Is Las Vegas a good place to live..or bad? What are the pro's and cons?

Answer 1

It's a good place to live, if you are looking for employment. A bad place to live if you don't like very hot weather, tourists, drunk drivers, auto theft, or if you like to gamble (can cause severe gambling addiction).

PROS:

1. Employment, with all shifts available.
2. Nightlife.
3. No local or state taxes.
4. 24/7 food delivery.
5. Beautiful scenery

CONS:
1. Real estate is very high - six month waiting list for a decent apartment. Rents $700 and up for a one bedroom. You might need to share space with a roommate.
2. Crime rate is high - home invasions, auto theft, robberies.
3. High volume of homeless.
4. High number of auto accidents - drunk drivers, high insurance rates here, because of location.
5. Tourism is great for the economy, but teaches you to stay away from the Strip whenever possible.
6. The heat here is torture, the best time to move is in the spring or fall. It does get pretty cool during the winter, as low as the 30's.

If you don't have family or friends here, prepare to stay at a weekly ($175 to 300 per wk) motel/apartment suites until you can find a place. Bring enough money to live off of for at least six weeks, until you bring in your first paycheck.

If you want to work in the gaming industry, don't bother to apply for jobs on the Strip, start with casinos off of the Strip or in Primm, NV.

Answer 2

Alright...let's put all these rumors to rest. I'm a Las Vegas native...born and raised. First of all the term "sin city" really only applies to the "strip". Most tourists that come to LV don't go past that point and since they don't get past "the strip" I really don't see how they can make a judgement on whether LV is good or bad.

Beyond the strip is a city like any other city. We have our suburbs and our good & bad neighborhoods. Now here is the most honest assesment I can give you. Most locals don't even go near the strip unless they work there or happen to be out on the town. And as far as waiting lists go for housing...I have never been on one. I rent an apartment right now and have never had problems getting one before.

Pros: 24 hour town, mild winter weather, no state tax, reasonable housing costs (although not the lowest). Good employment for the gaming & hotel industry.

Cons: LV auto theft rate is the highest in the country & its crime rate is not far behind If you don't gamble, party, or drink alot then you're hard pressed to find something to do. LV is not very "cultured"..meaning they're not really big on musuems, art galleries..that sort of thing. People are rude and not very friendly but that's all a front. If you're friendly, they will be friendly too! I call it the Vegas mentality. LV school system is suffering..too many people moving in & not enough schools or teachers to compensate for the growth. It's HOT.....and did I say it's HOT!!! LV is going through a drought. If you are used to green everywhere forget about seeing that in LV. There are water restrictions due to the drought. New homes are required to put in desert landscaping just so you get what I'm talking about. LV's power company (NV Power) just did another rate increase in the middle of the HOT summer! For a 4bdrm house the power bill ranges about $400-$500. For a small 1 bdrm apt it's about $150-$200.

I could go on and on but you see where this is going. Being that the cons outweigh the good I would just visit and not move. I want to move too..so if you have any suggestions on a good place to move to let me know : )

Answer 3

I was born and raised in Las Vegas. Been here for 21 years, now going to college in Michigan.

Las Vegas is a great place to live. You might want to consider living in Henderson as there is much lower crime, the streets are cleaner, and everything is nicer. It's the suburbs yet you are only about 15 minutes away from the center of the city. Other considerations are west las vegas. Basically anywhere away from the center, which is true with most large cities.

The hospitals are top notch and the college is on its way to becoming very good. There are a lot of things here, contrary to what many people believe. With a population of about 1.6 million people I have no idea where people are getting "nothing there". There is A LOT here besides the casinos.

While gambling is present, most Las Vegans don't gamble on a regular basis. Out of about 20 of my friends 1 of them gambles regularly. However, if you enjoy gambling, you may want to put that into consideration.

Pro's
medium size city (1.6 mil)
low taxes (most of the state taxes are paid by casinos)
large amount of new restaurants
daily living expenses aren't too bad
unbeatable night life
plenty of work if you are OK with service industry

con's
hot, can't away from that
some ethnic foods are hard to find
the high school and elementary system is under stress, there's alot of people moving in
housing prices are rising

Answer 4

If you are 21 or older Vegas is a great place to live. There are good jobs but cost of living is now really high. People are not real friendly - they would rather talk to a slot machine than a person (JK). The best thing about Vegas is its a 24 hour town. If you like the great outdoors you can snow ski and water ski the same day. There are a lot of great national parks within a days drive. I have live a lot of places but always return back to Vegas it grows on you.

Answer 5

That all depends upon whether or not if you want to live among Con-artists, Pimps and Professional Whores. There are some honest, legitimate, good people who reside among the residents of the Las Vegas area...but to weed them out from among the majority of the BS that dominates the area, is completely up to your abilities of Common Sense and, being able to keep your guard up much of the time. It's not dubbed "Sin City" for nothing or in vain. The very best of the "Cons" come across as the most HONEST people that you butt heads with.

Answer 6

It depends on what you like in a city. I live in Las Vegas. It has good things and bad. Despite what some think, there are some good schools in town. Not all, but some.
For nightlife, you really can't beat it. There are tons of things to do and plenty of places to go. The casinos are all around, but you don't have to go to The Strip if you want to be in one.
Personally, I don't care for the town. The people are not friendly, it's too damned hot and even though it is a service-oriented city, the service here SUCKS!!
But, there are a LOT of jobs and loads of stuff to do.

Answer 7

No, it is not a good place to live. It's very hot during the Summer, the traffic sucks, the cost of living, especially home ownership or renting is extravagant and the allure of the casinos wears off fast. Way too many minorities (gangs, drive by shootings, crime, drugs).

You don't want to live there if you have any addictions, especially gambling.

You can make money if you're a service worker.

Answer 8

Las Vegas is a place of rich people for gambling. tens of people are killed there by the intelligent organizations of the USA. The Casinos have to pay 60% of their income to Bush every day.

Answer 9

I have several friends who are from Las Vegas that moved here to Chicago...they HATED it! Pro's...gambling, job opportunitys if you are in the industry of serving/bartending/casino's/dancing

Cons...worst schools ever, GREED, ignorance, lust, sin city...need I say more?!?!

It is just better for a vacation!

Answer 10

yuck.

pros: you don't need to fire up your oven in the summer. just go crack your eggs on the sidewalk.

cons: just about every dirty, nasty thing I can think of.

Come on man, it's Vegas. People go there to party, not live. It's a cesspool. A nasty armpit.

Another pro: Hoover Dam is cool to visit though.