[WisconsinDude]

Well I'm not a Las Vegas resident yet but plan to be within the next year or so. We are trying to get all of our ducks in a row before we make the move. We currently reside in east central Wisconsin so it is an 1800 mile journey for us. I have vacationed in Las Vegas many times and have family there. The area is awesome to say the least. Its sad that so many people think there is nothing besides gambling in the area. I do have a few questions for those that can answer them. Assuming a 2500 square foot house what are we looking at for electric and water bills monthly? How much does a pool add to these costs? Are the online property tax calculators accurate? From what I can figure, property taxes in the Las Vegas area are about half of what they are in my current city. Has anyone else here transplanted from the midwest? If so what are the pros and cons of making the move? Anything we need to know or be prepared for? Are there any prefered realitors? Any realitors to watch out for? We found alot of nice houses on this site Bryan Pellican based in Las Vegas, NV but we really don't know where else to look since we are not all that familiar with the area. Are there any preffered areas to live or areas to stay away from? We are an early 30s couple with 3 children and prefer a quiet area. How are the schools and hospitals? How about employment? Thanks!

[MomMom]

Your family that already lives here is really, the best source of information and can provide some real insight..haven't you enlisted their help? They can answer all the questions you posted....

There's an awful lot of info contained on this forum...use the search feature as well.

Other advice is to seek out a professional, licensed realtor here in LV...to help in your search of homes. And please...make a trip or two here and enlist the help of your family, to see which areas about the valley you favor and if living in Las Vegas is something you really want to do. Remember, we have three seperate cities in one valley...Henderson, North Las Vegas and Las Vegas

Look up Olecapt on this board..licensed realtor and very knowledgable about different parts of the valley.

Good luck in your search...and yes, we have a LOT of Mid-West folks here now enjoying calling Las Vegas home!

[vegas*baby]

Welcome. I too will be moving to Vegas next year. Right now I am living in the Cleveland area. I have some family and friends who live out there now. We cannot wait to move out there.

[WisconsinDude]

Originally Posted by MomMom

Your family that already lives here is really, the best source of information and can provide some real insight..haven't you contacted them?

There's an awful lot of info contained on this forum...use the search feature as well.

The best advice is to seek out a professional, licensed realtor here in LV...to help in your search. And please...make a trip or two here and enlist the help of your family, to see which areas about the valley you favor. Remember, we have three seperate cities in one valley...Henderson, North Las Vegas and Las Vegas

Look up Olecapt on this board..licensed realtor and very knowledgable about different parts of the valley.

Good luck in your search...and yes, we have a LOT of Mid-West folks here now enjoying calling Las Vegas home!

I have asked the advice of my relatives in the area but I feel their information is tainted because they want to paint a flawless picture for me. I think they want me to move to the area more than I want to move there at times. I figured some input from neutral parties that could careless whether I move there or not would be helpful.

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by WisconsinDude

Well I'm not a Las Vegas resident yet but plan to be within the next year or so. We are trying to get all of our ducks in a row before we make the move. We currently reside in east central Wisconsin so it is an 1800 mile journey for us. I have vacationed in Las Vegas many times and have family there. The area is awesome to say the least. Its sad that so many people think there is nothing besides gambling in the area. I do have a few questions for those that can answer them. Assuming a 2500 square foot house what are we looking at for electric and water bills monthly? How much does a pool add to these costs? Are the online property tax calculators accurate? From what I can figure, property taxes in the Las Vegas area are about half of what they are in my current city. Has anyone else here transplanted from the midwest? If so what are the pros and cons of making the move? Anything we need to know or be prepared for? Are there any prefered realitors? Any realitors to watch out for? We found alot of nice houses on this site Bryan Pellican based in Las Vegas, NV but we really don't know where else to look since we are not all that familiar with the area. Are there any preffered areas to live or areas to stay away from? We are an early 30s couple with 3 children and prefer a quiet area. How are the schools and hospitals? How about employment? Thanks!

Figure about $350-$400 a month in the summer for power, much less in the winter. Water is fairly inexpensive. I don't do the bills, but I believe that it runs around $20 a month for my place. I don't know how much a pool will add to these costs, but I imagine it would up the bills (power and gas) significantly. As far as property tax goes, that is the one thing that Zillow.com is good for. Look up the subject property and Zillow will have last year's property tax on there. You can also look on the Clark County Assessor's website. To second what MomMom said, olecapt is very knowledgable on things pertaining to real estate. Definitely shoot him a DM.

[WisconsinDude]

Originally Posted by Daddys///M3

Figure about $350-$400 a month in the summer for power, much less in the winter. Water is fairly inexpensive. I don't do the bills, but I believe that it runs around $20 a month for my place. I don't know how much a pool will add to these costs, but I imagine it would up the bills (power and gas) significantly. As far as property tax goes, that is the one thing that Zillow.com is good for. Look up the subject property and Zillow will have last year's property tax on there. You can also look on the Clark County Assessor's website. To second what MomMom said, olecapt is very knowledgable on things pertaining to real estate. Definitely shoot him a DM.

$20 a month for water? Damn, that is cheap. We pay about $120 a month here but we also pay over $5200 a year in property tax so maybe we are getting raped. I'll check out that site and I'll also get in touch with olecapt.

[jjameson922]

Hi, I'm from the midwest and have been planning to relocate to Las Vegas for 2 yrs. now. Just waiting for our house to sell which takes ages here.

To search for property, get on and bookmark Realtor.com. Follow the prompts and fill in your requirments. Don't forget to hit other areas so you are given not only Las Vegas but Henderson as well. You will be provided with every single one of the thousands of homes listed there. Key in crime incident map here on the forum to locate a wonderful map by zipcode that Olecapt has provided and then do your searching in the zipcodes ard areas accordingly.

I've been to Las Vegas probably 30 times and on our most recent trip in May neighborhood shopped. You have to see things in person and experience them to really put them in perspective. Before the trip, I thought I was gung ho on Henderson while Summerlin seemed like an overpriced hype I did not need but after the trip, both myself and my husband did a 180 degree switch around.

Housing prices there are higher than here and probably most areas of the midwest but otoh, whereas we pay about $5000 a year in property taxes, Las Vegas will be much cheaper. We consume about 580 killowatts of electricity every month at .9 cents a killowatt and end up with a bill a little more than $100 because our devious utility provider adds umpteen other charges on the bill where the rate in Las Vegas is .11 cents per Kwh and if they do not trump up the bill, that could be cheaper. The cost of heating gas is much less there and water too. My quarterly water bill here can be as much as $800. I'm thinking having to use a/c nonstop in the summer there but having that offset by low gas consumption in the winter should keep the utilities comparable to what we pay in Ohio. Today in Las Vegas I see it is 105; here in Toledo it is 60 going down to low 50's tonight.

I understand car insurance will be much higher than I currently pay along with motor vehicle registration. Just bought a new car last week and with normal coverage and $500 deductible, I was shocked to see it raise to $600 a year but I understand that would be cheap for Las Vegas. Registration here is $50;in Las Vegas the price of a few weeks groceries or more. Also keep in mind there is no state tax.

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by WisconsinDude

$20 a month for water? Damn, that is cheap. We pay about $120 a month here but we also pay over $5200 a year in property tax so maybe we are getting raped. I'll check out that site and I'll also get in touch with olecapt.

I could be wrong. I don't make out the bills, I just sign the checks over. I do believe that water (ironically) is pretty inexpensive out here.

[airics]

careful with realtor.com shows alot of houses being available when they have offers on them (not available)... also weather in cleveland and toledo right now is in the upper 70s, low 60s tonight.. all week will be very nice

[AA702]

Water is a bargain out here. The only time when you bill will be high is if you have a nice large green lawn like me. I run my sprinklers 2 times a day for 4 mins, 7 days a week in the summer. My bill is about 80-90 give or take. But my winter bill is about $20 bucks.