Solid friendly place to live, easy to find work
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4/24/2017
I moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and lived in Sin City for ten years. I want to share real insights, not exaggerated crap that you often read on message boards like this.
People in Vegas are much more down-to-Earth than those in California. More polite and a more "yes sir, yes ma'am" kinda place. When my roommate and I first moved there, we immediately noticed folks were friendlier and less elitist. This is not LA where people compete on who has a larger paycheck and more expensive vehicle.
Las Vegans are also less Balkanized. In Los Angeles, you have racial groups that cling to each other. There's even neighborhoods devoted to certain ethnic groups. But in Vegas, there's a lot more blending in. Go to a Starbucks and you see frequently see young people studying comprising of different ethnic groups. I'm Asian. In Vegas, I had far more non-Asian friends that I did in Los Angeles.
It's also easy to find a job in Vegas thanks loads of call centers, construction sites and casinos. Look, these are not glamorous jobs you brag to friends on Facebook. But most people can get them within a few weeks landing in the city. And thanks to lower cost of living, you can get by on a $12/hour job. It's not an exaggeration to say, unless you have a criminal record or some mental affliction, and if you are halfway personable with a decent work ethic, you'll attain a middle class life in Vegas. If you can't find gainful employment here, you probably can't find it anywhere.
Now the bad parts. There's a bit of a roughneck gun culture. I respect the right to bear arms. But there's a difference between being a gun owner and having a creepy obsession with guns. There's definitely a sizable sub-group of the latter type. Not surprisingly, there are more gun crimes in Vegas than in Los Angeles.
Another downside is the appalling state of higher education. You pretty much only have UNLV, which is not considered a highly ranked school. Vegas has a service-based economy so there's less need for higher education. This might not be such a bad thing. Methinks there's nothing wrong with jobs that don't require a college education...and nothing wrong with not having a degree. But if you have kids and you desire higher education for them, then you'll have to prep for possibly sending them out of state.
Overall, I enjoyed my ten years in Vegas and was sad to move out. If you're contemplating a move, I suggest paying more rent and living in Summerlin or Henderson where it's safer.
John | Spring Valley, NV