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I have lived here for 14 years too long ... from So Calif. What was appealing at the time was affordable housing. That no longer exists. Vegas appeals to the young Sin City crowd mostly here for wild weekends. The reality is living here is a whole different game. If you are a single person it is nearly impossible to meet anyone who has any substance. For families be careful drugs are rampant in the schools. It is a melting pot of people from all over the country who are generally looking for jobs, an escape from the snow or affordable housing which no longer exists. We are in a huge Real Estate decline, among the top 2 in the nation for foreclosures. The media constantly boosts about the job opportunities...what they neglect to say is most jobs here pay very low wages and there are at least 100 people applying for every position. The majority of people here seek tip oriented jobs to survive. It's very much an "old boy" state and not what you know but who you know. The cost of living here is high. Auto Insurance is through the roof due to the 24hr casino/alcohol oriented enviornment. Auto accidents are a common occurrence with a tremendous amount of fatalities. We just had a 12% increase in our electricity bills which you cannot survive without using your air conditioning at least 4-5 solid months through the year.
I live in one of the nicest areas here which is Summerlin, there are constant break-in/robberies happening here all the time. People are extremely unfriendly.
The weather literally sucks...when the wind kicks up (which happens alot) that great desert dust blows and allergies go through the roof. One positive thing though if you have pets there are no fleas here (they can't survive in is climate). The schools are not good-they are so over crowded and we are always in desperate need for teachers. Drugs throughout the school system is a growing epidemic with Meth use among the highest in the nation.
Vegas is great for a weekend-BUT NOT TO LIVE HERE-think twice.
Sorry about your experience, there are some who have lived in Vegas for over 10 years who are ready for a change because of the population boom. But things aren't nearly as bad as you put it. Yes, the job market is more inclined to the service industry but Vegas is a tourist town so that's where the majority of jobs are going to be in, I agree it's "who you know" versus "what you know" but that is anywhere not just Vegas. There are plenty of jobs all over town, and not all of them are low-paying.
Real estate is in a decline all over, my house in Virginia has been on the market now for over 60 days with only 4 people stopping by to look at it, and it is located right off the highway down the street from shopping and restaurants. We're considering dropping the price as I type this! The fed is considering adjusting mortgage rates to stimulate the real estate market. There are a lot of foreclosures in Vegas and the market is overpriced, but with some legwork one can find a good deal on a decent house in the area.
I agree that a 12% increase in electric is a lot, but Maryland just put a 50% increase on their customers which has many more low-income residents than Vegas. It's a big reason why Vegas is a "snowbird" city, and will always be.
There are the occasional windstorms which can be a negative, but I'll take a windstorm over a hurricane or 10 feet of snow any day.
I can't comment on the schools (yet!) but if they are as bad as some say then I'll put my kids in private school. As to drugs, once again it's everywhere not just Vegas. Here in DC, crack is making a comeback. We just had a woman who smoked crack and drove through a crowd during a festival injuring dozens while having her 7-year old daughter in the back seat. As to crime, again subjective to interpretation but I'll gladly take a break-in theft versus a 36-year old man getting beaten with a baseball bat just for his cell phone by 5 guys.
Every city is going to have positives and negatives, it would be nice if we had a utopian lifestyle of no crime, perfect weather, great paying jobs, and friendly people. You may think that Vegas is not for you, which you're entitled to but I have been coming to Vegas now 4 times a year for the last 4 years and I have had a great time each time, I haven't been affected by crime. The weather can't be beat, and it is going to be much cheaper here in Vegas than what I am currently paying here in DC. Everyone I've met has been helpful and friendly which is quite the opposite in DC.
I have lived here for 14 years too long ... from So Calif. What was appealing at the time was affordable housing. That no longer exists. Vegas appeals to the young Sin City crowd mostly here for wild weekends. The reality is living here is a whole different game. If you are a single person it is nearly impossible to meet anyone who has any substance. For families be careful drugs are rampant in the schools. It is a melting pot of people from all over the country who are generally looking for jobs, an escape from the snow or affordable housing which no longer exists. We are in a huge Real Estate decline, among the top 2 in the nation for foreclosures. The media constantly boosts about the job opportunities...what they neglect to say is most jobs here pay very low wages and there are at least 100 people applying for every position. The majority of people here seek tip oriented jobs to survive. It's very much an "old boy" state and not what you know but who you know. The cost of living here is high. Auto Insurance is through the roof due to the 24hr casino/alcohol oriented enviornment. Auto accidents are a common occurrence with a tremendous amount of fatalities. We just had a 12% increase in our electricity bills which you cannot survive without using your air conditioning at least 4-5 solid months through the year.
I live in one of the nicest areas here which is Summerlin, there are constant break-in/robberies happening here all the time. People are extremely unfriendly.
The weather literally sucks...when the wind kicks up (which happens alot) that great desert dust blows and allergies go through the roof. One positive thing though if you have pets there are no fleas here (they can't survive in is climate). The schools are not good-they are so over crowded and we are always in desperate need for teachers. Drugs throughout the school system is a growing epidemic with Meth use among the highest in the nation.
Vegas is great for a weekend-BUT NOT TO LIVE HERE-think twice.
Sorry dude, your not scaring me away, I've seen a ton of bad **** around here, and just the fact that the winters here get to -20 yet I somehow can't seem to ski or snowmobile throws me to living somewhere way cooler, and believe me Vegas is.. There are far too many other positve statements comming from this and other forums that outweigh what you have just said to make any difference, and if you read through here you'll notice the trend. Vegas has its downfalls like anywhere else, but its also an adults playground where you can do whatever, whenever you wan't. There are always a few cry babies here and there, no biggie. See ya out there. I'll make the best of it!
I have lived here for 14 years too long ... from So Calif. What was appealing at the time was affordable housing. That no longer exists. Vegas appeals to the young Sin City crowd mostly here for wild weekends. The reality is living here is a whole different game. If you are a single person it is nearly impossible to meet anyone who has any substance. For families be careful drugs are rampant in the schools. It is a melting pot of people from all over the country who are generally looking for jobs, an escape from the snow or affordable housing which no longer exists. We are in a huge Real Estate decline, among the top 2 in the nation for foreclosures. The media constantly boosts about the job opportunities...what they neglect to say is most jobs here pay very low wages and there are at least 100 people applying for every position. The majority of people here seek tip oriented jobs to survive. It's very much an "old boy" state and not what you know but who you know. The cost of living here is high. Auto Insurance is through the roof due to the 24hr casino/alcohol oriented enviornment. Auto accidents are a common occurrence with a tremendous amount of fatalities. We just had a 12% increase in our electricity bills which you cannot survive without using your air conditioning at least 4-5 solid months through the year.
I live in one of the nicest areas here which is Summerlin, there are constant break-in/robberies happening here all the time. People are extremely unfriendly.
The weather literally sucks...when the wind kicks up (which happens alot) that great desert dust blows and allergies go through the roof. One positive thing though if you have pets there are no fleas here (they can't survive in is climate). The schools are not good-they are so over crowded and we are always in desperate need for teachers. Drugs throughout the school system is a growing epidemic with Meth use among the highest in the nation.
Vegas is great for a weekend-BUT NOT TO LIVE HERE-think twice.
On another note, if the jobs are trying to be filled by 100 people per position, why do companies like Monster.com, careerbuilder, and craiglslist have so many jobs you can't even scroll through them all in one night? Why would they outsource like that? Las Vegas has just as many job listings as NYC on career builder.... Sorry man
Last edited by billeethakid; 06-27-2007 at 09:06 PM..
I have lived here for 14 years too long ... from So Calif. What was appealing at the time was affordable housing. That no longer exists.
(snip)
The weather literally sucks...when the wind kicks up (which happens alot) that great desert dust blows and allergies go through the roof. One positive thing though if you have pets there are no fleas here (they can't survive in is climate). The schools are not good-they are so over crowded and we are always in desperate need for teachers. Drugs throughout the school system is a growing epidemic with Meth use among the highest in the nation.
Vegas is great for a weekend-BUT NOT TO LIVE HERE-think twice.
Your probliem is that you will likely find your next place equally unpalatable. For difference reasons of course. Too cold, too unfriendly, too redneck, too expensive, too cheap...too dense...too rural...
Too bad...perhaps you can adopt so you can be at least a little happy?
Dang, well Buzz123, I tried. And yeah, I confess - I love living here. I shudder at the thought when my 45 minute commute now will be an hour and a half in the near future.
OK, for all you who want to move here then, yeah, you'll probably like it. But an indisputable fact is that nearly half of those who arrive leave in a few years further defining Vegas as a transient town (Source: Review Journal). The reason being? Uh..... Everyone in Vegas has cooties. So unless you have cootie protection you may want to rethink that move.
Cooties. Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket. And we all have Asian flu too. All the time. And rabies, and fleas, and herpes. Better be safe than sorry and not move here.
BTW: If all those people are leaving then how come the population keeps growing?
I think Summerlin is nice according to Vegas standards. I am not into the Henderson area and certainly not into the north area that's just a glorified extention of the west side. What do you suggest DUH?
LOL, The traffic is bad in Vegas, but not nearly as bad as DC. Same for crime. Plus, I won't have to worry about shoveling snow Or having to worry about people who don't know how to drive in icy conditions.
You are right, but from what I saw back there, traffic is worse in DC because the roads are narrow, full of pot holes from bad weather, and they weave in and out of the woods so there's no visibility around the next turn. Plus DC is as dangerous as Baghdad as far as your chances of getting shot. So I can't blame you for wanting out of there. But the worst thing about DC is the humidity.
About people not knowing how to drive in snow; don't go to Mt. Charleston in the winter time on a weekend. All the idiots who have never seen snow go up there, and as soon as they reach the snow line they panic, get stuck and completely block the highway.
I have lived here for 14 years too long ... from So Calif. What was appealing at the time was affordable housing. That no longer exists. Vegas appeals to the young Sin City crowd mostly here for wild weekends. The reality is living here is a whole different game. If you are a single person it is nearly impossible to meet anyone who has any substance. For families be careful drugs are rampant in the schools. It is a melting pot of people from all over the country who are generally looking for jobs, an escape from the snow or affordable housing which no longer exists. We are in a huge Real Estate decline, among the top 2 in the nation for foreclosures. The media constantly boosts about the job opportunities...what they neglect to say is most jobs here pay very low wages and there are at least 100 people applying for every position. The majority of people here seek tip oriented jobs to survive. It's very much an "old boy" state and not what you know but who you know. The cost of living here is high. Auto Insurance is through the roof due to the 24hr casino/alcohol oriented enviornment. Auto accidents are a common occurrence with a tremendous amount of fatalities. We just had a 12% increase in our electricity bills which you cannot survive without using your air conditioning at least 4-5 solid months through the year.
I live in one of the nicest areas here which is Summerlin, there are constant break-in/robberies happening here all the time. People are extremely unfriendly.
The weather literally sucks...when the wind kicks up (which happens alot) that great desert dust blows and allergies go through the roof. One positive thing though if you have pets there are no fleas here (they can't survive in is climate). The schools are not good-they are so over crowded and we are always in desperate need for teachers. Drugs throughout the school system is a growing epidemic with Meth use among the highest in the nation.
Vegas is great for a weekend-BUT NOT TO LIVE HERE-think twice.
And this is different from Southern California how? All those things you mentioned were not here until you Californians invaded us for "low cost housing" and brought all your worst with you. We had affordible housing until you all came here and started bidding up the price. Starting in 1987-88 you discovered you could sell your junky $30,000 fixer upper homes for $300,000, and come here where we locals could still buy a really nice house for $90,000. But you all were paying $125,000 in cash for that $90,000 house and laughing at us for selling so cheaply, while you pocketed the remaining profits from your over inflated deals in LaLa land. Then you brought your street gangs and drug problems and over crowded our schools so that the schools went to hell in no time. Because of you Californians we couldn't, and still can't, build schools fast enough to keep up, let alone hire enough teachers to teach your low life gang bangers how to speak English. And before anybody gets the wrong idea, what I just said doesn't apply to the hard working immigrants. I'm talking about US citizens from Southern California. Since all of you came here uninvited and ruined what was at the time the best city in the country, you have no reason to complain. After all, you Californians did the same thing to California. That state was a paradise before the Grapes of Wrath types moved in and got rich but they didn't get an ounce of class to go with their new found money and those are the people we are putting up with today in Nevada and throughout the west. So if you stayed here for 14 years there must have been a resaon. Oh, I bet I know...it's still better than California. Besides, now that you all overinflated real estate down there you can't afford to live in California anymore. Tsk, tsk. Isn't that a shame?
You are right, but from what I saw back there, traffic is worse in DC because the roads are narrow, full of pot holes from bad weather, and they weave in and out of the woods so there's no visibility around the next turn. Plus DC is as dangerous as Baghdad as far as your chances of getting shot. So I can't blame you for wanting out of there. But the worst thing about DC is the humidity.
About people not knowing how to drive in snow; don't go to Mt. Charleston in the winter time on a weekend. All the idiots who have never seen snow go up there, and as soon as they reach the snow line they panic, get stuck and completely block the highway.
Right on the money about the humidity. I laugh out loud when people gripe about the heat in Vegas. It has been in the high 90's all this week at 50-60% humidity, people who have breathing issues really suffer. Vegas heat is fine compared to DC or even the deep south heat anytime.
Probably have the same situation up in Mt. Charleston as here where people think that just because they have 4-wheel or all-wheel drive that they can drive just like it's dry pavement until they go into a tree from hydroplaning.
I know that traffic is bad enough in Vegas not to go looking for a job in Henderson since I'll be over in the 89131 area. But there are plenty of jobs in that area so commuting won't be a problem.
Going back to crime, now that the kids are out of school. We're starting to hear of increased vandalism like mailboxes getting blown up and car windows being smashed during the night. Nothing like getting your boredom out of the way with good ole vandalism. Luckily, my cars are in the garage at night.
And this is different from Southern California how? All those things you mentioned were not here until you Californians invaded us for "low cost housing" and brought all your worst with you. We had affordible housing until you all came here and started bidding up the price. Starting in 1987-88 you discovered you could sell your junky $30,000 fixer upper homes for $300,000, and come here where we locals could still buy a really nice house for $90,000. But you all were paying $125,000 in cash for that $90,000 house and laughing at us for selling so cheaply, while you pocketed the remaining profits from your over inflated deals in LaLa land. Then you brought your street gangs and drug problems and over crowded our schools so that the schools went to hell in no time. Because of you Californians we couldn't, and still can't, build schools fast enough to keep up, let alone hire enough teachers to teach your low life gang bangers how to speak English. And before anybody gets the wrong idea, what I just said doesn't apply to the hard working immigrants. I'm talking about US citizens from Southern California. Since all of you came here uninvited and ruined what was at the time the best city in the country, you have no reason to complain. After all, you Californians did the same thing to California. That state was a paradise before the Grapes of Wrath types moved in and got rich but they didn't get an ounce of class to go with their new found money and those are the people we are putting up with today in Nevada and throughout the west. So if you stayed here for 14 years there must have been a resaon. Oh, I bet I know...it's still better than California. Besides, now that you all overinflated real estate down there you can't afford to live in California anymore. Tsk, tsk. Isn't that a shame?
Man, Las Vegas sounds just like Phoenix (without the casinos, of course)!
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