questions about moving to las vegas... please help (Elko: employment, construction)
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I say if you like to gamble a little too much Vegas is not the place for you to live. If you think Vegas is the best vacation ever, maybe you shouldn't move there. If your only skills are barback or cleaning tables... well, I've heard you better have a lot of $ saved up before coming here.
None of those apply and I'm looking forward to moving. Is it a risk, sure. If it doesn't work we'll try something else. But I feel good about this risk.
I'm always amused when people who live in Summerlin or Green Valley just Looooove Vegas! Yah, if you have a lot of money from years of gouging people in the name of capitalism which is how most people with money got it in the first place, you would love it here. Especially those who moved here from California after selling their house for five times what it was worth and were lucky enough to sell it before the bottom fell out. Those are the people who love Vegas. The problem with Vegas is this....CDL drivers in Las Vegas make about 15 bucks an hour, unless they drive over the road or have a union job like Republic Sanitation. In comparison, regular grunt warehouse workers in Dallas Texas make 20 dollars an hour. I know, because I was making that two months ago. I moved back to Vegas because the weather here is much better. Yes, it's hot, but the humidity and the alergy's in Texas will kill you. I wouldn't mind Vegas if they would just get their wages somewhere in the neighborhood of liveable. You can't live on 8 bucks an hour take home pay. They need to shut down all the mexican temp agencies and go back to hiring their own people, and pay them a little better.
I'm always amused when people who live in Summerlin or Green Valley just Looooove Vegas! Yah, if you have a lot of money from years of gouging people in the name of capitalism which is how most people with money got it in the first place, you would love it here. Especially those who moved here from California after selling their house for five times what it was worth and were lucky enough to sell it before the bottom fell out. Those are the people who love Vegas. The problem with Vegas is this....CDL drivers in Las Vegas make about 15 bucks an hour, unless they drive over the road or have a union job like Republic Sanitation. In comparison, regular grunt warehouse workers in Dallas Texas make 20 dollars an hour. I know, because I was making that two months ago. I moved back to Vegas because the weather here is much better. Yes, it's hot, but the humidity and the alergy's in Texas will kill you. I wouldn't mind Vegas if they would just get their wages somewhere in the neighborhood of liveable. You can't live on 8 bucks an hour take home pay. They need to shut down all the mexican temp agencies and go back to hiring their own people, and pay them a little better.
Indeed, some folks who have tons of money did it through less than admirable means. But most people who are well off worked hard, and in a field that contributes to society. Writing off all wealthy people as immoral is pretty weak-minded on your part.
Furthermore, it's not that hard to live in Summerlin or Green Valley on a moderate income right now. Plenty of nice homes under $200k. So in contrast to your assertion, I'd contend that lots of the people who are loving it in Summerlin and Green Valley (or other nice places in Vegas; Aliante, Centennial Hills), are simply middle-class folks who are reasonable with their money.
I'm always amused when people who live in Summerlin or Green Valley just Looooove Vegas! Yah, if you have a lot of money from years of gouging people in the name of capitalism which is how most people with money got it in the first place, you would love it here. Especially those who moved here from California after selling their house for five times what it was worth and were lucky enough to sell it before the bottom fell out. Those are the people who love Vegas. The problem with Vegas is this....CDL drivers in Las Vegas make about 15 bucks an hour, unless they drive over the road or have a union job like Republic Sanitation. In comparison, regular grunt warehouse workers in Dallas Texas make 20 dollars an hour. I know, because I was making that two months ago. I moved back to Vegas because the weather here is much better. Yes, it's hot, but the humidity and the alergy's in Texas will kill you. I wouldn't mind Vegas if they would just get their wages somewhere in the neighborhood of liveable. You can't live on 8 bucks an hour take home pay. They need to shut down all the mexican temp agencies and go back to hiring their own people, and pay them a little better.
Hate to bust your bubble but...
NY times CofL calculator...($40,000 base)
Quote:
The cost of living in Las Vegas, NV is 8.7% lower than in Dallas, TX. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $36,537 to maintain your current standard of living.
Employers in Las Vegas, NV typically pay 0.1% less than employers in Dallas, TX. Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in Las Vegas, NV you are likely to earn $39,959.
* I thought I was enjoying it here, but apparently that means I'm 'shady'. Sounds like I must be deluded or just plain wrong.
* Apparently I need to increase my daily dosage of sin to fit in here in Las Vegas. Any suggestions on how to violate more biblical rules/laws?
* In addition to being shallow, apparently I have either lost my soul or given up all rights to it by living here. I was blissfully unaware.
* There is a new kind of woman called 'descent'. Perhaps this is one who is always going 'down' on others?
* The parks I've been to are apparently no more than an illusion or a mirage. This ugliest 'Citie' deludes us into thinking we're at real parks.
* The focus of the city is to use & abuse others; everything is about sex & money. Family, schools, nature, community, etc are not allowed.
* Any woman within the confines of Las Vegas is by default a wh.ore with at least some plastic parts & a minimum of one disease. I'm going to have a talk with my girlfriend to figure out why she's not bringing home more money - also need to find out which parts are plastic & which disease she's carrying.
I used to think temperament, disposition & attitude could help determine one's happiness here (or anywhere, for that matter). Silly me. Obviously Las Vegas has predetermined our fate & it's doom & gloom.
All I can say is 'thanks' to those who helped convince me I'm uninformed. I'll stop being happy at this point & be sure to spread the words that Las Vegas is a soul-sucking hellhole that's godless, where the devil looms large & everyone is soul-less & shallow. The rest of you enjoying yourselves had better wake up & smell the burnt toast. I guess we've all been eating Soylent Green all these years!
Some employers are taking advantage of the high unemployment to offer lower wages. $40K job turns into $30K job.
Since the job market is so bad, many people will have to take lower level jobs to find any employment at all. So, they won't be able to match their level of employment they had in Texas. $40K full time job in Dallas turns into $9.00/hr part time job in Las Vegas.
Very good chance they will not find any job at all. That would mean $0 income.
My son moved to Vegas 10 years ago, and got a job - fresh out of the USAF - in casino security. He then moved into public transportation, and went to school for BusAdmin at night. He is now a supervisor in his job, married a lovely girl - who was born and raised in Vegas - and they have a performing troupe of friends on the weekends, and travel to CA and around NV and AZ to perform.
He liked it so much that our daughter went out there - just to see. She had her master's in biology, and had worked for 5 years as an assistant pathologist in a small lab. When she got to Vegas, she looked around, put in applications, then decided that she liked Vegas. She moved out there with six months salary and got a nice apartment, and kept looking. As she was nearing the end of her experiment, she was hired on in a national lab branch. Within six more months she was promoted to assistant pathologist, and makes a very good wage. While there, she met a charming young man who runs his own security company. On their first trip back here to the farm, he asked her daddy's permission to marry her - on our own verandah. Turned out he is originally from Oklahoma, a farm boy himself! They bought a house together in one of the 'older' parts of Vegas (is anything really considered "old" in Vegas?) and are redoing it from the inside out.
There are all sorts of horror stories in all sorts of towns and cities in every state, if you bother to read other forums on City-Data. The economy is bad everywhere, and people moving without plans, jobs, or cash are going to get their feelings hurt - no matter where they move.
Vegas has been good to my two children; they have wide circles of friends, good jobs, and good homes, where no bums peek out of the bushes, harass, or threaten them when they go out. My son told me a story (I don't know if it is true - he is a good storyteller) that the bums on the highways tried to do the window-washing thing to cars and trucks stopped at intersections, just like they do back east. After one fellow in his truck shot a bum, and was acquitted because he was defending his property, the bums pretty much don't harass the drivers any more. My children like to go up into the mountains when it is hot in the valley, and play in the snow, or camp out.
Vegas is a fun place to visit, and there are shows to see and great food to eat, and the people we met while there for the most part were funny and friendly, hardworking and pleasant to be around. While we would never live there - we like our peace and quiet, and hate heat with a passion, humid or not - our children found their niches and love it there.
There are lots of people working in Las Vegas, so there will be plenty of anecdotes about people who have or found jobs in Las Vegas, but the economy/job market is not as bad in every other city in the US as it is in Las Vegas.
In many cities, certain types of jobs are more available than in Las Vegas and in many cities the overall job market is simply not as bad in general.
People may choose not to move to those places because they don't like the weather or the nightlife, but the jobs are there if they are really serious about doing everything they can to find employment.
There are lots of people working in Las Vegas, so there will be plenty of anecdotes about people who have or found jobs in Las Vegas, but the economy/job market is not as bad in every other city in the US as it is in Las Vegas.
In many cities, certain types of jobs are more available than in Las Vegas and in many cities the overall job market is simply not as bad in general.
People may choose not to move to those places because they don't like the weather or the nightlife, but the jobs are there if they are really serious about doing everything they can to find employment.
The Las Vegas job market is generally taken out of context. It is the State of NV that looks bad...
If you are a construction worker it is impossibly tough. That was one of our two big employer pools and it has simply been wiped out. And in my opinion is unlikely to come back for some years. That likely counts for 4 or 5 points of the unemployment total in Las Vegas. There are other trades where LV is not and was never very good. Development engineers and programmers would do much better in LA or Phoenix.
The actual numbers are very similar to most of inland CA. The much bigger Riverside/San Bernadino area hurts just as bad and has 13.9% unemployment. And the inland empire does not have the resort industry to pull it out.
There certainly are areas with better employment figures. But they certainly have their downsides. And actually LV without construction is probably in the middle of the pack.
Yes there are other cities that have unemployment rates that are comparable to Las Vegas. Those cities would be very poor alternatives, so don't go to inland California looking for jobs.
Even "mid pack" unemployment when overall unemployment across the county is high is still bad, so you would be much better off looking for metro areas that have the very lowest unemployment for the job field you're in. If there is only a small difference in unemployment for your field, then it probably won't matter, but if the unemployment rate significantly lower, then you'll likely find a better job there and find it much more quickly.
An unemployed person moving to Las Vegas or inland California looking for work over Oklahoma City, the DC area or certain areas of Texas is like a diabetic or heart patient choosing to eat donuts every day instead of a plate of steamed broccoli because they prefer donuts to vegetables.
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Happy if you have money
