First off, I'm not sure whether this is the right forum for this or not, but I know several Vegas locals read this forum, and it's basically you I'm looking for advice from. If not, mods please feel free to move.

So me and the girlfriend have decided that we've had it paying $1500/month in rent for a tiny apartment in San Francisco. I like it here and all, but the cost of living is kind of crazy. So we're going to check out Vegas. I've been to Vegas 5-6 times, one of those times for an extended period. I rented a house with some friends the entire month of June last year (for the WSOP) just off Rainbow about halfway between Tropicana and 215 (so in southwest Vegas I guess).

We're looking to spend around $1200/month on rent. We're open to apartments/condos/houses/really nice cardboard boxes/whatever.

I'd like to
1. live with 15-20 min of the strip.
2. in a relatively safe neighborhood.
3. within close proximity to grocery stores, restaurants, other stuff to do, etc, we're both 25 and like to go out.

So what parts of town should I be looking at? What parts should I avoid? Any specific communites I might like that you think are nice?


And if you have some extra time...

1) How long have you been living there?
2) What prompted you to choose Vegas as the place to move too?
3) How much research did you put into the city?
4) What expectations did you have coming in?
4a) Which of those expectations were met, exceeded, and failed?
5) What advice would you give to others who are contemplating such a move in '08?

and finally,

6) Any regrets?


Thanks,

Andy

South east, southwest, Green Valley all come to mind. When I say southwest , I'm talking west of I15 and south of 215, same with southeast (South of I215/east of I15). Those are all close depending on traffic. Screw summerlin with that traffic, could be 30 mins + easy. No matter where you are in this city, you'r close to stores, restaraunts, ect...

1. 4 years
2. Been in the casino industry for 11 years.
3. Probably researched for 3 months
4. Expectations meaning? I expect to succeed in everything I attempt and have been doing well at that.
5. Make sure you have a job and can afford to live here before actually doing the move. There are more minimum wage jobs per capita here than any other city. Is it worth it to move from a good job/area to a city where you might have to work 2 jobs each in order to pay bills if that ends up happning?
6. None really that I can think of.

I lived there over a year. southwest part of town is pretty safe. you dont want to be right near the strip unless you like drugs/hookers/crime etc. check out camden pines off of trop and torrey pines. I lived there nice place, gated. I paid around $800/month for 1 bedroom, might have gone up. real nice pool area. get to anywhere on strip in 10 min. except friday or sat. night.

Summerlin is the place to live. I love it here. Has a "regular town" feel but you have the Red Rock and Suncoast within 5 minutes drive, plus huge shopping areas and parks for the kids. Every restaurant imaginable here. Strip about 20 minutes away via 95/15

Plenty of nice houses/condos here. Expect to pay $1200+ for a two bed condo. More for a house.

(1) Since June 29th 2007
(2) Same as you really. We'd both hand enough of crappy winters, no fun things to do and we loved it as tourists.
(3) A lot. Spent a lot of time talking to realtors and homeowners on a "feel-out" trip a month before we moved here. Checked out a lot of houses. Lucked out on our current condo via craigslist.
(4) and (4a) I didn't expect much at all but one thing you'll quickly learn is that the strip, is, well, the strip. Once you've been here a while you'll avoid it unless you really need to go.
(5) Make sure you hit up a few realtors first. Come here on a planning trip. Be careful about your location (IMO Hendertucky is just overrated) and be aware of the areas to avoid. Don't come here expecting to gamble every day and win, keep your regular lifestyle and be aware that if you have vices, this town will magnify them 100 fold.
(6) None whatsoever.

Vegas will make or break you. PM me when you get here. Good luck!

Thanks for this. I'm in the same boat as OP. GF and I are moving out Apr. 1 and will have 3 roommates (poker pro RL friend and his bestfriend and his long-time gf). Definitely watching this thread w/ interest. Will give more info later after work....

Thanks for the replies, keep 'em coming.

I've found a few seemingly newly built condo/apartment communities, south of 215, right of I-15. What's this area like? Is airport noise from McCarran a nuisance in any particular areas?

SirFelix, have you already decided on a place/area or are you still looking? What factors are looking at when it comes to find a place live? Maybe we can share some info since we're both looking to move to Vegas.

Banzi, why do you think Henderson is overrated? What areas would you recommend I avoid?

If you can up your monthly nut to 2k there are apartments good for a young couple available at Panorama behind the Bellagio. If strip-availability is your concern it doesn't get much better than that.

Roommates with a couple? That's a recipe for disaster.

The OP said they're moving out of SF because they're tired of paying $1500 a month.

Tired of paying $1500 for 600 sq. ft. apartment that is. Either way $2000/month in rent is a lil steep right now. Maybe in a year or so.

Does anyone know if apartment complexes in Vegas lease to people on shorter terms than 1yr ? Someone at a bar told me when Me and my buds were talkin about movin there but don't know if its true.

hello all, i have a question about this very subject...i am a dealer in a casino and am wondering if any of u have children. my fiance and i were planning on moving to vegas last year when we were suprized a little by her arrival. i am wondering if any of u know what it is like to raise children in vegas. we are still somewhat tentatively planning a move and i just was wondering if any of you know:

1. what are schools like. good, bad, lots of gangs?
2. how bad is the crime really, is it just dependant on where u live?
3. poker players: do any of u have spouses and how do u handle the constant late hours, being away, playing weekends, etc. etc.
4. what is the local lifestyle like? laid back, lots of people, too crowded? etc.

thanks for any and all responses

PM sent, Swede.

Tagged - I'll reply later

I moved to Vegas 2 years ago. Wife, 2 kids (14 & 11)...

We bought a house in Summerlin. Also like Green Valley if you want to be in more of a yuppy neighborhood (lot's of restaurants, shopping, etc)...but along with that comes a little more hustle/bustle. This area is East of the strip.

To go on the more quite side of Vegas....go west young man! Summerlin is great. And for all the "local" casinos in Vegas....the Red Rock is the best by a lot. It's a little more expensive to live in Summerlin, but worth it, IMO.

Really depends on what your looking for. How old you are? Kids? Where do you work?
A lot of people will say Southwest is cool.....and it is. A newer community that will someday have a school, and library, and shopping, etc.. Problem for me is I have teenage (more/less) kids and didn't want to see the place develope over 10 years. I wanted it now!
The houses in Southwest are big, beautiful...with backyards so small you couldn't put a pool in (which is why I didn't move there). If that's not an issue, then Southwest is pretty good bang for your buck. Check out Mountains Edge on the internet to get a feel....

Bottom line....it really depends on your situation. Good luck!

Summerlin schools are great - at least what we've seen of them so far. Our 7 year old goes to a great school not a block from our place, and I'm really happy with it. As for the gangs and such, that's pretty much all north Vegas - stay away from anything north of downstown/freemont st and the "alphabet/number streets" which are the adjacent streets to the strip on the east side (so I have been told).

I have lived in summerlin for the past 3 years after living on the far east side for 12 years. the lifestyle is much nicer here. good restaurants, parks, shopping, easy access to the valley, great schools. yes it is more expensive than other parts of town but less crime, etc.... best area for raising kids!

I've lived in Vegas for over 3 years. The first 2 years I lived close to the strip in a nice building located in 89109, an infamously high crime area. For the last year+ I've lived in a very new apartment in suburban Southwest.

1: Southwest is about 15-20 minutes from the strip (sometimes more or less depending on traffic). My first apt. was a short walk from the LV Hilton. The convenience of the first location was amazing.

2: It's counterintuitive, but crime is a much bigger issue for me in Southwest than in the middle of the city. While there was more crime on the whole near the strip, my building had pretty good security because of it and I felt I was safe there. In my sprawling apartment complex in "nice" Southwest there have been numerous robberies and home invasions. There have been a number of armed robberies in the immediate area. Police presence is low and private security at my complex is not very good.

3: Living in the middle of the city I was close to everything I wanted. Southwest is getting better, but it is often a decent drive to get to destinations. The main problem with Southwest is that it is so new (the area was complete desert when I first moved to Vegas) that not enough businesses and services have been built to accommodate the population. But like I said, it is getting better in this regard.

A further note on Southwest (that also applies to Summerlin). The individual homes and apartments are new and generally look a lot better than what you'd expect to find for the price. However, the homes and buildings are all quite similar to each other, giving the area a distinct Levittown vibe. Most people don't seem to mind, but I find it mildly creepy.

All in all, if you can find a good place to live near the strip I'd strongly recommend that over living in Southwest.

I can't even imagine living near the strip. I guess it once again goes back to what your looking for.....but I am not sure of what your looking for if you live right near the strip? I think you'll find trouble....

No matter where you live in Vegas your never more than 30 minutes from the strip....but it allows you to live a normal life without the craziness going on around you.
And one thing I have realized once I moved here....you never (well almost never) go to the strip. There are plenty of local casinos to satisfy your gambling jones. I can drive to the Red Rock or Rampart or Suncoast, park the car and be in the casino in less than 10 minutes. To do the same with any of the strip properties would be more like 45 min to an hour depending on when you go.
Another plus for staying local...everything is cheaper. I can play $5 BJ, Pai Gow, Craps, etc...I can play .50 Roulette/$5 min bet if I want to just have a few drinks and chill out. Try that on the strip! All the movie theaters/bowling alleys are located in the local casinos.

I'm getting old (42...but feel like 52!)...and don't need the crazy strip life. If I have a wild hair...I'm 20 minutes away!

Good replies so far, I appreciate it. I've pretty much narrowed our search to Summerlin, the SW, Henderson/Green Valley. Those seem like the areas that will fit us the best.

I'm wondering to about the area directly south of the strip by I-15 though. Is that considered part of the SW? Is it newly developed? Nice/not so nice?

I gotta ask, since this is a poker-centric website, where would you prefer to play poker, on or off strip? I would think the idea of playing poker in Vegas would be the opportunity to harvest the tourist. This would be in the much more likely to happen in the Strip poker rooms. The off strip rooms cater much more to locals. Is that who you really want to be playing against?

That being said, the one place I've played poker in Vegas off strip was GVR, and have done reasonably well there.

Btw, I agree with about about house banked gaming, but would probably avoid it altogether.

check the Las Vegas PD website(just google it) It has a crime call section somewhere on it that lists all the calls and what they were for (robbery, domestic violence, etc.) and you can see pinpoints on a map and see where all the bad activity is.

I very rarely play at strip casinos. Just because someone's local doesn't automatically make them good at the game. In fact, some of the softest games I've ever played in have been at Red Rock and Suncoast.

I also like the 5 minute drive as opposed to the 25 minute drive plus hassle for parking and such.

I'm definitely going to check this out when we move out there in April. Plus I hear they are really nice casinos to boot.

How good are the comps at GVR, RR and Suncoast?

I don't play poker for a living (probably like 99.9% of the rest of the world). So fleecing the tourists is not exactly my #1 thought when choosing a location to live. And I know people who live/or have lived near the strip and maybe it sounds cool.....but I would'nt trade places with them (except for the guy I know that lives in the high rise behind Bellagio!).

I understand not wanting to play against the locals....but an argument can be made for knowing your oponents rather than constantly playing against different players each day. Whatever...like I said, I don't play poker for a living, so it really never entered my mind.