| Author | Message | ||
     Zane |
Does anyone live in the Las Vegas area. I've been approached by a good friend and asked to apply for a job there. It wouldn't be until late first quarter of 2010. How you you describe: Cost of living issues. Things like the price of electric and water. The quality of life issues both good and bad How does the gambling industry effect crime issues I don't gamble and live a quiet life. What kind of things are there for a calm guy like myself to do? What are the schools like? I'll have a son in high school. What is the riding like within say a 100 - 150 mile radius Anything else I should know before I even think about relocating there. | ||
| Jaimec |
How much do you enjoying mind-numbingly SCORCHING HOT weather? But it's a DRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY heat... | ||
| Strokizator |
Nevada is one of the worst hit by the mortgage crisis so housing should be cheap. Not much rain so winter riding is good. Get a good dual sport and explore the desert. I can personally attest to the quality of care at the University Medical Center. Taxes are relatively low as they make the tourists pay the bills for them. You may not be a gambler but the entertainment is good and restaurants plentiful. Summer is HOT! All said, I'm not planning on moving there any time soon. | ||
| Zane |
Jaimec, I'm in Florida now. Summers here are 95 degrees and 95% humidity. This is the end of November and it's gonna be 80 today. Heat doesn't scare me. I just want to get an idea of the quality of life there before I even think about making a major life change like that. | ||
| Kilroy |
It ain't the same kind of heat. When it is 120 out it hurts to breathe. | ||
| Jaimec |
Las Vegas and Detroit are the two hardest hit cities in this economy since both are basically "Single Industry" cities. How secure is this job opportunity, because if it doesn't pan out there isn't a whole lot else in Vegas other than maybe "Bartender." My cousin currently lives there and was making a REALLY good living up until about a year ago organizing and arranging the conventions that come through there. That business has nose-dived recently and he is currently talking about moving back to the Philippines where he actually has BETTER business opportunities. | ||
| Zane |
Well, that's the kind of thing I need to know. Don't want to get out there and think to my self "Oh my God, what have I done?" Stokizator is right about cheap housing. My buddy just bought a short sale condo. 1400 square feet, in nice shape for $54,000. In Florida $54k won't fill up a bucket. Any one else with points, good or bad? | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
Since you asked. I've been there twice now. The first time was a touristy, see the strip and Hoover Dam trip. The second, we stayed off strip. I will never ever do that again. I wasn't impressed with the people or the dirtiness of the city. I will say this we saw some subdivisions that were like small communities, they looked nice. If I were you, I'd take a full week trip out there and investigate. Get off strip and look around, only then will you see the real Vegas. By the way, you'll need to invest in winter clothing. Winter temps for highs may only reach mid 40's to mid 50's. | ||
| Drkside79 |
40's to 50's huh.... Pretty scary | ||
| Zane |
It would be nice to live somewhere that I can tell what season it is without looking at the calendar. Here in the Tampa Bay area we have summer and tourist season. We only get a couple of weeks of cool weather a year. I don't want to live in Ohio again (born there) where it's cold 6 months out of the year but a little change of season would be nice. | ||
| Jasonk |
Friend of mine is looking at property right now in the Vegas area. He will probably be picking up a 2200 sq ft, 3 bed, 3 bath, swimming pool, etc. less than 10 years old, in a nice subdivision for $119K, off foreclosure... | ||
| Zane |
Wow, That really is dirt cheap. Sounds like housing would be covered... Nothing is written in stone. All I have in my hand right now is a request that I interview. That and a dollar will get you coffee and not much more. Just asking around so I have an idea what I'd be getting in to. | ||
| Maddiemsu |
I live here in Vegas and have for the past 5 years (came from MT via AZ). Don't get caught up in the whole "Vegas" mystique. When you actually live here it is really not much different than any other city with 2 million people in it. Cost of living is about average I would say. Electricity at my place probably averages $250-300 month for the whole year. Summer is more as the AC gets used all the time. Water is cheap, natural gas is cheep. Sales tax is at 8.1% There is no income tax which is very nice. Houses can be stolen right now and there are a lot to choose from. Crime is no worse than any other city. There are bad parts and there are good parts of town. The best thing about living here is there is always something to do. The only time that I go to the strip anymore is if someone comes to town and I want to meet up with them. Outside of Vegas there are lots of outdoor activities. Mt Charleston, Lake Mead, Moab, Grand Canyon. I have little kids so I don't know first hand on the high schools, but there are some that are much better than others, you'll have to look into that if you do make the move. Now the most important part, the riding, is pretty good. There are some nice twisty roads (Lake Mead, Mt Charleston) and then there are some nice open streches. The roads are always in good shape since the weather is nice 80% of the time. There is a track at the speedway that has track days every once in a while. I would suggest getting out here and poking around for a few days to see how it suits you. It can be as wild or as tame as you want to make it. They did just shut down the rolling stripper mobile so you won't get to see that though. Hope some of this is helpful. | ||
| Drkside79 |
First of all let me just say the the Rolling Stripper Mobil may be the best thing I've ever heard of. I mean its up there with the nude coffee girls in Washington http://www.truecrimereport.com/2009/09/naked_baris tas_hit_for_prostit.php | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"They did just shut down the rolling stripper mobile so you won't get to see that though." Damn "they" to hell. | ||
| Jaimec |
Where can you get coffee for a dollar in Vegas? Hasn't Starbucks taken over? | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
The Golden Gate, you can get shrimp cocktail for .99 cents too. | ||
| Zane |
"Don't get caught up in the whole "Vegas" mystique. When you actually live here it is really not much different than any other city with 2 million people in it. " It's the same here. Tourist can't understand why we don't all live at the beach 24/7. A rolling stripper mobile??? Nude coffee girls??? Really??? That is about the dumbest thing I've heard of in quite a while. I won’t pay the 4 bucks Starbucks wants. I can’t image how much a nude coffee girl would want to charge. Zero change I’d pay it, what ever she’d want. My oldest boy is 19 and I explained to him that when a stripper sees you, she doesn't see a person, all she sees is a walking, talking ATM machine she can made a withdrawn from. I'm surprised electricity is so expensive. With Hoover damn so close and all its generating capacity, I'd expect the bills to be cheaper, even with the heavy air conditioning you have to do. Hydro is about the cheapest way there is to generate electricity. Does the city take it’s water from Lake Mead also? Big water source that close should mean cheap water, but water in the west is not something to ever take for granted. How are the gun laws in Nevada? I’m pretty meek and mild but don’t have a problem shooting back. How restrictive are the CCW laws? It does sound like a 12X or XT would just about be mandatory living there. (Message edited by zane on November 24, 2009) | ||
| Jstfrfun |
I live 50 miles west of the city in a town called Pahrump. The cost of living is very low and the lifestyle is country. I bought my 12x70 manufactured home for 3k and the 5 acre lot for 75k. It is not a city it is a township so taxes are low and gun laws are loose(I carry a 1911 exposed without the need for a license), CCW permits are easy to aquire,but who needs 'em. I lived in the city for 20+ years and I don't recommend it. After living in a community with three traffic signals, going to vegas requires self medication. 3-4 months of the year it's HOT, the rest of the year is great. I recommend a Uly or other tour type machine as there is a lot of the west to see(I recommend Utah)on the back of a bike. Sport bikes are ok for the city but the roads are long and straight outside the city and require comfort for long hours in the saddle. Death valley is 60 miles to the west and is great riding in the spring and fall, Lake Mead is 70 miles to the east and is good riding but crappy roads. come out and see and make a judgment call to see if it's right for you. | ||
| Firstbuell |
well, everything has its good & bad, including Lost Wages I lived there almost 2 years [on a 2-weeks on, 2-weeks off basis], setting up a teachers' retirement financial sales agency the local economy is quite stratified - either OK-paid professionals or lotsa poverty-wage service jobs except for the newly-built, upscale suburbs, LV itself is run down & rather ugly - Henderson, Summerlin & other outlying areas are quite attractive [& pricey] do NOT buy a house - rent or lease until you are sure you're staying - regardless of the economy, LV is a unique market where homes are much easier to buy than sell! LV Metro PD took LAPD's ass-kicking playbook & has run with it, mostly unchecked both street & freeway traffic become choked ip, often at times other than commute hours gets REALLY hot for 4 months & kinda chilly/downright cold for 3, with very nice weather for the other 5 the surrounding topography is almost totally flat, so you don't generally ride 'loops' - rather, it's out to somewhere & back yes, there's Red Rock Canyon & Mt. Charleston for a few twisties, but overall, sportbike pavement riding sucks - on the other hand, there's SO MUCH desert in which to ride, right there on the many edges of town! LOTS of things to see & do on The Strip, given you wanna step up & pay the ticket prices I've always said it can be a great place to visit, even for an extended time however, after 38 years in temperate SF Bay Area, for damn sure I'm not ever gonna live in LV full-time finally, & I'm being respectful of you & your life when I note this - LV is kinda overflowing with outcast people and quite a few weird folks LV dating can get VERY strange...... (Message edited by firstbuell on November 24, 2009) | ||
| Littlebuggles |
I have a friend that lives there (Henderson actually), I used to drive down three or four times a year for visits and have always enjoyed the climate. Lately we don't travel so much with my daughter in school. It maybe gets said too much, but dry heat is different. I prefer it to humidity. I've looked at jobs several times (including applying with Vegas Metro PD) and have wanted to move there for years. Someday maybe. Besides our home grown criminals up here we import law breakers from LA via LV, they get a lot of the LA and other gangs setting up in the city. But that stays fairly isolated. That's one of the reasons LVPD has had to take an aggressive attitude. I've heard rumor of corruption down there, wouldn't be surprising given the $$$ that flows from place to place. Live in the 'burbs, or an outlying city, Pahrump has a track. There is a certain sere beauty to the desert and you would be close to Zions NP and many great areas outside the park as well. If you and your boy like the outdoors check out the canyoneering section of bogley dot com, especially some of the trip reports with lots of photos. Great mountain biking and hiking too. I'll try to find some links to the trips I did earlier this year for you if you'd like. A week with plenty of off Strip time would be good. There are a number of places you can rent a bike as well. -Mike | ||
| Zane |
Thanks guys, for the information. Everything is still in the maybe, what if stage. If I do make a move, it wouldn't be until late winter or early spring at the soonest, so there is plenty of time to make a trip or two out there to check out the area. I still like the Tampa Bay area of Florida, don't feel the need to move but do want to make a change in the way I earn my daily bread. This would be the only reason to make a move of this magnitude |
