People Are Leaving Las Vegas

More and more people, who came to Las Vegas, Nevada when the economy was good, are now leaving and looking for affordable housing and better paying jobs elsewhere. The Las Vegas Sun reported in April, that at least 20,000 jobs in residential construction have vanished because of the home building slump.

Las Vegas gambling revenues have dropped 4% in 2008, a drop that significant hasn't been seen since just after the Sept.11^th incident. The Las Vegas Convention business has also taken a decline. Less attendees are showing up for the conventions, some conventions that were held here in the years before are no longer having their conventions in Las Vegas due to low turn out as well as attendees not staying as long as they used to.

The Las Vegas School District has been struggling to get new teachers to move here as well as keep them here. With the struggling school budget, low teacher salaries, housing being expensive and low starting salaries for new teachers or teachers new to Las Vegas. According to Superintendent Rulfes, the starting salary for new teachers is $33,000.

School supplies are in short supply, many teachers use a portion of their own salaries for their classrooms. Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV, has kept tabs on the population growth for many years reported to the Las Vegas Sun, that May of 2008 was the first month in 12 years that fewer than 5,000 people traded in driver's licenses from elsewhere for Nevada licenses in Clark County.

More people are moving out of Las Vegas and less are moving into the city. The people that moved here years ago did so because of the abundance of jobs, affordable housing and a suitable number of nice neighborhoods to choose from. People are now moving out of the city because, unemployment is high, jobs are scarce, affordable housing is hard to find and a lot of gangs have moved to Las Vegas from places like Los Angeles.

People still come to Las Vegas for vacations, with legalized gambling, somewhat legal prostitution and 24 hour a day fun on The Strip, there is a lot a family can do to have fun. Although it should be pointed out there is more for the adults to do than there is for anyone under 21 years of age.

On the upside, where else can you find steak and eggs for a few bucks any time of night? There's also nothing like seeing the buffets for the first time and finding out the food is actually good.

Even though loads of people are moving out of Las Vegas, a lot of people decide to stay. Even though the level at Lake Mead, the place Las Vegas gets it tap water has fallen more than 100 feet since 1964, the state keeps allowing new homes to get built. Some people living in Las Vegas are worried about the water levels at Lake Mead and wonder where they will get their tap water if it all gets used up in the next twenty years.

Of course Las Vegas isn't the only city going through a recession or having economic problems, but for the people who live here it's becoming more and more difficult to stay.