On Mon, 26 Dec 2016 17:17:14 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

MY BROTHER LIVES IN PHOENIX AZ nearly no homes have basements or crawl space. slab constuction is the norm...

probably fewer issues with bugs, phoenix has a big problem with floods. they dont happen often but are nasty when they occur.......

my dads new home has water retention ponds thru the neighborhood.

Almost no basements in southern Nevada, but there are some (few).
Worked at one site that built monolithic poured walls, that allowed
walk out access to the pool area and back yard area. It was basically
a complete living area, bedrooms, bath , theater and entertainment for
the kids. A place to send the brats.

Flash floods are bad here in the desert with just a few inches of
rain. Hard pan soil is dug out and land built higher, compacted again
for the "100 year flood", so the government says :-)

Nevada is not a salt water sea anymore.