[hmatthies]

Hi-my husband and I are looking for an affordable, safe little town right outside of Vegas so he can get in and out the strip easily/quickly. the rents need to be reasonable as he's a drummer and so we need a small house not an apartment. checked out Henderson, looks too expensive, but nice. any ideas anyone?

[guinnessjim]

boulder city? aside from that, i think your next closest options would be pahrump or mesquite (neither of which is really close)

[olecapt]

Got to be Pahrump. Mesquite is pretty far and not inexpensive. BC is expensive. Pahrump may be farther than they like but meets the inexpensive bit.

Do much better in older Las Vegas. And skip the commute.

[guinnessjim]

right...i'd say downtown. i feel it is safe, but people have varying definitions of that word

[DesertDaisy]

Hi! Few questions:
Are you looking to rent or buy?
What is affordable in terms of monthly housing costs for you?
Will you need public transportation, or will you have a car?

[hmatthies]

hi, thanks for replying. well we're looking to rent a small house, hopefully with a basement because my husband plays the drums. we were hoping not to pay more than like, $800 a month? how far away from the strip would we have to be for this? he's hoping to find work in the casinos in a house band maybe, so we need easy access to the city. what's it like commuting around there? is the traffic fierce? and I'm a freelance editor and going to look for work as a tutor. I saw a lot of this on Craigslist. if you're living there in the Vegas area - what's the job situation like? thanks - Heidi

[BobKovacs]

There's few homes in the Vegas Valley with basements- the ground is typically too hard to make them cost effective. The chances of you finding a single-family house to rent for $800/month are pretty slim to begin with (unless you'd like to live in a pretty crappy part of town)- adding in the requirement of a basement will make it nearly impossible.

Something about your question makes me think that you haven't really evaluated the "Vegas area" very much. Are you aware that once you go beyond the LV/NLV/Henderson conglomerate of towns, there's not another town for quite some distance? Unlike many parts of the country, Southern Nevada isn't one sprawling web of towns that are interconnected.

[MomMom]

And not only what Bob said above, but moving here, in the this economy, with the hotels and everybody else cutting out everything possible, moving here without employment secured FIRST is a recipe for disaster. Please know also, that most hotels don't have "house bands". Either they are independently run or are run by the production company of each indivdual production show that uses live music.

Please know that Las Vegas is filled with musicians of varying degrees of skill, in fact, that field is oversaturated. I don't have any info about an editing job, you might have better luck securing that. Also, re-think your careers, you might have to accept other employment to pay your rent and food and car expenses, until you get that job you both really want.

Please, make a trip here, secure jobs first, then move. And always remember, in any kind of music and arts employment here in town, you are here today, and let go tomorrow, whether you have a so called "binding" contract or not, most especially with the major hotels.

Please re-think your game plan and don't let yourselves in for a totally bad experience. Plan well and act accordingly.

Good luck to both of you! Let us know how you're doing.

[DesertDaisy]

Hi again,

My goodness! it really isn't all that bad. Let's look at the glass half full.

Yes, the economy is a little crazy right now, but not everyone is suffering, and the casinos still have people milling around them, drinking, eating, etc., so clearly there is still some economic pulse. We're not dead.

Having said that, it all comes down to your comfort level when it comes to risk. I am a by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, so I just boldly go where I want to go and things seem to work out just fine. If you're like that, people who sing the economic blues won't deter you.

If that is the case, you'll want to look for places near UNLV or downtown. These areas are older areas that tend to have less-expensive properties, and a lot of really cool people.

If you have decent credit, you might also find a very inexpensive house for sale (condos can be had for as little as $50K) that would cost about the same as a rental. If it is your first purchase, you might even qualify for one of the spankin' new types of loans available for first-timers. (I have a great realtor if you are considering this, so PM me.)

No- you won't likely find a basement because they are not common in las Vegas, but you can soundproof your garage or a bedroom pretty cheaply with recycled materials (often available on craigslist). Foam padding is also very cheap at fabric stores, and works a treat.

What kind of music does your husband play? Does he have any technical skills like sound or lighting?
xxoo

Originally Posted by hmatthies

hi, thanks for replying. well we're looking to rent a small house, hopefully with a basement because my husband plays the drums. we were hoping not to pay more than like, $800 a month? how far away from the strip would we have to be for this? he's hoping to find work in the casinos in a house band maybe, so we need easy access to the city. what's it like commuting around there? is the traffic fierce? and I'm a freelance editor and going to look for work as a tutor. I saw a lot of this on Craigslist. if you're living there in the Vegas area - what's the job situation like? thanks - Heidi

[MomMom]

Originally Posted by DesertDaisy

Hi again,

My goodness! it really isn't all that bad. Let's look at the glass half full.

Yes, the economy is a little crazy right now, but not everyone is suffering, and the casinos still have people milling around them, drinking, eating, etc., so clearly there is still some economic pulse. We're not dead.
Having said that, it all comes down to your comfort level when it comes to risk. I am a by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, so I just boldly go where I want to go and things seem to work out just fine. If you're like that, people who sing the economic blues won't deter you.

If that is the case, you'll want to look for places near UNLV or downtown. These areas are older areas that tend to have less-expensive properties, and a lot of really cool people.

If you have decent credit, you might also find a very inexpensive house for sale (condos can be had for as little as $50K) that would cost about the same as a rental. If it is your first purchase, you might even qualify for one of the spankin' new types of loans available for first-timers. (I have a great realtor if you are considering this, so PM me.)

No- you won't likely find a basement because they are not common in las Vegas, but you can soundproof your garage or a bedroom pretty cheaply with recycled materials (often available on craigslist). Foam padding is also very cheap at fabric stores, and works a treat.

What kind of music does your husband play? Does he have any technical skills like sound or lighting?
xxoo

Who the heck said that, dear?

Giving a brutally honest opinion based on the info the OP gave in their post is just that. An opinion.


The OP takes it or leaves it.