Phoenix vs Vegas: Looking to move and looking for insight (park, shampoo)

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by DougStark

I'd be interested to know what the Las Vegas forum says about us.

Nevada's an interesting, unique state, but I often don't like how they vote (Hillary in '16 election and that despicable Harry Reid senator--good riddance.)

Nevada has the same issue as New York, Illinois and Oregon. They are completely dominated by a single city.

Phoenix is the biggest city in Arizona but it doesn’t dominate the state politics like Vegas does Nevada. And when Nevada is so dominated by Vegas, which in turn is so singularly dominated by the Cassino and hotel industry it makes for some strange politics

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by chahunt

I thought the summer monsoons ARE normal and common every year? Was this year more plentiful than usual?

Monsoon season usually makes its first presence sometime around the 4th of July, then becomes fully established about a week or so later. The first few days of July are usually bone dry like June is, then the humidity sets in, and you really feel the difference. This year, the monsoon has been more active than usual, especially in the high country. I was in Flagstaff for over a week, and it rained every day I was there ... even had hail and flooding in some parts.

Originally Posted by DougStark

I'd be interested to know what the Las Vegas forum says about us.

Nevada's an interesting, unique state, but I often don't like how they vote (Hillary in '16 election and that despicable Harry Reid senator--good riddance.)

Vegas is largely Democrat because of the union influence in the hotel/casino industry. As a whole, the state of Nevada is the closest thing to Libertarian, probably more so than any other state ... however, many Libertarians tend to vote GOP because of their strong fiscal conservatism & wanting less government involvement in most matters. So Nevada is really more conservative than liberal overall, except on social issues. Most Nevadans actually like the way the revenue from legal gambling pays for many services, and most of them don't mind the presence of legal brothels.

[yukon]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I was in north central Phoenix. Not at all suburbs and not at all far out. I went to at least 4 places around 9:30, all were either closed completely or the kitchen was, and gave up. It was about a year and a half ago. It happened!

ElleTea is right. I've been scouting out locations for a meetup group, we wanted something that stayed open until at least 11:00. Most places in central Phoenix that I looked up or contacted closed at 9:00 or 10:00. Sports bars are open late, but restaurants? Not so many unless they're 24/7 diners (like Jerrys or Dennys). Some will stay open a little later on Friday and Saturday, but even then you're only looking at 10:00 or 11:00. And this has been in the past two weeks that I've been looking.

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Nevada has the same issue as New York, Illinois and Oregon. They are completely dominated by a single city.

Phoenix is the biggest city in Arizona but it doesn’t dominate the state politics like Vegas does Nevada. And when Nevada is so dominated by Vegas, which in turn is so singularly dominated by the Cassino and hotel industry it makes for some strange politics

You make great points.

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Monsoon season usually makes its first presence sometime around the 4th of July, then becomes fully established about a week or so later. The first few days of July are usually bone dry like June is, then the humidity sets in, and you really feel the difference. This year, the monsoon has been more active than usual, especially in the high country. I was in Flagstaff for over a week, and it rained every day I was there ... even had hail and flooding in some parts.



Vegas is largely Democrat because of the union influence in the hotel/casino industry. As a whole, the state of Nevada is the closest thing to Libertarian, probably more so than any other state ... however, many Libertarians tend to vote GOP because of their strong fiscal conservatism & wanting less government involvement in most matters. So Nevada is really more conservative than liberal overall, except on social issues. Most Nevadans actually like the way the revenue from legal gambling pays for many services, and most of them don't mind the presence of legal brothels.

Thanks for your points about NV. Very good.

[BigEinAz]

Have you looked into the Kierland area of North Scottsdale? Seems to have many of the amenities you are looking for. Google Optima Kierland for an example of what’s available. Not single family homes, but very modern.

[kytoaz]

Originally Posted by curiousgeorge5

What crazy **** goes down in Vegas but not Phoenix?

Vegas is far more dangerous than phoenix.

[Code Stemi]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

Vegas is far more dangerous than phoenix.

Not really. Phoenix has over double the population. Doubt it.

[ShampooBanana]

I've lived in Phoenix for the past 7+ years but also go to Vegas at least once a month or so for my work and have seen just about every part of Vegas. I'm 40 and my wife is 31 with one kid so similar age/demographic range as you. Our income/price range is a little lower than yours but still probably 85th-90th percentile for Phoenix/Vegas so still pretty high in that respect, so we're probably coming from a similar perspective.

Some things that stand out:

1. For one, Phoenix is a much larger metro area than Vegas. Like more than twice the size. (4.75 million vs. 2.2 million) So naturally there is going to be a wider variety of neighborhoods, amenities, jobs, and things to do.

2. Phoenix has more history. Not a lot compared to most places in the US, but more than Vegas, which was really quite small until the 80's when it really took off. You will barely find any historical neighborhoods in Vegas, and the few that are older are the areas you DON'T want to live in. In contrast Phoenix has some very desirable older historical and mid-century modern 'hoods in Central Phoenix, Arcadia, historic Tempe, and parts of Scottsdale.

3. Where Vegas has Phoenix beat by miles is obviously in entertainment options. I mean, nowhere else in the world can you see so many world class shows on any given night of the week. Granted, the vast majority of them are on or near The Strip, and most locals after a while don't like dealing with the parking (which you have to pay for), the crowds of tourists, and the pain of getting to anywhere on The Strip. Most of the places you'd actually maybe want to live in Vegas aren't anywhere near The Strip or Downtown, and once you get away from there the other parts of Vegas are very...bland suburbia. Just like the newer suburban parts of Phoenix.

4. Mountains and scenery. Vegas has Mt. Charleston and Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead/Hoover Dam not far away. Phoenix is punctuated with smaller mountains right in the middle of the urban landscape, which makes it somewhat unique in that respect. You can climb Camelback Mountain, or McDowell, or Piestewa, or South Mountain after work easily, but you're going to have to drive a little further to see REAL mountains. But Sedona and amazing Oak Creek Canyon are only an hour and 45 minutes away, Flagstaff is a nice escape from the heat of summer, and Payson and the Mogollon Rim are even closer depending on what pat of the valley you're in. Nothing as big as Lake Mead, but for lakes there's Lake Pleasant, Saguaro Lake, Canyon Lake, Roosevelt Lake, and Apache (oh, and Tempe Town Lake right in town). You can also go tubing on the Salt River just east of town.

5. Sports: Vegas now has a hockey team and will soon have the Raiders, but Phoenix has all four major pro sports. Vegas has UNLV for college sports but Phoenix has ASU.

6. Neither town is very green but Phoenix has greener parts, especially in the older, nicer neighborhoods of Central Phoenix. With regards to quality of roads, infrastructure, etc, it's not even close. Phoenix has far better highways/roads, etc. and is generally a much cleaner city than Vegas. I can't tell you how many times I've been driving in Vegas and will see someone literally dump trash out of the window of their car or truck while driving around. It's disgusting. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen the same in Phoenix and I live there.

7. Not a big concern for you since your daughters older, but schools overall stink in both places. At least in Phoenix there are some areas with good enough public schools (Gilbert, Chandler, Kyrene, Madison Elementary, Scottsdale, parts of north Peoria), plus more and better charter options if that's the route you want to go. There aren't as many choices in Las Vegas unless you want to fork over the money (like $1,000-1,300 per month) to send your kid to Bishop Gorman over on the west side.

8. For when you want to travel, Sky Harbor is a far better airport than McCarran, and much easier to get to being basically right in the middle of the metro.

9. IF I were going to live in Vegas there are only a couple places I would consider, and that's Summerlin, maybe Skye Canyon...and that's about it to be honest. Other places are either too crowded, old, unsafe, or not as close to nicer amenities or outdoor attractions as I'd like. I really wanted to like Vegas. I really did, but I always long to get back to Phoenix every time I go there for more than a couple days. While a great place to visit every once in a while (easily done from Phoenix!), I wouldn't want to live there, personally.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by chahunt

Not really. Phoenix has over double the population. Doubt it.

It's not about the total number of crimes, as any city with twice the population is probably going to have more in absolute numbers. It's about the likelihood of encountering criminal activity or being murdered, etc. I.e., the RATE of crime. Vegas has a higher crime rate than Phoenix (especially violent crime, which is MUCH higher).

Ranked on a 0-100 scale

Phoenix Metro

Violent Crime - 50.6
Non Violent Crime - 52.3

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

Las Vegas Metro

Violent Crime - 67.3
Non Violent Crime - 54.3

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

Also look here. In a ranking of the 50 most violent metro areas, Las Vegas ranked 14th, the 2nd highest "big" metro (over 1 million people) after Memphis. Phoenix wasn't in the Top 50.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...nt-crime-rate/