[Movin2Vegas]

Here we go again..... Another "I'm Moving To Vegas" post but I promise this one will be a little different. First I would like to share that the best place to start off in this forum if you are planning on moving to Vegas is with this sticky post at the top of this forum titled: MOVING (or considering moving) TO THE VEGAS VALLEY??? START HERE! (Las Vegas: condo, crime) I found most of my questions answered. Other questions I couldn’t find answers for are listed below in BOLD.

After spending days reading this forum I have seen some great questions and some awesome suggestions but never any follow ups from the person who started the post. I can’t help to think if those suggestions were successful for them or if their move was a good idea and what did they learned along the way that they didn’t expect. I hope to include all of those in this thread as the months go by and I make the move to VEGAS! This thread begins in New Jersey on August 18th of 2015 and I hope to be making a final post in Vegas before January of 2016 if all goes as planned.

Not to get too deep into personal details but I think I should explain a bit about myself first. I am 45 years old and single. I don’t gamble but I love going to the big casinos and the life on the Strip is intoxicating so I wish to visit there monthly no matter where I end up in Vegas. I just bought a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon for Vegas so I have good transportation and I plan to use it for what Vegas has to offer it. My Studio Apartment Lease is up at the end of December but I can move anytime as long as I give a 15 day notice. I want to find a place to live before then but I don’t plan on taking a trip to Vegas until October to review what I learn from this forum.

My job is internet based so I can live anywhere in the world. The question why Vegas for me might help give an idea of what I am looking for. I currently live in a very upper class section and have all my life. I am very custom to working for and working with very wealthy people. I love the glamor of the Strip as well as the wide open desert views Vegas has to offer but to be truly honest, the neighborhood quality is most important to me since that is what I have to see and deal with when I want to get out of the house and take a walk to get lunch.

Over the past 20 years of living on my own I kept downgrading my living space each time I moved because I notice what a waste of money for space I never use. I have been living in a 475 sq ft Studio Apartment for 5 years and it is more room then I need. I make good money with my job but I live in front of a computer 24/7 at home because of it so less is more for me when it comes to living space and rent cost. I been using apartments.com to get an idea of what is out there but one of my concerns is since the rent for this size Studio is very low in Vegas, I am worry about moving into a low class apartment complex or a bad area. I have seen areas in Vegas on TV that are full of graffiti and burning cars and other areas that look like upper class sections. It almost seems as if you go 10 blocks in one direction you end up in Hell’s Kitchen and 10 block the other way you see new LEXUS and BMWs in the drive ways. Since I am in New Jersey until I visit I can only rely on Google Maps Street View to see what the areas look like (in 2013) which is not much to go on. I would love to live as close to the strip as possible since there will always be more opportunities then in the middle of the desert but I am surprised to see many people say the areas around there are not good.

The most common question asked here is which area I should move to that best fits my needs? I have read tons of these posts but none asked what I am looking for. As you can see my needs are very specific. Looking for a small studio apartment (not a 1 bed room) in a very nice upper class area that offers large desert views. Can you make any suggestions?


Things to know that I didn’t know before moving.
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I guess we come to the purpose of this thread. I want to list some important things I have learn here and maybe ask a few questions I can’t find any answers for. Where to live is more of a personal type of question based on your needs so that is something for others to start their own thread for to ask specific questions like I did above.

So let’s begin:

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No one said it better then dynimagelv: "the cost of living in LV is the same as in any other city.....all you make....." Sad for many but so true lol. I see many Apartments listings that say “Gas, Heat, Electric or AC, Sewer and Trash Removal included.” I was wondering what do these services normally cost a month if they are not included.

Thanks to Hockeygirl4 for covering all her monthly service fees. Although she is in a 1 bed room and I am looking for a Studio, she also works from home so her post is the closest for me that I could find so far:

1 bed/1 bath apartment, 700sq ft
Rent - 800.00/month
Electric - 40 - 70.00/month (highest was during December..thus far)
Basic Cable -54.00
Cell phone - 65.00
Water - 15.00 on average
Car insurance - 105.00/month for a 6 month policy on a 2006 Pontiac G6, this rate includes apartment renters' insurance.
Groceries - about 50.00/week - week and a half. However, I work from my home, so I'm constantly cooking.

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I am very concern of my internet speed since my job is internet based and I sometimes have to transfer huge files. I don’t watch much TV and if I do it’s CNN/FOX/OAN news channels and the History channels so TV is not much of a concern for me and I don’t need a house phone when my cell phone is all I need.

These are some of the service options I was able to find so far that I’m sure I will need:

Electric Power Service
Nevada Energy
Las Vegas, NV 89511
(702) 402-5555

Telephone & Internet Service
Nevada Bell
(702) 333-4000 or 411

TV & Satellite Service
Cox Cable
(702) 383-4000

or

Direct TV
(800) 630-5795

Garbage Removal I would guess depends on the location you live in to find out who to use….

I didn’t see any posts suggesting best internet speed so can you suggest which service offers the fastest internet speeds in Vegas and who offers the cheapest basic cable?

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Do I need to worry about bugs and critters because it is the desert?
I hear the desert has many critters so I was a bit concern what to expect.
Manhattan has Roaches and Rats.
Long Island has Seagulls and Raccoons.
Vegas from what I know is well known for Snakes and Scorpions.

Thanks to a post by Steve-o which answers my questions:
“YES, there are over 30 species of scorpions in Nevada. THE REASON NOONE SEES THEM IS BECAUSE THEYRE VERY SECRETIVE AND ARE NOCTURNAL. You want a shocking revelation? Take a portable black light out in your yard and around your house. Scorpion’s fluoresce under black light and glow a bright green when exposed. They hide under rocks, garbage and the sort. I had a friend in Vegas tell me he’s never seen a scorpion in his house. I busted out my black light and was able to find 4 adult Vaejovis species and 3 babies as well in one hour. NV is also home to the largest scorpion in North America--- Hadrurus spadix. No scorpions in NV are considered lethal, but their sting will make you wish you were dead sometimes.

As for brown recluses in Nevada? That’s a little hard seeing that their range ends in eastern Texas. Every brown spider on earth seems to be a "brown recluse" (Loxoceles reclusa) to most westerners, who are unaware that they don’t even inhabit arid areas, they’d desiccate. The like humidity, therefore the SW is out of the question.

However, a species of black widow call NV home (Latrodectus Hesperus--western widow) and are very prevalent in the Vegas area. They breed like crazy and if you don’t have them now, you will. Mark my words.

Snakes? NV is home to MANY species of rattlesnakes (Cortaid’s), many of which have to be removed from yards all the time. I won’t get into listing them here, but a quick search will show.”

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Well that is all for now. I will continue to add more questions and bump this post when I do. I look forward to this adventure and keeping this post current with the details as I go along. I expect most of my posts coming more towards the end of the year as I get closer to the move but I look forward to asking more questions as they come up and reading the help from many of you forum regulars I see providing great suggestions and helping others.

Thanks for your time and I hope this posts helps someone else one day.

-Anthony

[macgeek]

Anthony you answered your own questions!

Jonathan

[Movin2Vegas]

LOL I am sorry I may have got a bit carried away when I got lost in creating the post. I guess to make it easier my only questions at the moment are:

I'm looking for a small studio apartment (not a 1 bed room) in a very nice upper class area that offers large desert views. Can you make any suggestions?

Can you suggest which service offers the fastest internet speeds in Vegas and who offers the cheapest basic cable?

[LV10101]

The "intoxicating" Strip becomes nauseating when you live here. Please don't move here because of the Strip or the large casinos that will get old after a month.

[Katie the heartbreaker]

Cox has the fastest internet. I think Cox is the only provider of cable. Centurylink offers Prism, otherwise you can get satellite from Direct Tv or Dish.

[Raiderman]

Originally Posted by Movin2Vegas

LOL I am sorry I may have got a bit carried away when I got lost in creating the post. I guess to make it easier my only questions at the moment are:

I'm looking for a small studio apartment (not a 1 bed room) in a very nice upper class area that offers large desert views. Can you make any suggestions?

Can you suggest which service offers the fastest internet speeds in Vegas and who offers the cheapest basic cable?

I would think one of the high-rises, but I doubt you'll find a studio. Possibly a 1 bedroom. The only other thing I can think of is rent a casita on someone's property. But in the upscale parts of town, you might run into problems finding someone who needs the money that badly.. How firm are you on the "studio" part?

Actually, check out Palms Place. They have 600 sqft studios available for $1800/mo.

[Katie the heartbreaker]

I was looking around and I see you are going to run into a problem finding a studio in a nice area. It seems they all start out as a 1 br in the nice areas. Here is the only exception I found. It is in a real nice area, but it is pricey at $1,200 a month.

The Gramercy Apartments - Las Vegas Apartments For Rent | Las Vegas, NV

[UTES]

There are multiple studio and 1-bedroom units available on The Strip in your price range.

I have a condo on The Strip I bought 4.5 years ago. I love it and the lifestyle that comes with it. I don't discuss specifics in this open forum but am more prone to do so in PM's once a member has established themselves here.

As for the rest of your questions and issues - I'd be surprised if we can be of much assistance to you. For, you've obviously done your research and it looks like a thorough job was done of it.

Good luck with it all, Anthony. Welcome to the forum.

Bill

[LetsMoveFarAway]

Not an upscale neighborhood, but check out the apartments/condos called Vantage. It's in Henderson and the views are crazy. You can see the entire valley from them
They're pretty modern too.

[ddrhazy]

If I were you I'd live in LA, SF or NYC.