Loren Pechtel

A stage set is a good description. We're a city supporting a big stage for the tourists.

lvnvflyer

LAS is not a particularly good place to live, although there are certainly worse. It depends in part on how long you think you might be here. Right now, real estate prices are very low, so that's a plus, but I wouldn't buy for the short term (you should be able to lease a nice condo cheap as well). As mentioned, taxation here is low (although like another poster, I pay state taxes in IL...both income and sales) and generally the cost of living is pretty reasonable (except electricity in the summer and water at all times). It's not as pretty a desert as you have in AZ....the Sonoran is much more hospitable to wild life and vegatation than the Mohave.

You do have world class dining and entertainment on the strip and if you like music, in particular, this is a good locale. There are decent neighborhood restaurants and a few bars that are okay. However, as noted above, culture is hard to find. Most important, bring your own friends . It's darn hard to meet people or make friends in Las Vegas; I'm not sure exactly why. However, if you are oriented towards joining a church, you may meet some folks (I have known people who've found friends thru their churchs).

There is some similarity to Phoenix, I'd agree, but I'd probably pick Phoenix over Las Vegas if I had to choose one; I'd pick Tucson over both! In any event, if you do move here, good luck! It's a hard market right now, and especially in the construction/contracting business. There is (and this is an understatement) not a whole lot of new construction here; on the other hand, the same is true in AZ, so maybe you've been used to it.

CMK10

I got the word today, I'm moving. The date is set for January 29. This is certainly a lot faster than I thought it would be. Maybe the crowd can get together for drinks or a meal somewhere a bit after I arrive? I won't know anyone and it would be nice to have a friendly greeting.

TravelinSperry

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread - but it's filled with people who live in Vegas so I thought it may be worthwhile.

I am considering buying a house in Vegas. I travel all over the world and currently my "permanent residence" is in CA. That residence costs me a lot in taxes for a place I barely reside. So I am thinking of buying a place in Vegas and making Nevada my "permanent residence". I won't be in Las Vegas full time due to travels - perhaps a 1-3 months a year. So many of the lifestyle issues mentioned in this thread won't matter for me (lack of cultural activities, etc.). However, I was wondering if Summerlin and Green Valley are still the recommendations of places to be? My #1 issue is to find a safe area where home robberies are low (since the house will be vacant often). A secondary issue is to be near a Whole Foods. Also wondering if it's a decent time to buy - seems like the market has come back but is no where near the frothy levels of 06/07.

One other thing - I'm not planning on buying a car (i'll just rent when in town)... so was also not planning on changing my drivers license until it expires (many years from now). People mentioned I cannot get utilities with an out of state license. Is this true? Seems weird if so.

Would love any thoughts.

gengar

Yes. Other than a house in Summerlin or Green Valley, the only other possibility I'd consider would be a condo in a highrise.


There are Whole Foods in Summerlin and Green Valley, so no real difference (although the Summerlin one is my least favorite of the LV locations). You could also try the Sprouts Famers' Market chain, if you haven't already.


Personally, I wouldn't consider buying right now. IMO asset values worldwide are still incredibly inflated; for Vegas specifically, there was so much overbuilding in the mid-00's that the market is still saturated. Of course, ultimately only you can make this decision. I would just hate to see you buy something here and then the bottom fall out on you if we hit a down market or recession soon.


The last time I brought everything back in-state was in early 2013 and I set up all my utilities before changing my driver's license - I don't recall any of them needing it. I think it's just electricity (NVEnergy), gas (Southwest Gas), water (LVVWD), and possibly trash (Republic Services) that you would need? You could check with those companies directly.

That said, if your object is to make clear your Nevada residency so as not to be liable for CA taxes, I would most certainly not keep your CA driver's license. As you may know, the CA tax board is not one to be messed with... better not to give them any reasons.

DenverBrian

How about Anthem? That area seems to be as nice as Summerlin. A bit far for the Whole Paycheck, though.

TravelinSperry

Thanks. You have made me do more research and it does appear housing prices are once again inflated in the area. I don't see an imminent crash but 2 years from now we may be looking at significantly depressed housing prices again. Going to factor that into my numbers before deciding whether to proceed.

And thanks for the push re NV license. You are correct... I should change everything should I take the plunge.

gengar

My problem with Anthem is the lack of convenience - it's set so far back from the highway, is on the most overcrowded road in Henderson, and lacks convenient amenities. Even the closest parts of Anthem are ~10mins from the 215 - and that's with no traffic, which is rare. I had a coworker who lived in the Highlands and constantly complained about his 20min drives just to get to the 215 and how even the nearest retail anything was far away.

These times may not seem like a lot to people who live in bigger, traffic-congested cities, but it's all relative. I mean, GV and Summerlin are almost on opposite sides of Las Vegas and during non-rush-hour times are only about 20 mins apart on the highway.

This is the same gripe I have about some of the nicer housing areas in Summerlin, but even then, the vast majority of Summerlin doesn't have this problem.


The timing is impossible to know, especially with the government currently demonstrating a huge vested interest in keeping interest rates low. The problem is the upside vs downside - I don't see much if any upside right now, but a tremendous potential downside.

One alternative you could consider in the meantime is renting, especially if you are planning on selling your CA property. Even if you're looking more into secure locations like guard-gated communities or condos, it's not hard to imagine circumstances where the rent is lower than the extra CA taxes that you would be paying. Then, you could figure out if Las Vegas works for you for the long term and buy in the future.

kettle1

OP: First off, can you provide more info? What is your lifestyle? Age range? Will you be in LAS a few days each month, or gone months at a time? All of this matters. There is crime in every area of LAS, including Green Valley, Summerlin, Anthum, etc. Whole Foods would be the very last thing on my mind when buying a house.

I made the move from CA (LA area) to NV (LAS) 15 years ago, and it was the best move I ever made. Ever! Best for my business and family.

If you want something near Whole Foods:

Examples: http://www.lasvegascondomania.com/co...EEN-VALLEY.php (Found with Google search - just for info).

As for becoming a resident: You could rent, buy or lease.

OP: Please provide more details. I've done it. The State on NV is your friend on taxes. I would never buy a house based on how close a supermarket is.

I live in a very nice area and it is gated. That alone is not a 100% chance of a break-in.

Good luck on your move from the "Golden State" to the "Silver State".

stefs12

Hello, I apologize in advance form y bad english (i teach him).
Y live in Europe, in Montenegro, and my dream is to move in Las Vegas.
First of all I'm interested in many things, and I would be very grateful if someone helped your answers.
Are we above all you can say is there a lot of crime in Las Vegas and that are safe parts for life in it?
Next, I am interested in how much money can be found a small room for the beginning of life, and on any location?
What are the prices, it costs eg. 1 bread?
For how much money can be found cable or satellite, IPTV (anything from it) and the Internet?
I still have a lot of questions, but this is the beginning, so I hope that through further discussion to continue to receive information and I'm about to go in my new life.
Thank you

kettle1

Stefs12 welcome to FT.

I take it that this is real and you want to move to LAS.

LAS is like any other city. There are good areas to live and bad areas. Crime happens. Overall, LAS is a very safe place to live.

The main difference between LAS and other cities with a population of 2+ Million residents is this is a 24/7 town. Most grocery stores and all local bars never close.

The best thing I ever did for myself, family and business was to move to Clark County, Nevada. I moved to LAS about 15 years ago. I moved from Los Angeles where I was born. I do not regret the move in any way.

LAS is not for everyone. If you have a gambling problem DO NOT move to Nevada.

Most people think the "Strip" is in Las Vegas. It is not. It is in Clark County.

http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/

There are also nice places to live in the city of Las Vegas.

http://www.lvchamber.com/moving-las-vegas

Henderson is also a nice place to live. It ranks as one of the safest places to live in the USA.

http://www.cityofhenderson.com/reloc...g-in-henderson

A loaf of bread is $1.00 on sale - $3.00 for name brand.

Cable/Phone/Internet is about $100 a month to start.

A one bedroom apartment (in a nice area) starts at about $800+ per month. Taxes are very low in Nevada (no State income tax).

Nevada is a FANTASTIC place to own a business. ^

The weather is another matter. It gets hot. 110 degrees some days. Unless you work outside - it is no problem. Air conditioners are everywhere.

Good luck on your move to my FAIR city.

Loren Pechtel

I'll second what Kettle1 wrote. No city of our size is anything like crime free but for our size the crime rate is pretty good. There's no place in town I would worry about driving and few areas I would worry about walking after dark.

In a quarter century here I've been aware of 4 crimes:

1) A house on our street was being used as a grow house--it wasn't used for dealing, it wasn't a problem. Nobody had any idea until the cops raided it.

2) There was a burglary on our street something like 20 years ago. Not much was taken, it was most likely some local teenager.

3) My employer was burglarized, an awful lot of stuff was taken. It was almost certainly an inside job--an outsider wouldn't have known where a certain key was stored.

4) A friend of ours was burgled--but they lived in a decidedly inferior part of town.

There's no place within 5 miles of here that I would have the slightest qualm about walking at any hour.

The casinos certainly change the safety situation here--they have tons of security cameras and obvious crime basically does not happen in the field of view of the cameras. Note that this protection does not extend to crimes of stealth--there are plenty of pickpockets and related offenses.

Given the liberalness of the alcohol laws we of course have DUI issues and especially drunk pedestrians getting squashed on the roads. I've never had so much as a close call with a drunk driver, though.

The roasting summers have the corresponding advantage of mild winters. Snow is a rarity in the city, the airport isn't even equipped for de-icing. (We do have snowplows, though--while they aren't needed in the city there are roads on nearby mountains that do need plowing.)

There is no state income tax. Sales tax is 8.1% The property tax is a bit below 1% of the market value of the house. Summer electric bills are of course high (with a large, well-insulated house we approach $400/mo in the summer) but winter gas bills are low.


One warning: If you're a gambler do not live here! That is a road to ruin.

stefs12

Thank you. Las Vegas is very different from Montenegro where y live.
In my country there is a tax, average bread costs 50,60,70 cents(our currency is the euro). If we're lucky earn 400e month(but a most due to much less).
How can earn a month in Las Vegas?
Do the room can be found for less than 800$?

Loren Pechtel

You'll have to indicate doing what before you can say how much you can earn.


Also, note that we are still in the crash from the housing collapse. Last I looked we have the highest unemployment of any large city in the nation. As this city is tourist-driven we always lag on recovery.

kettle1

This is not correct. House prices are up. LAS does not have the highest unemployment. My home I purchased 15 years ago is worth more now. Yes, I should have sold in 2007 to max out. I did not, and do not regret it for a second. I live in a very nice house.

As for as moving to LAS: OP needs skills (or a trade) and a green card.

Good luck!