[Mich111]

I would hope to bring the same to Vegas as your wife has! I am sure she is appreciated. Yes there are dozens of fresh out of the military vets but there are also vets with many years international experience in transport and logistics management - my husband being one of them. I believe there are many workers in Vegas who are not only locals. I will be a local will I not? Were you yourself born and bred in Vegas? What do I bring to the city other than enthusiasm and accents - for one- a sense of humour. I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying our debate - I would love for you to give me some real advice now forgetting the fact I am a middle-aged enthusiastic smooth Scottish talking low income earner. What do you suggest I do to get ahead and I don't want to hear "don't come" as its not going to happen! Look forward to hearing from you. PS do you have any vacancies where you work?

[Mich111]

Originally Posted by hotjambalaya

I'm from the UK, and have a home in vegas, though I don't live there, so take my views with a pinch of salt

Where in the uk are you from?

Coming from the UK to vegas, you'll find most things dirt cheap.

With regards to driving license stuff, I might be tempted to initially set up insurance on a british license, so the insurance company would have a record of you driving pre-US license along with pass date. From memory it wasn't much more to do it like that, and may help.

Compared to the UK electricity appears to be massively more expensive which is unfortunate as you'll use a lot of it in the summer, water and gas appear to be quite a bit cheaper.

Is there any particular reason you've picked vegas as opposed to just liking it a lot?

PS my father also lived in Vegas for a period in his younger days - his hangout was the Riviera I believe! I have heard so many wonderful stories but that was the old Vegas!

[ScoopLV]

You're right. I'm wrong.

Hop on the next plane. Everything is going to be pure dead brilliant.

[Mich111]

Thank you Scoop, that's very gracious of you. it was lovely chatting with you. Pure dead brilliant - that's a good old Glaswegian phrase - I have either found your sense of humour, you enjoy British comedy or you are actually Scottish too! Go on admit it, you have had some fun...

...so which hotel or restaurant do you work in and I will pop in to say hello when I arrive.

[Maybarry]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

You're right. I'm wrong.

Hop on the next plane. Everything is going to be pure dead brilliant.

Don't know if you intend to sound like a hostile, old grump but this post makes me wonder. Luckily the OP has taken your comment with humor. The OP is asking reasonable questions about coming to the US and to Las Vegas. Take the negative posters here with a grain of salt. Come, make up your own mind and good luck to you!

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Maybarry

Come, make up your own mind and good luck to you!

Because finding employment without a social security number or a resident alien number is easy, easy, easy. Finding such work in Las Vegas is even easier. It makes it even easier still if the applicant has no local work experience, but also has no easily-verifiable work experience at all. (HR people just love dialing internationally to check references.) And of course, advance the age to at least fifty because local employers love taking chances on the middle-aged. Icing on the cake? No network of close friends or family to help smooth things out at first.

You're absolutely right, of course. This is a slam-dunk, no-brainer, move-here-tomorrow scenario. What could possibly go wrong?

[Cold Warrior]

Yes there are dozens of fresh out of the military vets but there are also vets with many years international experience in transport and logistics management - my husband being one of them.

Precisely my point. There are often good jobs on an AFB for which there are no qualified applicants. I spent 20 years in flight test at McClellan and know first hand how hard it can be to find a qualified engineer who is willing to work in a difficult environment.

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Because finding employment without a social security number or a resident alien number is easy, easy, easy. Finding such work in Las Vegas is even easier. It makes it even easier still if the applicant has no local work experience, but also has no easily-verifiable work experience at all. (HR people just love dialing internationally to check references.) And of course, advance the age to at least fifty because local employers love taking chances on the middle-aged. Icing on the cake? No network of close friends or family to help smooth things out at first.

being an immigrant myself, i'm going to have to agree with all of that and especially what i made bold

even if you do have an SSN + work authorization, it's extremely difficult to find a decent job here given your circumstances

you really need to know someone of influence that can get you in, not just a foot in the door

unless you can live comfortably without income for a year, then i would reassess....

when i'm in San Diego, i also feel "I am where I should be, it just feels right. There's no fighting against that!!" but I'm not moving there until i can afford it

[ScoopLV]

And people think I'm grumpy because I don't want them to fail.....

[henderson702]

Originally Posted by Mich111

Hello all you lovely helpful people!

I am looking for some good old honest advice. My husband and I have travelled to Vegas every year for the last 14 years and we simply love the city. I am a US Citizen but have not lived in the US to date. I know it will be different living there as opposed to holidaying there only. I am a young 51 year old with many years of administrative experience and my husband is 47 years old with many years Logistics/Transport/Management experience (military based). What are our chances realistically of obtaining employment - given that we can provide excellent references from well respected institutions? Is it really difficult for older people to find work? We are both young at heart, average looking people with great smiles and 'good personalities' - so we have been told! Would nice English and Scottish accents help! Am I selling us yet? I am of course happy to take any admin/service job to start and I don't mind minimum wage. Again, I would be happy to take a 'live in' job but am unsure as to whether these advertisements on Craigslist are what they seem. I know that I would need to physically be in Vegas to apply for employment but do any of you have experience of using Craigslist for jobs/property etc.?

I intend to move to Vegas at the beginning of next year and am looking for guidance on the safest places to live on my own until my husband joins me. We have visited a few areas during our holiday 'jaunts' and believe Summerlin, Lone Mountain, Silverado Ranch and Enterprise may be suitable but again, your advice would be appreciated. As there are so many young and beautiful people in Vegas, I assume I won't be bothered too much What areas should I definitely avoid in your personal opinion.

With regard to living expenses, I have an idea of rental costs but most information relating to insurance (medical, car etc.), utilities and ad-hoc expenses seems to be out of date therefore it would be helpful to have some current information on what you would consider to be 'normal monthly expenses' for a couple. Bear in mind, with regards to insurance we would be classed as new drivers so an average 'guesstimate' would be good. We are both healthy and we would expect to have health insurance in place with employment but, if this isn't possible, is there competitive health insurance out there and is it affordable? Looking to use the Marketplace. Any 50ish out there paying health insurance for a couple able to provide some general figures on what we could expect to pay monthly?

Is it feasible to use public transport to travel to work on a daily basis or is a car needed? Is the transport system reliable and does it cover most areas of the city?

We will be travelling to Vegas again in October so any advice prior to then would be helpful, especially regarding areas to live as we will have time to visit them during our holiday.

If you wish to add any other information you feel would be beneficial, then I would love to hear from you.

Thank you all for your help. Any information from long term locals would be great - you never know, we could be your neighbours in the future!!

Seven Hills is the best area in Vegas. Then, I would consider Green Valley Ranch, or Summerlin (near Red Rock).

I would be careful moving here, unless you are "wrapping" up your life and ready for retirement. There is not much culture here, and the people here are not very smart.

There are better cities to live in: Austin, TX, San Antonio, TX, Pasadena, CA are 3 that come to mind.

Also, watch your money here. We have a lot of real estate hustlers and money hustlers that like to sell you stuff and never follow through. We have the ruthless casinos, always trying to get your money.

On the bright side, people here are very lazy, so relaxing and being lazy is accepted. Also, there is no state income tax, the weather is as good as any in the nation from October to April, only 4 hours to LA, and the food is cheap.

Good luck!