[Chicken Wing]

Did you check out parts of Florida? If yes, what made you choose Las Vegas over Florida?

[jfkIII]

The older homes in LV have the Chinese drywall.

[unf0rgiven6262]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

The older homes in LV have the Chinese drywall.

What isn't from China anymore. I picture the Chinese melting lead bars into every product they make while laughing maniacally.

[Atlas1337]

Originally Posted by Chicken Wing

Did you check out parts of Florida? If yes, what made you choose Las Vegas over Florida?

Florida has no personal state income tax, but it has a corporate income tax of 5%

My main consideration was taxes when making the move. I don't smoke/drink/gamble/go out/dine out/etc so all I need is a room with a computer. Nevada fit the bill and the close proximity to silicon valley means I can can hit the industry conferences more often, but without paying California taxes.

[lyra33]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

The older homes in LV have the Chinese drywall.

And now Chinese drywall is too expensive, lol.

[MR77]

Originally Posted by Robustus

Where in Vegas did you live (MR77)?

I lived all over the valley, but my house is near Silverado Ranch and Las Vegas Blvd.

[wanderer71]

Does anyone think it would be a bad idea to just take off and try living in Las Vegas for a few years? I would rent not buy so if I hate it I can always leave, right?

Where do you think would be a better destination...FLORIDA or LAS VEGAS?

I'm in Santa Fe, NM, so I wouldn't be a stranger to the whole dry desert thing, though it isn't nearly as hot as Vegas most of the summer.

toss your suggestions into the hat please!!

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by wanderer71

Does anyone think it would be a bad idea to just take off and try living in Las Vegas for a few years? I would rent not buy so if I hate it I can always leave, right?

Where do you think would be a better destination...FLORIDA or LAS VEGAS?

I'm in Santa Fe, NM, so I wouldn't be a stranger to the whole dry desert thing, though it isn't nearly as hot as Vegas most of the summer.

toss your suggestions into the hat please!!

There are many things I love about South Florida. I'm an urbanite by nature and I appreciate the multi-cultural vibe of Miami, the fact that the county north of it is New York at the beach, the hipness factor, the palm trees and gorgeous flowers, the great delis and excellent seafood, the talkative people, the adventurous modern architecture, the historic preservation, and above all the ocean. Having Cuban coffee in the morning sun while I read the papers in a sidewalk cafe on South Beach is my idea of heaven.

HOWEVER!

The unrelenting humidity, the never-ending threat of hurricanes, and the fact that South Florida is hooked onto North Florida trump all that for day-to-day living.

In a way I feel stupid that I would choose a place to live based on the weather, but in the interest of my day-to-day feeling of well-being and the fact I am a homeowner I would choose Las Vegas. What makes me saddest about both is that neither Florida nor Nevada can come up with any politicians that are less crazy than the ones I'm stuck with now on my hiatus in Arizona.

And do tell, why do you want to leave Santa Fe? When I tell people here what I like and don't like about Arizona, I'm always told I should move to Santa Fe. It IS truly beautiful, but it seems expensive and somewhat isolated.

[ladoll]

Originally Posted by PinkString

In L.A, you keep driving and end up in Orange county.

It just seems like it's LA, but it's not. There are a lot of separate towns/cities along the way, but they're not well differentiated, if that makes any sense.

[wanderer71]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

There are many things I love about South Florida. I'm an urbanite by nature and I appreciate the multi-cultural vibe of Miami, the fact that the county north of it is New York at the beach, the hipness factor, the palm trees and gorgeous flowers, the great delis and excellent seafood, the talkative people, the adventurous modern architecture, the historic preservation, and above all the ocean. Having Cuban coffee in the morning sun while I read the papers in a sidewalk cafe on South Beach is my idea of heaven.

HOWEVER!

The unrelenting humidity, the never-ending threat of hurricanes, and the fact that South Florida is hooked onto North Florida trump all that for day-to-day living.

In a way I feel stupid that I would choose a place to live based on the weather, but in the interest of my day-to-day feeling of well-being and the fact I am a homeowner I would choose Las Vegas. What makes me saddest about both is that neither Florida nor Nevada can come up with any politicians that are less crazy than the ones I'm stuck with now on my hiatus in Arizona.

And do tell, why do you want to leave Santa Fe? When I tell people here what I like and don't like about Arizona, I'm always told I should move to Santa Fe. It IS truly beautiful, but it seems expensive and somewhat isolated.

Wow, you just made Miami sound so perfect yet so flawed The reason I wouldn't want to give Miami a shot is the expense. It would be an expensive mistake.

re: Santa Fe
It is absolutely beautiful here and a far cry from AZ. This is high elevation and in the mountains so it's nowhere near as hot as AZ. Today it was about 82 in the heat of the day and right now it's 68. It does snow here. Last winter it snowed at least 10 times but each time the snow had virtually disappeared by noon the following day.
Culture: similar to AZ, tons of hispanic/mexican/indians, plus loads of wealthy white folks
The adobe homes in Santa Fe are to die for (if you can afford over $600K)
The attitude/political climate is about as left as you can get - think Berkeley.
TONS of artists, a true artist community, LOADS of amazing restaurants. About 8 years ago I'm pretty sure Santa Fe topped the best restaurant/chef list over NYC/Manhattan.
I truly love so much about Santa Fe, but every time I get here I'm ready to leave. I think a lot of how you'll like it here has to do with where you grew up and what you can handle insofar as population/size. I grew up on the east coast in a densely populated area. The thing about Santa Fe is if you get bored, then next city is Albuquerque which is 1 hr away (and I really think Albq is a bore). Beyond that you'd have to drive about 6 hours up to CO or about 9 hours to Vegas. There's not much else around and after being here a year I'm starting to have cabin fever. I can probably live here another year, fairly happily, but then I'll want to move, I just know it...
Santa Fe is the perfect place for someone who has the means to have a 2nd home here. If I could live here for about 4-6 months each year and then go somewhere else it would be perfect.
But is MUCH more expensive than any other part of the southwest. At least it does have the culture, arts, restaurants and entertainment to make the high cost somewhat worthwhile but if you're an every-day Jane it might get to you...and there is very little industry/business/jobs/etc. I don't mean due to the recent bad economy/recession, I mean it just isn't a place to come to get a job. If you're an artist...or a veterinarian (I hear we need Vets in SF!)
If you have any other questions let me know. I"ve only been here a year but I've been visiting for vacation at least 1 x per year for the past 20 years because my father and his wife have lived here since the 80's. My Dad is the resident NM/Santa Fe historian... he loves it.