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It is incredibly hot in the months of June and July. if you head to the minor league stadium for a night game. everyone sits in the outfield where it is cooler ... if they venture out at all. You will NOT have the humidity of Florida but a dry heat can be equally uncomfortable.
I really cannot judge the traffic in the metro as a whole. My last trip was to attend an Off-Strip basketball at the Orleans and a drive that I used to make in about 20 minutes took over an hour on several occasions. It would have taken equally long on Uber/Lyft. Each time I make it to Las Vegas, the traffic seems worse.
Why didn't my wife like Las Vegas ... let me count the ways ... First, she does not like the lifestyle and the transient culture. She dislikes the lack of a sense of community in the city. She thinks that a lot of the housing is grossly overpriced for the lack of build quality. She finds MOST of the communities built in the past 20 years to be unattractive and "slapped up." There is a relative lack of things to do in Las Vegas once you get away from the casinos and their venues. Let's call that the "short answer."
In general, Nevada is a conservative/libertarian state. What keeps the Democratic party competitive in the Las Vegas area is the massive influence of the gaming and other labor unions. Senior and other social services are not a high priority nor is education.
You are right, there is no income tax. You will pay taxes on everything else. I do not think that the taxes in Nevada are that much less than in Arizona when you consider some of the tax provisions in AZ.
I am going to pass on the talk of earthquake insurance. I covered my home in St. Louis with it for about five years due to the New Madrid fault scare of the 1990s.
Do NOT live in a non-HOA neighborhood in Las Vegas. When I was house hunting there is 2008-09, you could easily tell the non-HOA communities - the ones with the eight work trucks parked for the weekend on every available space in the development. Also, I saw several houses that had multiple families residing there.
If I was an affluent person, I would far rather live in Scottsdale and some of the areas around Phoenix than in Las Vegas. You will get a lot better health care (Mayo among others) and honestly, it is more attractive.
As for me, I live south of Tucson. While we love it, I do not think that it will meet your needs.
All good points. I went on a little "on-line" real estate tour - and a lot of the area *is* butt ugly. I did find one new townhouse development that looked interesting - but it was at the bottom of a hill. If Las Vegas has "monsoons" the way the Phoenix area does (suspect so) - that is probably a "no-no" IMO.
When it comes to earthquakes - funny I should think of it. We do have earthquake insurance on our house. Because of the Great Earthquake of 1886 in Charleston (which was felt all the way down to St. Augustine). Of course - it's super cheap to buy it here - so it's a no-brainer.
Thanks for pointing out the HOA thing. It is similar where I live - but not to the extent you describe.
My brother lives in Scottsdale now (he used to live in Cave Creek). You're right - it is an attractive area. Robyn
Perfect question, Robyn. I'm early retired in TB, FLA and always have the thought in the back of my mind to head to the Western USA (Nevada - specifically Reno) eventually. I've visited Reno twice, Vegas twice and enjoyed my time there -
PS RV travel might be the best way to see potential sites. This past summer I did an East Coast trip to Maine and saw so many towns that I'd love to live it it the winters were better.
We're just not RV people. The last time we took a long road trip was in 1985. Out west to the Rocky Mountains for the winter. It was fun at the time - but it's not "our thing" these days. Robyn
This might be something you might not think of in advance -- a friend of mine moved to Vegas and she is horrified by the number of pedestrian fatalities they have there. (She is horrified by the way people drive in Vegas, too.) She told me every night on the news there is another story about someone trying to cross a busy highway and getting killed. There are probably multiple reasons for this (are pedestrians just less careful than they are here in South Jersey? Do drivers just not slow down, ever? I don't know.), but if you are a walker by nature, it is something to at least look into.
There are several reasons for that.
First, there are a lot of people in Las Vegas who drink and drive. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department does a very good job of enforcing the law BUT they cannot be everywhere.
Second, there are a lot of pedestrians who are also intoxicated.
Third, there are a good number of "distracted" pedestrians. That is, they are busy on their cell phones or taking in all of the sights in the area.
Fourth, there are a lot of tourists driving which creates a unique hazard. Most of them are unfamiliar with the roads. Many foreign tourists are unfamiliar with the rules of the road and lack the experience of driving in the US.
Las Vegas has done number of things to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths. First, on the Las Vegas Strip, they have eliminated many crosswalks replacing them with pedestrian bridges that allow them to walk over many of the intersections. In the downtown area, they closed off most of the streets around the casino to create the Fremont Street Experience.
Even though there are a lot of sidewalks in LV Metro, I would not consider it a good walking town. Most of my walks in the area have been at Red Rock Canyon.
For a generalized perspective - I'd say jlawrence01 is spot on.
I've never lived there but know people who have and have the same remarks about life in LV. I also agree with his comments about AZ. Check out the larger Phoenix area.
I'm partial to CA, can't beat the weather. I've never lived in the San Diego area, but love it and know it gets less expensive (and less hectic)the further you move south of LA.
My late uncle and aunt used to live near San Diego. Rancho Bernardo area IIRC. A little inland. It did get very hot there in the summer (last time we visited was in early September and the temperature was close to 100 degrees). One thing that impressed me about the area was the wildfires. My uncle/aunt had to evacuate more than once as a result of fires. In the middle of the night. Into the football stadium. Was kind of hard on my aunt. Because my uncle had Alzheimer's at the time.
We haven't had great luck with California weather in recent years. Last time we were there was last year. Early September. In Los Angeles. Again - it was close to 100 degrees for the first half of our trip. Even in Santa Monica. Then it cooled off. Robyn
My late uncle and aunt used to live near San Diego. Rancho Bernardo area IIRC. A little inland. It did get very hot there in the summer (last time we visited was in early September and the temperature was close to 100 degrees). One thing that impressed me about the area was the wildfires. My uncle/aunt had to evacuate more than once as a result of fires. In the middle of the night. Into the football stadium. Was kind of hard on my aunt. Because my uncle had Alzheimer's at the time.
We haven't had great luck with California weather in recent years. Last time we were there was last year. Early September. In Los Angeles. Again - it was close to 100 degrees for the first half of our trip. Even in Santa Monica. Then it cooled off. Robyn
I have a friend that lived in Santa Monica for almost 40 years. She loved it, so I don't know why they moved back to our small south texas town. Probably to be close to family in their old age.
Anyway she told me they didn't even have AC and it could be chilly even in the summer. One thing that surprised me was that she said it could be gloomy there even in the summer. She loves our bright sunny days here.
I've always wanted to move to Arizona. I've been out there many times with the military - even stayed for months during the hottest part of the year. I guess it was my young age that helped. I went out there last year in April - OMG - the heat was unbearable. In APRIL!!
But then I wouldn't make it a point to be outdoors either.
My late uncle and aunt used to live near San Diego. Rancho Bernardo area IIRC. A little inland. It did get very hot there in the summer (last time we visited was in early September and the temperature was close to 100 degrees). One thing that impressed me about the area was the wildfires. My uncle/aunt had to evacuate more than once as a result of fires. In the middle of the night. Into the football stadium. Was kind of hard on my aunt. Because my uncle had Alzheimer's at the time.
We haven't had great luck with California weather in recent years. Last time we were there was last year. Early September. In Los Angeles. Again - it was close to 100 degrees for the first half of our trip. Even in Santa Monica. Then it cooled off. Robyn
I wouldn't recommend much of inland Southern California, it does get hot if that bothers you.
I saw another post mentioning wildfires in CA, they have never been a consideration for me. They seem rare to me, maybe I'm living in a dream world, right now I live in a heavily wooded area but have no concern about fires. Yes, there are fires but in many different areas, usually remote areas. I am planning to move, but not because of fires, usually the heavily wooded areas are out of the way.
Attitudes about Las Vegas are bi-modal: it seems you either love it or hate it, with few in the middle.
In most ways, living in the Las Vegas area is pretty much like living in any other suburb around the country. Few live close to The Strip. You go to The Strip sometimes for entertainment and to show out-of-town guests.
You adapt to summertime heat. For example, you don't see many people playing tennis at 2pm in the summer. Early in the morning when it is cooler you'll see lots of people up and about dog-walking or moms pushing a stroller or taking small children to the parks or whatnot. On a daily basis you go from your air-conditioned home to your air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned destination: doctor's office, grocery store, Home Depot, health club, shopping mall or whatever.
Many decades ago, Las Vegas' main draw was gaming. But it has expanded far beyond that.
Nowadays, Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world. Many people go out to shows 3 or 4 nights each week. One of the affordable things, locals with a Las Vegas driver's license can see many of the shows for free (I'm looking right now and there are about 25 free shows for this evening if you're a local. Younger people (20-somethings) gravitate to the nightclubs, which have become their own major draw. Photos: Hakkasan, the new King of Clubs at $200 Million
Making friends in the suburbs is pretty much like making friends when you move to any new city. Lots of people have moved here from somewhere else and are friendly if you're friendly in return.
And yes, it is most certainly possible to go snow skiing (Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort) and water skiing (Lake Mead) on the same day, not that I'd want to do that.
Just remember: always split Aces and Eights.
EDIT: Out-of-state drivers are sometimes not accustomed to Nevada traffic laws. For anyone visiting, please note:
Last edited by SportyandMisty; 11-06-2016 at 01:52 PM..
Robin, I was actually born in Jax in the 50s. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful place it was -- all the water and trees and nature. I remember going to a friend's graduation at UNF back in the mid-80s. My husband and I were driving down JTB and I turned to him and asked, "who in the world would want to live way out here in the middle of nowhere?" LOL>
First, there are a lot of people in Las Vegas who drink and drive. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department does a very good job of enforcing the law BUT they cannot be everywhere.
Second, there are a lot of pedestrians who are also intoxicated.
Third, there are a good number of "distracted" pedestrians. That is, they are busy on their cell phones or taking in all of the sights in the area.
Fourth, there are a lot of tourists driving which creates a unique hazard. Most of them are unfamiliar with the roads. Many foreign tourists are unfamiliar with the rules of the road and lack the experience of driving in the US.
Las Vegas has done number of things to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths. First, on the Las Vegas Strip, they have eliminated many crosswalks replacing them with pedestrian bridges that allow them to walk over many of the intersections. In the downtown area, they closed off most of the streets around the casino to create the Fremont Street Experience.
Even though there are a lot of sidewalks in LV Metro, I would not consider it a good walking town. Most of my walks in the area have been at Red Rock Canyon.
We have a lot of pedestrian fatalities where we live too. Like you say - it's probably a combination of several factors. Last big fatality I can recall here is when an elderly couple (like our age ) - tried to cross 6 lanes of traffic on A1A at night. And not at a crosswalk with a stop light. They got their brains splattered all over the place.
We did hike in Red Rock Canyon during our "hiking days". And thought it was great . These days - my husband has a bum leg due to his MS - and I have (back) issues as well. So our hiking days at places other than malls/city sidewalks/the like are over. Too bad. We used to enjoy it. Robyn
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) - tried to cross 6 lanes of traffic on A1A at night. And not at a crosswalk with a stop light. They got their brains splattered all over the place.
. These days - my husband has a bum leg due to his MS - and I have (back) issues as well. So our hiking days at places other than malls/city sidewalks/the like are over. Too bad. We used to enjoy it. Robyn
