[VegasResident]

I can probably help. I lived in McLean and graduated from McLean HS and I now live in Las Vegas.

Schools: You will not find any public schooling in Clark County to match Fairfax County. Sorry bout that, but it is true. Fairfax County has been one of the best school districts in the US for years. There is also a teacher shortage here. The schools in Summerlin are somewhat better and Arbor View and Green Valley are good, but you will not in any way match the performance and teaching at McLean, Langley etc.

Gangs: Yes, they are here and are increasing as evidenced by the increased grafitti. They exist alot in some areas of the valley and yes, Summerlin is not excluded from having gang members. No place is, even though Summerlin does enjoy a lower crime rate. There were two home invasions in Summerlin last week. One where two ladies were approached in their garage and then bound while their house was ramsacked. It can happen anywhere just be careful. In our three years here though, just being aware and careful I have not felt unsafe in Vegas.

Driving: sucks and getting worse. The drive from Summerlin and the NW is horrendous now especially during the 95 widening project. It makes 495 in DC look like a joy ride. There is no subway, only buses. I drive 18 miles to work the way Summerlin would come in. 20 minutes at 5:30 am and 45 minutes at 7:30 am. Road Rage is something to be careful with and any Vegas resident will tell you that drivers in Vegas treat red lights as optional. This is true, dangerous and not to be taken lightly. Racing is also a problem in Vegas.

All that being said, we like living here. Good jobs, great weather, lower crime near us. Lots to do.

Personally I would not have moved here from Fairfax if I had a choice. But that is my opinion

[VegasResident]

Originally Posted by PinkString

Aliante; Centennial Hills; Desert Shores; Southern Highlands; Rhodes Ranch; Mountains Edge; Seven Hills; Silverado Ranch; is also quite nice. There are many more communities besides the one's I mentioned, and more being built like Park Highlands. There's more to life in Vegas than just Green Valley and Summerlin. Sometimes i just get so tired of hearing people tell newbies about only those 2 areas! There is so much more here people.

As for the trees being held up with sticks it is because it gets really windy here and many trees break off and die. Ive had trees in my front yard do that so the new ones have the sticks holding them up until they grow bigger and can stand on their own.

I agree. There are so many nice areas other than just GV and Summerlin. You can travel the entire NW, western and southern ridge and find wonderful communities from Ailante, Centennial Hills down through Southern Highlands, Anthem Highlands and Sun City Anthem. I would check them all out and live appropriate to my work. Although I also get tired of hearing the term "Snoberlin" also :-), maybe it is the annual Christmas commercials or the right turn lawsuit for the airport or the weatherman that was suing the Summerlin HOA because they would not let him have a basketball hoop. Also there are many homes up in SMLN now that are like 3 feet apart. Blech! And the commute is one of the worst. :-)

Live where it fits you best :-)

[VegasResident]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

I've never seen those sticks removed either. Usually they hold up the tree until it snaps in two, then they replace the tree with a new one and keep holding it up. They are small trees, they don't grow big enough to stand on their own.

The tree thing makes me laugh! We have sticks on all of ours. Then again I did not realize how windy Vegas was and at our house we get to 45 mph alot.

I have had trees snap in two, fall over etc. What I finally just cut the tree to the root and let it grow the way it wanted (three stalk) it has never needed a stick.....

[mingonza]

does it snow in summerlin?

[lvkewlkid]

summerlin is part of vegas and every couple years it snows in vegas...

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by mingonza

does it snow in summerlin?

Yes, it snows all year.

Seriously now, It will snow once or twice over the winter. That's about it.

[Buzz123]

You can stand down here in the valley and look at snow up on the mountain peaks for several months each year. But the only time I've ever seen snow stick to the ground for more than a couple of hours was in January, 1974, when we had several inches that stuck around for about three days. We used to only see snow in town every five years. I imagine that the reason we see it in town about every two years now is because the town has grown up closer to the base of the mountains. We can still brag about being able to snow ski and water ski in the same day. All 1.8 million of us has commented at one time or other how strange it is for it to be 90º here in town and we can still look up and see snow on the mountains...and we can still go skiing in shorts. BTW: There is a glacier on top of Mt. Charleston and I highly recommend hiking up there to see it.

[sammiesong]

Hello,

I wanted to let everyone know that there is a whole community of people who live in Las vegas and never visit the Strip. My sister has lived out there for 20 years and she and her family have a normal life. Sure, the traffic is terrible and there are millions of tourists but you can still have a good life in Vegas.
My Mom and I are moving out there this fall for our health. The hot desert air is good for many health problems. Another good point about Vegas is the job market. Always is wide open.
So just because they give Vegas a lot of bad nicknames, doesn't mean it isn't a good place to live.

[lvkewlkid]

I never understood why so many locals don't go to the Strip...that was the #1 reason that we moved here, but then again, we also live on the South Strip...

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by lvkewlkid

I never understood why so many locals don't go to the Strip...that was the #1 reason that we moved here, but then again, we also live on the South Strip...

Most people move here for the Strip at first, but then it gets old dealing with the traffic, the tourists, and now the high prices. It used to be so cheap to go to the Strip that you could actually eat there for less than you could at home, and there weren't always that many neighborhood places to go. But since they now charge New York amd LA prices for everything, and don't really cater that much to locals, locals discover that there are a lot of other things to do that the tourists don't know about. How many times can you see the Pirate Battle or the Dancing Fountains before you get bored with them?