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Expenses, the economy and jobs
The cost of living in Las Vegas, according to the best number I can find, is a bit higher than average (112 versus 100 nationally). If you’re coming from Los Angeles or New York, you’ll find it very reasonable. If you move from parts of the Midwest or south, it will seem expensive. We moved from an area that had a cost of living ranking in the high 90s, and found living in Las Vegas to be similar in terms of overall costs. None of the people we know who moved from other areas seem overly affected by it either.
Despite some rumors of doom and gloom, as I write this (mid-April 2008), the economy seems pretty good to me. Everywhere you look, there are cranes in the sky, and the planned major projects through 2010 are in the $40,000,000,000 (that’s billion!) range. That’s a ton of jobs in construction and related fields right now, and a bunch more in the tourist and service industries as those projects are finished. You can see what's in store for the future (and get an interesting view of the past) at Vegas Today and Tomorrow. Although there is a slowdown in tourist spending, the number of visitors continues to climb (I was told hotel occupancy was better than 90% during a recent convention), and there are still about 5 – 6,000 people a month moving here. All of which, at least to me, points to a bright future for Las Vegas.
If you have something lined up before arriving (something I strongly recommend), you won’t be worried about finding a job. Otherwise, you’ll need to scope out the Las Vegas job situation. Of course, Las Vegas probably has more people working unusual hours than most cities. Shifts that start at 7:00PM or 3:00AM are not unusual. Somebody has to be there to keep all those services going 24 hours a day. The Tourist industry and construction trades are the largest employers, but based on a look at some job listings it would seem just about every field is covered. If you want to try something really different, you just may find it in Las Vegas. Having my own business, I don’t have any first hand experience with Las Vegas employment (I’m probably unemployable, anyway). My wife, daughter and son-in-law have all been through the process, as have a few others we’ve known. Based on those experiences, it seems if you are willing to go after what you want, and really work at it, you should have no trouble working in Las Vegas. That’s not to say there isn’t competition. I’ve heard that one of the recently completed resorts hired 10,000 people to staff it, and had 70,000 applicants!
I can't speak for other industries, but if you use recreational drugs, don't even think about a casino job. Be prepared, and Good Luck.
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