[Irish4evr]

Sierra92....I just wanted to commend you on your awesome personal honesty and insight, still being so young.....follow your heart...be happy...something tells me that no matter where you go, you will be successful...good luck !

[Clarkcty]

Originally Posted by Sierra92

I'm sorry, I wasn't very clear on that. I'm 100% staying for the internship. Yes, I recognize it is a wonderful opportunity, and I'm really grateful that I get to have this experience. My question is in regards to after I graduate.

My original plan was to look for potential apartments and living arrangements during my internship, since I'm out here anyways. But now I'm thinking about just moving back to Chicago after graduation.

I'm loving being here for a couple months, it feels like a summer-long vacation. But I'm wary about moving here more permanently after school.

One of the questions I'm trying to ask (and I know y'all can't make this decision for me), but how did you feel when you first moved here? I just kind of have a bad feeling about living here long-term, I think I'll regret it. Did any of you feel that way and get over it? Or did you love it immediately? It's almost like I can't really tell if I like it or not because I miss a lot of stuff from Illinois. But obviously that's bound to happen when you move 2,000 miles away, so should I just suck it up and move here after I finish school?

You will never know what might happen afterwards. You may even have long time friends move here once you've graduated. You are young, give it a try and do your best with the internship which could possibly lead to decent paying full time position in one of the resorts in town. If the town is not for you, your home is only a few hours flight time away. Goodluck!

There are other things for you to do to keep you preoccupied, away from the clubs and resorts. Honestly speaking, do you go to museums every week in your hometown? Just a thought for you.

[Caltovegas]

Look. Your young and in probably the best place for your degree. Are there any casinos near Chicago? If so is the parent company located in Las Vegas? The thing is if you went back what would do? Get a job?

You can get the job in Vegas, get an apartment and give it a try. If you find you don't like it then move. The thing is once you get started in your career the friends tend to start going their own way especially when they start getting serious about relationships.

Blaze your own path and take risk while you can. Once you get married and have some kids your options become limited. I say stay and give it a shot and if you don't like it long term then move. Get an apartment and I can almost guarantee your friends will want to visit.

[Sierra92]

Thank you guys so much for your advice so far! I definitely still want to make the most of this internship regardless of what happens later. I think before I graduate in May of 2015 I'll still keep my options open by applying to jobs in both Las Vegas and Chicago, but as of now I think my heart's really in Chicago.

I know staying in Chicago would probably be the more "comfortable" and less risky option, but I guess my reasoning is if I'd be happier there, then why stay in Vegas? I will miss a lot about the southwest though, especially the nature. But nowhere is perfect I suppose.

[BBMW]

Sierra,

Given that you will be just starting your career, that should be your priority for the first few years out of college. Where do you think you can get the most career development?

I'm not going to talk Chicago down from this standpoint. It's a big city with a lot of hospitality offerings. You could probably do quite well there. But, for the hospitality business, Vegas is as close to the epicenter as you're going to find. When you get to the point of job hunting as graduation nears, I'd be applying to employers in both places (at least, I'd be hitting everyone who's recruiting), and see who gives you the best deal with the best looking future.

[scociny]

Originally Posted by Sierra92

Hello everyone. So I've been reading a lot of peoples' opinions on moving to Las Vegas (both on this site and on others). Here's my situation: I'm 21 years old, about to graduate from college in Georgia. (and I grew up in the Chicago suburbs). For at least the past 6 years or so, I've been dreaming of moving to Las Vegas. I came here a lot with my family and I've always loved the desert. I love the heat, the mountains, the close proximity to California, Utah, and Arizona, I just really love the Southwestern region and it's culture.

So I'm studying hospitality in school and I got an internship with a major gaming corporation in Vegas for the summer. It seemed like a dream come true. I live in a hotel, right on the strip. I always thought I would spend the summer out here, go back to school for a year, and come back out to Las Vegas in May permanently with a job lined up. (I'm still very confident I could land a job out here with my the company I intern for)

The only problem is, I'm having serious second thoughts now. I didn't think I'd have a problem being so far from my family, especially since I live far away for school, but I really miss them. I also miss a lot of things about Chicago; the big city feel, the sports, the museums, etc. Las Vegas doesn't seem to have a lot for young single people that isn't related to night clubs. (I'm really not into the night club scene at all). It also feels really isolated out here, even though there are 2 million people in the Las Vegas Valley and I don't like the lack of community. I miss the suburbs with big lawns and neighborhood gatherings and super friendly people.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate or even dislike Las Vegas. I'm just thinking maybe it's not for me? I realize it will be different living in a "normal" part of town as opposed to right on the strip, but I just don't want to make the wrong decision. I do love the Las Vegas weather, the hot summers don't bother me at all. But now I'm thinking that dealing with the harsh Chicago winters might be worth it for all the opportunities and urban culture that I miss. Honestly, I would probably move to Southern California in a heartbeat if it wasn't so expensive, but there's just no way I could afford that. LA seems to have the perfect combo of city culture and weather that I'm looking for.

So I guess I'm asking y'all because I know a lot of you aren't native Las Vegans. Do you ever regret moving? Do you miss your friends/family? Especially if you come from Chicago or another similar city? It feels weird because for so many years I dreamed of coming out here and I thought this was the perfect place for me (especially since I'm going into hotel management), and now I think I'm probably more suited for the Midwest. It just feels really lonely out here because I don't have any close friends and so far it's been pretty hard to meet people (especially since I'm not into clubbing). I've been here a month and I have 1 more month to go. I find myself looking forward to going back to Chicago and a big part of that is my friends and family. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Sounds like you are home sick! I think it is normal, you are so young! I am from Chicago and moved away when I was 19 to be with my now husband. I was scared out of my mind, I moved from Chicago to Phoenix, knew nobody, had zero family. I met a lot of great friends, I wasn't into the club scene either but between work, working out, and just having projects around the house I kept pretty busy. My husband was in the Air Force and he got sent away for months! So now, I really had nobody. I will say it did help me grow and mature as a person. I was out on my own and had to make sure all of the bills were paid, had to drive my husbands truck around every few days, etc. it was a big change from living at home and having no responsibility other than school. Who knows, maybe if you stay here for a bit, you can use Vegas as a stepping stone to get to LA. Good luck with your decision!

[winter-rabbit]

#YOLO

You can only grow if you challenge yourself.

[ScoopLV]

Sierra, you have not mentioned what it is you actually do in the hospitality industry. Or what you want to do. Let's face it -- for some things, Las Vegas is the best city in the world for resort gypsies. For other things, you could go to any major city on planet Earth and rack up the experience you need.

At the end of the day, it's only a year or two. If you can't handle a year or two, then you really have no business being in this industry. Hospitality is not for the people who want standard hours, standard benefits, or close proximity to family. I'd try the insurance industry for that. Hospitality is for the people who don't mind working weird hours for less than stellar pay in exchange for interesting job perks and freedom to move around the world. I quit a "real job" to move to this industry. Why? Real jobs are freakin' boring.

[SoHoVe]

Sierra,
I moved here about 15 years ago (from Chicago) because the job opprotunities in my line of work were far better than what was available in Chicago at the time. I also just was in awe of the desert and all the sunshine.
Seriously, I had absolutely no plans to move prior to my chance visit (basically a side trip from LA).
A month later I was a resident. Hmmmmm...at first things were a bit difficult, the first job I accepted turned out to be not that great after two months I quit, and spent a month looking for another one. I didn't know anyone and I was a lot younger and not all that thrilled with not having people to socialize with...kind of wondered if I'd made a mistake.
I think it took me about 4 months to find the RIGHT employer (stayed with them for 11 years), and it wasn't until I was settled in at my job that I began making friends and having fun so it took me about 6 months to feel "at home".
Moved to Tx about 4 1/2 years ago...NEVER really felt at home there even after I had made some friends.
Great state...lots of happy people there but just not my cup of tea. I stayed FAR too long trying to achieve a reasonable level of happiness...I wish I had come back after 6 months rather than sticking it out trying to make it work.
Point being...only YOU know what's right for you but yes, it can take some time to get established and become invested in living somewhere new. With that being said if you are still feeling that perhaps Vegas would just make a better vacation spot for you, you may be right. Just let it be YOUR decision, don't let friends and family to pressure you to come home..its your life. I suggest just keeping an open mind for now and seeing how thing go for you...you might be surprised.

[Sierra92]

Thank you guys so much for your advice. I am SO torn, but I'll admit I am considering staying in Vegas more and more. I think around graduation time, I'm going to apply in both cities, keep an open mind, and compare job offers. It's just really really tough because I go back and forth every day trying to figure out where I'd be happier.

The job opportunities in Vegas would definitely be better, and I do like the warm climate.

But I'm super close with my family and friends, especially my parents. Especially after being away for 3 years now, I would LOVE to be able to drive nearby and spend time with them, maybe like once a week (which would be totally doable if I lived in Chicago). It's not that I don't like seeing new places, I love traveling. I studied abroad in South America last year and have been all over the US. But after a while, I always miss home. Even after summers in college when my friends were like "I'm so ready to go back to school" I always want to spend more time with my family. I just really like my hometown and the culture in Chicago, and my really close friends and family. I feel like I could be happier living near my family, even though that's obviously the "safer" and more comfortable route. So it's seriously 50/50 at this point and it's stressing me out. Haha hopefully it all works out for the best.