Balaamsass2 - you and 3rd gen would be amazed at the green lawns in NV. We have snow-covered mountains - check out Mt. Charleston which is only about a 30-minute drive from LV. It's not going to look like Mammoth but the mountain ranges surrounding the valley are gorgeous but I love the desert - and the amazing blue ocean so I understand. I have withdrawals every time I leave it. Arizona is so beautiful - wish the saguaros thrived here like there - a few have.
I think LV is one of the more expensive cities to live now -- I only skimmed the headlines could be fake. Everything is trucked in so that might be part of the problem.