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By Conor Shine (contact) 
Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 | 11:46 a.m.
Depending on where you get your news, Henderson might be one of the best places in the country to retire. Or it could be among the worst.
In furtherance of the time-honored tradition of ranking cities on everything from their food scene to their foreclosure rates, two national news organizations recently tackled the issue of where to retire.
Henderson ranked as one of the best 25 suburbs to retire to in the country, according to Forbes.
The list compared cities within 25 miles of a major metropolis based on cost of living, access to amenities, crime rates, air quality and mass-transit options.
The magazine cited Henderson’s access to hospitals and the Nevada State College campus in awarding the ranking. Other factors included the availability of cheap housing, low crime rates, an appealing tax climate and a cost of living 4 percent below the national average.
Also included in the Forbes top 25 were Sacramento, Calif., suburb Davis, Phoenix suburb Gilbert, Ariz., and South Jordan, Utah, which is just outside Salt Lake City.
The Fiscal Times, a financial news website, took the opposite approach and ranked the nation’s worst places to retire.
Lake Las Vegas, a master-planned community on the eastern edge of Henderson, topped the list.
The Fiscal Times refers to the development as “a golf-community gone off course” and a “well-heeled version of limbo.” The article recounts the community’s well-documented financial troubles, which forced the temporary closure of its casino, hotel and three golf courses.
The article doesn’t mention the recent reopening of Casino MonteLago or the Ravella at Lake Las Vegas hotel (which opened in the former Ritz Carlton property).
Checking in at No. 5 on the same Fiscal Times list is all of Clark County, receiving low marks for its “high costs and high crime.”
The article points to the valley’s staggering foreclosure rate, high unemployment and “a serious violent crime issue.”
Rounding out the Fiscal Times’ top five worst places to retire are the entire greater Phoenix area, a retirement community in Davenport, Fla., and Laguna Woods Village Retirement Community in Orange County, Calif., which is known for also being home to a medical-marijuana growing collective.
How is the foreclosure rate and the unemployment rate an issue for newly retired persons? The foreclosure rate is an opportunity and the unemployment rate is a moot point.
I like Henderson-now. When I moved here 10 years ago, I was sure the stock boom would fall, as it did in 2007. But I have a nice place, and most of my neighbors have stayed put. Nice view of the Strip, too.
God forbid that Henderson can tax on its own. We would be in the poor house-I just got my tax bill, and it was $1,200. The Mormon pols would double that in a minute....
I like the supermarkets, the shopping and the beautiful hotels. I don't like the petty thefts, armed robberys, home invasions and drug/gang influence from across the border. Scares me. There is nothing like that where I currently reside.
That information in that Forbes article is terribly outdated. Funny and typical of the media, they try to show a photos that is not Lake Las Vegas on the cover making people think that it is.
Even the LVSUN article mentioned that the Forbes article didn't bring up the fact that the hotel and casino have both re-opened & doing well and there are rumors that Reflection Bay will soon be sold and re-opened.
The Forbes article first hit the internet many weeks ago. Sounds like it was a stir the pot article by someone who didn't take the time to check their facts.
There is something very wrong about creating an artificial living environment in a hostile, lifeless desert. It promotes a general feeling of malaise and uneasiness because there is no genuine connection to nature. Humans become mean and unruly toward each other. It is not a place for large populations. It cannot be supported.