Thanks for the info. Where would you suggest looking? I know I may be on the outskirts but that's o.k. I am determined to move there but I want to get all the pros and cons I can.

Most people choose to live in the Northwest or Henderson/Green Valley area. I am in the far, new northwest of Summerlin, it takes me 45 mins (or more with traffic) to get to the strip. I like living this far away. We are only on the strip when family visits, it feels just like going to another city. Everything I need (movies, good restaurants, etc.) is only a few minutes away. You will find that just about every subdivision of Las Vegas is independant of Las Vegas Blvd, there is really no need to go to the LV strip anymore unless you want to go to the shows, or unless of course you work in that area.

There will be 2 new hospitals in town that I know of, in addition to the never ending new quick cares and such. I have a close friend that is a nurse and she ended up transferring jobs 2 times last year because she kept getting better offers. As the housing development grows further from town so does everything else. So don't worry about feeling that you are not in the center of things, you will be.

Personally I'm hooked on the NW/Summerlin area because it is master-planned but I also know people that live in Henderson and love it. Summerlin to Henderson is like driving to another state, the town is getting so big and well spread out. Hope this helps.

Are all the neighborhoods made up of gated communities or can you just have a normal house on a regular street?
A friend took us for a drive once a few years ago, it seemed like all the nice houses were in gated communities. But then of course, she showed us the homes of entertainers and tennis players ~

Yes, many (if not most) homes in the outlying areas are gated. Well, it depends on where you are. If you go to the far Northwest you will find costom homes that were there before Las Vegas became the thriving community it is today. My inlaws live in newer El Capitan Ranch (30 mins from strip) and most of the homes are not gated. Or you will find sections of homes that are custom on the East side of town, about 15 mins from the strip or near Valley Hopsital that are a little older by LV standards and still gorgeous.

But the new, state of the art custom homes are usually gated. The multi million dollar homes are definitely guard gated unless you are old timer Las Vegans like Sigfried & Roy or Wayne Newton. Or some casino execs live in those older customs near LV Blvd to be close to the strip. If you choose to live in Summerlin you will have monthly Summerlin dues as well as your homeowner's association dues. And then there is a fee when buying your house to just live in Summerlin, the cost varies with the price of the house purchased.

What are the house prices in or near Summerlin? I'm a single parent and a nurse so I'm not making the big $$$ that's for sure. My son will have graduated from high school by the time I move so schools are not a consideration anymore.

Hmm, I don't know. Like I said real estate has gone up significantly this past year. I can't predict if it will pop (some realtors think so) or it will keep rising. All of the vacant land in Las Vegas will be gone by 2010. You may go to www.summerlin.com to research homes. Under a quick search I only turned up 1300 square foot condos for $170k. That is ridiculous. You may want to check home prices heading out towards the Mount Charleston area. I know someone that just sold their 1350 sf home for $150k in the El Capitan Ranch area.

We just had dinner tonight with an acquainance who sold their home in December for $230k. The new seller turned around and sold the home 3 months later for $280k. I think a realtor would give you the best advice, you can also check realtor.com.

It's a great place to buy a house if you want to make money. My house in Indianapolis can't possibly keep up with the prices in Las Vegas. I'm pretty determined to move there so even if I have to live in an apartment I will. Is the Mount Charleston area nice?

Yes, they are nice. I guess you would call the area getting close to Mt. Charleston El Capitan Ranch. There are also many houses north of I-95 (on the same side as the entrance to Mt Charleston, El Capitan is across the highway), but I have no knowledge about their prices unfortunately. Zip code 89131 or 89134 if you want to check realtor.com. You may also want to look into the North Cheyenne/Lone Mountain/Painted desert area but most of those homes may be resales. If you are very interrested you can contact me through my email and I'll send you the LV new home real estate guides and resale magazine.

I went to Mt. Charleston when I was there in July, and the entrance was on the left hand side of the road if you're coming north from Las Vegas. Is that the right area? That's not that far. Not if it means there is still affordable housing.

That's correct. El Capitan is on the right hand side of the road about 5-10 mins sooner. It's not too far at all and they are really building the area up. As I mentioned before, my inlaws live in that area and it takes them about 30 mins to get to the airport from their house. Though the brand new housing may be about 5-10 mins further north.

I'll check it out when Im there next month. Thanks again for the info. Anything else you have about Las Vegas please send it my way.