Yvette asks:

 

Can someone tell me what Nellis AFB is like? Is it difficult to get housing on base?

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C. W. says:
May 11, 2011 at 10:39 am

There are a lot of good things and a lot of bad things about Nellis. Having lived here for over 3 years, I would say that Nellis is a good first duty station, and it is best for young, single airman who aren?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t ready to settle down and get married or young married couples who still like to party and don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have kids yet.

Good: It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s located in a large city (Las Vegas), so there?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s plenty of shopping, parks, sightseeing, restaurants, etc. It is a 24/7 town, so there?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s always something fun to do. Every concert & show you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll ever want to see probably comes through here at some point. Since the housing market crashed hard here, it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s pretty easy to buy a really nice house for not a lot of money. Vegas is also close to California and Utah, so it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s fun to take short trips to Salt Lake City, LA, San Diego, etc.

Bad: Vegas is not a family friendly town at all! There are activities for families to do together, but it can be hard to protect your child?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s innocence since there are so many strip club/escort service magazines, cards, and billboards everywhere. Crime, drug use, and prostitution are pretty high here, and it seems like the majority of people who visit here only do so to gamble, drink, and get into trouble. The schools here are TERRIBLE!!! The high school drop out rate is over 40% and there?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s lots of gang activity. It is very easy to find all kinds of trouble in Vegas even if you aren?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t looking for it, so be careful if you are stationed here. There are a lot of DUI?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s and vehicle thefts, and the area right near base is not very good. If you are a spouse, it can be extremely hard to find a job even with a college degree. It took me over 2 years to find a job in my field here. What finally got me a good job was the fact that I was willing to take whatever job I could get in order to make connections and network. Once you know the ?¢‚Ǩ?ìright?¢‚Ǩ¬ù people in your field here, getting a job becomes a lot easier.

I can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t say that I hate Nellis- I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve had a lot of fun and good times while living here, and the Nellis community itself is great. (Especially for the spouses-check out the Nellis spouses facebook page for more info). Base housing is brand new, and really nice, and the base hospital is pretty good too. However, I feel that as I get older, Vegas is not so fun anymore. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m ready to have children and move on to an area that it better suited to responsible adults. I also love to travel, so I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m ready to move on to another duty station.


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Mrs LaJeunesse says:
February 24, 2011 at 11:04 pm

PSC?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d to Nellis AFB in Aug 2010.

Loving the weather and living off base! Schools not so great around Nellis, but really good about 20 minutes west in Summerlin- where we live. Nevada curriculum not great but staff and teachers are top notch.


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Megan Pearson says:
December 1, 2010 at 12:15 am

Move to Nellis June 2010 :o )


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