I'm seriously contemplating making the move out to Vegas.

I'm just finishing up my undergrad and looking for something exciting to do. I have no debt and about 15k in liquid assets.

I figure if I can lock down a job out there in the finance/accounting industry, I can be financially stable upon arrival.

Has anyone ever lived out in Vegas or have any anecdotes that they could share to help influence this decision?

I have checked out rents and $700 a month can get you a hell of a place. I don't care to live on the strip, Henderson or Summerlin would do just fine. I'm not picky - I'm just in the mood for another adventure.

Thanks much!

I grew up in Vegas. I'm actually considering moving back since I could make a shit load of money in my industry. Vegas is cheap as hell to live. Like you said, $700 a month will buy u a nice place.

As far as places to live, I always liked green valley. It's cheap, nice, and safe. A friend of mine was saying yesterday that it's becoming ghetto, but I don't know if I believe that. From what I understand Vegas is making a nice e economic come back. There should be plenty of accounting jobs at the casinos. I grew up in a suburb of Vegas, spent half my life there. I feel if I move back I can stack some dough and go back to school and set myself up to make some big moves.

Where are you currently residing? Of all places I've lived in the states, Vegas definitely has the most bang for the buck. The biggest downfall is the weather but I guess you get used to it. It's pretty much always hot or cold, but not as cold as back east or the mountains. It will drop down to the 20s maybe a couple times a year. You may see snow once every other year. It only really stuck once out of living there for 13 years, but I also know they just had a pretty big snow storm a couple years back when I wasn't there. The heat in the summer is obviously pretty ridiculous, but 300+ days of sunshine a year though is nice.

Another thing to keep in mind if you move to Vegas, a car is pretty much an absolute must. Logistics aren't great. The area around the strip isn't ideal to live, at least for what I prefer. So after hitting the strip, you're only options are a cab, which is expensive, a DD, or drive drunk. This goes for SoCal as well. I would suggest living within a 5-10 mile radius of the strip. Eastern and 215 area would be a good bet for me personally as most my friends live more on that side of town.

Quote: (07-31-2013 05:12 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

Another thing to keep in mind if you move to Vegas, a car is pretty much an absolute must. Logistics aren't great. The area around the strip isn't ideal to live, at least for what I prefer. So after hitting the strip, you're only options are a cab, which is expensive, a DD, or drive drunk. This goes for SoCal as well. I would suggest living within a 5-10 mile radius of the strip. Eastern and 215 area would be a good bet for me personally as most my friends live more on that side of town.

Was just wondering about this.

Wonder if there any apartments at all near the strip within walking distance..., say, under $900 for a 1-bed / studio?

there are houses for under 100k btw

What type of work?

Quote: (07-31-2013 06:21 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

there are houses for under 100k btw

Nothing worth a damn.

If I was the op, I'd take 5k and go have an awesome 2 month long trip someplace before going to work.

yeah prices have gone up..i bought a good house 72k 2 years ago in el dorado. Pretty good area, 10 buck hoa at thetime

It depends what you consider walking distance. Most spots within walking distance that are decent are probably a little expensive. You could cop a spot in naked city by the stratosphere, but that's probably one of the last neighborhoods in town you'd want to live in. There are reasonably priced spots by UNLV and south Las Vegas blvd, but the ones on south Vegas blvd are too far away and the ones at UNLV are older and it's not a great area. I'd rather get something newer and nicer in an area like green valley or Sumerland. Really, the best parts of town to live are off the strip. There are some nice houses around Alton, pretty sure Oscar goodman lives around there, but they are expensive.

Quote: (07-31-2013 03:45 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

I grew up in Vegas. I'm actually considering moving back since I could make a shit load of money in my industry. Vegas is cheap as hell to live. Like you said, $700 a month will buy u a nice place.

As far as places to live, I always liked green valley. It's cheap, nice, and safe. A friend of mine was saying yesterday that it's becoming ghetto, but I don't know if I believe that. From what I understand Vegas is making a nice e economic come back. There should be plenty of accounting jobs at the casinos. I grew up in a suburb of Vegas, spent half my life there. I feel if I move back I can stack some dough and go back to school and set myself up to make some big moves.

Where are you currently residing? Of all places I've lived in the states, Vegas definitely has the most bang for the buck. The biggest downfall is the weather but I guess you get used to it. It's pretty much always hot or cold, but not as cold as back east or the mountains. It will drop down to the 20s maybe a couple times a year. You may see snow once every other year. It only really stuck once out of living there for 13 years, but I also know they just had a pretty big snow storm a couple years back when I wasn't there. The heat in the summer is obviously pretty ridiculous, but 300+ days of sunshine a year though is nice.

Thanks for the detailed response- it's answers like this that I was looking for.

I'm currently in MN - so no worries about the snow or 20 degrees. We get school cancelled up here for "cold days" instead of "snow days" sometimes when the wind chill is -25F.

I am slightly afflicted with SAD (Seasonal Affection Disorder, or somethin' like that) - basically, when the sun is only up for 5 hours a day and you're mostly inside, you begin to get depressed. It's a mixture between cabin fever and low levels of natural vitamin D. It's enough to throw a guy off for the last few winter months. It's enough of that shit. Unsubscribe.

Quote: (07-31-2013 05:12 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

Another thing to keep in mind if you move to Vegas, a car is pretty much an absolute must. Logistics aren't great. The area around the strip isn't ideal to live, at least for what I prefer. So after hitting the strip, you're only options are a cab, which is expensive, a DD, or drive drunk. This goes for SoCal as well. I would suggest living within a 5-10 mile radius of the strip. Eastern and 215 area would be a good bet for me personally as most my friends live more on that side of town.

Yeup! That's what I heard. I have two cars right now so i'll sell off my winter beater and keep my sports car (no need for a snow beater our there).

Seeing that i'd be doing ahhh "side jobs" on the strip, what is the best way to navigate in and out through the strip area? The last thing i'd want to do is sit in traffic for hours.

Quote: (07-31-2013 06:21 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

there are houses for under 100k btw

Yes, I was looking at house prices too. A house out there for 100k includes a nice ass garage and a swimming pool. No joke. I feel like their real estate market is going to rebound. I will rent for the first year as a trial period- once I have steady employment I'll plan to make a home purchase. I'll have friends planning to move out there with me and they can rent from me to help cover the mortgage. Equity timeeeee.

Quote: (07-31-2013 06:29 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  

What type of work?

Tax accounting mostly. Also have knowledge on securities and some experience with financial planning.

To be honest though... I'm young (22), and would just like to get out to Vegas. I was offered a gig out there that sounds like a lot of fun and could definitely be of value to some of the more adventurous members on this forum. The only thing is, I'd want an actual "day job" just to get my feet wet. Spin off from there.

Quote: (07-31-2013 06:43 PM)Fisto Wrote:  

Quote: (07-31-2013 06:21 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

there are houses for under 100k btw

Nothing worth a damn.

If I was the op, I'd take 5k and go have an awesome 2 month long trip someplace before going to work.

I just got back from Spain (European tour) not too long ago. I'm keeping my liquidity to get myself set up in an area that I would like to be. Plus i'm in the process of incorporating a small business with my roommate. At this point, I need to keep my capital where it matters.

You'll love that 300 days of sunshine a year then. Traffic can get pretty bad in Vegas. Most likely your best bet is going to be take the 215 or 95, depending on where youre coming from, to the 15 and get off at which ever exit you need in the strip. Driving on the strip can be a pain in the ass. I've heard the intersection on trop and lv blvd is the longest signal in the country. The average wait time is supposed to be around 7 mins. Or something crazy like that.

Quote: (08-01-2013 05:28 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

You'll love that 300 days of sunshine a year then. Traffic can get pretty bad in Vegas. Most likely your best bet is going to be take the 215 or 95, depending on where youre coming from, to the 15 and get off at which ever exit you need in the strip. Driving on the strip can be a pain in the ass. I've heard the intersection on trop and lv blvd is the longest signal in the country. The average wait time is supposed to be around 7 mins. Or something crazy like that.

But on the whole...given my current situation outlined above... You'd give it the green light?

At age 22 i say go for it, but when u ready to make some real tax money u gotta move to nyc : )

Quote: (08-01-2013 09:48 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  

At age 22 i say go for it, but when u ready to make some real tax money u gotta move to nyc : )

You may make more... but then you have to take into account the higher cost of living in addition to both a NY state income tax as well as a municipal (local) tax in NYC.

Plus: I think it'd be a nice addition to the forum to have a playa holdin' down Vegas.

Very true about the above. New York is a tough place to start out. I could see myself moving there once I become a little more established. Vegas is dirty cheap and plenty of money to be made. Captains just bitter because he doesn't know how to do vegas. I say go for it. What do you have to lose? I have a feeling Vegas has a bit more to offer than Minnesota.

I think it would be really fun. you can live like a normal vegas residents by staying local or you can be a tourist on weekends at vegas strip. Wouldn't it be fun to know that there would be unlimited source of women who come for the party everyday??

OP, maybe you should check out entry level accounting/financial analysts gigs at the casinos. Might be a good way to get your foot in the door of the gaming and hospitality business. Knowing your way around a casinos financial statements sounds like it could be a very valuable and very portable skill.

I've been living in Vegas for 23 years. I suggest you find somewhere else to go. After 23 years here, I can say Vegas pretty much sucks today. When I first moved here, Vegas was great. You used to be able to eat dirt cheap if not for free. A full breakfast for $1, Buffets for $3 and Lobster for $7. Today, all that is gone. There is no more cheap food and casinos hardly comp you anymore. Everything has changed for the worse thanks largely in part to corporations tyring to save money. Oh and that's another thing. There are no more mom and pop casinos here, everything is corporate owned.

This town can also be very dangerous to your health and your wallet. You can lose everything you own overnight here. You need to be very disciplined or you can easily go broke or become an alcoholic in Vegas. And everyone that moves here will drink and gamble eventually if not right away, even if you say you don't or won't, you will because there's really nothing else to do out here except drink and gamble. There is absolutely no culture here. No museums, no arts, no sports, nothing except bars, restaurants and gambling.

As far as the talent goes, picking up tourist women isn't that hard but forget the locals. Tourists have no shot with the locals girls, they know what you're after, especially the cocktail waitresses, which are the quality talent and the ones to go after. I can still nab a cocktail waitress where I work here and there but its getting harder the older I get. By the way cocktail waitresses are the only women I've dated here. They are the hottest and actually not that hard to date once they get to know you. But you're not going to pick one up overnight.

Oh, and if you want to pick up a chick you will have to either dine and wine her to death or spend a ton trying to get her drunk. Either way, its gonna cost you, and there's no guarantee you're getting laid.

So, think twice about moving out here, its not as fun as you might believe, not anymore anyways.

I grew up in Vegas and I have more friends that gamble in other places I've been than in Vegas. Virtually none of my friends who live there gamble. As far as drinking and drugs, it is something you have to be careful of because both are readily available. A lot of my high school friends became heroine addicts out there, many have since kicked the habit though. I got into a lot of trouble in Vegas, but I was young and that type of lifestyle is behind me. I'm glad I got it out of the way when I did. I don't find the local girls to be difficult either, they tend to be pretty slutty. Idk about all this wining and dining you're talking about. I guess it's just different if you were brought up there. I have a lot of friends who kill it and do very little wining and dining. Despite not being able to get $1 breakfast, Vegas is still very cheap for the type of city it is. Denver is more expensive but with half the benefits of Vegas. Girls here are plain Jane and you get hardly any exotic girls. As far as cocktail waitresses being the best girls, I don't know about that, I know plenty of beautiful women that do other stuff. I haven't even been there in three years, so maybe a lot had changed, but I can't see it being so dramatic, plus I still keep in touch with friends there and they seem to like it. I have a few friends in Denver that I grew up with in Vegas and they are always talking about how much more bang for your buck you get in Vegas. I mean come on, you're saying Minnesota over Vegas? You may as well move to zainsville.

Quote: (08-02-2013 11:11 PM)playa Wrote:  

There is absolutely no culture here. No museums, no arts, no sports, nothing except bars, restaurants and gambling.

UFC is based here. I don't think any other North American city can call itself a BJJ / MMA mecca. SoCal could but thats an entire region not a city you can drive across in half an hour with a half dozen gyms. And don't try to tell me that Nascar and World Series of Poker are not sports.

Plus boxing. But I see where he's coming from. It sucks Vegas had no pro teams. Even if Vegas did get a basketball team though I'd still be a die hard lakers fan. Most people from Vegas tend to root for the cali teams I've noticed. A lot of us were either born in cali like myself and moved to Vegas when we were young or have family there.

I've lived in Vegas for about three years and moved here when I was just a little older than you. My thoughts:

-Most important: Get a job lined up before you come here. Do not come here without a job. I've lived in a few places before Las Vegas and this city is, by far, the hardest to build a solid social network. People are frequently moving, or have pre-established social networks from the local high schools and colleges that are hard to crack if you weren't in the original group. The most stark difference between Las Vegas and other places I've lived is that it is exceptionally hard to just go to a spot you like, chat with people, and develop a new network of people with similar interests. This is because of the transient nature of the city and, whether caused by or correlated with that, the fact that a lot of people are running some kind of scam. I can provide specifics if you'd like, so that I don't sound unreasonably cynical. Anyway, more so than other cities, it will be hard to network into a job if you don't already have one.

-Vegas is having an economic recovery, but it could end if there are any slow-downs or shocks to the broader economy. Theoretically, vacations and discretionary spending are the first to be cut in a slowdown, making Vegas a high-beta city, where it will experience the consequences of contraction before the broader economy. You will be living in the canary in the coal mine. This can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.

-Vegas housing is overvalued right now. I'm not a bear on housing, but the numbers in Vegas simply are not real: Prices are up about 20% year-over-year based on available inventory of approx. 8,000 houses for sale, despite there being about 64,000 TOTALLY EMPTY houses in the valley. (Translation: ~55k empty houses are being held off the market.) From when I moved here until the beginning of the year, I thought housing ranged from a steal to reasonably priced; the runaway gains of the last 8 months don't seem to have any support from the facts on the ground except that people are willing to pay. That said, I think we're nearing the peak of investors buying properties to use as rental units in LV - if not past it, due to interest rate hikes.

-There is a culture deficit in Las Vegas - but it is getting a lot better. On the plus side, a huge performing arts complex called the smith center just opened up. On the downside, there's not enough local performing arts stuff to completely fill its schedule, so it has to import a lot of stuff like the road show of 'Wicked'. It has a lot of potential though. There's also a modern art museum on the west side of town, a new museum on the university campus (more on that later) and a growing arts scene downtown.

-The university here, University of Nevada Las Vegas (alternatively, "UNLV" or "U Never Leave Vegas") is really trying to improve, but is stuck in a tough spot: It needs to serve the locals to retain their support, so it can't just raise its standards and squeeze out the natives, although doing so would fulfill its aspirations. I've met plenty of smart people from UNLV, but I personally would not have gone there. It is trying to expand its public offerings and play a role in making Vegas a bit higher-brow.

-Good luck meeting the most attractive locals. Most of the cocktail waitresses and VIP hosts for higher-end venues work late hours and at times when you'll be free working an office job. The far right end of the looks distribution curve in Las Vegas crushes most other cities. However, the aesthetics median - if not the mean - would be higher in Denver. Bad logistics are also an issue. I'm used to east coast style flirting with very self-aware girls where wordplay and subtle one-upmanship are rewarded; I admit that I completely fell on my face using that here. It could work on the strip with tourists, but it's probably going to fall flat elsewhere. Focus on having a super high-energy fun vibe instead (which is tough if it feels inauthentic).

-Scorpions!

Overall I like Las Vegas. I'd consistently give it a 6 or 7 out of 10 depending on what's going on in my life. But you're going to have a miserable time if you move here without a solid plan.

I guess there's only way for me to really find out...

-Vegas is having an economic recovery, but it could end if there are any slow-downs or shocks to the broader economy. Theoretically, vacations and discretionary spending are the first to be cut in a slowdown, making Vegas a high-beta city, where it will experience the consequences of contraction before the broader economy. You will be living in the canary in the coal mine. This can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.


"-Vegas housing is overvalued right now. I'm not a bear on housing, but the numbers in Vegas simply are not real: Prices are up about 20% year-over-year based on available inventory of approx. 8,000 houses for sale, despite there being about 64,000 TOTALLY EMPTY houses in the valley. (Translation: ~55k empty houses are being held off the market.) From when I moved here until the beginning of the year, I thought housing ranged from a steal to reasonably priced; the runaway gains of the last 8 months don't seem to have any support from the facts on the ground except that people are willing to pay. That said, I think we're nearing the peak of investors buying properties to use as rental units in LV - if not past it, due to interest rate hikes"


Yeah its another inflated bubble. My understanding is it is because of a state program that is helping peoPle to stay in the homes but at one point all wilL come crashing down. The banks eventually are going to put them on market. I realized there was a bubble when I saw property inventory decrease in North las vegas. The cash investors have no desire to go there so it must be due to the "stay in your home" programs.

If one were to both have an accounting job but also working on the strip for a side-gig; where would you suggest living?

It'd obviously be cheaper to rent out in Henderson or Summerlin - but the costs to get to the strip, etc. will most likely add up.

Would it be worth looking into rentals on the strip? Of course the monthly rent will be higher but the convenience/logistics would be unreal.