Las Vegas

The City That Never Sleeps

Have you ever wondered what it is like to live in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, a gambling mecca for millions every year? What could it possibly be like for a person to live in a city known as "Sin City," where the only thing hotter than the bright lights is the sun. According to lasvegasnevada.gov over 600,000 people live in Las Vegas now, which is triple what it was just twenty years ago. It is a city built as a railroad town that has turned into one of the most well known cities in the world. Las Vegas is not just a tourist destination, but a great place to live. With countless job opportunities, strong economy, beautiful weather and state of the art education, Las Vegas is one of the best places to live in the world.

Why do most people come to Las Vegas? The most common answer is work. As Las Vegas has more than tripled in population over the last twenty years, most of this can be directly associated with the expansion and innovation of the Las Vegas Strip and all of the jobs that come from it. The Las Vegas Strip is a four and a half mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that is home to twenty seven hotels and thousands of shops, stores, shows and attractions. With all of the job opportunities that come from the Las Vegas Strip itself, this is an ideal destination to find work. But the Las Vegas Strip is not the only place to find work. I interviewed Daniel Rogalski, a life long Las Vegas resident whose parents moved here from California for work. Daniel says, "My parents came to Las Vegas for all of the job opportunities. My dad works construction and with all of the new hotels and stores being built, there is always a job for him. My mom works on the Nellis Air Base where she is a nurse." Daniel's family is a perfect example of the people moving to Las Vegas for jobs. With open jobs and a strong economy, Las Vegas is a great place to live.

In 2005 Price Waterhouse stated "Las Vegas has the fastest growing economy in the U.S. by any measure." Its economy is driven by tourism, gaming, and conventions, which then feed money into other industries, such as retail and dining. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the tourism industry's economic impact was thirty six billion dollars in 2005. Since so much money is made in the tourism industry, the local Las Vegas government has been trying to attract more commercial businesses. With no state individual or corporate income tax, Las Vegas has been able to get these much needed commercial industries to come to Las Vegas and stabilize its economy. Housing prices are now at or slightly above the median price nationwide, and as of late, the housing industry has become a buyer's market according to the lasvegasnevada.gov website. With such a strong economy and affordable housing, Las Vegas is a very good place to make a living.

Las Vegas is such a great place to live because of the superb weather. Las Vegas has a typical desert climate, with hot summers, mild winters, year long sunshine and very little rainfall. Some may complain that it is too hot to live in Las Vegas over the summer. The high temperatures in the months of July and August normally exceed one hundred degrees, but as my Las Vegas local Daniel Rogalski can tell you, it's really not that bad: "Las Vegas is hot over the summer, but it's not that bad. We have very little humidity and I would much rather be in Las Vegas when it is one hundred and five degrees than be in Florida with high humidity when it is ninety degrees." Winters are fairly cool and normally windy, daytime highs are generally around sixty degrees but the lows drop down into the forties. Snow can be seen in the nearby mountains surrounding Las Vegas, but it rarely snows in Las Vegas. This great year-round weather is one reason why Las Vegas is a great place to live.

Being such a brand new thriving city, Las Vegas' education systems