Boulder City? (Las Vegas, Henderson: house, buying, construction) - Nevada (NV) - City-Data Forum

foxckjkz · 11-29-2011, 04:19 AM

Is Boulder City a good family town? I would love to hear from a family currently living there. I can only find old threads about BC, so it would be great to hear current opinions. Times have changed since the economic down turn. We are a family of 5... kids 12, 10 and 3. We have visited the town and have also toured the public schools this past March. All seems very good. We currently live in Germany and would love to move back to the US as soon as possible. My wife has her family in Vegas, but there is no way I would put the kids in Vegas public schools. My family is in Texas but I'm not thrilled about moving back to Texas either. We love the climate in the Las Vegas Valley and BC seems to be just far enough away from the big city to still feel safe. I will need to fly back to Europe often to service my contracts so being near the Vegas airport is also a plus.
Any info or opinions are very welcome...

Thanks!!

Buzz123 · 11-30-2011, 01:19 AM

I hate to break it to you, but going to school in Boulder City is no different from Las Vegas. It is all the same school system in Clark County. It's 5th largest in the U.S. None of those poor vs. rich independent school districts like they have in Texas.

That said, your kids would be just fine in the Clark County School District if they are good students, and you are good parents. English is not the first language to about 30% of our kids, so IMO that is what brings down our scores. The whole educational system in this country is in the toilet anyway. The so called "educators", who haven't got a clue about how the mind works, therefore have never figured out how people learn, have it so messed up no one is getting educated. Boulder City has pluses and minuses. Not a good commute if you work in most parts of Las Vegas, but would be OK if you worked in Henderson. BC housing is expensive, and there isn't much there to do after you've done it all once...which takes about two weeks. To say shopping there is limited is a gross understatement, but again ...Henderson's not far. I don't know this for sure, but I've seen indications that kids may not be all that happy there. I like to go there for certain occasions, but not sure living there would be of any benefit.

Buzz123 · 11-30-2011, 01:21 AM

By the way, this would probably have been best posted on the Las Vegas Forum.

foxckjkz · 11-30-2011, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz123

I hate to break it to you, but going to school in Boulder City is no different from Las Vegas. It is all the same school system in Clark County. It's 5th largest in the U.S. None of those poor vs. rich independent school districts like they have in Texas.

That said, your kids would be just fine in the Clark County School District if they are good students, and you are good parents. English is not the first language to about 30% of our kids, so IMO that is what brings down our scores. The whole educational system in this country is in the toilet anyway. The so called "educators", who haven't got a clue about how the mind works, therefore have never figured out how people learn, have it so messed up no one is getting educated. Boulder City has pluses and minuses. Not a good commute if you work in most parts of Las Vegas, but would be OK if you worked in Henderson. BC housing is expensive, and there isn't much there to do after you've done it all once...which takes about two weeks. To say shopping there is limited is a gross understatement, but again ...Henderson's not far. I don't know this for sure, but I've seen indications that kids may not be all that happy there. I like to go there for certain occasions, but not sure living there would be of any benefit.

Thanks for the feedback. Just some details about us: We live in a small town here in Germany...even less kid friendly. BC looks to have as much or more. Our kids are active in soccer and tennis. Our oldest is also into bmx and it looks like BC has a big bmx scene. We have seen that BC schools are part of the clark county district, but the thing that draws us to BC schools is the size of the classes, total number of students. Our kids would be absolutely lost in a big school. The BC schools are the same size as their current school/class here in Germany. We are pretty active as a family and dont like the kids having too much "free time". It just leads to trouble no matter where you are located. If I had to choose, I think I would rather them be bored in BC than Vegas. My Tx family is against us moving to the Vegas area...big time. Its not making this decision easy for us.

...so we appreciate any feedback.
Many thanks again

foxckjkz · 11-30-2011, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz123

By the way, this would probably have been best posted on the Las Vegas Forum.

Can this thread be moved?? Thanks again!

Buzz123 · 11-30-2011, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxckjkz

Thanks for the feedback. Just some details about us: We live in a small town here in Germany...even less kid friendly. BC looks to have as much or more. Our kids are active in soccer and tennis. Our oldest is also into bmx and it looks like BC has a big bmx scene. We have seen that BC schools are part of the clark county district, but the thing that draws us to BC schools is the size of the classes, total number of students. Our kids would be absolutely lost in a big school. The BC schools are the same size as their current school/class here in Germany. We are pretty active as a family and dont like the kids having too much "free time". It just leads to trouble no matter where you are located. If I had to choose, I think I would rather them be bored in BC than Vegas. My Tx family is against us moving to the Vegas area...big time. Its not making this decision easy for us.

...so we appreciate any feedback.
Many thanks again

It sounds like you've already made up your mind. I'd just hate to see you move there for the wrong reasons. Like the reason your TX family is against your moving to Las Vegas. I'd be willing to bet it is based on preconceived notions about Las Vegas as "sin city". That is the marketers' campaign to draw the not very bright but wealthy young people here to spend their money. They think anything goes by the reputation this town has carefully developed, but it ain't so. The city is pretty normal in many ways, but thanks to tourism, it's a long ways from being boring. Still, kids grow up here like they do anywhere, except they are more savvy than kids from other cities, and they get jaded. They don't let the tourist stuff go to their heads. It's more like growing up in Hollywood.

Boulder City is OK, and we've thought about moving out there many times. But it is very small and there aren't any city amenities there. They have a couple of grocery stores, a handful of restaurants, and a couple of blocks of "downtown" (if you can call it that) consisting mainly of specialty shops that cater mostly to tourists. And property is hard to come by there due to all the restrictions, so it is expensive. The tiny little homes that were built by the government to house dam construction workers in the 1930's sell for a small fortune. If you've been there and know what it's like then maybe you like it. But if you don't know the town, I just wanted to point out the negatives, and warn that you will probably stay there for a while, then move into Las Vegas. That is typical, and I've seen it happen.

Croce · 12-06-2011, 08:16 PM

We did a lot of research before buying in LV and BC was high on the list. Several pluses and we probably would have liked to have bought there. Points to consider - No gated communities, no casinos, and home prices are higher than LV. Now that the bypass bridge has opened, traffic through town should be greatly reduced. Small town feel, diagonal parking on main street. Low utility prices compared to LV. In the final analysis for us - we just got much more for the money in LV and are closer to more of the activities In which we enjoy.

tortoise · 12-06-2011, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Croce

Now that the bypass bridge has opened, traffic through town should be greatly reduced.

LVRJ article . . Bypass bridge traffic ties up Boulder City

dynimagelv · 12-07-2011, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Croce

We did a lot of research before buying in LV and BC was high on the list. Several pluses and we probably would have liked to have bought there. Points to consider - No gated communities, no casinos, and home prices are higher than LV. Now that the bypass bridge has opened, traffic through town should be greatly reduced. Small town feel, diagonal parking on main street. Low utility prices compared to LV. In the final analysis for us - we just got much more for the money in LV and are closer to more of the activities In which we enjoy.

Nope.....the bridge does not bypass the TOWN....it bypasses the Dam.....the traffic INTO town is terrible....

Buzz123 · 12-07-2011, 05:49 PM

Eventually they will build a bypass road around BC from what I've heard. Seems like a double edged sword though. Might cause a loss of business at the "Best restaurant by a dam site."

Just because there are casinos in Las Vegas doesn't mean they are on every corner. You more than likely wouldn't be within three miles of one in most Las Vegas communities. And BC is within a mile of one, the Railroad Pass Casino. Do people still think we live in casinos here? And if they don't like casinos why move here? Do they think that just because they see them around they will somehow become corrupted? Is their self determination on such shaky grounds that they can't control themselves and will become gambling addicts? Do they think the kids will all grow up to be sinful gamblers, and/or Mafia hit-persons?

Get real.