Phoenix area or Las Vegas area? (living, best, better, rates)

[strato58]

Looking to move to one of these areas for my retirement late this year or next year. What are local residents thoughts on living in these areas and how they compare? I lived in the Phoenix area for 2 years in the early 90's and loved it but I also love Henderson NV. although I never lived there. The early 90's was a long time ago i'm sure much has changed.

[TheOldPuss]

On the fence as well between the two, OP. Watching home prices, the ongoing water situation, and crime stats. We definitely will rent before buying.

[lvmensch]

Dealers choice. My next place to try if Las Vegas was not to work was Scottsdale. Even did some house hunting there. But we ended up in Las Vegas and are very fond of it.

There is a difference in climate. The Las Vegas summers are much nicer and the Phoenix winters are much nicer. Las Vegas gets an occasional freeze which will kill tender tropicals. Phoenix does not. In the summer Phoenix is a little hotter and significantly more humid. So the bad part of summer is substantially worse there.

Vegas is of course world class on food and entertainment. Phoenix is more than adequate.

Home prices are equivalent. Phoenix will show a little cheaper but that is driven by significant older stock. Good Vegas and Scottsdale will be similar.

Phoenix is bigger and has more traffic congestion but it is not a huge difference.

So take you choice. For a retiree I would use the weather. Better winter versus better summer. For techies Phoenix has a large advantage. But that has no bearing on retirees.

[asufan]

Las Vegas if you're into gambling and/or shows. The weather is a few degrees cooler than the Phoenix area in the Summer but not a huge difference. The desert around Vegas is much uglier than the Sonoran desert near Phoenix and contrary to above I think Phoenix has a better food scene. I think the hospitals in the Phoenix area are better than Vegas as well, unless something changed. It's all up to you, for me I like gambling a bit too much and could see myself getting into trouble there. If you ever watched the show "Action" on Showtime, the degenerates they profiled scare me that I could turn into that

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by asufan

Las Vegas if you're into gambling and/or shows. The weather is a few degrees cooler than the Phoenix area in the Summer but not a huge difference. The desert around Vegas is much uglier than the Sonoran desert near Phoenix and contrary to above I think Phoenix has a better food scene. I think the hospitals in the Phoenix area are better than Vegas as well, unless something changed. It's all up to you, for me I like gambling a bit too much and could see myself getting into trouble there. If you ever watched the show "Action" on Showtime, the degenerates they profiled scare me that I could turn into that

Disagree on the weather. The Las Vegas heat is substantially nicer than Phoenix. The issue is humidity. The temperature difference is small but watch the heat index. That differential is often two or three times the temperature difference due to the humidity. In fact the heat index in Las Vegas in the high summer is often less than the in Dallas or Houston...again the humidity.

And local food in Las Vegas is the best in the USA. Phoenix is OK too but no where near Las Vegas. The local video poker pubs in LV often have exceptional food.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

Disagree on the weather. The Las Vegas heat is substantially nicer than Phoenix. The issue is humidity. The temperature difference is small but watch the heat index. That differential is often two or three times the temperature difference due to the humidity. In fact the heat index in Las Vegas in the high summer is often less than the in Dallas or Houston...again the humidity.

And local food in Las Vegas is the best in the USA. Phoenix is OK too but no where near Las Vegas. The local video poker pubs in LV often have exceptional food.

I don't know I've been to Vegas like a hundred times and live in the Phoenix area and I'm outside all of the time and I did not experience a noticable difference. I've spent a lot of time in the Vegas pools too, not just in the casino and bars. Not arguing your experience, but my experience is that the difference is negligible.

[kytoaz]

I personally despise Vegas, although we considered moving there before we decided on Phoenix. The crime is much worse, the economy is much more fragile and the city slogan is basically "come here and act like an idiot and no one back home will ever know". That being said, the entertainment options are second to none in Vegas. Calling the food scene in Phoenix better than Vegas is laughable. The Phoenix food scene is severely lacking for a city of it's size.
The weather comparisons already made here are accurate IMO. Vegas is 5-10 cooler year round, which is nice in the summer but not so much in the winter.

Full disclosure, I absolutely love living in Phoenix and don't even want to visit Las Vegas.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

I personally despise Vegas, although we considered moving there before we decided on Phoenix. The crime is much worse, the economy is much more fragile and the city slogan is basically "come here and act like an idiot and no one back home will ever know". That being said, the entertainment options are second to none in Vegas. Calling the food scene in Phoenix better than Vegas is laughable. The Phoenix food scene is severely lacking for a city of it's size.
The weather comparisons already made here are accurate IMO. Vegas is 5-10 cooler year round, which is nice in the summer but not so much in the winter.

Full disclosure, I absolutely love living in Phoenix and don't even want to visit Las Vegas.

A lot of Celebrity chefs set up shop in Vegas and they are there in name only and the food sucks. I've been to a few of these places including the Gordon Ramsey place, horrible. That said I've had amazing meals in Vegas as well, but there is simply MORE in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area in my opinion. Your opinion may vary but since you never go to Vegas I don't see how it carries any weight.

[More Rock]

Nevada's Great Basin Desert is super-arid with tumbleweeds and is frankly uniform and ugly.



The Sonoran Desert is the lushest in the Northern Hemisphere with saguaro, cholla, ocotillo, palo verde. Water comes from Colorado, the White Mountains, and underground.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by More Rock

Nevada's Great Basin Desert is super-arid with tumbleweeds and is frankly uniform and ugly.



The Sonoran Desert is the lushest in the Northern Hemisphere with saguaro, cholla, ocotillo, palo verde. Water comes from Colorado, the White Mountains, and underground.

Inferior to the Sonora but not all that bad. You have to find real desert to appreciate it. That takes some doing. Most around Las Vegas has been citified.

But if any of you want to see what it is actually like take the trail to the top of Lone Mountain. Pretty much original up there.

Has nothing like the saguaro and octillo groves but pretty interesting rock/cactus landscaping. And get up into the springs and creeks in Red Rock Canyon and it approaches the Sonora. And the scenery in the Valley of the Fire is hard to beat anywhere.