The idea of living on the edge of Las Vegas, with the unforgiving Mojave Desert in your backyard, has lately captivated social media, inspiring dozens of TikTok videos; but for Crystal Wojtowich, it’s just her everyday life.
Wojtowich is one of many Sin City residents sharing videos of breathtaking desert views.
The hospitality industry worker, who has racked up 5.6 million views on her video alone, tells Realtor.com® what it’s like living on the periphery of a bustling city, with her porch overlooking a stark, lunar-esque landscape that is far removed from the neon-lit frenzy of downtown Vegas.
“Sometimes, I do look out at the desert and realize that it is pretty barren, but also realize that with my personality, that peace and quiet is definitely something I wish for in every home that I live in,” Wojtowich says.
Wojtowich grew up in a small town in South Dakota and moved to Vegas five years ago.
For the past three years, she has lived in a home located in a community called Mountain’s Edge tucked away in the southwestern corner of Las Vegas Valley.
There are about 25 homes in the neighborhood but only three on Wojtowich’s street. She explains that she was immediately drawn to the area because it offered her privacy, while at the same time being within a short driving distance from grocery stores and parks.
“The home was a perfect fit for my needs, so the thought of the dark, open desert beside me was not an issue,” she said, adding that she does not feel isolated at all and can still hear the typical noises you would have in any normal neighborhood: cars driving by, kids playing, and dogs barking.
“I actually really love where I live,” Wojtowich insists. “I’m still perfectly close to everything that I need, while still having that privacy.”
How to get used to living in a desert
But acclimatizing to Vegas’ notoriously scorching climate took some time for the former Midwesterner, who was far more used to blizzards than heat waves.
“Your body definitely learns to adapt, but that doesn’t mean you still aren’t going to sweat,” Wojtowich admits.
Living in Las Vegas, where summer temperatures routinely climb into the triple digits, and especially steps away from North America’s driest desert, Wojtowich says she quickly learned the importance of staying hydrated, cranking up the AC early, keeping the window shades down, and having her car windows tinted.
Wojtowich says her daily lifestyle is most noticeably impacted by the desert environment during the blisteringly hot summer months.
“Living an active lifestyle and wanting to be outside, the desert can be brutal,” she admits. “I love to hike and take my dog places, but it definitely is hard to do that when it’s 115+ degrees outside and the pavement is even hotter.”
So Wojtowich has adapted, opting to go on hikes and walks during the cooler early morning hours, and investing in a set of doggy shoes to keep her pet’s paws from being seared by the sizzling-hot pavement.
The pros and cons of living on Vegas’ edge
Another downside to living in the desert-adjacent neighborhood is the commute to downtown Vegas, roughly 15 miles to the north.
“While I do love where I live most days, there are some days where I could be running late, there’s heavy traffic or construction, and my commute takes double the time,” explains Wojtowich. “Most of my commute to work is just driving to the freeway!”
But being a homeowner in an arid landscape off the beaten path has plenty of upsides, according to Wojtowich.
For starters, landscaping is a breeze, because there is no grass to water — but there are still shrubs and trees to liven up the backyard.
The biggest perk for Wojtowich is the location itself, which she says strikes the perfect balance between privacy and community.
“I get a mix of both lives!” she gushes. “I have awesome neighbors, my neighborhood is clean, and I love being close to parks so I can attend farmers markets, food events, and even just getting outside.”
Wojtowich notes that the relatively isolated location of her neighborhood does tends to attract some rowdy outsiders, who can be heard some nights riding dirtbikes, setting off fireworks in the desert, and even firing guns uncomfortably close to people’s homes.
“There are a lot of animals and kids nearby, so it does get scary sometimes when you’re not expecting it,” she concedes.
Asked about her interactions with the desert’s wildlife, Wojtowich recounts spine-tingling moments of discovering a variety of “creepy crawlers,” including scorpions, ants, cockroaches, and stink bugs, in dark closets and under appliances.
“It is so very important to have pest control in the edge homes of Las Vegas because the desert is their home, and they are just a foot away,” Wojtowich advises. “With just a wall in between our home and theirs, they are bound to get inside at some point!”
It’s also not uncommon to hear piercing coyote yelps echoing in the open desert in the middle of the night, she says.
What appears to capture the imagination of social media users flocking to these videos is the otherworldly emptiness of the desert— just a stone’s throw from people’s homes on the edge of Sin City.
“I think most people would be surprised to learn that while living on the edge might seem unnatural and dystopian, it really is no different than any other neighborhood,” concludes Wojtowich.