[countrykaren]

Originally Posted by PinkString

countrykaren, your summer electric bill does not have to be $300 a month. You can be miserly like we do and set your a/c higher like 85, and use a combination of ceiling fans and oscillating floor fans to help cool the air. We do this and it gets downright cold sometimes. Too many fans. If you get a one level house, your electric bill will be lower since you won't have the second story to cool.

Like everyone else said, most neighborhoods have a HOA. Some only charge a small monthly fee and it's mainly to keep the grounds up and they do not hassle you. You can always get fake grass for your yard so you have your green. Older area's on the east side of town have more tree's. You can always plant tree's around your home to make it greener. We have plenty of plant stores around for that.

But before you buy, rent first! This way you can find if you really love the neighborhood or hate it with a passion. Then you can move on and not be stuck there and you can find your dream home in the neighborhood of your choice after you get to know the valley somewhat.

Thank you for your reply.


The fan idea is also one that we thought of to keep costs down. Also, after the initial shock of seeing ppl paying a $300 electric bill I thought that it is still cheaper than what we have now.


If my electric bill is $300 for 6 months, that's $1800. If my property taxes are say $2000/yr, that's $3800/yr. (I'm assuming my electric bill is a "normal" amount of $100/ month or less the other 6 months). We currently pay more than $7K in property taxes, so we are still ahead of the game at $3800/ yr. (plus I'm not paying $1000 for (woodstove) wood, or $1000 for heating oil.)


I have no problem with an HOA that has a small nominal fee. But some charge a lot and I'm afraid that it will increase, although our fixed income would not. I admit I don't know all that much about HOAs and how they work.


See, the problem is we currently have 6 dogs (4 are seniors) and 1 of those seniors (at 10 yrs) is a newfoundland at 150 #. NO ONE will rent to us with 6 dogs or even with 1 giant breed.


Even an HOA will look at us and will not like the idea, and will probably not allow us in. (Can they do that? I know condos can)


I am inquiring with the city of Las Vegas (and waiting for a reply) about whether or not the city has an ordinance against 6 dogs. If they do, then it's a moot point unless some die before we move- they range from about 10 to 14 yrs. (we only have 2 little dogs that are young).


We live on a farm- not a "regular" house, so we don't know how long it will take to sell.


Thanks again for your post.

[beachhead]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Thank you for your reply.


The fan idea is also one that we thought of to keep costs down. Also, after the initial shock of seeing ppl paying a $300 electric bill I thought that it is still cheaper than what we have now.


If my electric bill is $300 for 6 months, that's $1800. If my property taxes are say $2000/yr, that's $3800/yr. (I'm assuming my electric bill is a "normal" amount of $100/ month or less the other 6 months). We currently pay more than $7K in property taxes, so we are still ahead of the game at $3800/ yr. (plus I'm not paying $1000 for (woodstove) wood, or $1000 for heating oil.)


I have no problem with an HOA that has a small nominal fee. But some charge a lot and I'm afraid that it will increase, although our fixed income would not. I admit I don't know all that much about HOAs and how they work.


See, the problem is we currently have 6 dogs (4 are seniors) and 1 of those seniors (at 10 yrs) is a newfoundland at 150 #. NO ONE will rent to us with 6 dogs or even with 1 giant breed.


Even an HOA will look at us and will not like the idea, and will probably not allow us in. (Can they do that? I know condos can)


I am inquiring with the city of Las Vegas (and waiting for a reply) about whether or not the city has an ordinance against 6 dogs. If they do, then it's a moot point unless some die before we move- they range from about 10 to 14 yrs. (we only have 2 little dogs that are young).


We live on a farm- not a "regular" house, so we don't know how long it will take to sell.


Thanks again for your post.

On your energy use...Our new construction home has 3 a/c's, and during the past 10 days or so of temps in the 100-110 range, we're averaging about $7/day, or about $210 for a 30 day period. Which is about what we were paying for a house half the size (in a similar environment), with one a/c system that was built in 1992. Obviously different electric companies with different rates, but if you were to move, you may want to consider the energy benefits of a new/newer home.

Regarding pets, before we moved, the wife looked into it, and she recalls you can have up to 4 pets, but only 3 of the same type (3 dogs, 1 cat for example) And you may want to look into the pet regulations for clark county, as I think that covers more places than Las Vegas city proper. Also, some HOA's may have more stringent numbers and breed restrictions than others, or the county allows. Also, I'm sure there must be some agricultural zoned land/houses which would probably have less restrictions. But that usually comes with more land, and I'm sure you know better than me about the work that adds..

Good luck in your search. You may want to consider widening your search to include Phoenix and Tuscon. Also hot, dry climates with a larger retired population. While AZ has income taxes, the overall cost of living is just slightly higher than NV. We chose Las Vegas over Phoenix for family reasons, but had that not been in the equation, we would have probably landed there, since for us, it was almost a wash financially.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Just came back from my doctor. I have chronic pain from arthritis and especially fibromyalgia, so I was told the dry desert heat would be good for me.


We were going to go on a road trip to Fla next month but I guess it will now be the Vegas area, but I haven't been there since 1969.


Can anyone tell me about the quality of life?

GREAT

Originally Posted by countrykaren

How about any water issues? What do average water bills run?

NO ISSUE. MODEST BILL. NEVADA USES FAR LESS THAN ITS SHARE OF WATER FROM LAKE MEADE BECAUSE OF AGGRESSIVE RECYCLING.

Originally Posted by countrykaren

How about electric- what do the average bills run with AC on all the time?

ALL OVER THE MAP DEPENDING ON SIZE OF HOUSE, ORIENTATION OF WINDOWS (don't have west facing windows!), QUALITY & QUANTITY OF INSULATION, AGE & EFFICIENCY OF AIR CONDITIONER. ANYWHERE FROM $40 PER MONTH TO $400 PER MONTH.

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Are there things to do? We don't gamble so that wouldn't interest us.

YES

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Are some areas more green and treed than others?

YES

Originally Posted by countrykaren

We don't want an HOA.

WHY???

Originally Posted by countrykaren

We want a safe, well maintained area.

ARE YOU SURE YOU WOULDN'T PREFER A HOME IN A HIGH CRIME, GANG INFESTED AREA THAT ISN'T MAINTAINED??? MOST PEOPLE PREFER TO LIVE IN SQUALOR.

Originally Posted by countrykaren

We need to be need shopping, etc.

SURE.

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Any info is welcome, especially if it's bad. Hubbie and I will have pensions and SS. He'll try to get a PT job to "keep busy". Any issues with job market? It doesn't need to be a fancy job.

DOES YOUR HUSBAND HAVE ANY SKILLS? WOULD HE WANT TO VOLUNTEER?

[yellowsnow]

I moved to Las Vegas to retire. I do work occasionally and there is no problem finding a McJob. Not much pay, part time, oncall, no benefits. If you want better than that, it's not easy. There are lots of volunteer opportunities. I own a 1 story ranch, 1500SF, no stairs, and I have a pool. Yard is 7000SF. Yards do not usually run big here. Yardwork every year is a couple gallons of Roundup on the weeds in the spring. I have desert landscaping and I water every other week in the spring/summer/fall. Gravel, so no mowing. And of course, no snow to shovel either.

If you want to be comfortable in the summer you will pay a lot for AC. I do use fans too but from June to October, I budget $300 per month for electricity. Usually I run less than that but I don't like surprises! I am in the process of converting my pool to run on all solar but when my pool was electric it added over $50 per month to my electric bill. But here's the deal, remember you will pay next to nothing for heat. Last winter we ran the heat for less than 2 weeks total. Maybe $50 for the year. If I fill my pool, I will get a $100 water bill but most of the time it runs $25 or so per month for 2 people. Trash is about $170 per year and sewer is under $300. Property taxes on my home are about $700 per year.

Learn to use the flyers and shop the Hispanic stores and the 99centsOnly Store. My first stop is always the 99, at the very least you can get all your cleaning and paper products. But you never know what they will have. Last time I was there it was Godiva chocolate. The Hispanic stores usually have the best produce and the cheapest chicken and pork. My last stop is the regular grocery. Sounds like a lot but remember everything is close here and you will be retired and have enough time. Remember, it's only the 99 that has the most real food/best stuff! I cook less in the summer because of the heat! But I will put my crockpot out on the patio in the summer and grill a lot.

For a small city there is more to do here than almost any other place you can think of.

[countrykaren]

Thanks every one for great info. We do need a health food store for some specialty items due to food allergies, but we do eat lots of fruit and veggies and some meat. Never buy soda, cookies, candy only as a big treat a few times a yr, no convenience foods- I need to cook from scratch- so the info about the Hispanic stores is great.
Will be planning a road trip soon. thanks again.

[PinkString]

I should have mentioned in my post that we live in a 2 story townhome, so our miserly electric bill is higher compared to a miserly electric bill in a one story house.

You may want to check into the town of Pahrump since you have so many pets. The HOA we live in allows 2-3 for the master, and only 2 for the sub-association we are in. Pahrump is much more lenient and you get more space out there.

[cre8lite]

now that i know what kind of environment you're living in, pinkstring is right....pahrump might be the spot for you!

we are located an hour west of las vegas. we are at a higher elevation than las vegas, so our temps aren't quite as extreme (avg 107 during the summer & we get an inch of snow during the winters). during the summer months, my highest electric bill is $225. during the coldest winter months, my electric bill is $200. the rest of the year it's anywhere between $80-125.

pahrump has no natural gas. everything here is electric UNLESS you choose to use propane, which is expensive to refill.

our population is ~38k. we have a lot of retired folk here in town. it's hard to find a 20-somethings in pahrump, as there isn't much nightlife here. i'd say majority of our population is 35+ yrs old.

we do have hoa communities, but they are not the norm. if you want to live on a postage stamp sized lot, then you'll end up with an hoa. if you'd be ok living on a 1/2 acre or more, then there won't be an hoa. that also means, if you don't live in an hoa, you will have a well & septic tank (no water bills!).

we have a hospital, a home depot, 3 supermarkets, a handful of fast food places & lots of mom n pop restaurants.

according to our ordinances, in the town of pahrump you are allowed 5 dogs. once you have 6 dogs, you need to get a special permit for them (chapter 6.06).
Sterling Codifiers, Inc.


if you want to know more, PM me &/or read thru my thread:
Nye County

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

I am inquiring with the city of Las Vegas (and waiting for a reply) about whether or not the city has an ordinance against 6 dogs. .

Also ask the City of Henderson. The two cities pretty much run into one another.

There is housing in unincorporated Clark County; that may be your best option.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Thanks every one for great info. We do need a health food store for some specialty items due to food allergies, but we do eat lots of fruit and veggies and some meat. Never buy soda, cookies, candy only as a big treat a few times a yr, no convenience foods- I need to cook from scratch- so the info about the Hispanic stores is great.
Will be planning a road trip soon. thanks again.

Now that I know you cook! At the 99 bags of beans, all kinds, and bags of rice, all kinds, are $1. And their Awesome laundry detergent is great and it's $1 too!

[countrykaren]

I did contact Henderson about the 6 dogs and got a very, very nice phone call on Saturday.


They allow 3 dogs but I could get a dog fancier's permit that allows 5 dogs. Since 4 of the dogs are seniors (10-14 yrs) he said that no one would enforce getting rid of 1 dog. They want dogs adopted out of the shelters not put into them. Told me that if and when we are getting close to moving to contact animal control and we can get started on the permit. Told me there are no restrictions on housing or land requirements- there are 5 dogs in apartments.


Told me we were welcome in Henderson because no one inquires about their pets and any regulations: he said that only responsible owners do that. He welcomed me to Henderson- dogs and all.