[storm10093]

Thanks so much for this WestieJeff. I really appreciate you looking out for my best interests like that!

Originally Posted by WestieJeff

I've seen this stat quoted in the paper and on CD a lot. I wasn't in HS that long ago and I find that graduation rate hard to believe. I can tell you the vast majority of my peers graduated. All of my friends graduated and I really have to dig to think of people who I know didn't graduate. The only ones I can think of either got pregnant in HS or had serious behavior/drug problems.

http://www.ccsd.net/schools/acc_pdfs_2010/945.pdf (broken link) - The school accountability report for Green Valley High School shows a 88.7% graduation rate. This is known as a pretty good school.

http://www.ccsd.net/schools/acc_pdfs_2010/351.pdf (broken link) - The accountability report for Rancho shows a 54.6% graduation rate. When I was in HS, this would have been considered one of the worst schools.

Other Schools:
Silverado: 74.8%
Durango: 73.8%
Foothill: 76%

Those stats sound a lot more realistic to me.

All I am saying is, don't send your kids to the absolute worst schools in Las Vegas and you'll probably be just fine.

[jhiker1o]

Originally Posted by storm10093

I hope to end up being "location lucky" as well. The skyline and views out there are absolutely stunning. My "vacation" photos are filled with 85% of landscape photos rather than "what we did while in Vegas" type photos.

As one of the other member mentioned, it would be wise to get an apartment first to scope things out a little bit more. I think that would be the best idea for us considering we don't have the ability to take THAT much time off of work to come and scope things out.

Thanks so much for the advice!

Head on to the SW, Spring Valley, Summerlin, NW areas of Vegas. Varied housing developments. Excellent community parks/trail system, Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston not far away. You will have plenty of choices for shopping, dining and nitelife. Public transportation infrastructure is improving but you still need a car to get around, many areas are still under-served by public transportation. Overall, the areas above are convenient enough that you will be able to visit the Strip for work or play in a short time.

[tymarailene]

Hi there!! I don't actually have answers to your questions (well, maybe a couple), but my boyfriend and I are also moving... Right after school ends here (Michigan, Plymouth, to be specific... I'm trying to get out of Michigan for MANY reasons, but mostly because my 5 yr old has asthma and these crazy winters and changing weather are tearing his poor little lungs to pieces.. the dry heat in vegas would be God-send) because we have 3 children between us. But I can answer one question. I've actually been told (on this site) that the Vegas school system is terrible. However, I've received personal accounts stating that as long as you're a parent that is involved in your childs' education and you keep them motivated, your kids will be fine.

As we've been looking, we've been suggested to look at Summerlin, or North Las Vegas when looking for family-friendly neighborhoods. I haven't gotten a lot of negative feedback on this site from that assumption. My boyfriend prefers that I'm home for when the kids go to and get out of school, so right now I'm looking for work-from-home opps. To be honest, I've been pretty successful, with the exception that I'm not moving until June.
Hope that helps to some degree... btw, are you going to immediately go into purchasing a house? Because if you don't, just know that craigslist and forrent.com both have a lot of the available apartments/condos listed as available in Vegas and I've been pretty successful with my follow up. I'd love to follow your progress and see how it's going with the move... We have a firm date to move, so if there's anything else I could help you with potentially, just let me know

[storm10093]

Originally Posted by tymarailene

Hi there!! I don't actually have answers to your questions (well, maybe a couple), but my boyfriend and I are also moving... Right after school ends here (Michigan, Plymouth, to be specific... I'm trying to get out of Michigan for MANY reasons, but mostly because my 5 yr old has asthma and these crazy winters and changing weather are tearing his poor little lungs to pieces.. the dry heat in vegas would be God-send) because we have 3 children between us. But I can answer one question. I've actually been told (on this site) that the Vegas school system is terrible. However, I've received personal accounts stating that as long as you're a parent that is involved in your childs' education and you keep them motivated, your kids will be fine.

As we've been looking, we've been suggested to look at Summerlin, or North Las Vegas when looking for family-friendly neighborhoods. I haven't gotten a lot of negative feedback on this site from that assumption. My boyfriend prefers that I'm home for when the kids go to and get out of school, so right now I'm looking for work-from-home opps. To be honest, I've been pretty successful, with the exception that I'm not moving until June.
Hope that helps to some degree... btw, are you going to immediately go into purchasing a house? Because if you don't, just know that craigslist and forrent.com both have a lot of the available apartments/condos listed as available in Vegas and I've been pretty successful with my follow up. I'd love to follow your progress and see how it's going with the move... We have a firm date to move, so if there's anything else I could help you with potentially, just let me know

Thanks so much for the input - I guess we have similar viewpoints on the state then lol. I'm in Dearborn Heights and can't stand it anymore. I've lived all over the lower southeastern part of metro detroit and just can't seem to escape what's going on around here.

I've heard mixed emotions about Summerlin, like you said. It definitely seems like a buyers market out there these days - I saw homes that would normally go for $300,000 selling for half that and lower.

Best of luck to you and your family in your move. I'll definitely keep in touch and let me know how your move goes. If I have any more questions, I'm sure I'll be posting them up here Thank you again!!

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by tymarailene

Hi there!! I don't actually have answers to your questions (well, maybe a couple), but my boyfriend and I are also moving... Right after school ends here (Michigan, Plymouth, to be specific... I'm trying to get out of Michigan for MANY reasons, but mostly because my 5 yr old has asthma and these crazy winters and changing weather are tearing his poor little lungs to pieces.. the dry heat in vegas would be God-send) because we have 3 children between us. But I can answer one question. I've actually been told (on this site) that the Vegas school system is terrible. However, I've received personal accounts stating that as long as you're a parent that is involved in your childs' education and you keep them motivated, your kids will be fine.

As we've been looking, we've been suggested to look at Summerlin, or North Las Vegas when looking for family-friendly neighborhoods. I haven't gotten a lot of negative feedback on this site from that assumption. My boyfriend prefers that I'm home for when the kids go to and get out of school, so right now I'm looking for work-from-home opps. To be honest, I've been pretty successful, with the exception that I'm not moving until June.
Hope that helps to some degree... btw, are you going to immediately go into purchasing a house? Because if you don't, just know that craigslist and forrent.com both have a lot of the available apartments/condos listed as available in Vegas and I've been pretty successful with my follow up. I'd love to follow your progress and see how it's going with the move... We have a firm date to move, so if there's anything else I could help you with potentially, just let me know

If your child has asthma, and that's one of your top priorities, Las Vegas may not be the wisest choice. Many have moved there under the same assumption (or had no asthma condition to begin with) and have ended up with worse respiratory problems...my brother (in Summerlin), included. I don't know if the slow-down in building has helped, but at one time, huge amounts of construction were one of the contributing factors.

[leahmia]

I moved to Vegas seven years ago when I was 23 years old from Chicago. Like you i was looking for a change, especially from the weather. I had been here several times before I moved and actually started coming to Nevada in the mid 80's because we had family friends that moved out here. Things here were good for the first five years. Jobs were easy to come by and in the casino industry they were good paying jobs. However, in the last two years (like everywhere else) things took a nose job. So unless you have a job lined up, I wouldn't quit a job to move here. While housing is low and there are great deals, as someone else mentioned, nice neighborhoods are failing because of the surrounding areas / houses. There are great areas in Vegas still and there are many conveniences. But in my opinion there are better places out "west" that may be more appealing, especially if you want to have kids. I too am at the point where I am wanting to have kids now. I absolutely do not want to raise my kids here. We have the second worse schools in the country, next to New Mexico. Additionally, this town being so transient I would have a hard time allowing my kids to run around and play outside like we did growing up in the mid-west. To me it just isn't normal here. Houses don't have good sized yards and everything else is dirt and desert. Maybe you would like living in California or Arizona. Something to think about.

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by leahmia

I moved to Vegas seven years ago when I was 23 years old from Chicago. Like you i was looking for a change, especially from the weather. I had been here several times before I moved and actually started coming to Nevada in the mid 80's because we had family friends that moved out here. Things here were good for the first five years. Jobs were easy to come by and in the casino industry they were good paying jobs. However, in the last two years (like everywhere else) things took a nose job.

I know LV is big on cosmetic surgeries...but my guess is that you meant a "nose dive".

[Jilli]

I grew up in Vegas and went to school there from elementary to college. The better the neighborhood, the better the schools. Try to live in either Green Valley or Summerlin. Summerlin being the nicer of the 2, but further away from the city. Older Green Valley is more affordable. I would try renting a room in someones house (there are tons of young people that bought houses that constantly rent out parts of the home). You could do this for 3 months and get a feel for the city. I would avoid North Las Vegas, anywhere near Nellis, near UNLV, Near the strip, Near Meadows Mall area. These are just older pasrts of town that were not as master planned as GV or Summerlin.

Be careful who you live with if you opt to rent a room. Vegas is fast and somecan be people too. Especially with a marriage. Find a church to avoid the whole stripper, shots and party crowd. Find something to anchor yourself there cause everyone is transient and not as family-oriented as other places to live. You font have to be fanatical - cool non-denomination church with tons of people is Central Christian in Henderson (which is basically Green Valley).

Vegas is a great place to live if you can stay focused on your family. It is an adult playground in a culture that is very open and "up for anything" mentality. You are 5 hours from Cali, 1 hour from the snow, great new infrastructure - roads, schools, everything is basically blown up and built anew.

Besy of Luck to you.

[leahmia]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

I know LV is big on cosmetic surgeries...but my guess is that you meant a "nose dive".

HAHA, lol, sure did.