[airics]

I don't even think $5k is enough. Apartments under 850 are not in the greatest of neighborhoods unless you want small. Figure $1000 for a decent 2br minimum

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by Avasdaddy

And what do you think would be a nice amount of money to start with in Vegas till you find work?

At least $8K. $10K would be better.

[xusafpilot]

You should really have a job lined up before moving here. Or, if your financial situation allows you to live without working for the short or long term.

I came from Atlanta and was glad to get out when I did. Brookhaven, Buckhead area of town. Expect a completely different culture and hopefully newcomers from the south will leave their "southern issues" back in Atlanta. Cost of living in Las Vegas is on par with Atlanta but without state income taxes. Sales taxes are comparable to the Atlanta metro region as a whole. Electricity is somewhat higher than Georgia Power's rates since we don't have as many coal belching power plants or nuclear as does Georgia. Water is certainly more expensive here if you live in a house.

Compared to Atlanta, traffic - well, what traffic? There is no traffic here to speak of compared to Atlanta, no Perimeter standstill. I-15 on the resort corridor is nothing compared to the Downtown Connector I-75/85. Distances are close. The Las Vegas area is just over 2 million people compared to Atlanta's metro region of 6 million people. Las Vegas is a very, very, very small town - think "Barstow with gambling". Traffic wise, Las Vegas is built with a western style street grid pattern which makes driving around surface streets a breeze. We have no MARTA which is SMARTA. So, you really need a reliable car.

Living in the Pacific Time Zone has its disadvantages as well. If you enjoy following news, national and international, most of it the days news is done by the time you finish breakfast. For those who enjoy live network TV, for the most part it is tape delayed by three hours. With the Winter Olympics in Vancouver which is the same time zone as Las Vegas, we were treated to total time delay on that and for those who watch those silly sing song contest shows, like American Idol, if they still have that, forget voting and expect to read results online three hours before it is broadcast locally. Same for most of the silly awards shows. I think that the Academy Awards now broadcasts live even to the west coast. Do people watch that stuff? I can't imagine why.

[xusafpilot]

The drive between Las Vegas and San Francisco is at least 12 hours as the Sierra's are in the way of a short drive. You have to drive the 95 to I-80 over the Sierras, or drive south into Southern California until you hit either I-5 or take the 101.

[Marv95]

It's hard to have a job lined up when you don't have a local address. And it's also hard to have an apt lined up when you have no local job.

It's not impossible to start out with sub-5K and end up surviving or even thriving. This isn't LA or NYC. Get in an extended stay. Siegel Suites, Budget Suites, Sportsman Manor, etc. They have weekly and monthly rates for studios and 1BRs and they come furnished except for your linens, cookware, etc. A couple of em might have free wifi otherwise you pay a fee. Then once you're settled, get all of your crap together with IDs, resumes, paperwork, and hit the ground running. Try to have interviews lined up or apply online the day before you leave for Vegas. Rely on the bus system until you have money saved up for a scooter or car. Don't eat out too much. Don't gamble.

[riverboy_st]

Is this Siegel Suites is real crime zone or it's ok ? Few days ago we have seen in LV news reportage about dead body situation and many crippy stuff hapenning in Siegel Suites

[Marv95]

Originally Posted by riverboy_st

Is this Siegel Suites is real crime zone or it's ok ? Few days ago we have seen in LV news reportage about dead body situation and many crippy stuff hapenning in Siegel Suites

Depends which one. The ones closer to downtown I hear are terrible but further up aren't that bad but it depends on location.

[JonathanLB]

Some people are so adventurous, I admire and respect that, but I agree with what other people are saying that you really should have some money saved up. I honestly cannot imagine that situation because I would be freaking out if I only had $20,000 left in checking, that would be four-alarm fire status, so you want to move to a new place with way less money than that?! Yikes.

Just as a general rule, any financial adviser will tell you that you should have a minimum of about a year's cost of living saved up in case you get fired, laid off, fall on hard times, etc. Anything less than that and you're living in dangerous territory. If it were me, I'd be cutting my costs drastically and working two jobs to build up some savings, then when I got the savings figure out where to go from there. More education, a trade, whatever I could to make consistently solid money and be able to put away cash for retirement or whatever else.

[anonymom31]

Everyone's luck is different, my dear. 1,000 for a family is quite low. I came with 5,000 for just myself and ran into a hard time after a year and lost it all. I was lucky and got myself a 30,000/year job starting, but I did not like the company and then struggled very much. They appreciate newcomers with good attitudes, but once you've been here I think it might get harder especially if you've botched your employment history at all. If you hustle, I think you could all have jobs within a month. Unemployment is down and the economy good according to reports, but I feel that jobs are not as plentiful as that might indicate. It's an okay place to raise a family.. it's all in who and what you associate with... There is a big spiritual movement, churches galore to support you in that way if you like, nice places to live, parks and communities with ammenities.. everyone has different tastes of what is acceptable for their families.. it's hard to move from out of state and not check everything off your list here. Good luck!

[CoreLysium]

I got nothing to add to the finanancial talk, but at least the OP is planning on renting first.

I have family in Marietta.

It is quite possible you don't know what heat is.

I'll just put this climate average link right here: City Climate Comparisons