[msrn2004]

Hello to all, I am currently a RN with 5 Years experience in the ER. I have lived in Michigan my whole life and now its time to leave. I have young children Ranging in the ages of 16 to 2. I have been to Vegas a few times over the past couple of months, I stayed pretty much in Henderson, only went to the strip once. I love it personally for myself, but I have to factor in my children, what activities, schools, and so forth. I either want to reside in the Henderson area or up by the Centennial Hospital. I haven't visited the NW area as of yet. If anyone can offer opinions on these area, job market, hospitals, schools, and just raising a family in Vegas, I would very much appreciate it.

Thank you all in advance.

[Sea2LV2Hou]

Vegas isn't the most child friendly place. Yeah your kids aren't necessarily going to become strippers or bookies, but there aren't many family oriented activities. The museums are severely lacking, there are few worthwhile social activities, the public schools are lacking, kids tend to be drawn to some of the seedier aspects of vegas... etc, etc. Having said that, your experience should make finding a job in the tough vegas market a bit easier, and at least for adults with jobs, Vegas can still be a great place to live.

[Joe3788]

SOOOOOO many better cities to raise your kids in....I would stay far away!

[msrn2004]

Thanks for your responses. I am also considering Atlanta and Texas but Vegas is just as beautiful.

[Sea2LV2Hou]

Originally Posted by msrn2004

Thanks for your responses. I am also considering Atlanta and Texas but Vegas is just as beautiful.

I left Vegas a few months ago for greener pastures in Houston, and I left because of many of the reasons I just mentioned. Atlanta is a nice place, but I dislike the lack of ocean. As far as Texas goes, it is a huge state, so you have quite a few cities to look at.

[olecapt]

Where does this stuff come from?

Las Vegas is a standard SW city. It is interchangable with the cities of AZ and CA.

Its only real distinction is that its economic engine is the strip. That is different from the other cities of the SW. But other than how the economy is driven and the strange placement of slot machines in super markets it is quite hard to tell the difference. And I would point out we do not have long lines around our 711 when the lottery has a big jackpot...so maybe not so different at alll.

In the suburbs like Centennial Hills or Henderson you will never know. Your children generally don't go to the strip as my children did not go to the electronic labs or manufacturing facilities in LA either.

Las Vegas has virtually exactly the same facilities available to children that a Phoenix or an LA has. And in many cases they are actually more available. There are lots of parks and educational faciliities. There is no world class museum...but there are some pretty neat things like the Spring Preserve. And 30 minutes away you can be in the snow in December.

So forgive me. It ain't Palo Alto...but if you can afford Palo Alto you would not be considering Las Vegas. But otherwise you will do fine.

Note that RNs...particularly with specialty experience are shielded from the normal travails of finding a job in Las Vegas. If you want on at Centennial I suspect you will have little trouble. And you can pretty well get hired before you move...something not always available to job seekers in Vegas.

So think about but it is a fine place to raise kids. And they will come out just like you raised...just like anywhere else.

[Golfinnova]

Originally Posted by Sea2LV2Hou

Vegas isn't the most child friendly place. Yeah your kids aren't necessarily going to become strippers or bookies, but there aren't many family oriented activities. The museums are severely lacking, there are few worthwhile social activities, the public schools are lacking, kids tend to be drawn to some of the seedier aspects of vegas... etc, etc. Having said that, your experience should make finding a job in the tough vegas market a bit easier, and at least for adults with jobs, Vegas can still be a great place to live.

Absolutely false There are more parks per area here in Vegas than most cities in America. Speaking for myself with 5-year old twins, my kids visit all the parks in Aliante and Centennial Hills, right now they are taking swimming lessons at the YMCA. My son goes to Tae Kwon Do 2 days a week.
When we're not at the YMCA, we're exploring different areas such as Lake Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Mt. Charleston, etc. Plenty of learning areas such as Springs Preserve.

The schools are not the best, but not nearly as bad as other parts of the country. Otherwise, kids will get a quality education as long as parents are involved. The main reason kids don't do well is because the parents aren't involved in their lives.

[Sea2LV2Hou]

More parks per area? Uh because Vegas is in the middle of nowhere? Parks don't entertain teenagers. 5 year olds are easy to deal with. Eventually your kids will become teenagers... and then we will see. And obviously statistics can be manipulated but my friends at Education Week gave Nevada schools the following grades:


NV Overall State Grade (2009)Grade D+
Total Score168.8 English-language learners (ELL) (2009)NA
Chance for Success (2009)D+
Transitions And Alignment (2009)D+
School Finance (2009)D
K-12 Achievement (2008)D-
Standards, Assessments, And Accountability (2008)C+
The Teaching Profession (2008)C-

And don't even get me started on UNLV... and I graduated from there.

Obviously you can affect the growth of your children, but Vegas makes it that much harder. Vegas is a town based on the casino industry... with a few sectors designed to support that industry, and nothing more.

[Golfinnova]

Yes, they will be teenagers and they will still have sports activities like the skateboard parks and the YMCA to work as lifeguards here in town to be involved with so they don't get into trouble which BTW happens in any part of the country. Your post was out of line stating that there is nothing for kids to do, and they will resort to being exposed to prostitution and gambling and that conclusion is plain wrong.

As I said before, CCSD is not perfect. Not as good as the school systems in Northern Virginia but a lot better than DC or PG county Maryland. The bigger school systems right now are all struggling with lower than standard scores, massive turnover due to layoffs, subpar teachers who shouldn't be in the profession, parents who don't give a rip about their kids, etc. Again, the success of any education depends on parents who are actively involved with the kids, that's what parenting is all about.

[Sea2LV2Hou]

What good is an education if you learn nothing? If you check my post I said "there aren't many family oriented activities" in Vegas. I assume you recently moved to Vegas?