is 31 yrs old.

We are seriously considering a move out west and wanted some oppinions on Las Vegas. Before you ask, yes, we have been there before and we both absolutely fell in love with the city, the atmosphere, the weather, everything. The 116 degree and 5% humidity week that we experienced there back in August was simply fabulous compared to the 96 degree and 99% humidity weather that we came back to when we flew into Detroit Metro.

Pretty much our entire family (my mom and step dad; brother-in-law (and his folks), sister-in-law, and family) is considering getting out of Michigan, so that would be a plus as well. We wouldn't be completely alone in our relocation.

My husband and I are considering having children rather soon but are willing to put it off for another year or so to relocate.

So on to my questions:


I'm very curious about neighborhoods - the ones I have been looking at the most are southeast of Las Vegas (Like Henderson). Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Also, considering the fact that we want a family, how are the school systems in Las Vegas and nearby communities?

And last but not least, what's the housing market looking like out there? I know that here in Michigan, we're darn near rock bottom with that topic so I'm curious to see what it's like out there.


Any help that anyone can give is extremely appreciated! Thanks so much!

[dynimagelv]

make sure you ALL have JOBS or or $15,000 per person to support you until you either get a job or decide to give up.....the picture STILL is not good....

[MomMom]

Originally Posted by storm10093

Hi Everyone - as you can see I'm a newbie so forgive me if this is a little out of sorts.

My husband and I are looking for a change. We currently live in Michigan and absolutely hate the drastic weather changes that we experience here. Also, the environment just isn't "us" around here anymore. I am going to be 26 yrs old this year and he is 31 yrs old.

We are seriously considering a move out west and wanted some oppinions on Las Vegas. Before you ask, yes, we have been there before and we both absolutely fell in love with the city, the atmosphere, the weather, everything. The 116 degree and 5% humidity week that we experienced there back in August was simply fabulous compared to the 96 degree and 99% humidity weather that we came back to when we flew into Detroit Metro.

Pretty much our entire family (my mom and step dad; brother-in-law (and his folks), sister-in-law, and family) is considering getting out of Michigan, so that would be a plus as well. We wouldn't be completely alone in our relocation.

My husband and I are considering having children rather soon but are willing to put it off for another year or so to relocate.

So on to my questions:


I'm very curious about neighborhoods - the ones I have been looking at the most are southeast of Las Vegas (Like Henderson). Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Also, considering the fact that we want a family, how are the school systems in Las Vegas and nearby communities?

And last but not least, what's the housing market looking like out there? I know that here in Michigan, we're darn near rock bottom with that topic so I'm curious to see what it's like out there.


Any help that anyone can give is extremely appreciated! Thanks so much!

There are a lot of folks from Michigan STILL migrating here to Las Vegas, so you are not alone in your desire to move here.

Henderson/Green Valley is nice, you can also try the city of North Las Vegas the areas of Los Prados and El Dorado, and the master plan community of Aliante are particularly nice and might be of interest to you in North Las Vegas, as well as the areas of Centennial Hills, Lone Mountain, Summerlin, SW Las Vegas, The Lakes, Mountains Edge, all in Las Vegas. Plus scores of other areas that are nice and livable as well.

The economic climate of Las Vegas is not good right now, while the majority of residents have employment, there is a lot of people who cannot find jobs at all, plenty of foreclosed homes, etc. (not too much different than Michigan, really)

Foreclosed-short sell homes require patience to buy, often times the nicer ones (typical 3-4 bdrm/2 baths in good areas and in good condition) already have offers on them and the banks are very slow in dealing with them. Maybe renting an apartment or house first for you would be the better bet when you get here, give you time to check the area out so you know where you'd want to live.

School system here is standard and nothing more. You'll get your diploma if you pass all your classes along the way, but because we don't pay State income tax, our schools are not amply funded, we just simply don't have all the bells and whistles required to make a school system...GREAT! If education is a priority for your future child/children, either private school or home-school would be your options. Or you just don't move to Las Vegas because of that, and for some folks it's a biggie. There are other cities that are actually thriving (lots of jobs, plenty of building) with good school disticts so you might want to do more research on those areas before settling on Las Vegas.

Remember, living here in Las Vegas is not like your wonderful vacations you've spent enjoying the Strip and Fremont Street. There is crime, traffic, homeless, all the bad things that a valley of 2 million people can dish up, but also some wonderful things, unique to Las Vegas alone.

Jobs and source of income will be key to your success here, and honestly, in my opinion, if you can obtain employment, find a decent place to live, budget well and have some dough left over to enjoy, there just simply is no place on Earth more fun than Las Vegas. Plenty of conveniences and choices, not to mention our breathtaking natural scenery and wilderness areas you can explore that are close by.

Do some research, take a trip here first, rent a car, drive OFF the Strip and don't be a tourist. Drive outside the tourist corridors this time, drive into neighborhoods, see shopping centers, talk to folks once you get here and ask for their opinions/advice...the locals will tell you where it's nice to live, nice to shop, etc.

Then, and only then, will you be able to put your plan into motion..employment or plenty of money to fall back on, is a must first. See if you can fill out some job applications on line, see where it goes.

Whatever you decide, much good luck to you and your family!

[jfkIII]

Excellent post...that's why I call you "the voice of sanity" on this board...you beautifully present a balanced view of the good and the bad. MomMom is the truest and most trusting asset to this LV forum, IMO.

It won't let me rep you...so all hail MomMom!

[MomMom]

thank you jfk...

[unf0rgiven6262]

Positives: Houses are cheap, rents are low and there's plenty to do here.

Negatives: 42% Graduation rate from high schools(Private school is highly recommended). High crime in various areas(Neighborhoods can change drastically block to block). ALL jobs can be considered difficult to obtain as compared to other areas of the country.

Michigan to Vegas has been compared to out of the frying pan and into the oven before and for good reason. When it all comes down to it, make sure your desire to live here is based upon reality and not the glamorous illusion the city can give even to those who visit briefly. If it is truly your dream and you are determined, you WILL make it so long as you are open to the possibility of making difficult compromises to accomplish your goals.

[storm10093]

Thank you everyone for the input! I greatly appreciate everything you've said and it's been a huge help. :-)

[areahuman]

'Things' are 'bad' here. Long time resident. LV has highest drop out rate for high school. Police / nonpolice gun violence is VERY high. Jobless and Forclosure rates are among highest [if not the highest] in the country. I live in a nice neighborhood that is slowly sinking because of the 'out of control' kids, empty houses, etc, etc. There are four empty houses that I can see or walk to in three minutes. And many more in the neighborhood. Doi you speak Spanish...it would help.

On the other hand..........I can have coffee and look at the mountains from my porch [I am location lucky] Just a 'short' distance form Death Valley, Bryce, Zion, etc, etc. etc.

[storm10093]

Hi areahuman. Yeah I do speak spanish. I noticed that it would be helpful when I was out there the last time. We did some wandering off strip back in August and I found out rather quickly that Spanish would be a necessity for my husband to learn

I hope to end up being "location lucky" as well. The skyline and views out there are absolutely stunning. My "vacation" photos are filled with 85% of landscape photos rather than "what we did while in Vegas" type photos.

As one of the other member mentioned, it would be wise to get an apartment first to scope things out a little bit more. I think that would be the best idea for us considering we don't have the ability to take THAT much time off of work to come and scope things out.

Thanks so much for the advice!

[WestieJeff]

I've seen this stat quoted in the paper and on CD a lot. I wasn't in HS that long ago and I find that graduation rate hard to believe. I can tell you the vast majority of my peers graduated. All of my friends graduated and I really have to dig to think of people who I know didn't graduate. The only ones I can think of either got pregnant in HS or had serious behavior/drug problems.

http://www.ccsd.net/schools/acc_pdfs_2010/945.pdf (broken link) - The school accountability report for Green Valley High School shows a 88.7% graduation rate. This is known as a pretty good school.

http://www.ccsd.net/schools/acc_pdfs_2010/351.pdf (broken link) - The accountability report for Rancho shows a 54.6% graduation rate. When I was in HS, this would have been considered one of the worst schools.

Other Schools:
Silverado: 74.8%
Durango: 73.8%
Foothill: 76%

Those stats sound a lot more realistic to me.

All I am saying is, don't send your kids to the absolute worst schools in Las Vegas and you'll probably be just fine.

Originally Posted by unf0rgiven6262

Negatives: 42% Graduation rate from high schools(Private school is highly recommended). High crime in various areas(Neighborhoods can change drastically block to block). ALL jobs can be considered difficult to obtain as compared to other areas of the country.