[CASTLE333]

Hello Everyone,

My Husband And I Are Planning To Move To Las Vegas In The Summer Which The Heat Will Kill Us But Thats Besides The Point...we Are Ready For A Change And Are Making It Real Soon, However Las Vegas Is The Place We Decided To Move To...i Have Been Reading On Alot Of Negativity And Its Really Freaking Me Out! We Do Have Children And The Crime Thing Is Whats Freaken Me Out Is There Any Real Safe Place To Live In Las Vegas? How Are The Schools? What Are The Best Schools Out There? Are We Making A Big Mistake? Leave Ca For Nv? I Have Family That Live In Vegas And They Like It...but I Really Need Some Feedback


Thank U

[olecapt]

It will feel very much like a warm version ol CA. If that terrorizes you don't come. Schools, crime and supermarkets are much like CA.

There is a small percentage that finds the heat intolerable. If that is you then you leave. Otherwise it is reasonably nice climate.

As to the negativity note that 1,700,000 of us live here mostly happy. The doomsayers have left.

My cat Samson says it is wonderful. You gonna argue with Samson?

[lvkewlkid]

The schools are below average, you definitely aren't getting an NYC education here, but if your children strive for education and you push them, they should be fine. As for the crime, most things only happen if you start them, otherwise people usually won't bother you. There is crime everywhere in Las Vegas, as long as you stay away from 3 areas you should experience low-average crime. Those 3 areas are Sierra Vista Drive/Crack Alley, West Las Vegas (The Alphabet Streets), and Northtown, which is basically the area near Donna and Carey. Also, many apartment complexes have problems. If you have a certain area in mind, you can check out the crime at lvmpd.com/crimeviewcommunity. However we are the car stealth capital of the world, so your insurance may be high.

If you have family here and they like it, then I would believe them and probably live close to them. Any idea in what area they live in? I'm sure if a member of your family likes somewhere, that you will too.

[dude66]

CASTLE333 -

I too just made the "big change" and moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas 4 weeks ago. There was a job offer out here I just couldn't refuse.

Here's what I did -- my wife stayed back in L.A. to keep our rent control apartment in case this job doesn't work out, or I decide we won't be able to stand living in Vegas. If all goes well, she'll follow me in a few months. This way we have a cushion of time to figure things out and not feel that crushing weight of worry and anxiousness you seem to be feeling.

As for life in Vegas -- I suggest you do everything you can to live in a nice neighborhood. For me, it's Summerlin. That's going to make all the difference. Life is livable there, I feel safe, and most days I wouldn't even know I'm in Vegas.

However, the closer you get to the "strip", the worse it gets. I've driven those neighborhoods on my way to the airport and all I can say is "yuck". Lots of empty dirt fields, no sense of landscaping, older homes, neighborhoods laid out with no rhyme or reason, graffiti, etc.

Vegas is definitely a city divided by incomes, more so than other places I've lived. If you've got the money to shack up somewhere nice, you'll be okay. There are stretches of Summerlin where you swear you're back in Orange County and life can be very pleasant. When I'm in that "bubble" I feel I've made the right choice.

But once you go outside the bubble, then the quality of neighborhoods can drop steeply. I have a Vegas-hating co-worker who tells me everything outside Summerlin looks like East L.A. and so far I can't say he's wrong. So just pick where you build your nest carefully.

[olecapt]

Be careful. Summerlin is fine and is an area where my RE practice is based. But the whole outer periphery is much the same. Generally starting from Henderson and stay outside of the beltway you can go all the way around clockwise to NLV and not find a bad neighborhood.

But after you have been around a while there are lots of places in by the strip that are fine to fantastic. For the money is not a problem crew the nice places in McNeil Estates or any of the areas along Alta between Valley View and Rainbow or the areas west of Rainbow beteen Charleston and Decatur or the Scotch 80s which actually borders on MLK.

There are also the RNPs...1/2 acres of often luxurious single families in the NW, SW and North. If you love Summerlin you won't like them...too disorganized and inconsistent...but if you want your own little paradise done your way without the help of a community association you may find happiness there.

Note that there are also some quite workable lower income neighborhoods scattered in odd places. This is not for beginners...you should live here a while...but you can do well in the Shadow of the Stratosphere either east or west.

[lvkewlkid]

Yes, parts of Huntridge, Mary Crest, or Paradise Palms are very nice. There are some nice housing neighborhoods near Pecos and Tropicana, but beware of the apt. complexes.

[dude66]

Originally Posted by olecapt

...but if you want your own little paradise done your way without the help of a community association you may find happiness there.

Wow - such a thing exists in this day and age? No Nazi HOA telling me what flowers I can and cannot plant? Imagine that. I remember growing up in the 1980s in Denver and somehow my neighborhood and the rest of the world got along just fine without HOAs telling us how to live.

In terms of Vegas, one of the things I'm hating (even in nice places like Summerlin) is the absolute UNIFORM SHADE OF BIEGE that every freaking new house/sound barrier/store seems to be painted. What the heck? Did all the homebuilders get a good deal on 15 million gallons of "Desert Tan"? Is there some special reason color doesn't exist out here?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by dude66

Wow - such a thing exists in this day and age? No Nazi HOA telling me what flowers I can and cannot plant? Imagine that. I remember growing up in the 1980s in Denver and somehow my neighborhood and the rest of the world got along just fine without HOAs telling us how to live.

In terms of Vegas, one of the things I'm hating (even in nice places like Summerlin) is the absolute UNIFORM SHADE OF BIEGE that every freaking new house/sound barrier/store seems to be painted. What the heck? Did all the homebuilders get a good deal on 15 million gallons of "Desert Tan"? Is there some special reason color doesn't exist out here?

My house is two tone...Dark Blue Grey and light Blue Grey...No Beige. We do have a yellow brown stone floor with matching carpet. But that is it for anything that resembles beige.

you will like it out here in the hinterlands. Paint it whatever.

Note you have to be reasonably fliexible to live here. The guy next door really can build a 1200 SF house and a 2000 SF barn. Has to get a variance...but likely can. Can paint it purple...which sometimes happens.

It is interesting. A little sociology in play. We have a mix of the individual half acres and those developed as tracts...also half acres however.

There is no meeting of the minds. The non-gated control and insist on no curbs, sidewalks or streetlights. Gotta have a place to ride your horse along the street.

The gated say BS...need sidewalks to walk on and streetlights to see and none of these horse with their flies.

In general the gated will lose in the NW but do better elsewhere. But Summerlin metastizes...

[lvkewlkid]

Originally Posted by dude66

Wow - such a thing exists in this day and age? No Nazi HOA telling me what flowers I can and cannot plant? Imagine that. I remember growing up in the 1980s in Denver and somehow my neighborhood and the rest of the world got along just fine without HOAs telling us how to live.

In terms of Vegas, one of the things I'm hating (even in nice places like Summerlin) is the absolute UNIFORM SHADE OF BIEGE that every freaking new house/sound barrier/store seems to be painted. What the heck? Did all the homebuilders get a good deal on 15 million gallons of "Desert Tan"? Is there some special reason color doesn't exist out here?

Las Vegas is very different than many places. Where I'm from in Jersey, that are 150 year old neighborhoods that still look like they are brand new, but that is only because the towns act like HOAs as well. If a house's paint looks chipped, the town will fine you. Also, in the 80s it was a little unheard of to have a purple house with pink trim, at least that is in my understanding from talking to my parents. Nowadays, even communities that are 10 years old will look like a ghetto without an HOA because of security bars (which usually don't mean anything), and fences in front of homes.