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Just saw a documentary on Vienna last night, astounding abundance of top notch scenery and cultural riches. Is that where you are really from? You dumped Europe for Vegas just like that and love it? Perhaps Vienna is hell on earth for you, I would not know your situation.
Not only Vienna, whole of Austria is an amazing place to live. Vienna has won, I think 8 times in a row best place to live in the world.
We have one of the lowest crime rates in the world, the best (free) health system and the best (free) Universities and education. Almost everyone here is middle class and lives a great (middle class) life.
But this social net and a free meal for everyone comes with a downside. Re-distribution of wealth. If you are a low earning or middle class American, you would be far better off in Austria. But if you run a company, or if you have a special education or special skill, USA provides you a much better environment. My assumption is that the lower 80% of US population would be far better off in Austria (or Scandinavia) but the top 20% are better off in the US. The US caters to corporation, the rich, special interests and business owners like me. Austria caters to the low and middle income workers, but redistributes the wealth of the successful people who make it in life and the corporations. Now, if you are very successful in life, would you want to pay the bill for the people who prefer not to work and just to abuse the social net?
Taxes in the US are a lot less than in Europe.
As for Las Vegas in particular, not just the US (not ranked by importance ):
1. No state income taxes. That safes a hefty amount of money.
2. Amazing weather. We just love it. We could have gone to Dubai with 0% tax, but the humidity is a killer.
Same applies for Florida. We just love the dry desert weather and thank god for expiring it daily!
It makes us smile the moment we watch out of the window. In NY or Europe, those winters really suck!
3. Lovely locals. While everyone is so negative in this forum, we have made many contacts with very nice and friendly locals. We like how easy it is to start conversations with total strangers. Would never happen in Europe.
4. Affordable luxury property. We bought a 3 year old house we really love. A lot of custom features and all the bells and whistles you can imagine, for a price, you would get nothing compare in Austria or Dubai or Cali or NY. Yes, the houses in Europe are from concrete and bricks and not wood and are therefore more expensive, still, it does not matter much if they cost the double or triple at the end. The house we bought in Vegas, is not available in Vienna. If you build it yourself, it would cost x5 to x8.
5. Entertainment. There is always something going on. I traveled almost all over the world and most US states. My friend is an officer at the UN in New York. Bars closing at 10 or 11 there. It looked all very boring and depressing. If you have enough money to spend, Vegas provides an unlimited amount of entertainment options every single day. If you get bored in Vegas, means you are boring.
6. Connection flights to everywhere. The airport has connections to NY, Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris etc. If we want to spend a week in NY, we can do this easily, if we want to go to Hawaii we can do that easily.
7. American Culture: While you may be impressed by Mozart, I am impressed with the American Culture, which Vegas has lots to offer. It is different but there is so much amazing stuff!
8. My wife loves Vegas even more than me, and she is the boss Happy wife, happy life.
So, after travelling all the world, almost all US states, my wife and me decided Vegas (West, North West) is a) the best place for us in the US, b) best place for us in the world. We lived an extraordinary good life also in Europe, not really like hell but Vegas just rocks!
I really think we went a bit offtopic now, but I hope OP can make up his mind...
Last edited by Michael2016; 01-02-2018 at 12:08 PM..
So, after travelling all the world, almost all US states, my wife and me decided Vegas (West, North West) is a) the best place for us in the US, b) best place for us in the world. We lived an extraordinary good life also in Europe, not really like hell but Vegas just rocks!
I really think we went a bit offtopic now, but I hope OP can make up his mind...
All I can say is "welcome"! It makes me feel very good that someone still sees the U.S. for all of the good that it has, regardless of what the media tries to portray. Part of my ancestors came from europe just a couple generations ago, without much money, but willing to work hard. It is a wonderful place. When I served in the military, I ended up assigned to Germany. It was a pretty place, and a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't have wanted to live there.
Different people like different things. One of the many great things about the U.S. is it's size allows one to make a choice that fits their needs. Sounds like you found yours, and the pleasure is all ours..
BTW, in english, we routinely use the term "a couple" to mean nearby, just like you are used to in German. Occasionally, you will find someone who wants to use it literally....but that's often only to try and and make a bad argument..
OP, from a New Yorker to a New Yorker... if there is anything to be taken out of your username then you're in for a surprise. Not too much wildlife in the desert. Also, prepare for other medical professionals to different in Vegas. Yes, in NYC you have the stereotypical abrasive rat race types. In Vegas it would appear that the medical people are not as abrasive as they seem miserable and defeated. There is no rat race here, it is more of a monotonous work environment because medical professionals are paid far less for their work and there really isn't much to attain like there is back east. There is no Hampton getaway, no beach, especially no good food, no real seasonal shift. There are little things that stack up and can make it feel like time is standing still and not in a good way, IMO. In Vegas it usually goes from too hot to too cold over the course of a couple weeks with the most comfortable months of the year being March-April.
As you can see, Las Vegas love their "staycations" because 1) it is too isolated from everything else worthy of seeing and 2) the "staycation" idea is heavily funded by casinos and promoted in the local media so as to catch you, draw you into the abyss and keep you there so they can suck the life out of you. Local media would not be caught dead giving away a trip to California, where most people would much rather go if they are being given a trip for free. Think of it as small town wild west. The city and local government is run by a small handful of elites that swiftly trickles down to the populous.
Outdoor space is not valued in Vegas. The surrounding (and ever annexing) burbs are all crammed into repetitive master planned communities that all look the same with a 1/8 acre playground in the middle. If you end up living in a house you'll be faced with culture shock due to something called 'HOA's". Yes, not quite the same as "condo fees" or "townships" back east either. You will need to be careful at the dog parks for obvious reasons and extreme heat 5 months out of the year. I also call baloney on Vegas being dog friendly. Just search the forum here and read a bit, you'll see what I mean. It could be related to the fact that nobody picks up their dog droppings or that many just lock their dog up in a cage so that they bark all day and annoy other nearby neighbors that the pet vibe went south.
The heat in Vegas is brutal and unforgiving, and many people are mostly stuck inside during the thick of it. If summer ever meant fun and happiness to you in any way, then you might not get that in Vegas during that period of the year. Because nobody else will admit that a 90 degree day with humidity in NYC is really no match for a 115 degree day in the cloudless desert. And last summer it was especially although abnormally humid during quite a few of those 100+ degree days. You may be more well suited elsewhere, so these are some things to think about when you consider the trade-offs for the lower COL.
Suffocated. Some might feel free just like Michael2016 has indicated he feels while others may feel more like me. It's all good bro, but I'm not here to entertain you.
I left a great life behind in the blind name of lower taxes and I lost far more in the end because of the ever swinging pendulum that is Las Vegas. Where I came from the economic collapse of 2008 barely caused a blip on the map and that is where I should have stayed for a whole host of other reasons as well. Much of where you decide to live should be common logic based on your position and the rest is personal taste.
Suffocated. Some might feel free just like Michael2016 has indicated he feels while others may feel more like me. It's all good bro, but I'm not here to entertain you.
I left a great life behind in the blind name of lower taxes and I lost far more in the end because of the ever swinging pendulum that is Las Vegas. Where I came from the economic collapse of 2008 barely caused a blip on the map and that is where I should have stayed for a whole host of other reasons as well. Much of where you decide to live should be common logic based on your position and the rest is personal taste.
Wow, that puts your opinion in a much different perspective. Sorry to hear things didn't work as you'd planned, and hope you are able to find some happiness. Life is short, and what you make of it. If you ignore the forest of bad in front of you, and start to look for each tree of good, you may find more of them than you realize.
I chose Vegas. Hopefully on or around July 1st I should be relocating.
I imagine most neighborhoods are OK in terms of crime so can someone tell me the few (2 or 3) to definitely stay away from? Also, what's the best source of Help Wanted/Employment ads? Currently I'm only looking on Indeed & CL. Thanks.
If I told you that I once attended a board meeting with billionaires throwing crap around the room and acting like little children over the Badlands heist, you'd call me a liar on the spot. The only difference is my claim is provable fact, and that I could back that up with threatening documents that were mailed out to all the residents on a near daily basis with these billionaires attacking each other like it was grade school over the board elections.
This I would believe. I lived in QR at one time. Spoiled entitled group of jerks. Many who didn't make their own money but business past down through family.
Someone started a rumor we could no longer afford our home which is why we were moving.
No morons, it went from a home to an investment with the gain and we wanted to cash out. The increase paid for our new home. While the gosippers stayed there and watch their home values crash. They'll never see what many of us got for our homes, whille the getting out was good.
We have one of the lowest crime rates in the world, the best (free) health system and the best (free) Universities and education. Almost everyone here is middle class and lives a great (middle class) life.
But this social net and a free meal for everyone comes with a downside. Re-distribution of wealth. If you are a low earning or middle class American, you would be far better off in Austria. But if you run a company, or if you have a special education or special skill, USA provides you a much better environment. My assumption is that the lower 80% of US population would be far better off in Austria (or Scandinavia) but the top 20% are better off in the US. The US caters to corporation, the rich, special interests and business owners like me. Austria caters to the low and middle income workers, but redistributes the wealth of the successful people who make it in life and the corporations. Now, if you are very successful in life, would you want to pay the bill for the people who prefer not to work and just to abuse the social net?
Taxes in the US are a lot less than in Europe.
..
the taxes in Austria will kill you... up to 55%. you're paying for that education and health system in taxes.. even middle income is 30%+
I chose Vegas. Hopefully on or around July 1st I should be relocating.
I imagine most neighborhoods are OK in terms of crime so can someone tell me the few (2 or 3) to definitely stay away from? Also, what's the best source of Help Wanted/Employment ads? Currently I'm only looking on Indeed & CL. Thanks.
Stay near or outside the 215. Avoid the central city. Virtually anywhere in that formulation is within a half hour of McCarran.
In general look for a condo or a townhouse rather than an apartment. Generally a better deal.
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Happy wife, happy life.
