[Darcknight]

Well there is so much to tell it hurts and for the most part it is negative. I have been here since 1995 and I am planning on getting out. You know if you like to party and drink and gamble and eat at buffets thats great, but other than that this place is yucksville! No culture at all! I came here like everyone else.........work! I have never been unemployed here! if you are working class then get ready to work and not make enough to buy a house. Average/median income is 54k and housing at its peak was 7x that much so good luck. if you are loaded and/or retiring and like to golf this is the place for you. You can stay in your little sheltered gated communites and never have to come outside to the real vegas if that is your hearts desire. Welcome to the countries fourth most dangerous metropolitan area. so instead of writing forever I will just list the things that one should consider before coming here.
1. one of the worst school districts in the country with one of the highest dropout rates
2. one of the highest teen smoking and drug use rates in the nation
3. one of the highest teen auto accident rates in the country.
4. one of the highest teen prostitution rates in the country.
5. well over 24 sex offenders arrested in the school district in a 3 to five year span if memory serves.
6. one of the highest home invasion rates in the southwest.
7. one of the nations largest latino gang populations. (ms13)
If you were to watch the local news here you would find that this city is alwayz at the top of the worst list and on the bottom of the best list. I dont want to sound totally negative, but if you have a family and are considering coming here you better look into that education and some of the other factors listed above. If you want to live the hi life this is the place to be as Vegas loves people with lotz of expendable income. If you are from a city of culture ie the east coast and midwest and even the souths larger more unique cities you might not find this place to your liking. Good Luck!

[Daddys///M3]

Here we go again.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

Well there is so much to tell it hurts and for the most part it is negative. I have been here since 1995 and I am planning on getting out. You know if you like to party and drink and gamble and eat at buffets thats great, but other than that this place is yucksville! No culture at all! I came here like everyone else.........work! I have never been unemployed here! if you are working class then get ready to work and not make enough to buy a house. Average/median income is 54k and housing at its peak was 7x that much so good luck.

Median family income in 2005 according to CNN money was $59,194. MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Las Vegas, NV snapshot
At the height of the RE boom the median home price was $317,400. http://rodomino.realtor.org/Research...MSAPRICESF.pdf
That's just over 5 x's the median income. Still a bit higher than the traditional 3 x's, which is all the more reason that exaggeration is unneccesary.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

if you are loaded and/or retiring and like to golf this is the place for you. You can stay in your little sheltered gated communites and never have to come outside to the real vegas if that is your hearts desire.

I'm afraid I will have to disagree with you here as well. I'm sure others also will. In my opinion, the real Vegas is the neighborhoods and communities that make up the suburbs of this valley. It is the people and their families that work and go to school, living life just like anybody else in any other part of the country. The strip and it's gaming and partying is are the illusion that brings the money in that allows us to live the lives we do. If you honestly think that Rehab at the Hard Rock is real, as opposed to PTA meetings, BBQ's, grocery shopping, and life in general, then you are sorely mistaken and will likely face these issues wherever you go unless you move to the Ozarks.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

Welcome to the countries fourth most dangerous metropolitan area. so instead of writing forever I will just list the things that one should consider before coming here.

Really? Would you mind citing a source. According to this link (I know it's wikipedia but the stats are straight from the FBI Uniform Crime Report) we are actually doing pretty well as far as violent crime per capita goes. As a matter of fact, most of our crime is property crime. Still not good, but not what I would consider 4th most dangerous.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

1. one of the worst school districts in the country with one of the highest dropout rates

Statistically speaking, you are correct. According to the nation's new standardized testing thanks to No Child Left Behind (that one is a real winner) we rank very low on the standardized tests. However, the school my son goes to actually ranks a 9 out of 10 according to William & Mary Scherkenbach Elementary School - Las Vegas, Nevada - NV - School overview. This rating is based on standardized test results, and there are quite a few other schools out there that rank 8 or better. Of course many lay claim that our schools are overcrowded as well. I don't think that 19 students per classroom is overcrowded. I think that expectations are unrealistic.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

2. one of the highest teen smoking and drug use rates in the nation

I can't argue with this just yet, as I can't seem to find stats that either support or denounce your point. If you could provide a source that would be helpful. If not then it seems that you are rabble rousing with inaccurate info, and I have an issue with that.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

3. one of the highest teen auto accident rates in the country.

Where exactly are you getting your information from? According to this study conducted by Allstate Insurance, we are about the middle of the road when it comes to teen driving fatalities. I assume you were talking about fatality and injury accidents, and not fender benders, right? You're way off on this point. Check the link. Allstate Newsroom - Press Kits - "Allstate America's Teen Driving Hotspots" Study (http://media.allstate.com/categories/6/releases/4403 - broken link)

Originally Posted by Darcknight

4. one of the highest teen prostitution rates in the country.

I can't seem to find any stats the support or denounce this point either. After trying to google it, all I came across were stories about child prostitution rings in Ohio and Minnesota. I would imagine a place like Hollywood would have a pretty high rate of teen prostitution as well. If you can cite a source I would be more than happy to look at it.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

5. well over 24 sex offenders arrested in the school district in a 3 to five year span if memory serves.

I don't know if I remember 24 incidents and arrests, however even 1 is too many in my book. Unfortunately this seems to be happening nationwide as well.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

6. one of the highest home invasion rates in the southwest.

I can't seem to find any stats on this one either. Ironically while searching for some hard numbers I came across another city-data post from Omaha, NE, complaining about how they were hearing about home invasion robberies and murders every night. I think that much of this is just perception. However, I'm not saying that your point is not correct. I can neither confirm nor deny. If it is true I suspect it is due largely in part to the large elderly population out here, as many criminals likely see them as easy targets.

Originally Posted by Darcknight

7. one of the nations largest latino gang populations. (ms13)

You can't be serious. I am originally from SoCal and I can tell you without a doubt that the Hispanic, or African-American, or Caucasian gang population out here pales in comparison. Chicago has a very large gang population. Florida has a very large gang population. Texas has a very large gang population. New York has a very large gang population. These places have gangs of all nationalities, from Asian to Caucasian to African-American to Hispanic. I guarantee you that every place that I just mentioned has a much larger Hispanic gang presence than Vegas. On another note, would it matter to you if the gangs were not Hispanic? It seems odd that you single out the Hispanic gangs but mention nothing about skinhead gangs (yes, there is a white supremacist gang presence out here, albeit not something you see all over town). You mention nothing about Donna St or 40 block (who by the way stick to their neighborhoods). MS-13 also has a very large presence in Virginia and Maryland, want to badmouth those areas as well?

Originally Posted by Darcknight

If you were to watch the local news here you would find that this city is alwayz at the top of the worst list and on the bottom of the best list. I dont want to sound totally negative, but if you have a family and are considering coming here you better look into that education and some of the other factors listed above. If you want to live the hi life this is the place to be as Vegas loves people with lotz of expendable income. If you are from a city of culture ie the east coast and midwest and even the souths larger more unique cities you might not find this place to your liking. Good Luck!

If you were to watch any news you would never see anything but a half hour of non-stop negativity and sensationalism. The national news is just as bad. If it's not Brittney or how the presdential candidate is basically a terrorist or a communist, it's pro-war or anti-war propaganda (depending on what day of the week it is) or something else depicting just how violent the world is. Guess what, it always has been. The problems that we are facing now are no different than the problems we have faced for centuries. Disease, famine, drought, war, sorrupted governments, the strong taking advantage of the weak, etc. There is no paradise, no place is perfect and if you can't see the positive in a place like Las Vegas you will not see it anywhere. Good luck in your quest for Heaven. You won't find it until your dead.

[radraja]

1. one of the worst school districts in the country with one of the highest dropout rates

Here's the thing to consider - the entire metropolitan is in one school district. The schools in Summerlin, Henderson, and other suburbs are actually quite good. However, the multitude of inner-city schools bring down the average. That doesn't mean that all the schools are bad.

We also have a number of really strong privates.

2. one of the highest teen smoking and drug use rates in the nation

Bull. Apparently you've never been to small towns in the midwest. I was a teenager in both settings. The alcohol scene in LV is tame compared to many other places.


Those are the two points that struck me the most, so I'm not even going to argue the rest. You give out shoddy information with no evidence to back up your claims. I don't think anyone will find your post to be a legit source of guidance. I also have a hard time taking your post seriously when you use words like "lotz".

[needajobinvegas]

The poster above, DADDY/M3, is a loan agent/realtor. He'll say anything to get people to move here so he/she can sell homes and give out loans for his/her commission.

[MR77]

Again... I will point out that "Las Vegas is not bad compared to other cities, for example Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami..." Well I would hope not! We should not be comparing Vegas to these types of cities, we are not even in the same ballpark, yet our problems here seem to be. That is what worries me. BUT, the good about Vegas, I think, outweighs all of that bad. That is why I stay. Luckily, we are all free to leave at any time.

[Daddys///M3]

I forgot to include the link pointing out our violent crime per capita stats.
United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

According to this link we are about 34th in violent crime per capita. Some notables that rank higher on that list are Minneapolis, MN, Charlotte, NC, and Indianapolis. IN.

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by needajobinvegas

The poster above, DADDY/M3, is a loan agent/realtor. He'll say anything to get people to move here so he/she can sell homes and give out loans for his/her commission.

I am a mortgage originator. I am not a real estate agent. I don't sell homes. As I've told you before, none of my business consists of relocations. My business is all local and all referral. I've got plenty of business without dealing with folks that move out here looking for the golden goose. Your credibility, however, has been well established. Feel free to try and attack my character based on generalizations of my profession. It just shows how little there is to your argument. I've never denied that Vegas has it's negatives. My issue is with those that exaggerate with no evidence to back up their outrageous claims. Feel free to contest anything I've put forth with some statistical evidence. Otherwise I suggest you quit making assumptions about me and attacking my integrity. After all, you're the one that did not have the foresight to research the demand for structural engineers in Vegas before you moved here. I could have told you that there are no major architectural firms out here. Research and knowledge (not just book smarts pal) are your friend,

[MR77]

Tulsa, Ok has more crime (per capita) than Las Vegas? Amazing!

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by MR77

Again... I will point out that "Las Vegas is not bad compared to other cities, for example Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami..." Well I would hope not! We should not be comparing Vegas to these types of cities, we are not even in the same ballpark, yet our problems here seem to be. That is what worries me. BUT, the good about Vegas, I think, outweighs all of that bad. That is why I stay. Luckily, we are all free to leave at any time.

You are correct about LA, MY, and Chicago. Chicago is the smallest of those cities with almost 3mm people. LA has almost 4mm, and NY has over 8mm, so we don't really compare to them. On the basis of population however, we do compare directly with Dallas, TS, Philidelphia, PA, Phoenix, AZ, Houston, TX, San Antonion, TX, San Diego, CA, and are actually larger than San Fransisco, CA, Boston, MA, Detroit, MI, and Seattle, WA.

[AA702]

Originally Posted by Darcknight

Well there is so much to tell it hurts and for the most part it is negative. I have been here since 1995 and I am planning on getting out. You know if you like to party and drink and gamble and eat at buffets thats great, but other than that this place is yucksville! No culture at all! I came here like everyone else.........work! I have never been unemployed here! if you are working class then get ready to work and not make enough to buy a house. Average/median income is 54k and housing at its peak was 7x that much so good luck. if you are loaded and/or retiring and like to golf this is the place for you. You can stay in your little sheltered gated communites and never have to come outside to the real vegas if that is your hearts desire. Welcome to the countries fourth most dangerous metropolitan area. so instead of writing forever I will just list the things that one should consider before coming here.
1. one of the worst school districts in the country with one of the highest dropout rates
2. one of the highest teen smoking and drug use rates in the nation
3. one of the highest teen auto accident rates in the country.
4. one of the highest teen prostitution rates in the country.
5. well over 24 sex offenders arrested in the school district in a 3 to five year span if memory serves.
6. one of the highest home invasion rates in the southwest.
7. one of the nations largest latino gang populations. (ms13)
If you were to watch the local news here you would find that this city is alwayz at the top of the worst list and on the bottom of the best list. I dont want to sound totally negative, but if you have a family and are considering coming here you better look into that education and some of the other factors listed above. If you want to live the hi life this is the place to be as Vegas loves people with lotz of expendable income. If you are from a city of culture ie the east coast and midwest and even the souths larger more unique cities you might not find this place to your liking. Good Luck!

Hey Needajobinvegs .. this guy just proved you wrong. maybe you should DM him so he can give you some job tips.