[gizmo980]

Can anyone give me the 4-1-1 on the Mount Charleston area? My family lives in Las Vegas proper (brother and his family are in the NW, mother is in Summerlin), and have been gently nudging me to join them down there. But I'm not really a city gal, plus I know how HOT it is in LV! I was told it's cooler up in those mountains, and even snows in the winter?

I currently live in a similar situation; small mountain town about 30 minutes from "civilization" near Santa Cruz/San Jose CA. But we do have the basics including two grocery stores, gas station, and a handful of restaurants. I can't see ANY of that in/around Mt. Charleston, so would everything require a 20+ minute drive down to the city? And what about amenities like power and water? I don't want to be completely off-grid, but can handle limited services.

Don't worry about jobs and housing, since I already have those details squared away. I'd probably buy a house immediately, and just wait for moving until that was done... I do own a home in CA, which I'll either keep as a rental property or resell. The market is obviously hot here, so that would take all of a few days lol. Oh, and I'm single with no children to worry about relocating with me. Just me and my dogs/cats. One of the dogs is a husky, so he'll be much happier in the snowy mountains than the arid valley. I don't need much else to keep me happy, as most of what I do involves being outdoors with the dogs or inside with electronics. And when I do need more entertainment, obviously there's enough to do in Las Vegas itself.

Any other advice or info would be appreciated!

[gizmo980]

Btw, this house is what sparked my interest in the area: https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2933718177

Isn't that cool?? And it's been on the market for almost a year, so I'm tempted to make a lowball offer like now. Probably some reason it's been sitting for a while, though.

[esas]

There are no amenities on Mt Charleston, only a small school, library and fire department. There was a lodge/restaurant but it burned down last year…hasn’t started rebuild yet. Closest amenities will be in Skye Canyon community.

[movin1]

It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Really, not much up there and when the weather and roads are bad, you can't get out. It's pretty, but pretty remote. Get a place close enough to it to go up as often as you want, but isn't so far from civilization. You would be remiss to buy something sight unseen. You need to come visit and go up there to look around. Get a realtor if you're serious abut buying a house somewhere in Vegas. There is no half way option, either you live up there to have the cooler weather or you live down here where it's hot four months of the year. A few months of "winter" are cool, but rarely close to freezing (32 degrees). Many months are very pleasant, it's always sunny, never humid. I wouldn't move from "Bay Area, CA" to Vegas if I didn't have to. YMMV.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by movin1

It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Really, not much up there and when the weather and roads are bad, you can't get out. It's pretty, but pretty remote. Get a place close enough to it to go up as often as you want, but isn't so far from civilization. You would be remiss to buy something sight unseen. You need to come visit and go up there to look around. Get a realtor if you're serious abut buying a house somewhere in Vegas. There is no half way option, either you live up there to have the cooler weather or you live down here where it's hot four months of the year. A few months of "winter" are cool, but rarely close to freezing (32 degrees). Many months are very pleasant, it's always sunny, never humid. I wouldn't move from "Bay Area, CA" to Vegas if I didn't have to. YMMV.

To be clear, I’m not going to buy a place sight unseen; that was a joke. I visit the area regularly to see my family, and would work with a realtor face to face. I just meant that I wouldn’t likely make the move until the home was purchased, as opposed to moving and renting for however long. Since I wouldn’t be on a strict timeline (like when people have to start a job or school on X date), there would be no need for that.

That said, I enjoy being semi-remote, and definitely prefer colder over hot weather. But I’ve experienced my share of desert heat too, and it’s tolerable for me. Better than humid, which I also lived in for some years. Rough/tricky roads are no biggie, since I already deal with that here and have a good AWD vehicle. The complete lack of amenities does concern me, though.

There’s more to my story, which I didn’t feel like going into here - but essentially I’d be moving to be near my family, and as the first step towards retirement. I’ll check out the area on my next visit, probably over the summer. Just wanted some locals’ opinions first! So I do appreciate the input, and hope to see it myself soon.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by esas

There are no amenities on Mt Charleston, only a small school, library and fire department. There was a lodge/restaurant but it burned down last year…hasn’t started rebuild yet. Closest amenities will be in Skye Canyon community.

How far is that, assuming clear/passable roads? Funny that they have a library (which I did notice already), since I happen to be a librarian. Wonder if they’re hiring?

[esas]

The issue with Mt Charleston is the number of visitors...that place is pretty packed year round. Summer is people escaping Vegas heat, winter is to go play in the snow. There are a handful of hiking trails up there - which the trailheads will be overflowing with cars each weekend. I assume that Charleston will become a Fee Area (much like Red Rock) soon due to the congestion, it isn't uncommon to have the roads blocked on weekends due to the number of people on the mountain.

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

How far is that, assuming clear/passable roads? Funny that they have a library (which I did notice already), since I happen to be a librarian. Wonder if they’re hiring?

Its about 30 minutes to the closest supermarket and other signs of "civilization". The issue isn't so much the access as housing. Its very limited and expensive for what you get due to it mostly being 2nd home territory.

I had a friend some years ago trying to get a group of us to buy and share a place up there, but I just couldn't wrap my head around the pricing. Most of us dropped out of the interest but he and a partner bought something as a second home up near Brian Head for quite a bit less. There just isn't much else nearby like Mt. Charleston so supply and demand will always make it expensive.

[eos99]

It's not that remote, all things considering, as it's just half hour down to the Northwest corner of the city where you can do all your superstore shopping. Like any other 2 lane access highway, things can shut down at a moments notice due to accidents, fires, road construction, etc, but for the most part it's pretty accessible and wide open on weekdays. Winter conditions depend a lot on how much snow comes down. In recent years it's been very little. As others mentioned, the issue is you're really paying crazy high prices for what you could get in the valley from a subdivision home. If money isn't an issue for you, then go for it. Else, there are better options available elsewhere.

[BOS2IAD]

It's a beautiful area to visit and I've been there twice. Once was during the hot LV summer. It was such a nice respite to go there and experience cooler temps. Is the restaurant and lodge that burned down the place that was high up the mountain? We ate lunch there during one of our visits and, of course, it was pricey.

As far as living there --- how far away is the closest hospital? What about a doctor's office? If you are considering spending your retirement years there, such things become important as you age.