I'm from the nyc area, and the summers here are IMHO, with high humitidty, much much more unbearable than LAS in the summer.
I go to LAS about once a month; the strip, where I stay, is probably not where YOU will be living (unless you are into casinos
.)
As others have noted the housing market is depressed--and big bargains exist--but you should check crime statistics for the area you will be living. Observe a neighborhood both day and night. A safe area in the day can be very different at night.
PS: Boulder City (not all that far from LAS), is supposed to be one of the safest cities--a carryover from the Hoover Dam project, this is where the workers lived. Boulder City is the only one in all of NEV, where gambling is not permitted.