[USNSCPO]

Hi all!
Just wanted to thank everyone for their posts! I've been toying, actaully struggling with the idea of making the move to Vegas later this year. Been there many a time on vacation, but to actually move there is a whole different set of concerns. It's great to hear that people really love it out there; especially those from the midwest. (I was born and raised in Chicago, live about 35 miles from there now but had spent 20 years in the Navy also.)
My concerns were 1. The crime. 2. Not being able to "fit in" and 3. Employment. Well, 1 and 2 are no longer a concern thanks to all your posts. Sounds like a great place with some really great people. (My wife has a gazillion relatives out there so, we'll know plenty of people to start with.)
I'm currently a programmer analyst making a decent living....my main concern is I'm going on 55....so, how hard is it going to be to start all over again? I'm not expecting to get the salary I receive right now; just need a job to keep me sane and to pay the bills. What's the job market like in the tech sector? Anyone know? Thanks again everyone. Looking forward to being a part of the community.

[guinnessjim]

i know/knew a couple people in the tech sector here. one just moved to seattle (took a job w/ microsoft) and the others work w/ the government (DOE and Nellis/Creech AFBs). so there are definitely jobs, but i can't say much more than that about them. also don't know enough about the armed forces to know if your navy service would give you a leg up on work w/ the AF...but it might be helpful for DOE stuff if you previously had any sort of clearances (pbby still make you take the general training again though ).

[soontob]

Originally Posted by Chinadoll

To the lady who asked about Paralegal jobs: I've been here a year and have a paralegal degree and can't get a paralegal job! Never had this much trouble finding a job in my entire life. They all require Nevada experience but you can't get Nevada experience if nobody will hire you.

I have experience in other areas as well. Temp agencies low ball you claiming they don't want to place anyone who hasn't been here one year. I keep hearing you have to "pay your dues."

If you don't have a large nest egg then wait until you do because you will need it.

Wow, thanks for that info.
I'm sorry to hear about your situation, that's really hard.
I have to say I've been having the sam difficulty in Colorado Springs, they want experience but nobody will give you any. UGH...

[Piyi]

It's not too bad here. Me and my fiance relocated here from the Northwest Indiana and Indianapolis areas, and there are some things we love about it and some things we do not like.

To put the bad things first, we were immediately put off by the rude, inconsiderate, and completely wreckless drivers that seem to predominate the roads. One of my co-workers refuses to drive on the highways because of the prevelency of accidents (which in my opinion seems kind of silly since they seem to occur just as frequently on the surface streets).

But it's much worse here than from the areas we come from. While driving back home recently, I thought to myself, "I can actually put on my turn signal to switch lanes, and someone lets me in right away! That's amazing!" Over here, people just love to cut you off, ignore your signal, tail-gate, etc. I don't know what it is with these people, but that really is one my hang-ups about this place.

The other things are minor to me, like no (natural) trees, no thunderstorms, things like that. Housing's pretty expensive too (at least compared to where we're from!). Housing kind of sucks in my opinion as well--concrete walls surround most of the communities so it's like you're in a prison, and the homes are so close together. I've lived in country-like cities/towns for a little while (~3 years or so), so I kind of got used to more open spaces (with trees).

What I love about this place is the nice weather--there's about ~5 months or so where you can open the windows at least some time during the day or evening, and it's real lovely out (It's either hot or cold in IN--maybe you get a total of one month where you can open the windows). The weather's a huge draw for me since I absolutely hate the cold (which is kind of strange since I lived for most of my life in the Chicago suburb/NW indiana area).

I love the restaurants around here too--there's so many to choose from, and tons of buffets too. It'll also be relatively easy for me to get a job here when I'm done with pharmacy school in two years. Oh yeah, and if you can deal with/exterminate the roaches, that's pretty much about the only bug (at least that I've run into) around here. Which is real nice for me since I can't stand certain kinds of spiders and mosquitoes.

Well, that's about all I can think of so far.