Hi Lynn, My neighbor moved here from Chicago five years ago. She said the Chicago winds have nothing on ours here. But, I have talked to some people that have lived here either all or most of their lives and they say that the winds get stronger each year. It could be due to all the natural habitat that used to be where they have razed down the mountains and hills, and now there is a huge valley where the wind can speed across without any barriers.
I do like the walls because the city is much more attractive that way, and most communities that are gated and have HOAs also are able to keep some sort of order inside the community. I have some plants and drip irrigation. But for watering my front and back yards, all the water use from the house (bathroom, laundry, kitchen, etc.) my water bill ranges from about 2000 gallons to 4 or 5000. There have been some broken heads on the drip and until I see it, the water sprays out of that tiny hose for the 20 minutes or so that it is supposed to be dripping. That doesn’t happen too often. Las Vegas has grown a lot and there was the building boom that happened about 10 years ago. Now many homes are in foreclosure or going through short sales. So sad. A good share of the people that live here work in the hospitality business (casinos, hotels, etc.) and with the economy there were less visitors and less tips. So those that didn’t lose their jobs completely actually suffered a huge decrease in what they bring home. We had two huge oak trees when I lived in California. They were the tallest trees anywhere around. Not all of the leaves feel off in the winter, and the ground was always a blanket of leaves to either rake up or let fully decompose for mulch. There were crow nests in the top of them too. You deserve to do the traveling thing and that way you really know before making a choice that ‘this is where’ you want to live. Take care, Joan From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2011 2:53 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Allergens Your post was very informative Joan and thank you very much. I know, too picky, but after a lifetime of ice and snow that goes on for too many long months, we feel we've earned the right to at least find the place that suits us best. We have seriously considered getting a small rv when my husband reaches retirement age (but have been scouting ahead online) and just driving all over our beautiful country, staying as long as we like in any one place, and when we discover the place we just cannot bear to leave...that will be the place. Oak trees, we have 8 of them that tower into the sky and they create so much work for me, you cannot imagine how many tarp loads of oak leaves that I drag to the curb every fall and they fall heavily for 2 solid months and then as if that isn't bad enough, we have the type of oaks that do not completely drop all their leaves in the fall. Tons of leaves stay on the trees and drop all winter long. I call them the gift that keeps on giving. All winter, all snowy winter long too. I am not kidding when I say the last oak leaf just dropped to the ground yesterday. I saw it. One year when the kids were small, we had cuteest little dog that came along and stayed for the duration of an afternoon of raking and he and my son had so much fun jumping in the leaves, almost completely buried with only their faces peering out of the leaves. I wonder if I can find those pics, so cute. Do you think the winds in Las Vegas are due to the desert atmosphere? We still think, in spite of what I wrote about not moving to Las Vegas, that it is a beautiful place. My daughter wants to move to Chicago, but I wondered aloud to her if she wouldn't dislike the wind that seems to be constant there from what people say, but she's very young and not affected by things we decide we would prefer to do without in our later years. I love the block walls you have there, great to keep most predators out and provide a source of privacy. That's what we want: rocks in place of grass. We thought we could do away with sprinkler system, but found out you have to have a drip underground to water your gorgeous plants, of course, they would have to have a source of water. Yes, we would love a gated community to help keep crime away from our home. Even though we live in a nice neighborhood now, we have had some pretty weird and frightening things happen over the years because we are surrounded by many low-income areas. What about snakes and scorpions? I saw a show on animal planet where a family moved to Phoenix and they had scorpions invade their home and they just could not get rid of them of them even though they had professional exterminators come in several times. They had a baby that was just at crawling stage, they were very worried it would be stung and in the end it was the mother that was stung while she was sleeping and had to be hospitalized. I 've read the sting is very painful. I would hate to have my cats or an even smaller body, a Chihuahua,stung, they're so small and wonder how they would handle the venom. Lynn 5/6/2011 1:07:07 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Well…your list reminds me of the one that I sent to the realtor here when I was in California…most of the things that I wanted were inside the home, though. But close to stores, doctors, and hospitals were the ones that were exterior. Well…let’s see what we do have that you don’t want: We have the winds…but they come for a few days and then are gone. It is not every day. The oak trees…I have to see if they are drought tolerant…are you allergic or just don’t want one?
