[newnat]

A little background as I'm in a fairly interesting situation. I currently live in Nebraska but that is going to change. I'm going to be taking a job that is going to require me to relocate. The kicker is I don't get to pick where I relocate to. I can rank their locations (there are over 50 offices,) in order of my preference and they will try to accommodate me based on those rankings, but no guarantees. They usually get you placed in one of your top 15 offices.

So, I'm trying to decide if I want to put Las Vegas in my top 15.

The office is just over a mile east of the North Las Vegas Air Terminal.

We have some family that live around Flamingo and Decatur. I've visited many, many times, always rent a car, and rarely go to the strip. So, I'm more familiar with the Las Vegas area than the typical tourist. But I'm completely in the dark about Northern LV and my family is too.

The first year I'll be making ~$60K. I'm married and have a 6 year old. Business trips will be fairly frequent, so my wife probably wont be able to work.

I'd like to find a neighborhood that's fairly safe, fairly close to the office (under 30 mins drive time,) and has decent public grade schools.

I'm open to buying or renting a house or condo. 3 bedrooms would be ideal. It doesn't have to be newer construction, as long as it's not falling apart.

So on $60,000 a year, is there anywhere that can meet those needs?

[Daddys///M3]

Depending on what your other debt obligations are, $60K a year should be plenty especially considering the area and the current conditions. A loan amount of $225K assuming a 6% interest rate on an FHA loan would put your total payment around $1650-$1700 a month including taxes and insurance. These numbers are just estimates though.

That being said, $225K should be able to get you a very comfortable home in the new North Las Vegas as well as the NW area of Las Vegas. Being that you have a 6 year old I would suggest 89131 or 89143. Awesome bang for the buck, great schools, and a nice suburban feel to the surrounding area. Shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes to get to work. I live in 89131, and my son (8 years old) goes to Schrekenbach Elementary school and I couldn't be happier with it.

[LV_James]

The suggestions above are good ones, but don't limit your search to just North Las Vegas. The North Las Vegas Air Terminal is actually located (roughly) in the extreme southwest corner of North Las Vegas.

If you drew a circle, say 6 miles in diameter around the airport, more than half the area would be in Las Vegas, rather than North Las Vegas. It would include at least part of the zip codes 89129, 89108, 89128, 89107 and a few more.

For ease of commuting, you will want to stay north of 95/Summerlin Parkway, and you might do well to look west of Rancho Drive (which borders the field).

To clear up any confusion about North of 95 (which is a north/south road), a glance at the map will show it runs due east/west from about a mile west of the airport well into the eastern part of Las Vegas.

We live approximately a mile from the field west of Rancho, and I would guess a commute of less than 10 minutes during heavy rush hour to get to a mile east of it. Perhaps half of that, depending on its exact location.

I would think $60k would be enough to be comfortable on, especially if you don't overbuy. Renting until you get a feel for the area is also not a bad idea. You'll have to decide on the house/condo/apartment thing, though.

If you can get out for a visit, drive straight up Decatur from Flamingo, and you'll see the field when you get to Rancho.

Hope this helps.

[olecapt]

You would do fine. Practically with a 6 year old you would want to go north of 215 or west of 95. With judicious location selection you can end up in a very nice school district. There are five or six in that general area. That would certainly give you a 20 minute or less commute. Best buy today would likely be Aliante. Nice place and good schools particularly north of 215 and all at fire sale prices for the next months.

But that is actually a very neat location for your salary. You can get at the nice housing and good schools with a light commute.

Probably ought to be in our top few...though if Portland or Honolulu...then again watch the economics. Vegas is pretty nice on the list if you are less than very well paid.

[newnat]

Thanks for all the replies. My wife and were hoping we would be able to put LV high up on our list, but were concerned about the cost of living. It sounds like we'll be fine.

I've got to say I really appeciate the zip codes you all have given. It makes it very easy to narrow online home searches to see what we can expect.

While $225K is more than we are hoping to spend, there seems to be a lot of nice homes in the $150-175K range.


Thanks for all the help!

[airics]

89131 89131 89131 need i say more?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by newnat

Thanks for all the replies. My wife and were hoping we would be able to put LV high up on our list, but were concerned about the cost of living. It sounds like we'll be fine.

I've got to say I really appeciate the zip codes you all have given. It makes it very easy to narrow online home searches to see what we can expect.

While $225K is more than we are hoping to spend, there seems to be a lot of nice homes in the $150-175K range.


Thanks for all the help!

Actually spent most of today showing an older lady 3/2s in the general area that topped at $140K. And she really wants to get in at $130. She won't but it does make for some interesting bids.

You can't get a great home at $140K. But pretty nice and livable places in nice neighborhoods.

I would also point out that nailing one is at least three times as hard as it was 6 weeks ago.

It is getting to be a snake pit out there at least at the low end.