8 Major Reasons Not To Move To Las Vegas

There is no place like Las Vegas in the entire world, therefore people from all over the world come here on a daily basis. Vegas has changed over the years, but most of the changes have occurred in the past 6 to 7 years.

1. HOUSING

The housing market here is over-inflated. A typical 3 bedroom 1.5 to 2 bath home with 1500-1700 square feet that should sell for $140,000. to $160,000. now sells for $230,000. to $250,000. The people that are buying these homes and the high rise Condo units are the wealthy who use them for their second or third homes or investors who rent them out.

2. WATER

The majority of the water used in Las Vegas comes from Lake Mead. The lake is currently 50 to 55 feet BELOW the level it was at 6 to 7 years ago. The population of Las Vegas is up around 2 million people. There are swimming pools in a large amount of the homes. You see an awful lot of people tearing out their grass and putting in Desert Landscaping which consists of colored rocks and a few plants. What is going to happen in the next several years as the population grows even more?

3. TRAFFIC

Sure, every city has it's traffic problems. In Las Vegas it is magnified even more because of the poor freeway systems and the fact that the majority of the population lives in a valley surrounded by mountain ranges. Vegas has some of the most aggressive drivers in the United States. Some of the problem is a shortage of police out on the streets patroling. Most cities have their normal RUSH HOUR traffic in the mornings and the late afternoons. Vegas has RUSH HOUR all day long because of the 24 hour work environment due to shifts stopping and starting all 24 hours. Also, because of the boom in construction, massive amounts of construction workers help clog the streets. Gasoline prices are among the highest in the nation.

4. SUMMER HEAT

It is dry heat! In the summer when it stays over 100 degrees every single day it is really HOT! It drains you if you are out in it for very long. No thunderstorms popping up for a little relief. No rivers or creeks nearby, just one big lake 25 miles away!

5. SCHOOLS

The school system is having big problems. They are building new schools to catch up the the rising population which is good. The problem is finding teachers to fill the vacancies. The starting salary of a school teacher is around $27,000. per year. Along with the teachers being underpaid is the fact that there is no affordable housing for them to relocate here. If you were a teacher, why would you want to move to Las Vegas and lower your standard of living?

6. EMPLOYMENT

There are plenty of jobs, mainly in the casinos, and the main reason there are plenty of jobs is because the casinos don't treat you very well at all. When you apply for any job at all, you must account for the past ten years of employment and you must have good credit. Their attitude is that you can be replaced at a minutes notice by someone else. On 9-11 the massive layoffs that occurred were unnecessary. The casinos were worried about their BOTTOM LINE. Many management people were laid off and their job title eliminated so that even though they had worked there for several years, they reapplied and had to go through everything that a brand new person did and held no senority.

7. GAMBLING

No matter where you live in the world right now, the lure of gambling will never be as great as it is here in Las Vegas. Casinos, grocery stores, gas stations, and most bars have gambling. When you live in Las Vegas gambling becomes an addiction. Sure, there are shows and fine dining but where are they mostly located? In the casinos! Normal activities that you might think of such as cooking out with family and friends and going out with friends to dinner are very hard to do because everyone works all kinds of shifts and have different days off. It is very difficult to get together with other people even once a month. You can only stay home and watch television or movies so much, especially when you see and feel the presence of gambling all around you. Another problem that goes hand in hand with gambling is ALCOHOL. When you are in a casino for any length of time at all, you usually have a few drinks. Why, because they are free! The dollar or two that you tip the coctail waitress still makes it very inexpensive. Alcohol clouds your judgement and you end up making gambling decisions that you regret later. Gambling starts to take over your life. Your money is spent on gambling instead of other things like vacations, nice clothes etc. Like many others who live here, you tend to feel trapped. WORK, SLEEP, GAMBLE, DRINK! What a viscious cycle that is very hard to escape!

8. MULTI-CULTURAL

If you are a caucasion natural born american citizen, you are a minority among the population here in Vegas. There are people here from Korea, China, Israel, Bulgaria, Mexico,The Felipines, Romania, Pakastan, Iran and Eithopia. Is this a negative aspect to a city? It is an awful lot like living in New York city and San Francisco. You find it hard to trust people when they don't speak english because you don't know what they are talking about. Some of the cultures of people are naturally agressive. You are constantly watching your place in any type of line you're in wether you're at the grocery store, gas station or a fast food establishment for fear you'll lose your place. If you like the big city atmosphere such as in New York or San Francisco then Vegas is for you! If you are used to friendly people who say Hi and speak english and are not overly aggressive, then Vegas is NOT for you!

Please think twice about moving to Las Vegas!

Jeff Cardenell has been a limousine driver in Las Vegas for the past 6 years. Every day he is out on the streets talking to people and observing how the city is changing daily. More info about Vegas can be found on his web site. http://www.lasvegaslimousinestories.com