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i always thought i would hate living in the desert - thought i really belonged in the yukon. but now i have decided to buy a house a pahrump - only because it is AFFORDABLE. i am coming from the rainforest of the northwest. have just learned that the house i'm interested in is considered to be built on ground "0". i did think it was a little odd that NOTHING is built around it for blocks. what am i getting myself into? any ideas?

That's a disaster waiting to happen.

Well, is there any way you can get out here to take a look at the town?

I was just out visiting Pahrump, and there are actually quite a lot of trees there--mostly on the southern end of town (though there were some north too). If you are going to move there, would it be possible for you to suffer the horrors of renting for up to a year until you can find a place that would be bearable for you to live in? Since might it not be a bit rough to go from rainforest to nothing? (unless you like can't stand the rainforest). It's just that, in my view, to commit to buy a house and then find out you can't stand living there would not be good at all.

My initial impression of Pahrump was that it was all dust and dumpy houses (just waiting for someone to quote that with a "yep, that's right" afterwards or something [maybe a "your first impression is usually the right one" or something snarky like that]). However, after doing some research and driving out to the place, I was quite surprised that it actually looks quite nice. I was just checking out a few properties (rental ones since I'm saving up to buy), and they're *really* nice--for quite reasonable prices too.

There is nothing to do in Pahrump. That is quite true--for those who enjoy going clubbing and larger city stuff like that. Yet, it is so quiet and there's lots of nature/scenic stuff. And the houses aren't all squished together like they are in Las Vegas. And it's not overwhelmingly far from Vegas either, so it's possible to get up there occasionally if you feel like you need to go to a larger city to do something.

I don't know, I was quite favorably impressed. Hope the job turns out so I can get my rental place I really like.

Good luck with whatever you're going to do, astro.

I think if a person hates deserts....thinks the Yukon is ideal...and is from the Pacific Northwest. Than moving to Pahrump for 'affordability' is actually going to cost that person IMMENSILY.

First off, they'll be trying to sell their house shortly after buying it - i.e. losing money. Then have to repeat the process again to try to get to where they 'should be'.

There are PLENTY of affordable housing in non-desert colder-climate type places. If the poster prefers the Pacific Northwest - than Tacoma or Spokane. If mountains isn't an issue, but just prefers yukon arctic type air - than a large range of affordable housing markets open up - North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. If you want cold and mountains, but not Rocky Mountain prices... why not Pennsylvania or West Virginia?

There is no reason to want affordable, hate deserts, think the Yukon is ideal...and quickly make a move to Pahrump, NV....!!??!!

My partner and I are in the process of moving from Las Vegas to Pahrump --- the sale of our new house is supposed to close at the end of this week. Yes, there are problems with houses/foundations sinking in certain parts of town, but as long as you're buying your home with a conventional mortgage loan, you'll be protected. The bank will require an official engineering inspection of the land/house/foundation before they'll approve the mortgage loan, because they don't want to be stuck with a sinker any more than you do. The paperwork that the realtor will have about the property may even contain a preliminary engineering report (especially if it's owned by a bank or Freddie/Fannie). There were initially two homes we were interested in, but one had some odd cracking in one wall, so before making an offer we had an engineering firm give us a free assessment. We were told that the foundation needed backfilling (to the tune of $20K), so we sadly decided to give that property a pass. Even if we'd decided to make an offer, our mortgage lender would have eventually refused to loan on the property once the official engineering report was received, so there were a couple of times when the problem would have been caught. Long story short, if you're not paying cash, your mortgage lender will insist on a foundation evaluation, and if you're still worried, you can have one done yourself with the help of your realtor. If you see a house listed for sale as "cash only" (there was recently a gorgeous property on Cactus, brand new with pool, selling for cash), it's a red flag and means you won't be able to get a mortgage loan for the purchase.

As for moving to a brand new state/city/town/climate sight-unseen, I've been doing it all my life and have always just considered it an adventure. I moved from Toronto to Albuquerque having never visited even once, and stayed for 7 years. Then I moved to Pennsylvania for 2 years. Then southern California for 2 years, San Francisco for another 2 years, and then to Vegas, where I've been for 11 years. I'd been to SF and Vegas on vacations prior to moving, but otherwise, I was born and raised in Canada so most of the climates have been new to me. Now we're moving to Pahrump after only visiting the place once (the day we went to look at houses)! I'm not worried about the change from "big city" to "small town", and look forward to the silence, to seeing stars in the sky again, and to having enough land to finally have some chickens and big garden. I like that I won't have a Homeowner's Association nagging me because I put my trashcan out one day too early. I'll miss the conveniences of Vegas (I live within walking distance of a grocery store, hospital, community college, veterinarian, and Lowe's... as well as a ton of fast food places), but Vegas will still be here if I decide to move back one day. No decision has to be final and forever.

One other comment about moving to Pahrump -- it's extremely affordable right now and a great time to buy. Our new home assessed at $11000 more than we paid for it, so we've already got a "foot in the door" if a time comes when we want to sell and need a downpayment for someplace else. I have a feeling our next move might just be to a bigger piece of land in Pahrump, though... we were hoping to buy at least 5 acres and only ended up with 1, so I'm on the lookout for a 20+ acre "dream lot" where I can putter and tinker to my heart's content.

P.S. I love the easy-going business/work-from-home regulations in Pahrump. Our new house is zoned so that I can run a home-based business without a special permit. Another small venture I'd like to try from home, a non-profit charity, will only require a basic license. No jumping through hoops like in Vegas, where they theoretically wanted me to have a business license even if all I was doing was selling stuff on eBay.