[conrismom]

I am a teacher in Cincinnati, Ohio and my husband and I are looking to relocate to the Las Vegas area with our one year-old son. I have an excellent job here and I'm nervous about the schools out there and the big changes involved with relocating. Does anyone have any advice they can offer me regarding moving, teaching in the Las Vegas area, and raising children in the area as well? Any help is appreciated!

[Chest Rockwell]

Nevada is ranked 49th in education spending per student. As a teacher, you'll find your job difficult as classes will be overcrowded and funding will be scarce. There is a big difference between the higher performing suburban schools which have few openings compared to the lower performing inner city schools which are constantly looking for new teachers. I can only assume that you'll be teaching at one of the latter, which is more challenging. Housing may be a concern for you as well, since the cost of living is much higher in Las Vegas compared to Ohio. As far as raising a family here, I don't see a problem with that. There are plenty of families doing just fine. You may have a problem with scantily clad women on billboards and the like, but other than that, it's really not much different from anywhere else.

Some advantages to living here are the weather, good job opportunities, and the fact you don't have to watch the Bengals play every week!

Good luck!

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

Nevada is ranked 49th in education spending per student. As a teacher, you'll find your job difficult as classes will be overcrowded and funding will be scarce. There is a big difference between the higher performing suburban schools which have few openings compared to the lower performing inner city schools which are constantly looking for new teachers. I can only assume that you'll be teaching at one of the latter, which is more challenging. Housing may be a concern for you as well, since the cost of living is much higher in Las Vegas compared to Ohio. As far as raising a family here, I don't see a problem with that. There are plenty of families doing just fine. You may have a problem with scantily clad women on billboards and the like, but other than that, it's really not much different from anywhere else.

Some advantages to living here are the weather, good job opportunities, and the fact you don't have to watch the Bengals play every week!

Good luck!

True but misleading. The rankings of Nevada as 49th has a lot to do with the statistical structure of the state rather than the expenditures in Las Vegas.

That said all of the cities of the SW except CA are cheap...it is traditional.

The good schools of Las Vegas are equivalent to the good schools elsewhere. The bad schools are in likely not as bad as the bad schools in the rust belt. New teachers tend to be forced into the inner city schools for their initial service. But after a couple of years you can get where you want to be. There is a Teachers site that covers a lot of this.

Las Vegas is a pretty nice place to live. The weather is quite nice. It is dynamic. It is fast growing. It is convenient to the best of the west.

[LIS123]

LV is still going to be expensive relative to Cincinnati. It may have been 'cheap' in the past, but it has gotten much more expensive (though still less than Cali). I do agree that children of good parents will do well even if they are raised in LV, so that shouldn't be a major concern. To the OP: how do your husband's job prospects compare in LV vs what e has now in Cincy? If it's kind of questionable, you should think carefully before deciding to move. Good luck to you!

[Sinkbean]

If you are a teacher...we need you! Please come, you are welcome here.

And if you are a teacher, I'm gonna assume you know where to check to move and put your kids in school so you won't worry so much about their education.

I moved here from Alabama. My kid goes to public school here, not in bad area, but it's still public school...he loves it..he learns. I help him and so does his dad...so it's a positive experience.

Seeing as how you have experience in education, I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a job here...

[airics]

Food about the same price, maybe a little cheaper except for milk (cant figure that one out)
Gasoline a penny or two cheaper in vegas however it doesnt change prices every other minute like in cleveland
Property taxes.. much much much cheaper in vegas my house in ohio 160k property taxes 4200+, my house in vegas 260k, taxes 1500.
State income tax doesnt exist in nevada
Insurance for the car higher in vegas
House insurance lower in vegas
Going out (restaurants, etc) much cheaper in vegas if you know where to go
School.. dont know dont have kids, but i will assume higher in vegas since you want a private school
Cost of house.. getting better but still higher in vegas
Jobs in ohio where?? in vegas there has to be something
Cost of a car.. much higher for a used car in vegas, im a car dealer and cant believe what cars go for at the dealer auctions..

overall satisfaction.. thats up to you, but i prefer sunshine over miserable cold wet snowy conditions.. yes there are 4 seasons in cleveland... summer almost winter winter and still friggin winter.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by LIS123

LV is still going to be expensive relative to Cincinnati. It may have been 'cheap' in the past, but it has gotten much more expensive (though still less than Cali). I do agree that children of good parents will do well even if they are raised in LV, so that shouldn't be a major concern. To the OP: how do your husband's job prospects compare in LV vs what e has now in Cincy? If it's kind of questionable, you should think carefully before deciding to move. Good luck to you!

Vegas is about 11% more expensive than Cincinnati according to the NY Times. Salaries are about 6% higher. So you lose 5% when you cmoe here.

I suspect this is mostly housing costs and may be dropping rapidly.

Anyway not a big deal. But to be considered.

[AA702]

Originally Posted by airics

Food about the same price, maybe a little cheaper except for milk (cant figure that one out)
Gasoline a penny or two cheaper in vegas however it doesnt change prices every other minute like in cleveland
Property taxes.. much much much cheaper in vegas my house in ohio 160k property taxes 4200+, my house in vegas 260k, taxes 1500.
State income tax doesnt exist in nevada
Insurance for the car higher in vegas
House insurance lower in vegas
Going out (restaurants, etc) much cheaper in vegas if you know where to go
School.. dont know dont have kids, but i will assume higher in vegas since you want a private school
Cost of house.. getting better but still higher in vegas
Jobs in ohio where?? in vegas there has to be something
Cost of a car.. much higher for a used car in vegas, im a car dealer and cant believe what cars go for at the dealer auctions..

overall satisfaction.. thats up to you, but i prefer sunshine over miserable cold wet snowy conditions.. yes there are 4 seasons in cleveland... summer almost winter winter and still friggin winter.

I noticed that when I first moved here. For that reason I ended up buying cars from LA and you get a much better selection.

[Julia B.]

Re vehicle costs: because there's no state income tax--yet--the cost of registering a car is expensive and relative to the Blue Book value of your car. The clerk at the DMV who helped me was shocked by how cheap it was for me to register my 2007 Tucson for FOUR years in Jersey (and in that state, new car dealers take care of plates, registratration, and inspection for a nominal fee, and then you don't have to bother for four years with any of that). And I was shocked by the cost for one year for plates and registration in Clark County (more expensive than other counties in NV)!!

Re schools: just last week, on KNPR, I heard a mom talking about how her son was excelling here in public school but then, for what reason I don't recall (sorry!), she sent him away to a private school in Colorado, where it was determined he was an entire year behind his peers educationwise. (You might be able to cull the full story from the KNPR Web site or drop them an e-mail, asking how you can get the transcript to that interview.) A loss in sales-tax revenue (and our sales tax is over 7 percent) is causing Gov. Gibbons to cry poverty re the state's coffers, and so far, an across the board 4.5 percent cut in education and social services is slated. Check out the teachers union efforts to make this up by taxing the casinos at a higher rate, and there's another ballot referendum in the works that was initiated by a private attorney, that would tax the casinos even more.

Anyway, point is, I've heard (again, on NPR) average citizens--mainly parents of school-age kids--suggesting that it's now time for a state income tax, so I wonder how long it will be before Nevada caves in this regard. Personally, I think the gaming industry is underpaying, and so is the mining industry. Point is, we're in a state of flux (no pun intended) with regard to budget cuts and ways of increasing revenue.

Do I like Vegas and am I glad I moved? YES! But I didn't leave a job I loved--as a freelance editor, I take my job with me wherever I go. Do I have kids in school? No. So chalk it up to feminine intuition regarding your post when I suggest that you do thorough research regarding all your concerns (and some you didn't even know you had) and that you travel here on an exploratory visit before you move. I hope to God you won't be moving sight unseen!

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck!

[WOHR]

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