I'm thinking of moving to the Las Vegas Area from So Cal. what's it like to live in Vegas/Henderson? Pros-Cons

Question

I'm curious to know what others think about living in the Vegas Area. It is a lot cheaper than in Orange County, CA but still within a few hours of a drive to visit family. What are the pros and cons of living in vegas... and yes, i know it's hot in summer and cold in the winter... please give me more than just that. thanks. :-)

Answer 1

I live in Las Vegas, in the Lakes, which is next to Summerlin on the west side. We love this area. But I want to move out of this city. We moved here 4 years ago from Detroit, Detroit is known for being super dangerous. Well I've seen more crime here in Vegas in 4 years than a lifetime of living in Metro Detroit. They do keep much of the crime out of the media, especially national media, bad for tourists to know that at least one person is murdered here per day and that is a low estimate. Or how often people take a jump off the Stratosphere. Or how often the casinos are actually robbed and the robbers never caught versus what you see on tv.

The traffic is a nightmare. Well Chicago is worse, but it's a nightmare nonetheless. No one seems to know where they are going, there are numerous different streets all with the same names, roads end out of nowhere and continue again in a different spot, the same roads also may have 2 or 3 different names for the same road on different stretches of it for no apparent reason. I hate driving here. It's always accidents waiting to happen, every day. They don't use their turn signals, change lanes w/ no blinker, speed like crazy, etc. Probably b/c driver's training is not mandatory and the cops are all on the Strip worrying about tourists instead of locals.

Jobs here are great if you want to be a waitress for your entire life! There are soooooo many people living here and moving here w/ the exact same qualifications that you have, that you will not even get called in for interviews for jobs you are OVER qualified for. So expect a pay cut from other major cities. And take a look at what we have here in the way of employment: office jobs, tip jobs, telemarketers, retail, and tons of crap. Also, many tip jobs working w/ the public like bartender, waiterstaff, drink servers, etc. you have to be model good looking to get. Yes, I know maybe not downtown, but the major casinos. Don't believe that? Go take a look at Red Rock or the Palms, see who is working there, Paris Hilton look-a-likes.

Cost of living here is very high. No not compared to SoCal, but compared to most of the rest of the country it is. Just take a look at the houses here for sale. And we have no yards! Groceries, gas, car insurance, health insurance, houses, apartments, vehicles, goods and services, everything is higher than average, well not job pay.

And there are many scheisters and rip-off artists here. I have no idea why, yes it's Vegas and it seems to pull them out of the woodwork. So many people you deal w/ here are rude, snotty and only concerned about themselves. Also, if you move here from the east coast or midwest, you will notice there is NO culture here and no sense of community. Vegas is dead last in areas in the US for volunteering.

All of this complaining I'm doing and my husband and I make a good living here, over $100k a year, we lucked out, and just bought a $320k house. But I'm telling you like it is.

Answer 2

Besides being hot, employers there are very reluctant to hire newcomers because of the heat.

Why hire and train someone who will run away when temps reach the triple digits.

I tried 10 years ago going to the fastest growing city in America from Honolulu. I had 14 years experience in my field, 9 years of it with the job I left to go to Vegas. I was also an executive of the Honolulu company but could not even get lower management interviews.

500 professional resumes generated 12 phone calls and 3 actual invites for a sit down. Not one offer. Tried 2 months.
Went to Seattle and had a job in 3 days.

One honest guy told me about the newcomer clause most companies use.Unwritten but well known.

You need to be there over a full years weather before companies will hire.

Unless you want to flip burgers, clean rooms, serve drinks, or take off your clothes, then you gotta speak a foreign language

But there is a lot of money in Vegas. go get some. By the time they print a phone book, its obsolete. 10,000 people a month move there.3,000 a month leave.

Prices will be comparable. You will spend less because you will earn less so things cost less.$2.95 all you can eat buffets means you will never go hungry unless you are stupid.

Apartments are cheaper, a little. you still get what you pay for.
you just get a little more in Vegas.

Vegas is like Honolulu without the ocean and better entertainment.Its where the action is.

As I said, lots of money there. figure out a way that you can get at least .0000001 of every dollar spent in one day out of 10 days and you will make a lot of money

Good luck and enjoy your life adventure

Answer 3

I live in Henderson which is nice, because its away from the strip and its hustle and bustle. I do have to work in Las Vegas though so I still have a 30 minute drive, and lets just say there are a few differences from Orange County. People in SoCal are used to the daily traffic Jam on the freeway's and even though they hate it too, they know they have no choice. In Las Vegas, people somehow think they can magically drive through that car in front of them, or they think that a traffic jam is just everyone trying to slow them down. So they get mad and start driving crazy. Add to this, the hundreds of thousands of tourists in town with a "I'm on vacation, traffic rules are for locals!" attitude, and it makes for plenty of headaches. OH and dont even think of merging! But if you can live with that, and if you dont mind the occasional week of 120deg temps, and constant Growth, and having to dodge road construction, then you might like it. oh and "its a dry heat."

Answer 4

I lived in Boulder City, NV which is just outside of Las Vegas for 5 years. I loved it there - Lake Mead is beautiful, and there are alot of places to hike and hang-out. The best thing about vegas is it is so nice and clean - all of the best can be found there - the best restaurants, shopping, entertainment. It is alot more than just the strip. I got transferred to DC - but I would have stayed if I could. The weather to me was nice! Boulder City is the only place in NV which doesn't allow gambling - so it is quiet and a nice little town. I think you would like it! Try not to live in Las Vegas itself - Boulder City, Green Valley, and Henderson would be the best - North Las Vegas is kinda Scary!

Answer 5

Traffic sucks like crazy, people can't drive worth crap, and most of them are real jerks. Vegas is a growing city so you have a huge explosion of crime and violence. I have lived here for 4 years now and i don't see why these people come here in the first place. They just drink, drop all there money they make on the slots and table games, and at the end of the night they throw up and pass out. I moved out here because i deal poker for a living and this is a cash cow, but i don't go out to party and i have seen all there is to look at here so for me it is just like ever other city. But if you do move here, be smart and stay away from the strip.

Answer 6

It is a FU*king mad house full of people who have know idea how to drive and ill engineered highways sure there is plenty to do but good luck trying to find an honest person in the whole city. vegas is exciting for about 2 hours and then you see all that is wrong with it.