I lived in Vegas for a year, and IMO that was about 11 months too long. Regarding crime, some guy got his brains splattered all over my doorstep. No, it's probably not in the Top 10 Most Horrible Cities In America, but there are so many nicer options I don't know why you'd settle unless you just don't know any better. Rows of closely packed poorly constructed McMansions in the desert are cheap for a reason.

Reading this thread, I get the impression that the only people who say they like it were either born there, or moved from places even worse. So I say with love and respect, see more of the country before you waste your whole life there.

We can have a reasonable disagreement about the weather, but Vegas is populated mostly by transient uneducated poorly paid service workers with no sense of community. I'm only half joking when I theorize that a large segment of the gene pool probably ended up there because some ancestor gambled away all his money and lost their transport out. It seemed like every local I met made excuses for living there and it's only temporary until blah blah blah ...

Vegas is a great place to invest in property right now if you are careful and choose well.

I like to visit but would not want to live their all the time.

we lived in Henderson for two years but returned to Florida last year. It's too cold in the winter and way too hot in the summer!

The Vegas market is still being artificially propped up by banks who are releasing for sale only a fraction of the doomed investments from last decade, in an attempt to keep prices from plummeting further. The foreclosures on the market now are just the tip of the iceberg. I don't see how a real recovery is possible here, but it could be manipulated to look that way for a while.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b133/syn0r/homes.jpg

When I see this picture, it makes me think of those huge old victorian homes back east that now serve as multi-family slums. I'm afraid that future is more likely than continued prosperity in the desert. I'm only 30, so I make all my investments trying to imagine the world in 2025-2050 and my crystal ball predicts this place is going to end up looking something like Detroit does now.

How can you tell?

I lived there for 5 years. It was great!

I could definitely live in Vegas. Would need to be far away from the strip tho.

Google streetview rides around the neighborhood

Boredom and Vegas in one sentence?

I live in Henderson and the New Breed Digital Studio/office is in Vegas, not far from the palms in between Flamingo and Sahara somewhere.
Probably not the best part of town, one of those places you can tell is lower but we have been there 3 years and never seen anything violent, seen plenty of pull overs and hookers etc arrested but that's about it.

We are not far from China town (about a mile) and here in the office we have been on a Thai kick lately, we have the best foods from all over the world at our fingertips here in Vegas, no doubt.

My house is 2700 sq ft, i have a pool/jacuzzi, 2 car garage, 3 bed 2 1/2 baths, great backyard for parties.. and probably pay less then anywhere else in the country.

We lived in Tucson for years and I liked it there, the weather is very nice there, just how I like it. Tucson is a decent size city but does not have that big city feel to it, it's all very relaxed and chill.. Summers slow down a lot because of all the snowbirds leaving, winters are a little more busy and just like Vegas you see license plates from all over the country.

Actually no, I don't like the climate of a desert.

Mmm, I don't think so, no. I like the beach.

I have to say that I was born and raised in Florida. And there were a LOT more transients and bums living on the streets in Ft. Lauderdale than I have witnessed here in Vegas.
There are plenty of them on the streets here panhandling for sure. But in Ft. Lauderdale, we would come out of Summers On The Beach partying at 3 in the morning and the dumpster would have a dozen bums eating out of it.

I've never seen anything like that here.

The "uneducated poorly paid service workers with no sense of community" that you describe are the heavily Catholic pro-family hispanics and the very work oriented Asian communities that are here. I don't think they agree with that racist viewpoint. They work hard, do a good job, get paid, and take care of their families. A lot of people could learn a thing or two from them.

Of course the teenage boys and young men raise hell in certain areas I suppose. That's the way it is in every city with any kind of population. Nothing more dangerous in my mind than a pack of 19 year old guys. They will destroy anything in their path and aren't scared of anything.

But that's the same no matter what town you're in.

BUT, there really is a problem here in Vegas.
And that problem is there are too many goddamn Mormons. They have turned Sin City into Wimpy City. There seems to be a law against anything and everything. :(
That's the complaint I hear from everyone in town. Not the "danger" or crime or "transients" or whatever other things you guys are dreaming up...Nope, the main complaint is "We are covered in Mormons" lol

Their religious superstitious bullshit is smothering the free spirit of the town.

For instance, The Erotic Heritage Museum recently had painted nude women on the building. Keep in mind, it's in a neighborhood right by the Strip surrounded by adult book stores and strip clubs.

Well, the Mormon community (which never goes to the strip anyway) was "offended". So the Erotic Heritage Museum in "Sin City" had to paint pasties over the nipples of cartoon paintings on the outside wall! LOL!

There is your REAL danger in Las Vegas. :1orglaugh

no way no waves

I agree right now I'd rather live in Vegas than Florida. Fortunately those aren't the only options. I used to think it was a choice between big city problems and redneck rural problems. But then I did some traveling and there are actually lots of nice little cities just as socially progressive, hidden away where nobody needs gates, random violence is still rare, people are genuinely happy and kind to eachother in more than a superficial way. Just because millions of people choose to live in crowded hot aggressive places doesn't mean you have to. It took me a too long to figure that out. After several years in Phoenix (and Vegas), I moved to a liberal little town in Oregon and I'm much more relaxed now. And the house you can get for your money isn't bad either. My only complaint is that in a cooler climate, girls cover up too much.

To each their own I suppose. I was born and raised in Oregon and have now lived in Vegas for 10 years. I much prefer Vegas to Oregon. Better weather (other than the 6 weeks a year in July/August that Oregon is great), ton more things to do and no state income tax.

Tons of houses all look the same man.

:1orglaugh

I live in Asian Vegas :thumbsup

What, you live Macau?http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2029/...2db6b00363.jpg

The housing and economy in a city like Vegas is too iffy. I would not bank my life on living there.

The bastards got him. I wonder how much money they got out of him.

The long driveways are pretty unique for Las Vegas. As for the homes being close together, the newer neighborhoods are, as they tried to pack as many houses into communities as they could. The upside to a neighborhood like this though, is that all the homes are 2500+ square feet and the inside is far from cramped. My last house had more backyard space, but less interior space (that was in Henderson).

I'd by lying however if I didn't say that I wasn't in love with the 2 offices that we have, and the other 3 bedrooms. The 2 car garage is also a treat, as is the long carpark that'll fit another 4to 5 cars in case of a get-together.

This is just a temporary stay for my wife and I however. Initially we were going to move to San Francisco for a bit, but having a baby on the way changes things. I'm thinking we'll most likely stay in Vegas until our child is in college, and then we'll look to retire in a place like Boston. I'll also re-purchase a home in a more spacious neighborhood when I feel it's the right time to pull the trigger again.

As for the crime...I'm sorry to those that have experienced it. I've had some minor run-in's throughout my life when I was younger, but it was always because I put myself in a bad situation where those things could happen. Not once however, have I felt unsafe living in Las Vegas or Henderson, and I hope I never do.

P.S. We're finally getting some snow!

I lived in Vegas.. It's a dirty nasty city. Hookers, Pimps, Drug users, homeless people everywhere. Nice place to visit. Maybe it would be different if you had big money and lived on the outskirts. Still desert and hot as hell tho :)

He didn't use Vegas in the sentence. You did. :2 cents:

Jesus...Where did you live while you were in Vegas? I've never seen any of the above in any of the places I've lived (and I've lived here 29 years). :1orglaugh

Too weird to live, and too rare to die