Pahrump pros and cons (Las Vegas, Mesquite: short sale, to rent, insurance)

[kindra3434]

I've lived in Pahrump for 13 years now, I grew up in Vegas. I Feel I can give a pretty accurate description. We are moving to Colorado Springs in May.



There are no decent restuarants here, the ones we do have are all pretty much located in casinos or bars.

There is really nothing to do for entertainment, no movie theater, we have a small bowling alley but good luck bowling if your not on a league. Nothing for kids to do but get in trouble. however if you love to gamble and drink in bars this is the place!

There are two parks; one is a stomping grounds for the local homeless and the other is actually quite nice. Good place for kids to play soccor and baseball. there are softball leagues for Adults. From time to time there are various community activities at the parks, once a year we have the harvest festival which is nice. the fireworks display on the 4th is awesome!

there are ALL types of people here but to sum it up , my opinion, mostly older retired folks, lots of shady drug addicts, and families. This is NOT a good place to be if you are single and looking!!!

Plan on driving to las Vegas often, for specialty stores, entertainment and WORK!!! Pahrump is Great for retirees, Good jobs are VERY hard to come by so if you are used to making decent money, plan on commuting.

It gets extremly HOT in the summer time plan on staying indoors most of the time, the summer evenings are nice. Spring and Fall are absoluty wonderful weather wise, it does get chilly in the winter, water pipes have been known to freeze! The sunsets are very beautiful!!!! It does get very windy at times.

Pahrump is NOT incorporated, the town politics are crazy backwords, there is to much growth and the town hasn't really done much to accomidate it. Traffic is getting out of control, there are very very little sidewalks. Lots of roads are not paved, which causes a huge dust problem! there is only one main street which is the highway thats where you will find most of the business and theres really not much to choose from.

Pahrump really isn't much to look at, although Mt. Charleston is pretty.
the town is mixed with very nice homes and mostly trailers. I've heard some people refer to it as "the worlds largest trailer park" There are lots of run down properties with junk. If you are having a house built be wary of who builds it and were, there have been lots of sinking homes and dreams.


one good thing is Las Vegas is not far away at all, so if you dont want to live in a big city but like to have one nearby.....Pahrump is good. Vegas has endless things to offer, shopping, entertainment etc etc.

The reason why I am moving and yes its all negative and my opinion;

I dont want to raise my kid in a community where there is nothing for her, in my opinion kids who grow up here are twice as likely to get in trouble with drugs etc etc because there simply is nothing for them to do. I've Been commuting to Vegas because thats the only place I can find a decent job. thats getting quite old. I have to commute to Vegas to go to school. There is a small community college, but its just not good enough. Pahrump is a dirty town and its backwords as heck. To tell you the truth I absolutly HATE it here. but thats not to say you will, you may love it!!

if you have any questions ask, I would love to give a honest answer about the good and bad.

[Rocket Dog]

Kindra,

I hope you're still following this thread. I just found it today. I've been looking around on this site to get info about many places, and I'm afraid I ended up here because I have no choice.

I'll try not to bore you with a long story, particularly personal things that I don't feel comfortable posting on a public forum. I am 67 years old. My husband died one year ago. We had just bought a house a couple of months before he died; ergo, no equity. Have had the house on the market nearly a year and nothing, nada, zip. I had been making mortgage payments out of the life insurance money, thinking the house would sell last summer. I stopped making the payments in March, and my realtor is working with the mortgage company to get a short sale authorized.

So, now that the introductory part is overwith, I'll tell you why I'm writing. My only income is Social Security. I have a little bit left of the life insurance. I cannot find a place I can afford to rent, at least not in a relatively safe, clean area. I've been looking all over the U.S. map--online, of course--getting as much information as possible.

I will be homeless--literally--in a couple of months, maybe sooner. My ONLY, and I do mean ONLY option to avoid being homeless is to move to Pahrump, Nevada. My husband's sister and her husband live in LV. They own a mobile home in Pahrump--the home and the land. It is in a mobile home park. It is paid for and nobody uses it. I can live there and only pay for utilities and my DSL connection for my computer.

I'm trying so hard to keep a positive attitude about this move, but the truth is I don't want to go there. I don't want to live in a desert. LV doesn't appeal to me because I am not a casino person, either. And, there are so many "seniors" out there, and I am not like most of them. I'm a rather "young" old person, if that makes sense. Bingo on Saturday night is worse than staying home watching SNL.

I like big trees, shade trees, gardens, grass, flowers, sidewalks, older neighborhoods where people sit on their front porches in the evenings.

Pahrump Nevada is going to make me more depressed than I already am. And after reading your post, I am more convinced than ever that I might be better off staying right here in Missouri and living under a bridge.

I wanted to go someplace warmer, but not that much warmer. We have had an unusually long and rough winter here this year, and I don't want to deal with any more snow and ice. I don't like being here in "tornado alley," either. But days on end of 100-plus temps? Groooaaaann! And no shade trees? No houses with front porches? Just a bunch of old people in old trailers staring at the sand. Help!

Thanks for letting me vent. I know there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it. I guess I should stop whining and just be grateful I will have a free place to live for a while until I can find a decent mobile home to buy with what little insurance money I have left--hopefully not in LV! Kentucky, or the Carolinas would be nice (sigh) but that's not gonna happen.

Thanks for sharing your opinions about Pahrump. I cannot imagine I will like anything about it. Bye, I'm going to cry now.

[verynicebecky]

Dear jdinkc,

It does suck when life's events seemingly make our decisions for us.

I do hope that you will find some peace and contentment in Pahrump.

[scirocco22]

jdinkc, please give Pahrump a chance ...especially if you're forced to move there. You can literally make many of the undesirable aspects desirable if you put you mind to it.

Everybody has their own opinion of an area and we all don't see things alike.

Much natural beauty can be found in Pahrump. Although, yes, it has its share of mobile homes and manufactured housing, it also has some very nice neighborhoods. I know you're exaggerating when you say it has nothing but old people in trailer parks staring at the sand but you can do anything in Pahrump if you put your mind to it.

There are many who have gardens in southern Nevada. You can even find some big trees ...and no, not all the trees in the desert are palm trees!

100-plus degrees in the summer isn't all that bad. Pahrump has one of the least humid climates in the country. It makes temperatures in the summer seem much less than what they really are. It's considerably cooler in Pahrump in the summer than Las Vegas, or Laughlin, or Mesquite ...and of course, much cooler than Phoenix or Palm Springs; and less relative humidity than any of those areas.

If you have a good fast connection, please take a look at the brochure for the town:

http://www.pahrumpnv.org/pdf_files/town_office/pahrump.doc.pdf (broken link)


No, I'm not trying to push Pahrump on anybody. It's just that I may be in a situation similar to yours in that I may be forced to move to Pahrump and I'm psyching myself into believing it's a good place to live.

[MtnBikeNV]

I lived in Pahrump for 3ish years. I do not remember it being so horrible. Hot summers, yup, but hot DRY summers, not much for humidity. The people were very nice, I made some great friends there. There are nice homes there, some folks make their own little Oasis. I had a lovely home, huge lawn, a variety of rose bushes that thrived there. Winters are mild. People are not living on top of each other. Vegas is conveniently close by.

Give it a chance, don't judge it until you've been there. You may be .. oh heavens.. a little happy there.

[kindra3434]

jdinkc,
I think you should give Pahrump a try given the situation you are in, yes it does get hot, what do you like to do with your spare time? Please dont be down hearted......

[kindra3434]

jdinkc,
There is a wonderful group of ladies here in Pahrump called "the Red Hat ladies" maybe you should join their group, I bet you will make some great friends!!!!!

[allforcats]

Y'know that saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? What do you suppose that means? Don't you think "ugly" and "horrible" and "gloomy" and "boring" are ALSO in the eye of the beholder?

I think the saying means that circumstances, and places, and events JUST ARE. It's the PEOPLE who decide for themselves, one by one: that's great! that's horrible!

So if that's true (just look around you at all the people you know who have OPPOSITE opinions about things...), then we're CHOOSING, each of us, to feel a certain way about the things in our life.

BIG DOG: I'm scared of big dogs. I love big dogs. I hate big dogs. I think big dogs are ridiculous. Big dogs are stupid. Big dogs are beautiful. Big dogs are funny. Big dogs are annoying.
and so on and so on and so on....... Right? Everybody MAKES UP HIS AND HER OWN FEELINGS ABOUT EVERYTHING...... and the "everything" remains exactly the same; it's only people's emotions that change. A big dog is only what we PERCEIVE it to be, BELIEVE it to be...

Why not make a point to look at something pretty twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening -- just stop doing anything and look, and ENJOY... feel how you feel it's pretty..... Notice how much better you feel? Choose something else you enjoy; and feel your enjoyment of that. Notice how you are the one who makes yourself happy? Mmmmmmm... The key to your own happiness is right there in your own heart, your own feelings, your own CHOICES....

jdinkc, the Universe is GIFTING you with the mobile FREE and the land FREE that you don't have to pay rent on. WOW!!!!!!!!! What a glorious gift, sent to save your life!!!!!!
You get to live safely somewhere, for a while, while you grieve and think and feel, and figure out what you'd like to do with the next period of your life. WHAT A GIFT!!!!!

"Pahrump Nevada is going to make me more depressed than I already am." Sure, only if YOU ALLOW THAT TO BE SO.... YOU choose....

Love your good fortune. Love yourself. KNOW, jdinkc, that no matter what path we choose, or think we have to choose, Life always shows us the very best that path has to offer us. Go forth in joy and know that life is on your side!

[kindra3434]

allforcats.....that was absolutely beautiful!!!!

[scirocco22]

Perhaps we are convincing you to not leave Pahrump, kindra?

Nah ...I know.