[brittle_star]

I'd love some opinions from Las Vegas natives or transplants who have lived in Vegas for a while. What do you like about living there?

To explain, I live and work in Los Angeles and due to the ridiculous cost of living in SoCal, have been looking for other cities to call home. Vegas is on my radar, but I really don't know much about it. ...Yeah, I know; kinda weird, since I live in SoCal and it doesn't take long to drive to Vegas, but due to certain other life responsibilities, I've never been able to make the trip. I'll have to rectify that at some point, but in the meantime, I'm looking for some opinions.

Further background: I'm SINK (single income, no kids), a renter, and have worked in public education for nearly the past 20 years. I've worked for the 2nd largest public school district in the country since 2000, and been working as a middle and high school counselor since 2005, nearly 14 years. I can't move anywhere without a job first, though (part of that single income thing, since I don't have another income to rely on), and I haven't had much luck finding educational jobs in other states because they're either not hiring or not too interested in hiring someone who lives out of state, even if I make it clear I intend to move there. I've heard some positive things about the educational job market in Vegas and that gives me hope that I might be able to find work there, and then find some place to live. Again, I'm a renter, so I'd be looking for a rental property - preferably duplex, townhome, trailer even. I'd prefer to avoid apartment living if I can.

I'm also a bit of an arts and culture nerd and I'm wondering if Vegas has any of that to offer. I like museums (art, historical and other kinds), indie music, some indie/art house film, and other off the beaten track stuff. That's not to say I don't enjoy a good buffet, big budget movie or occasional zone out day at the mall, but I like to balance it with other stuff, too.

So with that in mind, what do you guys like about Vegas? And do you think I might find some of what I'm looking for there? Thanks.

[EA]

Vegas is pretty bad. There's no culture. Traffic is awful. The people are all rude. Unemployment is high. Jobs pay nothing.
There's really no redeeming qualities of Las Vegas.

[MLSFan]

Originally Posted by EA

There's really no redeeming qualities of Las Vegas.

but the strippers...

[JonathanLB]

Originally Posted by EA

Vegas is pretty bad. There's no culture. Traffic is awful. The people are all rude. Unemployment is high. Jobs pay nothing.
There's really no redeeming qualities of Las Vegas.

Hahaha you crack me up, yeah I guess we don’t want more people in Vegas.

If you’re serious though that’s not true, there’s hardly any traffic in Vegas compared to almost any good sized American city and next to LA it literally doesn’t exist. People who live in Vegas think traffic means “cars on the road” whereas to most of us with bad traffic cities in our past we know traffic means going under 10 mph consistently for long periods of time often.

There’s all of the culture you could ever want, world class restaurants, amazing shows, music of all kinds, comedy shows, you name it, you can find it. If your thing is opera, symphony, indie book stores, and hipster culture then no Vegas is probably the wrong fit. But I’d say most people would find whatever they want.

The job market in Vegas is almost always below much of the country though, that’s true, and the wages are kinda meh. It’s not the best place to move for a job honestly.

[Eric3452]

I'm ten months in Las Vegas having escaped from the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I had to live there for work and hated every minute of it due to the congestion, crime, politics, weather...etc. I've tried Southern California and South East Florida with out ever feeling much like I needed to stay there. I visited Las Vegas for the first time a couple years ago on the insistence of a friend who craved a cheap weekend getaway. I met someone born and raised here who schooled me on why she loves it here and I started researching when I got back to NY. A second trip a year later had me getting serious about moving. I was lucky to have someone who could recommend the right neighborhoods to look into and a job that allowed me to transfer not only keeping my NY salary but topping it off with a healthy raise. As another single with no dependents, the only complaint I have is not having discovered Las Vegas a long time ago. I live in Summerlin which situates me minutes from Downtown and minutes from Red Rock Canyon with a nice view of a golf course across the street and a two mile drive to work. For the most part, I find people here are a lot friendlier and my coworkers are great compared to the toxic office environment I experienced in NY. The only thing I would caution someone moving from a city like I came from is never try to bring what you left to Las Vegas. Nobody here wants LA or NY attitudes and opinions. I'm conscious every day of being respectful of my new city and the people who live in it. I feel lucky to have been able to make the move. Right now, I'm posting this from My friends home in New Jersey where I'm visiting for Thanksgiving....It's 17 degrees outside.

[Code Stemi]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

The job market in Vegas is almost always below much of the country though, that’s true, and the wages are kinda meh. It’s not the best place to move for a job honestly.

I got an enormous raise moving to Las Vegas, and the profession I practice in is healthy here in LV. That's not necessarily true.

[08grad]

Legal sports betting.

The weather is great from October-April.

Low maintenance lifestyle - no shoveling snow, no mowing grass.

Roads are in good shape. No potholes, always smooth.

Housing is more affordable than other major cities.

You can find just about anything you need (gym, bank, grocery, restaurant, gas, fast food, etc.) within 5 minutes of where you live.

McCarran is a great airport that takes you anywhere you want to go in the US direct and cheap.

4 hour drive to to California for getaways.

[yellowsnow]

Weather! No shoveling/yardwork. It's easy to get around and everything you could ever want is available here. Reasonable COL.

What's bad about it is if you have to make a living here. Most of the jobs are low pay/serve the tourist type positions. Usually not enough to live on. And no benefits of any kind! If you find a way to make a living here, wage wise, you will do great.

[soclose]

Thots

[JonathanLB]

Originally Posted by 08grad

Legal sports betting.

The weather is great from October-April.

Low maintenance lifestyle - no shoveling snow, no mowing grass.

Roads are in good shape. No potholes, always smooth.

Housing is more affordable than other major cities.

You can find just about anything you need (gym, bank, grocery, restaurant, gas, fast food, etc.) within 5 minutes of where you live.

McCarran is a great airport that takes you anywhere you want to go in the US direct and cheap.

4 hour drive to to California for getaways.

I like this list, but honestly the weather thing sounds like a Los Angeles native who loves cold weather lol. The weather in Vegas is great in May and June and great in September! It’s not great in December - February. I’ll take July and August over Dec - Feb any day! Swimming weather beats not swimming weather. If your home is built correctly, the worst that happens in the summer is you spend most of your time indoors until it’s dark outside. And you travel and get away But 90-100 in Vegas is fantastic weather. It’s only when it hits 110 that sucks.