Question for Fletcher,4Bubba,Senor Capper and anyone else living in LV

[AR182]

I have only been to Vegas as a tourist,& whenever I travelled off the strip was to go to a restaurant & I took a cab to get there.But I imagine it is similar to NYC,in that if you wander in the wrong direction you may be shit deep in problems.There are people who prey on "foreigners",out of towners who are in the wrong place.I used to work in a large city hospital in NY & witnessed people who got the stuffing beaten out of them,or stabbed,or even shot.All because they roamed to the wrong neighborhood.

Nysportsfan,I don't know you,but Fletcher is giving you great advice.You should definitely follow it.But if you don't you should have a plan.And follow it.For example:Before you move make sure that you have at least enough money in the bank to cover 6 months rent & food.This should be kept separate from your gambling money.Try to sign a month to month lease.This way if you picked a wrong area to live in,you would be able to move when you want.If you sign a yearly lease & want to break it you are now at the landlord's mercy.You would probably have to give him money to get out of the lease.Next,as stated before,you should get a hack license & drive a cab.By doing this you will have immediate cash at your disposal & you will learn about the different areas in Vegas.Where to go,where not to go,& where to live.All this should be done in the first couple of days in Vegas.Now once you have done this,you could start looking at other areas of advancement.

Good Luck

 

[ferdville]

Pure statistics show an average difference in the high hundreds of thousands when comparing lifetime wages of college educated opposed to no degree. Certainly there are many, many exceptions - but that is the general rule. the time to go to school is when you are young. If you go to school and prepare for some sort of a career, you will have years and years to live the life you want because you prepared yourself. Don't kid yourself - I can't tell you how many people I know that left high school and took a job, any job, so they could afford to move out, buy a car, etc. Trouble is the job is almost always low paying with little room for advancement. Three years later when you decide your career is headed nowhere, you decide to go back to school. That's great - but how to you pay for your rent, groceries, car., insurance, etc. Unless you are talented or pick the right place, you will be stuck in a dead end job for life. The time to go to school is now, not later. Doesn't have to be college, can be tech school, computer school, etc. There is a junior college near my work that trains people to use various complicated computer programs that will get them a job starting at about 80k in 2 years. You'd think this class would be packed 24 hours, but it isn't. Just my opinion, may be wrong. But I went out and got my education after high school and my degrees have allowed me great flexibility to choose the kind of job I want - not a job that I have to have. School is a drag, I agree. But you seem intent on meeting girls and school is a great place for that. Plus they know you're a student and don't have big bucks. You can still find a part time job to give you spending money. Try to look ahead 10, 20, even 30 years and do something now to prepare for that. You will be v4ery happy down the line - there is still alot of life to live after you are 40 or 50, and you want to be set up financially by then so you can enjoy life. Good luck - I think some great advice was to go out to Vegas for 2-3 weeks and just check things out. See what jobs are available - probably most fairly low pay. But you can look at potential places to live and see what your options are. Don't just pack up and move.

 

[msdee]

If you love this forum so much and want everyones advice, why don't you come to Jack's SuperBowl Party in Jan? You can take a look at the city at the same time and decide if this is what you really want. You can talk to all the guys in person. Plus you will have a good time.heyes

 

[NySportsfan]

Yes, Id love to go, just a question of money and the like, and may be working...if not this years one I will come to next years...Im still a young guy so have time here....Id certainly love a tour of things by people in the know and stuff like that...I always thought of LV as a vacation spot not a place to live, but thinking about it, would be nice place to live I think....I certainly would like to come and will try, at the worst Ill be at next years, Im not going anywhere on these forums still read them religously and like the responses...thx and good luck

Mike

 

[freelancc]

good advise MSDEE, it is hard to recover from a bad life choice, so it is better to ask questions before just packing and moving to Vegas..

everyone has to follow his heart and it sounds like you are young enough... just be smart about it.

good luck... and be sure to be able to save a little money each month

 

[TheShrimp]

Fletcher -- I didn't mean to get your dander up. We don't need a pissing contest over who's lived in tougher places, because you probably have, BUT I have lived in places that have been broken into, I've had a gun pulled on me and a friend, and lived in a place with lots of crack vials and pit bulls in the back alley.

I'm just saying sometimes cheapest housing is sometimes that way because you have to put up with a little more crime risk. As long as you don't go carrying your whole roll around in your pocket, and keep your head up, sometimes its a viable option. (Do you know what you can rent a 3 story, 2000 sq. ft. house for if you're willing to live within a block of Greenmount in this town?)

You're right though, I only know Vegas as a visitor. Maybe those kinds of housing situations don't exist there. I also don't doubt that there's a lot of homeless bums out there. Vegas may have more "broken dreams" than most other places, but I still like to think that a young kid willing to work hard can make his way in any city in the country. He might need roommates, two jobs, a shitty crib, and discipline, but I still like to think it can be done.

GL NYSF. Hope you keep us updated if you try to make it out there.

 

[NySportsfan]

thanks Shrimp.. I still need to do a lot more research, and find a definite place to bartend, and/or do something else, but bartending would be first choice, meet some locals/tourists and learn some stuff as well as choice hours at night.......I still havent been out there yet, nor have I received much specific housing help on what hotels off the strip I could rent for maybe 750/mo, madjack mentioned afew budgets but i would hafta look into specifics...so i know, how much is the party by itself for SB w/o the rooms 100? maybe I will try and make an attempt to come and meet all you and fletch can gimme tour of LV but i dunno yet and lemme know when the moneys due. I still need a lot of work to be done here until make a decison, tough to move into a whole new place on other side of country without knowing anyone and the like, but Im always up for challenges and Im always willing to bust my a$$ in handicapping and work, albeit wont be rich but hopefully carve out a nice living If I do it right and be happy.thx to all, comments appreciated
----Mike

 

[Terryray]

Jeeze. Just do it!

Jeeze. Just do it!

it's not tough to move across the country.

I've done it more than a few times. you can always get a job somewhere.


Worse case, it Gets too bad, just sleep in your car and stoop for change and dropped chips and money in one-armed bandits someone for got to cash out. I've known folks who did this for a living!


eat the cheapest buffets (tho have to be choosy if you don't have iron stomach).


then wait for it to get better. worth a try.


tho jobs are tough to get in LV for newcomers. Most businesses aren't sure you'll stay and much prefer to hire folks who've been there for several months, at least.


I stayed for a month near this place. but my hotel was closer to El Cortez and other casinos. those few blocks down Fremont from the casinos is a big-time mugging area. gotta be careful. but bus runs 24hrs there, you can get off right infront.
tho better to have a car...

The Vegas Motel on Fremont
Street is similar to others built to
house traveling motorists during
downtown Las Vegas' heyday.
They have become havens for
the working poor.
Photo by Ralph Fountain.






Sunday, July 07, 2002
Copyright ?Las Vegas Review-Journal

To working poor, motels beat life on street

But small refuges trap many with higher rents than what
they'd pay for better apartments

By BRET SIGLER
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Felice McKiernan is a stay-at-home mom. She does
the laundry, cooks and takes care of Virginia and
Rose, her 11-month-old twins.

Tracy Wilkinson, McKiernan's boyfriend and the twins'
father, just started a new marketing job. When he's not
at work, he helps out with the chores at home.

But home for this family is Room No. 9 at a roadside
motel on Fremont Street, where they use a
microwave for cooking, an ice chest for a refrigerator
and a hanging sheet as a makeshift door to separate
the bathroom/kitchen from the sleeping area.

"You can call me a doormat or whatever, but I'm not
going to raise my kids in a shelter," McKiernan said.

McKiernan, Wilkinson and the twins aren't alone.
They're sharing the tiny cinderblock room with a family
of three that needed a place to stay while looking for
work.

Some of the motels lining Fremont Street have
almost mystical names --The Desert Moon, The Sky
Ranch, The Par-A-Dice -- and they were built to house
traveling motorists during downtown Las Vegas'
heyday.

But times have changed. These days, the motels
have marquees with flashing neon vacancy signs, and
they advertise daily, weekly and monthly rates, free
local phone calls and adult movies. And they have
become refuges for the working poor.

With the economy sputtering and the cost of living rising, more families such
as McKiernan's are finding themselves moving into the motels where, with
an ID and about $150, they are guaranteed a roof over their head for a
week.

McKiernan and Wilkinson said living in the motels still is better than the
MASH Village shelter, where they were staying a few months ago.

"Here you got freedom," Wilkinson said. "And we eat a lot better."

Without a kitchenette or even a stove, McKiernan said the family relies
mostly on canned and boxed foods.

The motels may provide an option for people who are unable to afford the
move-in costs of an apartment or house.

But local housing authorities say they can be a trap, forcing tenants to pay
more for a small room than they would for a larger apartment with more
amenities. And the higher rents make it more difficult for the working poor to
save enough money to pay a deposit on a more affordable place.

"I've been looking, and we would need from $500 to $700 to move into an
apartment," McKiernan said.

"The problem is growing every day," said Don England, director of the North
Las Vegas Housing Authority. "The cost of living keeps rising, and it's putting
more and more people in the same boat."

 

[Terryray]

Elena Perez, a caseworker for the Economic Opportunity Board of Clark
County, says about 70 percent of the 80 housing applications her agency
receives each month come from families living in motels.

"They end up paying more, sometimes up to $300 per week," she said.

And spending that kind of money makes it difficult to save enough to move
out, Perez said. "So they have to all stay living in a small room with all of their
kids and no facilities. Sometimes, they're families of 10 or more."

Available transitional housing has not kept up with the valley's growth and
has contributed to the rise in motel living, experts say. The area's three
housing authorities, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Clark County, say they
are overwhelmed with applications for affordable housing.

Gus Ramos, director of the Clark County Housing Authority, says about
8,000 families are waiting to get into the agency's 4,000 units.

"We try to get them off of the list and into housing within a year or
year-and-a-half, but eventually we have to purge the list. People can't wait
that long."

McKiernan and Wilkinson couldn't wait either. They knew their time was
fleeting at MASH, so they decided to try the motels.

"I never wanted that feeling of having nowhere to go again," McKiernan said.
"It's worse than thinking about dying."

Now the couple pays $520 per month for their motel room.

If they wanted to upgrade to a room with a kitchenette, McKiernan said, they
would have to pay at least $600 per month, more than their budget will allow.
Rent for their current room already sucks up about 70 percent of their monthly
income, she says.

And, McKiernan said, "With twins, it's twice as hard. The kids got to eat;
when they're hungry you got to feed them. But once you get into an
apartment, you can get out of this vicious motel cycle."

Ramos said it's considered excessive if families pay more than 30 percent
of their annual income in rent.

"We find many of them paying 50 percent of their income in rent, so
obviously they're going without other things," he said.

England says housing is only one problem for the working poor; families like
McKiernan's often need medical aid, job training and child care.

"We address people's needs in little compartments, instead of addressing
the whole person to help them get on their feet," he said. "We just never
seem willing as a nation or as a society to address this broad range of
needs."

Wilkinson, who walks with a slight limp, is waiting to get some money saved
before he gets an operation on his knee.

"I got to work to pay the bills," he said as he wiggled the weak joint for
emphasis.

Wilkinson was unemployed for weeks after he was laid off from his job at a
tire store Sept. 14, three days after the terrorist attacks.

But each day in the motel is about overcoming such challenges, McKiernan
says.

"It's a struggle. You do what you have to do. It's survival of the fittest. There's
no compassion or humanity out here."

England says the plight of families trying to find permanent housing is difficult
to solve.

"Housing is not a popular issue," he said. "Most poor people don't vote,
therefore politicians are more concerned with other issues. It's going to take
money, time and commitment; and we don't have any of that right now.

"Some people do pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make it, but I'm
afraid that they're the exception and not the rule."

England said many people with seemingly stable housing "are only two or
three paychecks away from being in the same boat."

McKiernan remembers her life before she ended up on Fremont Street. She
was an office manager for 10 years.

"The Lord humbled me with his vengeance," she said. "I didn't know what it
was like having to live day to day. You don't know what it's like until it's all
gone.

"It's like rats in a cage. But I didn't get in here overnight, and I'm not going to
get out of it overnight, and neither is anyone else around here."

 

[NySportsfan]

thx terryray, thats a solid thought. Although, I dont know if that area is safe obviously you mentioned and ive lived in a decent suburb my whole life, tough to move into a rough area where I can be mugged etc, just would be tougher....Also, would prefer something with stove and such it mentioned itd be more expensive obviously...still, bartending somewhere decent and if my handicapping goes well, I think I could afford maybe my own place for 6-700 a month, its just the sec. deposit, etc that makes it expensive and the inital expenses...I dont wanna be more then 10-15 mins from strip either, I know right by the strip is a crappy unsafe area, so 10-15 mins would be ideal not too far...Most of my time would be spent working, and at the sportsbooks, but id like to have a place to sleep obviously, eat if i choose, bring back a girl to sleep with,LOL, and go to these forums and handicap the games....nothing fancy though for now, Im a young guy no family so i dont have many demands, thx for the thought though, Still lot of work to be done, this logistical stuff sux, especially when im unfamiliar with the area, thats why I need help Re:location of housing and such, keep the comments coming and thoughts, appreciate it

Mike

 

[JT]

Ok I have a great idea, lol. Pay for fletcher's or kcwolf's service, build your bankroll large enough, then enroll at UNLV and then move to Vegas. Your welcome. :look:

 

[NySportsfan]

Yup thats an idea,lol....Im trying to see for a year or 2 whether I can do what i want without school b/c would be so much happier not in school, more time to do what i want to do and/or work, but i think Lv is a good place to live, again though I havent checked it out, and havent gotten enough living ideas on specific places and prices, as well as places to bartend, although jack did suggest budget suites for 750 per mo seems doable, still need to find bartending job though and other things...thx and keep up the comments

Mike

 

[NySportsfan]

whats up fellas, I wanted to bump this thread back up to get a few responses if i could. I was basically wondering again about the apartment situation in LV, I dont wanna be in a piss poor area, looking to spend 6-800 per mo w/utilities, maybe somewhere 10 mins off the strip, but not in a crappy area if possible. also, again if anyone knew of the best way to go about getting a bartending job out there, which places might be hiring, if anyone on here knew any owners of local establishments,etc...and also question for fletch, i have a friend pending still re:super bowl trip, whens it gonna be too late to go through u and will hafta book myself, found room on sunset station today but little more expensive then ur group rate.thx to everyone for replying, have a good football weekend

Mike

 

[Lockport7]

IF your serious about this whole thing which you say you are, why don't u check out UNLV website I am sure they have people looking for roommates for an apartment, chit u split an apartment 2,3, or even 4 ways you could be looking at like 300-400 bucks a month with utilities it probably be the smartest option but I know you will take this for what its worth and not do anything but anywho your not even 21 yet, thats the funny thing wait it out play offshore. LV is great I am sure but your not thinking logically.... you could be doing the same thing you wanna do bartending at home, live at home for free, and still do this gambling venture

 

[Lockport7]

P.S. NySportsfan, you know you can't go to the superbowl party until you are 21 buddy, there is going to be alcohol + gambling, but if you wanna make a trip down to vegas and not get let in who am i to object.



Ahhh it feels good to be 21, hee hee

 

[NySportsfan]

no kidding theyll be booze, have an NY id that says im 21 anyway, i look 21 anyway, so wuldnt be a problem im sure anyway. Yes could look for unlv student, 3-400 a month with utilities is damn cheap thats a good point. Main reason wanted to go out there is for a change, getting sick of same neighboorhood here thats all, thx though lp7slip, lata everyone

Mike

 

[ferdville]

I don't want to spoil the party, but somebody needs to say this. Your plan is to come out to Vegas, find a cheap place to live, get a relatively low paying job, and make a career as a gambler. In addition, you currently don't have the necessary funds to come to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl party, etc. What do you plan on using for a bankroll when you start your gambling career? I don't think anyone could recommend starting without a fair sized bankroll. Unless you can get a sizeable credit line (which appears doubtful), you can't start a gambling venture without a starting bankroll. You can't rely simply on the $300 a week you make or whatever the amount is. The lack of a sizeable beginning bankroll is a sure way to guarantee losing. Have never been a pro gambler, so maybe I could be wrong.

 

[NySportsfan]

good point ferdville....I forgot to mention, Im in the carib sportsbook nfl contest, 250 entry fee, 40k for first place.....thats my pipe dream to win that, buy the car have many $$$ left over, 15k 2nd place not bad either, and of course this will be very very hard to win, probably dreaming, thats my shot though. Or use my 5k or whatever and try and make it and then struggle my ass off with bad jobs and try to get by, not easy....I will see, I do have the funds to come to vegas, just want to know the latetst that fletch can reserve the rooms b/c i realize they get taken quick my friend just hasnt commited yet and i dont want to come myself really, although I will If i have to. nothing better then sitting in the sportsbook from morning till night saturday and watching all your games hopefully and go a nice record for the day, need to do your damn homework though thats why most cappers lose, lot of work involved.....also, aside from the point, does anyone know if the sportsbooks carry like minor college basketball and football games not covered by directv? if your a regular, and you request weird games b/c u played them wuld they accomodate you, just curious, thx for the replies, stay in touch

Mike

 

[ferdville]

I enjoy hearing about your situation, mainly because I thought of doing something similar when I was your age. Just couldn't raise a big enough bankroll to try and I knew my parents would disown me instead of paying my way through college. I am pretty sure that I made the right choice at the time. But I would say, that if you are bound and determined to do this, you have probably picked a good time. You probably don't have enough assets at this time to go heavily into debt. You don't have the responsibility of a wife and/or kids. So, even though I think it is very likely a bad move, now might be the best time to try. Just don't put yourself into debt that you can never repay without bankruptcy, etc.