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This is a quote from the thread "why does Las Vegas have such high crime?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by suissegrl702
I have had people not from Vegas tell me that they encountered crime there - they were raped, or mugged, or worse, but usually the story is the same: tourist left the strip or Fremont St, was wandering around in the questionable areas of town very late at night while half drunk with paraphernalia that marked them as a tourist (camera out, bag open, Stratosphere tower drink in hand) and acted surprised when some junkie accosted them for their money. I would like to feel sorry for them, I really do, but I personally would never ever walk around at 3AM in a strange city I am not familiar with with my handbag open, half drunk with a $1500 camera around my neck and a tourist drink in my hand. Really, really dumb. Might as well run around with a sign that says "please rob me."
We are a guy/girl couple, athletic and decently street-smart - would NEVER be in the situation described in the above post. We are looking forward to living in Las Vegas and seriously trying to learn everything we can about our new homeland. We are moving to Las Vegas and will be leasing at Turnberry Towers (Karen Av and Paradise, near Sahara and LVHilton monorail stations). The complex is gated with 24-hr guards at the gatehouse as well as 24-hr security inside the entrance to the buildings, yet we know not to have a false sense of security because of gates, either. Will be working from home and spending a lot of time inside the property, either inside our rental or at the gym/pool - but curious about safety in the surrounding area when we go out.
We have looked at the crime maps and are aware that the surrounding area has had many incidents - attempted robbery in broad daylight with a sword inside the Dairy Queen at the corner of Sahara and Maryland Pkway (where the intruder was shot and killed by an employee), robberies on Sahara in the early evening a few times this past week (one right near the intersection with Paradise), a rape in September on Joe W Brown near the convention center/Hilton (not sure what time of day or night this happened) - just to name a few. This is definitely concerning to us so we are trying to sort out where we should go about our day-to-day activities as well as whether it is ok to walk from our home to and from the strip via Paradise and Riviera (both during the day as well as night). Trying to sort out where it might be safe to walk - or whether we should drive everywhere we go, into what would be considered "more safe" areas, instead of walking from home. I have been reading different threads for days and there are mixed comments about areas to avoid on this forum as well as others and we are unsure whether that means to avoid these areas at all times or just at night.
We know we should be aware of our surroundings no matter where we are in any city, no doubt. We would never be caught outside drunk or impaired and unaware even in daylight, yet we know we are vulnerable anytime when alone especially if someone was armed. Common sense says to not flash possessions and be on guard outside the gates, to project confidence and know where we are going. We spent a lot of time driving around different areas where we thought we would find ourselves after moving there, both during the day and at night - grabbed breakfast at the McDonald's at Sahara and Paradise - none of the areas seemed unsafe in any way - but then when looking at the maps and the newspapers, things are revealed and now we are aware that we could also become a statistic if we are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We can tell it would probably not be good to run or walk alone on Joe W Brown (really no reason for us to do that, anyway, and it's really isolated), Karen Av toward Maryland Pkway or other such isolated areas (even in daylight, it seems) - to avoid walking on Sahara at night - maybe not walking back and forth from the strip via Paradise and Riviera at night. It seems ok to walk from Turnberry Towers to the LVH monorail station straight through the lit parking lot of the Hilton close to the buildings - would probably avoid walking to the Sahara station at night.
We have no illusions of perfection and know crime can happen anywhere, yet we have only experienced life in Las Vegas as visitors so far - using the monorail at all the stations, walking only on the strip with many other people around, or driving out to Carrabba's or a movie at Town Square or Pinball Museum or whatever. We can definitely drive and park at one of the hotels when we want to walk on the strip at night (or day) if that is advisable and have already scoped out locations of Trader Joe's and Von's and CVS and Target - but again these are in areas that appear to be safe, but so did the Albertson's / Chevron corner where the Dairy Queen is located.
Any comments? - we would rather err on the side of extra caution for sure - any advice for how to stay safe, what not to do, where not to go? We were approached at the Chevron at Tropicana and I-15 by a guy saying he lost his wallet and asking for help to get home - classic story - but in brightly-lit area with lots of people around - would be different if it was on a street near where we will be living. It would be great to be able to walk to the strip or to Subway, Starbucks and McDonald's at Paradise and Sahara day or night - but thinking what would we do if approached by someone near the Starbucks at night not knowing the situation (whether they were harmless with no bad intentions, or had a weapon) - - seems maybe better just to avoid walking alone and not be in the situation in the first place.
Turnberry is nice. I would drive everywhere until you get a better feel for the various areas. Statistically, you are unlikely to be bothered by anything more than a panhandler, but Maryland Pkwy is awful north of Flamingo. I wouldn't walk it at night if I were you.
I would think you will be fine on the property. See if you can get a social membership at the LVCC. Then you can pop over there and enjoy their pretty safe compound.
I would be cautious in the surrounding area even in daylight.
One simple strategy is dress down. If you look like you belong the probability of trouble drops way off.
Night time I would stick to an automobile and getting to the more civilized areas before walking around.
If you want to deal with the local scene consider getting a concealed carry permit. A Glock is pretty good back up even if you are jogging on Joe E. Brown. Nevada is a permissive concealed carry state so it is pretty straightforward to get a concealed carry permit. Also you can pretty much carry anywhere on the strip.
Next time lease in south strip or Green Valley Ranch. Much nicer if you wish a carefree neighborhood.
Next time lease in south strip or Green Valley Ranch. Much nicer if you wish a carefree neighborhood.
This.
As nice as the insides of the Turnberry Towers are, it's just not worth their inflated prices to be even remotely concerned about safety or the traffic, panhandlers, drunks and other hassles of a neighborhood by the Strip.
A warm welcome to the area. I'm right there near you and walk the area regularly. Other than panhandlers (which one encounters throughout Las Vegas) I've not felt threatened.
Turnberry, like the other Strip condos, has a high security level on the property. They don't mess around. It's at a level where some even complain about it because things are tightly controlled and access is obviously restricted. Until staff gets to know you, expect to be stopped and checked out often.
It's no different than living in any major city. Simply be aware of what's around you and don't place yourself in unsafe situations. Enjoy Turnberry - it's a nice place where some of my friends live. My realtor also lives there and I came "this close" to getting a Turnberry condo.
I'm surprised, even shocked, that you would write something like 10 paragraphs asking about the crime situation in your neighborhood "AFTER" you made a commitment to lease the property. Your missive is heavy with words referring to using good judgement and having wisdom and conducting yourselves with the utmost maturity, yet you never checked before leasing? The city is full of beautiful properties so there was no valid reason to lease in a high risk, unsafe area. I can't imagine even enjoying the view unless you enjoy the sight of homeless people and muggings?
I am sorry for writing such a long post (again) - we are so grateful for the time everyone has taken to respond. The information, all of it, is so helpful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjameson922
I'm surprised, even shocked, that you would write something like 10 paragraphs asking about the crime situation in your neighborhood "AFTER" you made a commitment to lease the property. Your missive is heavy with words referring to using good judgement and having wisdom and conducting yourselves with the utmost maturity, yet you never checked before leasing? The city is full of beautiful properties so there was no valid reason to lease in a high risk, unsafe area. I can't imagine even enjoying the view unless you enjoy the sight of homeless people and muggings?
We were searching for the experience (as crazy as it might sound to those who live in Las Vegas) of living on the strip in a hotel, sort of a 13-month vacation experience, where we can live in our place and do what we usually would do during the week (working, training, eating, going to the pool) on the property but then easily get to the strip to see the Bellagio fountains, to eat and wander the hotels and mall - or go hiking or to movies - to get there from a couple of blocks away instead of driving from LA (we actually made four trips in less than five weeks between the last week of June and July 2012). We crave HOT dry weather and and really like the high-rise/hotel life except for the lack of space and not being able to prepare food. We have thought so many times when staying on the high floors in a strip hotel that we didn't want to leave and wish we could just instantly have our stuff there with us and more space, and a terrace where we could go outside, somewhere up high where we can just watch the lights and enjoy but be somewhat protected and safe.
We drove around all the areas we might see ourselves going, at various times of the days and nights (for hours) - talked to people - looked at LVMPD crime maps and the ones on this forum from various safety threads. What we are trying to determine is, if we are completely aware of the situation and our surroundings, is it any more high-risk and unsafe if we drive our car out from Turnberry Towers than if we were staying at Mandalay Bay and driving out into areas we know? We tried to weigh out the benefits vs the risks to us and determine whether living inside the gates at Turnberry Towers would be any more dangerous (safety-wise, on property) than going in and out of strip hotel properties and driving around Las Vegas as visitors. We did all of this before we signed the lease - but that is still no substitute for asking for information on a forum like this and the information you guys are giving us is incredible. We knew choosing to live anywhere near the strip was a tradeoff for sure, that it could be a hassle and that we would have to be on guard in a way we never have before - - yet thought as long as we were totally aware of the surroundings and the downsides of living in that area, we would be ok - that chances of being caught in the crossfire or being robbed would be less if we had an idea of what areas to avoid and when, hence the reason for my original post.
We understand that muggings can happen anywhere at any time if there is an opportunity and an obvious target, but walking through the LVHilton parking lot in the middle of the day to the monorail station from time to time seems safe and we are hoping some of you can give us some insight about it. Same with walking down Paradise and Riviera to the strip -from what we've seen (the isolation), it wouldn't be our first choice even though we saw lots of tourists doing so when we were there - I felt that they could be sitting ducks in the area between Paradise and the strip if they were approached - where could they go to get away? We shop at Von's now - curious if we would be ok going to the Von's at Twain and Maryland Pkwy in the middle of the day - so we actually drove there, parked, went inside and walked around last Sunday for this very reason. . .it seemed absolutely fine but I read another thread on this board just today about shootings in the area surrounding Twain and Swenson and now I'm thinking we should go in another direction for day-to-day routine activities (groceries, Target). Stopping for gas at the Chevron at Sahara and Maryland Pkwy - populated area yet still seems dicey, especially at night, so we will fill up elsewhere.
We looked at apartment complexes in Henderson/Green Valley, high-rise towers at Martin and Panorama and Turnberry Place, mid-rise at Boca Raton - we had seen Veer Towers and Turnberry Towers in the summer and have been researching/reading forums for seven months. We knew to avoid Allure and Sky. We knew there were safer areas, knew we could walk around in Henderson/Green Valley and relax, knew Summerlin has increased risk of property crime and car theft (and in a high-rise tower, we can be anonymous and nobody but security really knows when we are away as opposed to someone being able to case a house and watch comings and goings). We ended up at Turnberry because we couldn't shake the wish to live near the lights and be on "vacation" whenever we wanted to. It was a perfect fit for us on the inside and it seemed that, for a year, once we knew the scoop from those who live in Las Vegas, we could know what to avoid and work through what would be going on in the surrounding area just as we work through the conditions we encounter when we come up for trips on the weekend.
Many people we met told us not to walk around outside at night - we leased there knowing it wasn't going to be an option. Our research about safety and risk will be ongoing for as long as we live there, just like we are constantly keeping our eyes open for information about where we live now. For now, we are prepared to do whatever it takes or go wherever we need to go to minimize the risk, in trade for the experience of being able to live safely inside that property with the security, pool, gym and all the space (for less rent) that we don't have in our current rental. It would be excellent if we could find out if there are any "pockets of safety" near the strip and near Turnberry Towers as well as the areas to absolutely avoid, again with the understanding that anything can happen at any time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by logline
As nice as the insides of the Turnberry Towers are, it's just not worth their inflated prices to be even remotely concerned about safety or the traffic, panhandlers, drunks and other hassles of a neighborhood by the Strip.
Panhandlers and traffic are a daily occurrence to us where we live now - it is probably about expectations and a reality check that Las Vegas is going to be more intense in both of those areas - we realize this for sure. It is just a year lease and we might know pretty quickly that the tradeoffs of living in a nice place inside might not override what's going on outside the gates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UTES
A warm welcome to the area. I'm right there near you and walk the area regularly. Other than panhandlers (which one encounters throughout Las Vegas) I've not felt threatened.
Turnberry, like the other Strip condos, has a high security level on the property. They don't mess around. It's at a level where some even complain about it because things are tightly controlled and access is obviously restricted. Until staff gets to know you, expect to be stopped and checked out often.
It's no different than living in any major city. Simply be aware of what's around you and don't place yourself in unsafe situations....
Bill
Sounds good Bill. I can't stress enough that we know we won't really be able to relax. We chose Turnberry Towers because of the security aspect and because of the floorplan and on-property amenities, knowing it was a tradeoff of not being able to totally relax and that it wasn't a neighborhood where you could have kids riding bikes and moms pushing strollers. That's not us - and we don't totally relax when walking around outside our hotel on the strip either, or riding the monorail- we are constantly on guard. Most of our time now is spent inside working or training during the week - going out at night to eat or to movies. We can walk safely to two malls and run on the streets outside where we live now, yet as long as we've lived here and as safe as the area seems to walk and run, we see homeless people with their carts and won't walk close to buildings/alleys or go running outside when it's dark - we stick to the populated areas - wouldn't it be the same in Las Vegas as long as we are aware of the situation?
We live in Los Angeles - lived in Waikiki for six+ years. Seeing homeless people makes me so sad for their plight but doesn't freak me out - it does create a higher level of awareness for sure. We had the pleasure of watching from our lanai as the police chased and tackled a guy on the street right below us in Waikiki and the SWAT team (nine of them) were across the street with assault rifles in September right downstairs from our current place. We definitely scoped out the areas in Las Vegas and were aware before leasing that there would be drawbacks. We ended up thinking that, for now, they might be drawbacks with which we can live for a year and then there is a very real possibility that we will be running for another area - whether it will be somewhere else in Las Vegas or back to Honolulu or California, we don't yet know.
Thank you again so much all of the comments and for the time it takes for you guys to post - if anyone can add information, we would really appreciate it.
Under no circumstances should you walk on a nearby street called Sierra Vista. You are not in any danger driving your car over to the strip and you'll be fine on the Turnberry property. The area gets safer the further south you go from where you will be located.
Just drive to the strip and enjoy your mini-vacation. There are also some decent dining options off-strip in that area.
I'm not sure if you included this in your Post: If you plan to drive a car and your area is rated higher for crime and auto theft, you might likely pay for higher for car insurance.
(I'm not sure how the insurance industry rates that neighborhood you are leasing from... but.. for the folks who say, "I know it's a dangerous area but I can protect myself....I'm young and strong." BUT can you protect your wallet from the insurance industry...?.(not to say your area is dangerous).
Good luck on your move and relocation. What I take from reading your long last post is, you knew what you were getting into when you leased the property and the locals who have so kindly replied to you, confirmed to your suspicions. I guess I'm rather confused as to the point of this. Yes, there is crime everywhere and in all big cities. I'm adverse to being in that type of situation so I chose to settle in the zip code that has the least incidences of crime. I have, in the past, been robbed at gun point in another city. In spite of that, I do not hesitate to go to the Strip and I leave the safety and security of my neighborhood to drive there and always use valet parking. To me, it's the best of both worlds.
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