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Move to Vegas but work in LA?

Discussion in 'Living in Sin (City that is)' started by tiffnie83, Oct 20, 2016.

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  1. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    Hello!
    I have been researching a move to Las Vegas for a year or so, and I am sold on the idea. However, I am a nurse with LA County and I love my job and want to keep my benefits, etc. This is the only reason that I have not packed up and moved. I'm wondering if anyone out there is/was in a similar situation. I would probably work 3 days a week and stay in Vegas for the other 4, but I have a 9 year old who would be attending school. I have friends living in Vegas who could lend a hand here and there but I want a rock solid plan before I uproot us for a new city. Any thoughts and advice would be great, thank you!!
     
  2. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Lousy schools, lousy health care and a lousy living environment -- and we took a run at it a few times -- plus being gone three days a week takes more than a hand on loan. Kids come first.
     
  3. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    Thanks! My fiancee would be with my son while I'm working, and I know that people routinely travel for work, but it would still be a difficult situation. I would probably look into a part time in LA and also in Vegas.I have a good friend who lives in Vegas after moving from LA and she loves it, but I know opinions vary. My main concern is whether or not there is anyone else out there who commutes to LA from Vegas regularly and how it has worked out for them.
     
  4. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Depending on where in LA you are talking about, that drive would be 4+ hours in ideal conditions. A fire in the pass or busy holiday weekend and you've looking at more like 7+ hours. Are you going to have a place to stay in both cities, or are you talking about a daily commute?

    I've never heard anyone here talking about doing that commute. I mean, people do drive in from LA, but usually for vacation. :)
     
  5. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    I'm just saying NOT to get caught up in the glittery glamour that is Vegas as seen through vacation lenses. We have a people here who have done exceedingly well with their Vegas moves, some have not. Just know that while Vegas has a massive in-flux of new residents, it also spits them out in alarmingly large numbers. I remember a stat from a decade or so ago that for every five who move there, only three are left a year or so later. Obviously the place works for hundreds of thousands, though. Good luck.
     
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  6. WichitaMuskie

    WichitaMuskie VIP Whale

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  7. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Not in our lifetimes. And an initial terminus in Victorville ... ???

    And of course we have the high-speed-to-nowhere boondoggle "coming" to the valley.
     
  8. WichitaMuskie

    WichitaMuskie VIP Whale

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    Just out of curiosity, I checked Greyhound, and it's pretty damned cheap between Vegas and LA. As low as $9 one way, and it only takes 5 to 5 and a half hours at the right times.
     
  9. kaeldon23

    kaeldon23 Tourist

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    I'd highly recommend not working on Fridays. Your commute home to Vegas from LA every Friday afternoon will be a horrible 5+ hour ordeal thanks to all the folks heading out for the weekend. Have you ever considered living in one of the cities in between? Lancaster/Palmdale for instance is a decent size city with all the amenities, only a 1 hour commute to LA each day, then a 3 hour drive to Vegas for fun. Plus the commute home doesn't take route 15 so no worries about getting stuck in traffic on Fridays.
     
  10. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    I was in the Navy for 20 years.

    The only thing i regret from that time is being away from my family. You have a choice not to do this. I would pick family over vegas. Either that or make the move job and all.
     
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  11. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    Hi Sonya,
    If I can make it work I would commute to LA, work for 3 days on 12 hour shifts, then commute back to Vegas and stay for 4 days. Thats probably as ideal as it will get :) If I work in LA part time I would be on the same commute schedule but be staying out here maybe 2 days a week
     
  12. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Some people are talking like LA is a dot on the map. It would help to know to which LA the OP is referring (although it doesn't really change the systemic problems pointed out by Sonya and others).
     
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  13. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    Kaeldon23,
    I agree with the traffic issues!
    I have considered it, I live in LA now and it is so expensive out here, really the only reason I want to move to Vegas is to be able to buy a home. I have a good friend who moved to Henderson a few years ago and loves it, and her neighborhood is beautiful, very clean and there's so much to do! I did consider Palmdale but I used to live about 30 minutes from there (Santa Clarita) and don't like how isolated it is. I was also considering Apple Valley or Victorville. I want to eventually transition to being employed in Vegas full time, at that point I wouldn't have a crazy commute. But I also want to lock in a home at a price that I can afford, in a few years they might be a good 150k or so higher.
     
  14. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    ken2v,
    I work in Downtown LA and live in Glendale, which it about 20 minutes away with no traffic, but usually more like 40 :)
     
  15. deansrobinson

    deansrobinson VIP Whale

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    I agree that there is some risk associated with confusing livin' in Vegas and seein' Vegas through vacation glasses.
    I honestly do believe that the commute would be an ass kicker after a short while. If you're heart is set on Vegas,
    probably better to just dive into the deep end of the pool - job, kid, fiance, housing - all at once. I'm not saying this
    to be snide or anything, but what's so great about living in Vegas compared to LA? I didn't see any superlatives
    about why you'd be willing to do that commute thing. Am I to understand that nursing opportunities in Vegas are
    not what they are in LA?
     
  16. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    Wow!
    I could take a nice 5.5 hour nap :)
    Definitely helpful info!!!
     
  17. tiffnie83

    tiffnie83 Tourist

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    Honestly, I love LA but the housing out here is a huge mess. For around 300K I could get a 4 br+ brand new home in a clean new neighborhood in Henderson or Summerlin, or I could get a 2 br 1 bath home in South LA built in the 1920s. Also, I love the energy out there, I go out there often to visit a friend who bought a house a few years ago, and there is a lot of outdoor recreation, hiking, camping, etc. My number 1 motivator by far though is to find affordable quality housing. That's not going to happen in LA, or even within a 1-2 hours from LA. I work for LA County and the only reason I am hesitating is because I don't want to leave a county job, but eventually if I move out to Vegas I would make the transition if I couldn't cut it with the commute. To be honest I haven't looked into nursing in Vegas but from what I understand there is plenty of opportunity at similar pay.
     
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  18. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    lol You're trying to get to work on time and timely back to your kid, I would not "leave the driving to them." lol
     
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  19. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Buying in the basin can indeed suck. And just say no way at all on the high desert towns!

    Lotta places to move/get a house, if the job and the house are the priorities -- it really helps if you love your house, your job and the environment in which you live. Just make sure Vegas as Vegas is high on your list of reasons for moving. You're not in this alone, your kid has a lot of school ahead of her, and unless you go off shore Vegas as a vacation getaway is easy to get to from most anywhere.
     
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  20. shokhead

    shokhead No big spender unless eating drinking having fun!

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    I wouldnt unles I had my own plane.
     
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