Possibly Moving To Vegas

So in the near future I might possibly be moving to Vegas. No official job offer yet but they are flying me out for an in person interview within the next two weeks. I have been to Vegas before but only weekend trips to the strip. While I am there I am planning to explore beyond the strip to get a feel for if I can actually live there. What are the pros and cons of living in Las Vegas? What are things someone moving there should know? I am also planning on checking out neighborhoods and apartment complexes. This being mountain project obviously I wouldn't want to be to far from Red Rocks and other outdoor activities. The position would be at Caesars and I would want to minimize my commute as much as possible. I would be moving from NYC and am used to walking/taking public transportation everywhere with bars and restaurants right out the door. I know this isn't really possible in LV but are there any semi-walk-able neighbors with restaurants and bars. So what neighborhoods should I check out? If someone could recommend specific apartment complexes that would be awesome.
One more question if living off the strip in where do people hang out a night? I am 31 so still enjoy the nightlife a little. Are there local places or do people just commute to the strip area?

There are some seedy areas in Vegas, but the Summerlin area is pretty nice. I don't live there, but go there once or twice a year for Red Rock. I avoid the strip (although you would be working there).

I'm sure some locals will chime in with better advice.

If you want to live off strip...Summerlin is the place, close to DTS mall & RRCasino...its nice for the walking/restaurants/bar(not the same as the hip hotspots on the strip) and only 5min from Red Rock Canyon. Also fairly easy to get to Mt Charleston for the summer limestone season. If you want nyc lifestyle then stay close to the strip, you could mimic it fairly well and like nyc this city NEVER sleeps! There's other options that meet your requirements like "the district" but that's on the other side of town(Henderson)... there is granite climbing on that side of town though(keyhole canyon), and your closer to the lake.

BigB wrote:If you want to live off strip...Summerlin is the place, close to DTS mall & RRCasino...its nice for the walking/restaurants/bar(not the same as the hip hotspots on the strip) and only 5min from Red Rock Canyon. Also fairly easy to get to Mt Charleston for the summer limestone season. If you want nyc lifestyle then stay close to the strip, you could mimic it fairly well and like nyc this city NEVER sleeps! There's other options that meet your requirements like "the district" but that's on the other side of town(Henderson)... there is granite climbing on that side of town though(keyhole canyon), and your closer to the lake.

Thanks I didn't even know about keyhole canyon, so that is something to keep in mind when looking. Do you live in Vegas? I've been browsing some of the high rises closer to downtown but not sure if it is worth the extra couple hundred bucks a month and feel like living near the strip could get tired after a while.

I lived in Vegas for 8 months. It was wayy better than I thought it would be.

I met a lot of climbers quickly and got in a lot of the best climbing I have to date while living there. Maybe I just got lucky but if you meet the right people you'll always have solid partners. Seems to be true of any real climbing town though.

The place has its downsides, aforementioned cookie cutter homes for one, but if lower cost of living is one of the draws of moving there, as it was for me, I don't know that it's fair to mention that. Comfortable housing can be had for cheap if you know where to look. You can avoid living in a neighborhood where all of the houses are identical copies, but they will likely have a similar style.

If you need to live in a 19th century character home to be happy then Vegas probably isn't the place for you.

Oh yeah, and it is HOTTT. You can sort of get used to this, I climbed all summer, but long term I still prefer to live somewhere where it's not as hot as long. That said, regarding crowds in the previous post, if you climb year round you only need to worry about crowds during peak season..

For ~ a year I lived in Lone Mountain, just N of Summerlin and in a neighborhood just W of 215 and next to BLM land, but still 15 min to RR. I had good singletrack and ridge scrambles (largely to myself) 0.5 miles away and it was slightly cheaper than Summerlin. Check the crime maps before you settle on a place. It's hard to beat the length of the climbing season, pretty much year-round if you can deal with heat or don't mind limestone sport.

I looked at houses in Vegas, but ended up buying in a tiny town N of St George. I miss having a variety of Asian food/groceries, but not the cookie cutter architecture, HOA/CC&Rs and the attitude of many people in Vegas. It's not just the tourists that "give no fucks" (to quote Zach).

I like the bars/clubs down by the Arts District (not that I went out much). There are tons of smaller places to see bands without the usual tourist/casino markup. If you're into films Regal Cinemas Village Square shows indie films and there's the eclectic Cinemondays series at the Sci Fi Center. There's also a hacker space, Syn Shop (now in Henderson), run by a super nice group of people.

I moved to Vegas specifically for climbing in 2002.

The low cost of living, amount of climbing in town, and access to other areas within 1/2-1 day drive brought me there. It was an awesome choice.

I made friends easily. Climbers and not, because so many people are from somewhere else and away from their family and original friends as well. I also met my wife there, and our daughter was born there. It's a sentimental place now for sure.

One of the best things that locals often don't realize until they leave, THERE IS SO MUCH FANTASTIC FOOD. It's a resort city and draws great chefs from around the world. The opportunities for reasonably priced, high quality food are endless.

John Wilder gave you the most concise info. I would only add to what others are telling you about Summerlin, buy suggesting that living on the periphery of Summerlin is a LOT cheaper these days. Check out The Lakes. It's loosely considered Summerlin by most, but its actually outside of the Summerlin development. It still has all of the convenience of Summerlin.

John's too humble to say it so I will... Origin is the absolute best gym in town. Get a membership there and make the drive on the days where it's too hot or wet to climb outside. Totally worth it.

Vegas has it's downsides, just as any metropolitan area. There is crime, even in the outskirts and nice areas like Summerlin or Green Valley. There is also a party scene that will suck the life out of you if you let it. I knew a few climbers who went that way and it was a bummer. Most of the downsides can be avoided with some common sense though.

Lots of my friends talked shit about Vegas while I lived there. It's what you make of it, and for me it was a great place. A huge part of my heart and soul will always be in that city now, and I miss a lot about it.

NateC wrote: It's what you make of it

That

BCarver wrote:I'm told the Fremont neighborhood is the area to check out....

I personally wouldn't live there, having replaced a lifetime's worth of car windows when I lived in Oakland during undergrad.
crime map

Yeah fremont is hella ghetto bro

Maybe not oaktown ghetto, but ghetto is ghetto

I am moving to Vegas this fall from NJ - thanks to all who replied with the useful information. I was last in RR in late March and it was a total gong show, but I climb the Gunks and occasionally Rumney on the weekends and RR wasn't much worse than what I'm already used to. Plus as others have pointed out, there are several other great areas within a reasonable drive.

We're pretty set on Summerlin, but does anyone know much about the Providence area in the northwest corner? I saw some very nice reasonably priced places there, but our main priority is safety and quiet versus budget. I'm very aware of the crime and seediness of Vegas as I had a rental car broken into outside the loop road in 2008. A lot of gear was stolen out of the trunk and the cops didn't care, so it took me a long time to warm back up to Vegas.

Mammoth is a little far though if skiing is a high priority for the OP.

I don't like the heat and I don't think there was any month last summer where I didn't climb something at red rock canyon national conservation area.

Simon W wrote:Mammoth is a little far though if skiing is a high priority for the OP.

That's because we are spoiled where we live now. When I was living in Vegas, I skied 40-70 days a year with a good chunk of them at Mammoth/June Lake. One year I skied 93 days and had 50 in at Mammoth/June. It can be done, but you need a reliable vehicle and a butt-load of commitment.

Ultimately, I did move to Utah because skiing is more a priority than climbing now.

Yeah no way I could ski that much living in Vegas unless I hit some kind of trust fund jackpot and quit my job. It's already a stupid expensive sport as it is... Need to figure out what the cheapest pass is for next season..

BCarver wrote:Summerlin is the only area of Vegas I am familiar with. NYC to Summerlin? Yikes. To each his own.

Fremont St. definitely has hoards of tourists too. It's a well known attraction and not that far from the strip.

But if you prefer crowds to suburbia, by all means..

Most of the good restaurants locals go to are on the west side of I15

MKGreen wrote: We're pretty set on Summerlin, but does anyone know much about the Providence area in the northwest corner?

You'll get a better deal in Lone Mountain versus Summerlin; crime rates are still low. Providence is pretty far north, good for Sierra trips, but a bit farther for RR. Make sure you read up on the builders; some are better than others, although my inspector told me it's also dependent on who supervised the construction. I have a competent, non-flaky real estate agent I can recommend if you need one.

Simon W wrote:Yeah fremont is hella ghetto bro Maybe not oaktown ghetto, but ghetto is ghetto

Oakland isn't totally sketch even when I was there in the 90s; it varies greatly by area. Since then there has been a ton of gentrification with the tech boom.

My fiancee and I moved to Vegas almost exactly a year ago. We ended up in Summerlin, which still feels like the right choice.

John Wilder and others are speaking the truth. Vegas can be great if you accept it for what it is. Along those lines, living in Vegas doesn't have to involve the Strip unless you want it to (or let it). I commute past the strip 2x day and still generally forget it's there.

To add a few things:

1. Summerlin is great, but it is indeed the burbs (as is all of Vegas except the Strip and Downtown). RR Casino, DTS, Tivoli Village, and Boca Park are great for date nights, but I wouldn't quality them as true nightlife options.

2. I would highly advise you to at least check out the Downtown scene. Depending on where you are in life and what you're looking for, it might be a better fit. It's further from Red Rocks for sure, but not that far via 95N/Summerlin Pkwy/215S.

3. Wherever you end up, look forward to an incredible off-strip food scene. There are countless amazing options here.

4. I agree the Origin is the best gym hands-down. That said, it's a haul from Summerlin. R2C2 is passable for staying in shape.

5. And yeah, forget public transportation (unless you live Downtown). Likewise, I would advise you to forget bike commuting (again, unless you live Downtown). Drivers here are insane. Vegas is seriously lacking in freeways, which makes drivers treat surface streets like freeways.

6. I really don't get the "Red Rocks is crowded" thing. Sure, the campground is a shitshow (a problem us locals thankfully don't have to deal with). And yeah, the popular crags around Calico, First, and Second Pullout can get crowded on the weekends. That said, like anywhere else I've climbed, if you're willing to put in a bit of time/effort on the approach, you can always get away from the crowds.

Good luck!

John Wilder wrote:I've lived here for almost 30 years and here's my thoughts. 1) Vegas is the burbs- its not a big city and won't feel like one no matter where you live if you're from NYC. Don't live on the Strip unless you want to live around tourists and pay 5x or more what you would anywhere else in town. 2) Live in Summerlin. Charleston and 215 is the hub you want to be closest to for easy access to Red Rock, Downtown Summerlin, Red Rock Casino and freeway access to the rest of town. There are alot of nice apartment complexes in the Arroyos (Charleston & Pavilion Center) and one in the Vistas (Alta and 215). 3) This is not the east coast- its ALOT different here. If you love the mountains, it's pretty great. 4) Vegas is climbable 365 days a year if you're motivated. It's pretty awesome. Local areas include: Red Rock, Charleston, Potosi, Keyhole, Prison Gate, and Big Sandy. 5) Very few people work a regular 9-5, M-F gig here- most climbers work an offset schedule, so you can always find partners no matter what your days off are. 6) Public transportation is a joke here. Sorry, but its true. You'll drive everywhere. The good news is that from the Strip to Summerlin via Flamingo is probably 20 minutes or so most days. 7) Most climbers I know spend alot of time either in downtown Vegas (old vegas) or in Downtown Summerlin for the nightlife bit. 8) Added Bonus- Climbing areas within driving distance: The Sierra (3-6hrs away), Yosemite (6hrs), Bishop (4hrs), Zion (2.5hrs), JTree (3hrs), Moab (6hrs), Creek (7hrs), Maple (5hrs), Flag (4hrs), Tucson (6hrs), VRG (2hrs), Arrow (1.5hrs), The Grail (1.5hrs), Clark (1.5hrs)...to name a few...

Thank you for this advice. It is very helpful. If I get the job and make the move I know it is going to be a big change but being that close to climbing is calling m,e.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I know moving to vegas will involve getting a car and driving alot more. It seems like it comes down to getting some city vibe living downtown or going full suburbs in Summerlin. While I am there I will definitely check it out and way the pros and cons. thanks again for all your advice. Hopefully the interview goes well.

fossana wrote: Oakland isn't totally sketch even when I was there in the 90s; it varies greatly by area. Since then there has been a ton of gentrification with the tech boom.

Can confrim. Have lived in Oakland since January, and worked here since Winter of '15. Not very scary. I can walk around at night with my ear buds in, as long as my head is on a swivel.

No broken car windows yet... Knock on wood.

Too damn expensive though.