[MPinSC]

This is sort of an awkward question, and hope it doesn't sound elitist or snobby (I don't mean for it to at all), but most of the complaints I've heard about Vegas have been the difficulties of making a life for yourself if you're an average working Joe.

My husband, a physician, is looking at several lucrative job offers, some in Texas and one in Vegas. My question is, does Vegas ( or Henderson, Summerlin, etc) offer a pretty good quality of life if you can afford it? I've been poor before in my life, trust me - food stamps and the works. I know that some cities may be great if you can afford a certain standard of living, but suck for anyone else. So I'm wanting honest opinions from those who live there - is it okay so long as you are IN that upper income bracket?

[WendyW.]

If you like living around lots of other people, most good, some bad, then the answer is Yes!
My husband grew up there. They were poor but he has fond memories. Now his parents are doing very well for themselves. They have a nice home in a quiet community. They like the lifestyle. I like to visit but I'm a country girl so I wouldn't want to stay long term. My inlaws just don't understand it. They have a good quality of life so they can't understand why I'm in love with my little hick town. It just depends on what you're looking for. If you like the city, it's awesome.

[MPinSC]

Oh, we like urban areas, oddly enough. We'd live in Manhattan if we could afford it! We like having a wide choice of things to do, we like being able to get a meal or go for a drink at 3 am if we get a wild hair. Living somewhere where the sidewalks roll up at 10:00 is not our style.

We also love to travel, and this job would offer a 7 days on, 7 days off schedule, PLUS being there at a major airport with access to anywhere in the world, which would suit our desire to pop away for a few days when we felt like it. Kids are almost grown (off to college next year), so we're in a different place as far as our needs than those with small ones.

We'll see. I'm seeing a lot of "Vegas is horrible" posts, but often those seem to be people who have differnt desires than us. Like you said, it depends on YOU are looking for.

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by MPinSC

This is sort of an awkward question, and hope it doesn't sound elitist or snobby (I don't mean for it to at all), but most of the complaints I've heard about Vegas have been the difficulties of making a life for yourself if you're an average working Joe.

My husband, a physician, is looking at several lucrative job offers, some in Texas and one in Vegas. My question is, does Vegas ( or Henderson, Summerlin, etc) offer a pretty good quality of life if you can afford it? I've been poor before in my life, trust me - food stamps and the works. I know that some cities may be great if you can afford a certain standard of living, but suck for anyone else. So I'm wanting honest opinions from those who live there - is it okay so long as you are IN that upper income bracket?

Let's face it, no matter where you live, if you're poor, almost always life is difficult. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. If you're in a profession where your income is high, then you can live wherever you choose and afford to insulate yourself from crime, etc. Las Vegas isn't the horror story I read on this forum by a longshot. I lived in Henderson and worked in Summerlin for five years. I made a middle class income, lived in a beautiful home with a pool in a nice neighborhood of working adults with families. I LOVED it. There are bad areas, and if you're working a Burger King job and trying to meet rent in a rundown area of town because you can't afford anywhere else and drive a car that breaks down all the time, then life sucks.
For a doctor or professional consider that your husband will pay NO state income taxes (wouldn't in Texas either), and property taxes are very low in Nevada (very high in Texas...). There are gorgeous neighborhoods in Summerlin (though most of those homes have miniscule yards), Green Valley, Seven Hills, Anthem, and other areas. You can live beautifully in all those areas and Las Vegas I find to be cleaner than Californian cities or East Coast cities. If you buy a house, there are 23,000+ on the MLS and prices are stagnant and/or falling, so you want to pick your neigborhood carefully and make any offers based on a longterm strategy. I sold my house there in Henderson just under Anthem for $410K last June, it's now valued at $400K, and my neighbor's house she purchased for $355K in Nov. 2004 and it was just appraised at $343K now. So prices are coming down and no one is sure where it will end, but this is across the nation too, even in the Midwest which never really had a large bubble. Las Vegas has bad traffic and if you commute far, it can be a hassle, but generally speaking, it's one of the best places in the U.S. in my opinion for professional career person to work. I loved it. I miss it. But I'm happy where I am too and wouldn't trade to go back at this point. You'd love it.

[WendyW.]

From what you have described about your wants and needs. I think you'd love it. I know alot of people there through my husband. Most people are doing well and they like it there. One close friend of the family just built a huge, beautiful house with a view of the city. They even have a nice size yard so I know they paid a pretty penny. He owns a landscaping company there so he makes pretty good money. As a matter of fact he has offered my husband to come and be a supervisor for him but we don't want to live there. I'm country to the core and have 3 very little ones to consider. We're actually hoping to move to the Wells or Elko area. My SIL lives there and while her DH makes a good living she would really like to move to a quieter place for the kids. She has 4.

[RedWingsFan]

The only thing your upper income buys you is a nicer house and private schools. It doesn't buy the extreme heat going away, the bums getting off the streets, the crime going away, the graffitti problem stopping, the illegals from coming here and taking over, all the sm ut all around, it doesn't create things for children to do here, etc. So my answer would be no, having an upper income only makes it marginally better.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

The only thing your upper income buys you is a nicer house and private schools. It doesn't buy the extreme heat going away, the bums getting off the streets, the crime going away, the graffitti problem stopping, the illegals from coming here and taking over, all the sm ut all around, it doesn't create things for children to do here, etc. So my answer would be no, having an upper income only makes it marginally better.

Nothing to do with location but just about every survey I've ever seen of the relationship between happiness and income has concluded that beyond a certain income level, and it was relatively low, income has little affect on happiness.

[FrankieV16]

I live in Henderson. My family moved here from NJ about 10 years ago. At first it was a big change for us, but we eventually adjusted and now we love it here.

There's always something to do, day or night, and I just don't mean casino life.

There's great shopping, excellent dining, both mid and upscale.

I live in the Anthem area and my 14 year old daughter goes to school here. She has excelled academically and loves it.

In my opinion, by far the biggest downfall is not only the heat of the summer but the length of the summer. It will be quite hot here well into September.

Save the heat, my family has flourished here. E-mail privately with any ?s