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Location: Mexico and I hate it. I'm trying to move back to the US
186 posts, read 283,281 times
Reputation: 141
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So I hope I won't be flammed.
This is MY opinion after living here since January 2014. I actually have the right to MY opinion.
I was going to wait until I left Vegas, but I don't want to forget everything, & I am sure people are thinking about moving to Vegas, so this may help you.
I haven't left yet because I don't have the money to move & I'm waiting on some paperwork, otherwise I would have moved already by now.
I will add to this thread as I think of new things or experience new things I think you should be made aware of.
I hope this helps:
Pros
For the most part I find people friendly here
While I don't drive, gas is less than in Cali, but of course more than other cities. Right now it's fluctuating around $3-$3.48 depending on which gas station you go to.
Rent is fairly cheap here. While one of the women tho wold me you could find a house here for $400 was NUTS, you can find apartments for $350-500.
You can buy a really nice house for pretty cheap (even a new one). At least that's what I saw when I first moved here. $240k approx. for a nice 4 bedroom.
24 hour bus pass is only $5. If you catch the bus on Las Vegas near the strip, make sure you have NV ID otherwise you may be forced to pay tourist prices which I think is $10, don't quote me.
Cons
If you don't have a car, the transit system here is TERRIBLE. While the inside of the buses are ok except during the day (usually morning) when a lot of lower class drunks come on, the overall system is horrific.
The RTC phone operators that give instructions are incompetent. I've been given misinformation so many times I lose tons of hours in my day dealing with the nonsense. I almost got on the wrong bus once because of the wrong information.
Today I got a call from the person I complained to about the fiasco for my trip on Friday. Not only did they disagree with me, she couldn't even logically figure out that what I said was correct based on what she was reading. She was sent the dialogue of the phone recording. I finally just hung up when I realized she was wasting my time & I can't deal with stupid. If they can't understand common sense, I can't teach that.
Their buses break down ALL the time. That's both in the summer & winter. I've had to wait 1 1/2 hours for the bus to show up a few times.
The benches they put in for the bus stops are terrible. They are steal, so it is freezing cold in the winter & burning hot in the summer.
I've heard the company is terrible to work for, but that was just one person's opinion based on what he heard.
The buses never run frequently, many of the routes are on 30-60 minute schedules. Also the timing of the bus for the cross street when you get off is never correct. You either miss the bus, or end up waiting 20-30 minutes. Good luck getting to work, appointments or anywhere on time.
I've heard from SEVERAL people that they couldn't handle it anymore & had to buy a car. People at bus stops complain all the time, but very few actually make the call to complain about anything they are experiencing.
Some of the bus drivers are nice, sometimes they aren't. Most of the time they are idiots & don't know their route often telling me they don't normally do this route. Only one female bus driver once told me a better way to get to my destination because of course I had relied upon the phone operator.
I once had a bus driver tell me he went to work & there were NO buses for him to drive. That was because they were ALL broken down.
I also heard that when a bus does break down, instead of sending the new bus to the next stop after where it broke down, they start the bus at the very beginning of the route. If that is true, that's just SHEER stupidity.
Tap water - the tap water in Vegas & North Vegas is horrific. I figured that out within the first few days of living here. I can't even wash dishes without wearing gloves or my hands will hurt for days.
The water burns my eyes, & when I was researching other cities nationwide, I came across a site that listed the top 10 worst cities for water & of course VEGAS made the list.
It's not just that it's hard, they put very toxic chemicals into it.
I've seen metal that was eaten by the water. One apartment had a tub where the faucet had sharp teeth. The maintenance guy told me it was because of the water & this is normal.
The air is very dry & I really didn't know what that meant, as I've never lived in this kind of a dry desert before. Can't blame Vegas for that, but I can't breath. I had trouble breathing when I first got here, was told it would get better over time, but I still don't take in enough oxygen.
I didn't get allergies, but I've heard from numerous people that they never had allergies until they moved to Vegas.
I was also told by a few people that they did nuclear testing in NV back in the 70's & that toxic junk doesn't leave the air for 500 or so years. I know I'm breathing something toxic in, what that is I don't know, I just know it's bad.
Heat - the heat is very very bad. I was told the state has somehow manipulated the temperature you see online or on your phone so it doesn't scare the tourists away. That in fact that temperature is much higher than that. How much higher I don't know.
When I go out to walk, I'm dehydrated within 5 minutes. I lived in a VERY hot humid climate before moving here & I NEVER EVER encountered that feeling.
Landlords - I've never had a good landlord here & I've had to move several times. One was ok until the problems increased & she no longer wanted to fix the issues. Another one was ok until he couldn't fix the ceiling fan, then refused to fix the cigarette smoke issues coming into my apartment. I couldn't breath in my own apartment because of the constant HUGE amounts of cigarette smoke coming in through the bathroom & vents.
He also lied about me to try & get me out of the apartment. I had to move out within 2 weeks of moving in & he refused to give me back my deposit after lying to me on the phone saying he'd let me break the lease & charge me by the day.
I even made sure the apartment was nice & clean for him.
I know that landlords stealing the deposit isn't only an issue in Vegas, I just know it happens often here. They will even create bogus invoices charging you for all sorts of things just to steal your money.
Cleaning fees can range from $35-200.
And if you think this only happens to rentals that don't cost as much, I've heard people complain about dwellings that were $1,200/month.
The current landlords in this apartment are SLUM LANDLORDS. They refuse to fix anything in the apartment & I was going to take them to court, until I was told not to bother, that the Judge will just force me to leave because that's what the landlords want.
When I first moved in here there was a great property management company, but they fired them within 3 weeks of me moving in & that's when all the problems started.
I had no heat in the winter & my AC doesn't work properly, so no proper AC in the summer. I've gone through dehydration, headaches & no energy since June. My apartment gets upto 107 on some days, it's almost always over 90-95.
I heard from this tenant association AND a property manager that this state is landlord friendly, meaning that the Judges will almost always side with the landlord, especially if you aren't well off or don't show up with someone to represent you.
I can't move, because I'm moving away & I don't want to have to deal with another move & spending tons of time searching for a new place, a one year lease, etc.
Landlords here are allowed to hide from you. They don't have to give you a phone number or an address. Mine hide behind an answering service & the address is just one of the mailboxes here at the complex & they don't pick up the mail.
That same property manager friend told me he was shocked that his tenants were evicted within 4 days, that even AZ isn't that bad.
Another property manager moved from NV, saying he couldn't handle what they were doing to all the tenants. It was sooo unethical, he just couldn't continue to throw these people out onto the streets.
The free legal services at the court house for landlord issues are sooo bad, I spoke to 4 different lawyers & not ONE of them gave me correct information about the law. I ended up strategizing incorrectly based on what I was initially told & lost the case. NONE of them are Real Estate lawyers, I even got one who was a criminal prosecutor (somehow that was supposed to impress me) & he couldn't understand anything I said even after 45 minutes.
I also find the girls behind the counter to either be arrogant or indifferent & yes, I know they deal with all of these really desperate people every day, but that just proves my point. A little bit of compassion goes a long way.
I hope you're not flamed either, I found your list and experience interesting. Areas that I haven't experienced personally, gave me another perspective which is good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sensualspirit
The water burns my eyes, & when I was researching other cities nationwide, I came across a site that listed the top 10 worst cities for water & of course VEGAS made the list.
Oh god, not another one for LV10101's list . . .
Yea I wasn't too keen on the water here either when we moved here, in-fact it was so bad we installed water treatment . . . actually I got tired of my wife buying cases of bottled water at Costco. Now when I go to a restaurant that doesn't offer bottled water I order a soda or a beer so I don't have to taste the water.
BTW, not so sure that Las Vegas is tampering with the National Weather Service but I can't say with 100% certainty.
My sister has rental property in California. The world is full of deadbeat renters who don't take care of the property, move people in who aren't supposed to be there and skip paying rent. Renting is a business and you must treat it that way, that's why rental contracts are written the way they are. You don't have to sign it if you don't agree to the terms or you can buy your own house. Don't take offense, just trying to explain the other side.
A lot of your issues are real, but we're very predictable. You don't have a car, you're renting (and especially at the low end, and it sounds like from an individual), and you can't deal with the heat and humidity (or lack thereof.)
A car is an absolute necessity in Vegas. I, and other posters try to hammer this point when asked. It's just not a city to try to live with the transit system. A simple rule to live by: No car? No Vegas.
I can understand not foreseeing the landlord issue. You'd probably be better of in a larger complex, where you can get reviews beforehand.
And Vegas is hot. Very hot. And very dry. You had to know this going in.
This is MY opinion after living here since January 2014. I actually have the right to MY opinion.
I was going to wait until I left Vegas, but I don't want to forget everything, & I am sure people are thinking about moving to Vegas, so this may help you.
I haven't left yet because I don't have the money to move & I'm waiting on some paperwork, otherwise I would have moved already by now.
I will add to this thread as I think of new things or experience new things I think you should be made aware of.
I hope this helps:
Pros
For the most part I find people friendly here
While I don't drive, gas is less than in Cali, but of course more than other cities. Right now it's fluctuating around $3-$3.48 depending on which gas station you go to.
Rent is fairly cheap here. While one of the women tho wold me you could find a house here for $400 was NUTS, you can find apartments for $350-500.
You can buy a really nice house for pretty cheap (even a new one). At least that's what I saw when I first moved here. $240k approx. for a nice 4 bedroom.
24 hour bus pass is only $5. If you catch the bus on Las Vegas near the strip, make sure you have NV ID otherwise you may be forced to pay tourist prices which I think is $10, don't quote me.
Cons
If you don't have a car, the transit system here is TERRIBLE. While the inside of the buses are ok except during the day (usually morning) when a lot of lower class drunks come on, the overall system is horrific.
The RTC phone operators that give instructions are incompetent. I've been given misinformation so many times I lose tons of hours in my day dealing with the nonsense. I almost got on the wrong bus once because of the wrong information.
Today I got a call from the person I complained to about the fiasco for my trip on Friday. Not only did they disagree with me, she couldn't even logically figure out that what I said was correct based on what she was reading. She was sent the dialogue of the phone recording. I finally just hung up when I realized she was wasting my time & I can't deal with stupid. If they can't understand common sense, I can't teach that.
Their buses break down ALL the time. That's both in the summer & winter. I've had to wait 1 1/2 hours for the bus to show up a few times.
The benches they put in for the bus stops are terrible. They are steal, so it is freezing cold in the winter & burning hot in the summer.
I've heard the company is terrible to work for, but that was just one person's opinion based on what he heard.
The buses never run frequently, many of the routes are on 30-60 minute schedules. Also the timing of the bus for the cross street when you get off is never correct. You either miss the bus, or end up waiting 20-30 minutes. Good luck getting to work, appointments or anywhere on time.
I've heard from SEVERAL people that they couldn't handle it anymore & had to buy a car. People at bus stops complain all the time, but very few actually make the call to complain about anything they are experiencing.
Some of the bus drivers are nice, sometimes they aren't. Most of the time they are idiots & don't know their route often telling me they don't normally do this route. Only one female bus driver once told me a better way to get to my destination because of course I had relied upon the phone operator.
I once had a bus driver tell me he went to work & there were NO buses for him to drive. That was because they were ALL broken down.
I also heard that when a bus does break down, instead of sending the new bus to the next stop after where it broke down, they start the bus at the very beginning of the route. If that is true, that's just SHEER stupidity.
Tap water - the tap water in Vegas & North Vegas is horrific. I figured that out within the first few days of living here. I can't even wash dishes without wearing gloves or my hands will hurt for days.
The water burns my eyes, & when I was researching other cities nationwide, I came across a site that listed the top 10 worst cities for water & of course VEGAS made the list.
It's not just that it's hard, they put very toxic chemicals into it.
I've seen metal that was eaten by the water. One apartment had a tub where the faucet had sharp teeth. The maintenance guy told me it was because of the water & this is normal.
The air is very dry & I really didn't know what that meant, as I've never lived in this kind of a dry desert before. Can't blame Vegas for that, but I can't breath. I had trouble breathing when I first got here, was told it would get better over time, but I still don't take in enough oxygen.
I didn't get allergies, but I've heard from numerous people that they never had allergies until they moved to Vegas.
I was also told by a few people that they did nuclear testing in NV back in the 70's & that toxic junk doesn't leave the air for 500 or so years. I know I'm breathing something toxic in, what that is I don't know, I just know it's bad.
Heat - the heat is very very bad. I was told the state has somehow manipulated the temperature you see online or on your phone so it doesn't scare the tourists away. That in fact that temperature is much higher than that. How much higher I don't know.
When I go out to walk, I'm dehydrated within 5 minutes. I lived in a VERY hot humid climate before moving here & I NEVER EVER encountered that feeling.
Landlords - I've never had a good landlord here & I've had to move several times. One was ok until the problems increased & she no longer wanted to fix the issues. Another one was ok until he couldn't fix the ceiling fan, then refused to fix the cigarette smoke issues coming into my apartment. I couldn't breath in my own apartment because of the constant HUGE amounts of cigarette smoke coming in through the bathroom & vents.
He also lied about me to try & get me out of the apartment. I had to move out within 2 weeks of moving in & he refused to give me back my deposit after lying to me on the phone saying he'd let me break the lease & charge me by the day.
I even made sure the apartment was nice & clean for him.
I know that landlords stealing the deposit isn't only an issue in Vegas, I just know it happens often here. They will even create bogus invoices charging you for all sorts of things just to steal your money.
Cleaning fees can range from $35-200.
And if you think this only happens to rentals that don't cost as much, I've heard people complain about dwellings that were $1,200/month.
The current landlords in this apartment are SLUM LANDLORDS. They refuse to fix anything in the apartment & I was going to take them to court, until I was told not to bother, that the Judge will just force me to leave because that's what the landlords want.
When I first moved in here there was a great property management company, but they fired them within 3 weeks of me moving in & that's when all the problems started.
I had no heat in the winter & my AC doesn't work properly, so no proper AC in the summer. I've gone through dehydration, headaches & no energy since June. My apartment gets upto 107 on some days, it's almost always over 90-95.
I heard from this tenant association AND a property manager that this state is landlord friendly, meaning that the Judges will almost always side with the landlord, especially if you aren't well off or don't show up with someone to represent you.
I can't move, because I'm moving away & I don't want to have to deal with another move & spending tons of time searching for a new place, a one year lease, etc.
Landlords here are allowed to hide from you. They don't have to give you a phone number or an address. Mine hide behind an answering service & the address is just one of the mailboxes here at the complex & they don't pick up the mail.
That same property manager friend told me he was shocked that his tenants were evicted within 4 days, that even AZ isn't that bad.
Another property manager moved from NV, saying he couldn't handle what they were doing to all the tenants. It was sooo unethical, he just couldn't continue to throw these people out onto the streets.
The free legal services at the court house for landlord issues are sooo bad, I spoke to 4 different lawyers & not ONE of them gave me correct information about the law. I ended up strategizing incorrectly based on what I was initially told & lost the case. NONE of them are Real Estate lawyers, I even got one who was a criminal prosecutor (somehow that was supposed to impress me) & he couldn't understand anything I said even after 45 minutes.
I also find the girls behind the counter to either be arrogant or indifferent & yes, I know they deal with all of these really desperate people every day, but that just proves my point. A little bit of compassion goes a long way.
That's enough for now, I'll be back.
Where was your apartment? $350-that Martin Luther and the letter streets area. Bad dudes n gangsta girls.
I've had just the opposite experience with the RTC bus system in Las Vegas. I've found the buses to be clean and reliable. And, getting around with a local's I.D. at $2 a ride is a heck of a deal. Yeah, if you're off the main thoroughfares it can be a bit of a hike to get to a bus stop - but that's describing the bus system in every city. They can't run down every neighborhood street.
While the OP has a right to their opinion, the people commenting have a right to theirs as well.
With that...
If you are renting an apartment in the $350-$500 range, you need to brace yourself for an unsettling experience. Ever hear the saying "you get what you pay for"? Well, you shouldn't be surprised that your living situation was one step above a Frigidaire box behind a 7-11.
Vegas is really hot and really dry? ...are you telling me I should return the sweet snowblower I just bought? Come on man.
The whole idea of Las Vegas altering the temperature readings you see on TV and the National Weather Service is downright hilarious. Do you hate it here so much that laughable conspiracy theories are necessary to justify your feelings?
As another poster stated, you need to own a car in Las Vegas. The city sprawls, there is no true urban core with which to live in to maintain a car-free lifestyle. AKA, this isn't Chicago, DC, NY. Riding the bus full time in Las Vegas isn't practical... Not just because of the routes, but also because of the heat.
Speaking of... We have three months of intense heat. However, even on those days, you still get a favorable morning and decent nighttime temperatures. Go wait for buses in Milwaukee or Buffalo where there's 18" of snow of the ground and you HOPE that the temperature is on the plus side of zero.
Oh, the benches at bus stops are made of steel and are too hot or too cold for you? Do you expect a dozen leather Lazy Boy recliners lined up for you? No... Leather would be bad, too.
The whole idea of Las Vegas altering the temperature readings you see on TV and the National Weather Service is downright hilarious. Do you hate it here so much that laughable conspiracy theories are necessary to justify your feelings?
this one passage alone indicates the OP can't be taken seriously. good riddance
Yeah, I'm wondering how they managed to hack into the old mercury thermometer I have in my back yard. I should probably investigate the department at state level that is responsible for temperature manipulation. OP, do you know where I should start?
Other than that, your opinions are interesting. I hope you find somewhere that makes you happy.
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