posted on April 27, 2005 02:23:16 PM new
Totally off topic....
I thought I remembered you saying you were from Vegas Love, appologies if I am wrong.
I am officially sick of San Diego and looking to move. I'm pretty much set-up to share a house with a friend in Mexico but I also need something here in the US and San Diego is too damn expensive for a part time location. Based on airports (and absense of snow) I'm trying to decide between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Anyone care to share the pros and cons of their experience and costs of living in either city? I'm looking for airport convenience and city dweller loft type living.
Gimme the dirt!!
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 27, 2005 03:50:51 PM new
Well of course my vote will be for Colorado Springs. (or New Mexico). Our house is 1/2 again as big as the one in NY with almost 2x the size lot for $250,000 less and 1/12th the property taxes.
The weather is much more predictible than here and there is alot to be said for NO humidity. Most of the homes in Colorado Springs, don't even have air conditioning. It is over 6000 feet above sea level, so there is a 25- 40 degree variation in temperature in a 24 hour period. Alot of the snow stays on the west side of the mountians where the ski areas are.
I lived in Vegas for 3 years. It is really a great place to live BUT the temperature can go over 100 in May and stay there until Oct. The elevation is only 2000 or so feet above sea level, so it doesn't now cool off as much as the higher altitudes. Even if it did cool off 30 degrees - when it is 115 that is still 85 in the middle of the night. With so much growth, and because of the lake, the humidity is rising also.
I find Phoenix boring unless you live in McCormick Ranch or Scottsdale. It is the same as Las Vegas weather wise, and may be hotter. People who moved from CA to AZ to get away from the crowds and humidity are moving to NM, TX and CO.
NM is much like Colorado (lived there 35 years)and very reasonable to live for the most part. Taos, and Santa Fe are pricey. Most of the Native American tribes have their own casino so there are probably at least 10 within a 2 hour drive of Albuquerque. If you have kids - any child who graduates from a NM high school (and been enrolled the previous 2 years) can go to college for FREE. (Thanks to the gaming money). All sorts of colleges are springing up.
posted on April 27, 2005 04:07:57 PM new
I spent over a decade in Colorado and travel back and forth their now helping to deal with the house. I have zero desire to live there. The biggest problem with the Springs and Alb. through are their airports. I'm going to be traveling back and forth from Mexico every other week which is why airports and their servicing airlines were huge parts of me deciding on the two cities I came up with.
Also - The Springs is WAY too conservative for me. If I ever took the time to get to know the neighbors they would probably end up trying to stone me.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 27, 2005 05:41:58 PM new
which part of mexico would you be staying??
nogales or nagales.arizona is right by the mexican border,you can drive back and forth.
-sig file -------
Eat grass,kick ass,never go belly up!
posted on April 27, 2005 06:05:18 PM new
Stop - I don't think I'll be driving. I'm going to be commuting between here a Guadalajara. It's 1046 miles from there to Phoenix, 1127 miles to Vegas.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 27, 2005 07:11:27 PM new
With a brother that lives in Vegas and me just back from a visit, I can state that Vegas is a great place to visit for about 6 days, then it gets very old. Six days at a time would be my limit. Phoenix would be too hot for me as well. How about Flagstaff? Only about a three hour drive to Pheonix and the temps are far more reasonable.
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Alive in 2005
posted on April 27, 2005 08:02:28 PM new
Vegas is great.
Most people who live here really don't go to the strip...... its easy to live a life without it.
I live in N. Vegas Which has eclipsed Vegas as the fastest growing city in the US.
In my end of town its a bit slim on stuff to do and shopping but everywhere you see sites being cleared for shopping and cineplexes.
Vegas is a culturaly DEAD town so if you're an artsy-fartsy coffee house dweller type on a budget you'll be sad and lonely.
There are more 24 hour restaurants than anywhere and on all levels of cuisine. As a night-owl my husband and I never have an issue about what to do about dinner at 3 am.
I'm from SoCal (Pasadena) and we moved to Vegas to be able to afford a nice, brand new house.....IMPOSSIBLE IN SOCAL
Vegas has many high-rise apartment buildings in the works blocks from the strip starting in the $90's
posted on April 27, 2005 08:33:56 PM new
:::NEVADA HAS NO STATE INCOME TAX!!!:::
Ding Ding Ding Ding DIng... We have a winner!!
Stone - I agree that if you are on the strip - Vegas gets boring fast. Why do you think I know exactly where the ugliest carpet (MGM Grand Poppy Fields), poor white trash (heaven Circus Circus), absolute best "relive your youth" piano bar (New York, New York), best place to play a fun, loud and social game of low stake Craps (Casino Royale) and the best Coconut Macaroons (The Mirage)on the strip are.
Love - Not an artsy-fartsy coffee house dweller. I like to hit and run at Starbucks and to be able to find something to eat and a pack of cigarettes at 4am, without necessarily needing to get in the car. The plan is more to "live" in Mexico and "work" in the US. When I am up here it's going to be about doing business so I don't need much of a cultural existance, I just need the neccessities close at hand which is why I like downtown type living.
One of the places I was looking at online is listed as Central Vegas with rent in the $750 range for a 1 bedroom. Any idea where that sits on the Vegas "slum" to "upscale" scale?
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
[ edited by fenix03 on Apr 27, 2005 08:34 PM ]
posted on April 28, 2005 03:40:21 AM new
HerbsCraftsGifts-where abouts in New York do you live?
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 28, 2005 05:45:59 AM new
We are on Long Island in Franklin Square. As NY goes it is a great little town. Not even 45 minutes to the city by train.
Gotta go to Rochester this weekend to take some furniture to my son. I've never been there, so it should be fun, but I feel like we are cheating and taking a few days off when there is so much to do here. But on the other hand, we'll be working at packing, driving for 5 days and unpacking for weeks and weeks to come. So I guess this is the last chance for a break!
posted on April 28, 2005 07:58:20 AM new
ahh the L.I.E.the worlds biggest parking lot.
When I was dating my wife,we went to Vegas in Jan of 1972.We liked it out there,as we do like the warm weather.We went to one of those "land sales seminars" Vegas was famous for back then.
I ended up buying a half acre for $10,000 in a place I never heard of called Pahrump,Nv.If I remember correctly,its about an hour northwest of Vegas.We figured we would actually want to live there one day.$10,000 was a lot of money back then,but we only had to make a down payment and make monthly payments on it.Mind you,this was just for the land,no house.The next day we took a ride up to the place and there was nothing there,no houses,buildings except a gate with the name of the development on it.They had streets marked off and the lots marked off so we knew which one we had,but it made me weary.The next day(Sunday) I was reading the New York Times real estate section where some corportations were involved in a scam and were selling "swamp land" in Florida.I immediately panic and went back to the people who sold me the property and told them I wanted to back out of the deal.I didnt expect my down payment back,but I didnt want to spend the next 10 years paying for something I thought might have been a scam.Surprisly they didnt give me a hard time,and they even refunded my down payment.Now since this would be a suburb of Las Vegas,I imagine it might be built up now,and the land might have been worth some money.
BTW-I live in upstate N.Y. in Dutchess co.near Poughkeepsie.
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
[ edited by classicrock000 on Apr 28, 2005 07:59 AM ]
posted on April 28, 2005 08:42:13 AM new
Funny you should mention Parhump. When we moved out there my husband wanted to live there, but I said I wasn't going to live anywhere that sounded like a burp!
And yes it has really grown, the same way Rio Rancho in NM has. They did those dinners in NY and sold the land on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Now it is a thriving city and home to Intel.
posted on April 28, 2005 09:30:36 AM new
well that figures..."classic" could have been a land barron LOL
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 28, 2005 11:32:28 AM new
If I remember correctly, the first business establishment in Parhump was a brothel. So Classic, you may not have become a land barron, but you could have been the "Pimp Of Parhump". Or possibly the "Cathouse King of The West".
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on April 28, 2005 11:47:23 AM new
Stone - I have no idea. They have listings for North Vegas, East Vegas, and Central. I would assume it's central to both. I think it's on Sahara.
As for rent...it is so hard to figure out values elsewhere when you haved lived in SoCal. I haven't payed less that $1200 there in the last 10 years and 3 apartments.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 28, 2005 02:06:30 PM new
Central Vegas used to be slums. It may have changed.
Pahrump is agitating to change its name.
Grew up in Phoenix.
We lived in Vegas from 1961 - 1981.
If you just want a couple of rooms to park in and take care of business, almost anywhere that's safe would be okay.
Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to live in either area now. The heat! The heat is dreadful, and neighborhoods from May to October hum with air conditioners all the time. Residents just scurry from air-conditioned home to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned store. And AC in a vehicle uses even more gas; something to bear in mind as prices go up and up.
Children have trouble playing outdoors in the summer in that heat. My three kids were small when we were in Vegas and I nearly went mad every summer. We couldn't have a barbecue or picnic on our patio all summer because of the heat.
No income tax" wouldn't make any difference for me in those two areas. Some folks really like all that heat, and if that's the case for you, go for it. I just found it punishing.
Tucson is a bit cooler than Phoenix. Have you checked that out?
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posted on April 28, 2005 03:24:16 PM new
I lived in phoenix for one year,it is not that bad,but then i did not have to pay the electric bill!!
Yes,Tuscon is better.
How about Des Moines,Iowa or Columbia,Missouri or Cleveland Mississippi?
Consider college town or housing near campus of any city ??
I used to live near a university and i will use their health club,their libraries,cafeteria and attended free concerts and movies.
They have a post office and bank and Barnes and Noble bookstore on campus.
-sig file -------
Eat grass,kick ass,never go belly up!
posted on April 28, 2005 03:46:44 PM new
Stop - Perhaps you missed where I mentioned that I picked the cities because of airports and servicing airlines. I'd rather not spend an extra $250 every other week on airfare because I tried to save $100 a month on rent.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 28, 2005 03:49:11 PM new
LOL Sparkz-Im married-you think I have some kind of death wish???
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 28, 2005 03:50:58 PM new
"How about Des Moines,Iowa or Columbia,Missouri or Cleveland Mississippi?"
thought Columbia was in South America and Cleveland was in Ohio....Cheryl-you mean you've been lying to me all this time saying you lived in Ohio?????
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 28, 2005 04:06:38 PM new
there is a Columbia,Missouri,remember Toastmaster,the appliance company,thats where they are based.
And there is a Cleveland,Mississippi,not far from Graceland.
Fenix03,you can pick a town you want to stay and see if there is a college/university there and look for off campus apts,it may not be Ritz Carlton,but it is convenient and friendly and cheaper.
-sig file -------
Eat grass,kick ass,never go belly up!
posted on April 28, 2005 05:20:40 PM new
Fenix,
would Houston work for you?
apts are affordable ,you can definitely find a one bedroom in houston for 450-750,you can get one close to airport or find one in the city,some include utility ,have a swimming pool and management on premise.
some offer one month rent free if you sign a contract with them
-sig file -------
Eat grass,kick ass,never go belly up!
posted on April 28, 2005 05:51:46 PM new
Classic...How would your wife find time to shoot you if she works 16 hours a day taking deposits to the bank and shopping for jewelry and cars? Besides, think of the money you could make by listing discount coupons on Ebay. Assuming, of course, that you don't use them all yourself
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on April 28, 2005 05:53:21 PM new
There are only two places I really want to move to. One is Galveston Island and the other is Hawaii. Galveston is a gorgeous place especially if you love old Victorian homes. I didn't have any sinus problems the entire time I was there. I left Cleveland feeling miserable because of allergies and was in Galveston less than a day before it was all cleared up. Must have been the salt in the air. After the winter here this year, I can take heat. I live along Lake Erie so today here wasn't so bad even though it was cold for this time of year. But, if you traveled about 10 miles or so south near Parma, it snowed today. Can you believe it? It's nearly May! For some reason, Canada insists on sharing their cold fronts with us. The only nice thing about the Lake is that is protects you in the fall and spring from freaky weather.
Over the weekend, a snow storm hit. If you lived within 1 mile of the lake, you got no snow. Over 1 mile, but less than 3 you got about 2". The farther south you lived, the more you got. Some got over 2' of snow! Something is driving this crazy weather.
posted on April 28, 2005 06:36:35 PM new
funny you mentioned galveston island,we are 45 minutes drive from that island.
-sig file -------
Eat grass,kick ass,never go belly up!
posted on April 28, 2005 06:42:28 PM new
" I left Cleveland feeling miserable"
ahhhhh how could you feel miserable leaving Cleveland??? I figured you would be doing a happy dance<snicker>
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 28, 2005 06:44:35 PM new
ya know Sparkz-never thought about that..as they say "money talks"
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 28, 2005 10:06:33 PM new
Stop - thank you for the suggestions
It's not about finding a cheap apartment, I can find that anywhere. I looked for a large city, an international airport, no snow, low humidity. I narrowed the choices down to 2 choices and was just looking for input from those that have experience in either city regarding the pros and cons.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 28, 2005 11:20:23 PM new
I have lived in Las Vegas since 1989. We moved here from Texas and I absolutely hate it.
I have allergies here where I had none back home. The summers are horrible. The winters are pretty nice but the crime rate is one of the worst in the nation. The school system is also at the bottom of the rankings if that has any importance to you.
People rarely speak to you and if you smile at them or say "hi" as you pass they think you are nuts.
My children finished high school here and they are married with children now. I would miss them more than I now miss Texas so I am stuck. They have good jobs and don't want to uproot their entire families.
But, I wouldn't wish Vegas on my worst enemy.
Apartments aren't much higher priced than anywhere else, but the traffic problems are worse than the summer weather. We had 450,000 people here when we moved here in 1989. There are more than 1,500,000 now and growing at the rate of 8,000 to 10,000 per month. The roads are basically the same as they were back thenm, with the exception of the freeway system, which doesn't help much unless you want to go clear across town. So getting around is a definite problem.
I don't know anything about Phoenix, but I had narrowed it down to Phoenix or here when I left Texas. I chose Vegas because I thought it would be fun. I quickly found it is a great place to visit but I really wish I didn't live here.
