[pokerplayerswife]

My husband and I will be moving to Las Vegas from Chattanooga, TN in the next 6-8 months with our daughter (who will be just over a year, and we're in our mid-twenties) and our 2 golden retrievers. We already have a stable income and work from home, so commutes aren't much of an issue for us, though we'd prefer not to have too long of a drive to the strip. We'd like an area that is family oriented with a lot of things to do, and a nice dog park wouldn't hurt either I've looked into living in the NW areas the most, as it seems they have what we are looking for in terms of safety and schools. We're looking for a house in the 115-140k range, and as I've browsed the forums and have seen a number of knowledgeable folks, I was hoping to get some advice. We're novices to the whole moving across country and homebuying process, so any input would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[kimba01]

Well, I did the whole move and back thing from MI in Aug-Jan. so if you have any questions about moving, I may be able to help you there. As far as places to live, I loved the NW. I also liked the Henderson/Green Valley/Silverado ranch area too. The latter is closer to the Strip, but seems busier.

Hopefully, with that screen name, your husband isn't looking to make a living or kill the one you do make with playing poker!! LOL.

Good luck and enjoy. I hope to be going back real soon as my husband stayed on to work there. I had to come back to MI to take care of some things, but my heart and my husband is still there.

[pokerplayerswife]

Thanks for the info. Did you have your things shipped across country during your move, or did you do the u-haul thing? That's something we are really debating over.
Lol, as for the screenname..my husband is a professional poker player (has been for 5 years). He plays online, but with the UIGEA act, we're unsure what the state of online poker will be next year, thus the Vegas move..with its casinos and proximity to LA(and Commerce), not to mention the drastic reduction in house prices along with the 8k tax credit . . . well, the move just makes sense.
I used to live in Michigan, and no offense, but you couldn't pay me to move back there. Haha. Of course, I lived in Flint, so that's probably where my lack of love comes from.

[dr.gomonas]

Wow! this is like the third person this week on the forum who is a "professional poker player." That just seems unbelievable to me that you can make a living that way. Totally not a gambler, so wtf do i know though?

When I moved from the east, I had all of my stuff shipped out in a pod. It's delivered to your house, you pack it, put your own lock on it, then it's delivered to your new place. I felt really safe doing that; it was affordable; and everything went right on schedule. But I didn't have a ton of stuff either....

[lvkewlkid]

i think you should look into Silverado Ranch, convenient to the Strip and has a couple dog parks as well...it is also a very safe area as well...

When we moved across country, we drove all the way here from New Jersey, but I believe all of our stuff was in a separate moving truck driven by a company, I can't remember the logistics since it was 12 years ago and I was young...

[RedRockAAAA]

The NW is your best bet overall. Your husband will be playing poker rooms all over the valley till he finds a couple of rooms he prefers. Some online searches will bring up schedules for poker rooms for him. The far NW is great and only 20 to 30 mins. from the strip.

We moved from NC and also drove out here. We had our stuff moved as I have a bad back. That pod thing sounds like a good thing to look into. I bet it would save a bundle vs movers. Our movers cost us $4,000. The trip across country was about $1500. We didn't do any sight seeing. We made it in 5 days from extreme eastern NC, Kitty Hawk.

We found a great bank owned house for $140,000 , 3br 2 ba 2 car garage gated community move in condition. Be sure you buy the warranty for the house, about $350. The houses sitting empty will likely have a couple of small problems after you move in. We had to replace the water heater from non-use. The warranty saved us $1200.The deals here are even better now. You have picked the best time.

Good Luck and Welcome. Direct Message me, if I can help further. I had a terrific realtor.

[kimba01]

After months of extensive research and comparisons, we chose to have our stuff moved by a moving co. It was awesome. I researched PODS, ABF U-pack (same concept as PODS), Penske-driving it ourselves, and U-Haul, plus the moving co.

Some things that I took into consideration when I chose the moving co: 1. We would not have to load it or unload it. That was key considering that we had some large pieces and we lived in an upper apt. 2. We had it insured. 3. We did not have to drive it ourselves.

However, we did not have to move everything in our home because my daughter was staying there so we ended up moving about the equivalence of a 1.5 bedroom home. And our vehicle was due to be turned in, so we turned it in a month early and flew there. My husband had gone a 1.5 mos earlier and got a co. vehicle so he did not have to transport a vehicle, plus we saved on him not having to fly back to drive with us and lose out on wages.

On the way back, we did have a vehicle and it would have cost anywhere from $800 up to transport it. It was cheaper to drive it to MI only because gas had gone down.

I thought PODS were outrageously priced, ABF was better but I didn't want to load or unload. You can hire guys to do it at both ends and I heard that there are good companies for that. As far as Penske/U-Haul, I read way too many horror stories and I am not a huge fan of driving myself, so that was out. The difference in price was not much. To move out there, they quoted us around $3300. and it ended up being $2300. It was WELL worth the few extra bucks for peace of mind.

Check out movingscams.com for some great info on moving companies in your area.

Good luck!

[pokerplayerswife]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. From what you all have said, I definitely think we'll be having our things moved, one way or the other. All the information on areas was also very helpful, and now I have an even better idea of where to be doing my house hunting.

[JackieB23]

I'm in the (admittedly extreme) northwest - my neighborhood is a gated planned community and there are two houses in your price range across the street from me currently for sale (both are bank owned). We have our own small park and I see people running their dogs there all the time. There is a small playground too - lots of kids around of all ages.

The local elementary school is good (if that's important to you over time) and there's lots of parks and convenient shopping relatively close by.

When looking for a mover, check out Moving: How to avoid Moving Company Scams before you hire anyone - there's lots of GREAT information there. I moved from the Memphis area (northern MS) to LV and that was a three day drive. We had a relo company, but if we'd done it ourselves, we probably would have used a POD.

I work outside the home in the SW, and my commute is 30 minutes on the 215 (shorter than it was in MS by a good 20 minutes). I find LV isn't that big geographically for the population it has (given I've lived in Memphis, St. Louis, DC and Kansas City, all of which are pretty spread out comparatively speaking).

Good luck!

[Daddys///M3]

I will have to agree with the others that say NW. I live out here as well with my wife and 9 yo son and I absolutely love it. $140K will stretch alot farther here than it will in the S or SW and there is much more inventory to choose from. As an example I have a client who I preaproved a while ago that is looking in Henderson and pretty much every home she saw fit her criteria was in horrible shape. She is now concentrating on townhomes. She has seen a total of 16-20 properties and she is running out of things to look at. By comparison, a quick search of areas 102 and 405 (should include zip codes 89149, 89131, 89130, 89143, and 89166) with the search parameters of 1400 sq ft or more, 3+ bdrms, 2+ bths, and a 2 car garage brought up 238 properties, 126 not counting short sales. I can vouch for the family friendliness of the area, as well as the schools.

However, I do have one concern. You mention that your husband is a pro poker player. Were you planning on buying this home with cash? With the current lending environment alot of emphasis is being placed on proving the ability to repay, and even with 2 years tax returns showing substantial winnings the chance of continuance in a field like that is, at least in the eyes of any underwriter, uncertain to say the least. Perhaps something to think about or look into before commiting to buying a home.