As soon as you finish moving to Las Vegas, you will notice the red rocks that dot the landscape and the clear blue sky that energizes you every day. In the middle of summer, you might not be as excited about going outside, but you’ll explain it away as dry heat, and you’ll have access to air conditioning everywhere you turn.
You’ll find that living in Las Vegas will change your lifestyle, outlook on your budget, entertainment and how you spend your free time. Those closest to you will notice when you describe your day trip to a national park or explain a new Cantonese dish you were inspired to make after visiting a great new restaurant.
Your Las Vegas has so many secrets that you never knew existed and that will make your old friends jealous.
Here are a few more reasons you’ll love living in Las Vegas.
Reason #1: The Las Vegas Weather
In the middle of winter while everyone else is shoveling snow, you’ll post a great picture of you in shorts at Mt. Charleston making a snowman. Your caption will read, “You see, even in Las Vegas we get snow!”
Las Vegas enjoys about 300 days of sunshine every year and has an average annual temperature hovering around 80 degrees. While midsummer you might complain about the heat, you’ll still call it a dry heat. When the rest of the country is thawing out in March, you will already be shopping for summer clothes. Then, as the threat of the first snow comes to the east, you’ll still be having pool parties in October.
No Natural Disasters
You really can’t boast about this without appearing insensitive, but it is one of the best parts of living in Las Vegas. Next hurricane season, you’ll be safe because those storms will not reach Nevada. You’ll also steer clear of earthquakes and tornadoes, and there is no chance a blizzard will keep you from going on your afternoon run.
You might deal with flooding from time to time and wind can be a nuisance, but you are free to talk about the lack of natural disasters because Las Vegas does not have any.
Read more about the Las Vegas weather in our moving guide:
Reason #2: No State Income Tax
You’ll be surprised at just how much you’ll save by not having to pay for state income taxes. Luckily, gaming revenue helps out Las Vegas locals in that regard. When life is relatively normal and not affected by global pandemics, nearly a billion dollars in gambling taxes and revenues is pumped into the local economy annually.
With all the money you save on taxes, you’ll be able to consider buying a home if you’re used to renting elsewhere. That will definitely make your friends jealous when they realize you own a 2,200 square foot house and pay less than their rent on that 500 square foot apartment.
Reason #3: The Dining Scene
Even if you never went to the Las Vegas Strip to eat, you would still be enjoying one of the most exciting dining scenes in the country. Michelin-starred chefs are cooking off The Strip and some of the top names in the culinary world, like Gordon Ramsay, Joel Robuchon and Michael Mina, have restaurants in Las Vegas. From Sustainable Seafood to authentic farm-to-table restaurants, Las Vegas has it all.
On and Off-Strip Restaurants
Like most living in Las Vegas, you won’t head to The Strip often (unless you work there). But when you do, it’s something special. Imagine what your foodie friends will say when they hear you are dining at Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace and that you have toured all of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, including the innovative Hell’s Kitchen. Or, better yet, imagine having sampled some boutique wines that can only be found in a wine tower at Aureole.
If you want to steer clear of Las Vegas Boulevard, you’ve got plenty of options as well. Hank’s Fine Steaks and Martinis at Green Valley Ranch is a perfect example. Hank’s is not only one of the best steakhouses in town, but it hosts a popular Happy Hour. You can sip half-price martinis in the bar area and enjoy some incredible live music. You might even recognize a few of the performers!
Reason #4: The Outdoor Adventures
Just twenty minutes from the center of town, Red Rock Canyon is known as an international destination for rock climbers. Nothing will make your friends jealous more than when they see you sporting that tan you got while learning how to belay.
Getting a bit outdoorsy is so easy when you’re living in Las Vegas as you are surrounded by local hiking trails and plenty of opportunities to mountain bike. Seven National Parks are within a few hours’ drive of Las Vegas making your new home the perfect base camp for exploration.
Nearby National and State Parks
- Grand Canyon
- Zion
- Bryce Canyon
- Escalante Canyon
- Death Valley
- Yosemite
- Valley of Fire
- Four Corners
- Mesa Verde
- Arches
- Canyonlands
- Lake Mead
Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking and Hiking Resources in Las Vegas
- Hiking Trails in Red Rock Canyon
- Hiking at Valley of Fire State Park
- Mountain Biking at Mt.Charleston
- Rock Climbing with the American Alpine Institute
Adventure-seekers find it handy to hang onto their self-storage units in Las Vegas, if for nothing more than to store their bikes, ATVs and skis.
Reason #5: Traveling is Easy
If a road trip is what you desire, a road trip is what you will get. The Southwest is wide open and soon you’ll be driving between the huge sandstone monoliths of Monument Valley or frolicking on the sand off the beaches of California.
Los Angeles is just four hours away by car and 45 minutes by air. Utah and Arizona are so close you can raft or climb or hike and be home by dinnertime. Las Vegas is an international destination, and McCarran airport has daily flights to virtually every corner of the planet. Flights to Hawaii are cheap, and Spring Break in Cabo will become a reality.
Driving and Flying Times from Las Vegas
| City | Drive Time | Flight Time |
| Los Angeles | 4 hours | 41 minutes |
| San Francisco | 8 hours | 1 hour and 9 minutes |
| San Diego | 5 hours and 51 minutes | 46 minutes |
| Sedona | 4 hours and 26 minutes | 55 minutes |
| Phoenix | 5 hours | 47 minutes |
| Salt Lake City | 6 hours | 56 minutes |
| Denver | 11 hours | 1 hour and 22 minutes |
Reason #6: There is Always Something to Do
Las Vegas is truly the city that never sleeps. You can bet that, even off The Strip, you’ll find something to do at all hours of the day–just another small perk of living in Las Vegas.
When a large portion of the population works during off-hours, businesses serve their clientele at different times. Expect late-night eats all around town, and you can be sure that your favorite bar will outlast you as well. If you bowl, you’ll always be able to get a lane. And if you love to dance, Las Vegas nightclubs are notorious for going until the sun comes up.
The 24 Hour Town
- Bar/Lounge – Double Down Saloon, PTs Pubs or Distill
- Food – Blueberry Hill, Roberto’s Taco Shop or Lucky Penny Cafes in Station Casinos
- Nightclubs – Drai’s or OMNIA
You don’t have to be in the mood to party to take advantage of the round-the-clock services, though. Sometimes it’s handy to grocery shop at 2 am or grab breakfast at 3 in the morning when you can’t sleep.
Entertainment
You will never miss a tour from your favorite act again when living in Las Vegas. Every big name makes a stop in Sin City and everyone in your hometown will be calling you for updates on how the show went. Toss in the resident headliners and the numerous shows and entertainers that call Las Vegas home, and you can bet that not one of your friends will have more options for entertainment than you. Be ready for the hate mail.
Event Schedules
Reason #7: Private Discounts and Hookups for Locals Only
Before living in Las Vegas, you probably focused on the Strip or researched how far a drive it is from Vegas to Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon. You paid full price for tickets to a production or comedy show and gravitated to buffets to get more bang for your buck.
But things are different once you have your new Nevada driver’s license in hand. Some hidden deals are either locals only or kept secret by Vegas residents.
Free Tickets to Vegas Shows
Did you know that when you live in Las Vegas, you can be a seat filler for shows, events and activities on and off The Strip?
As long as you have a Las Vegas area ID, you can join a free tickets club like Plug In Vegas. You pay low monthly dues and then get to reserve pairs of complimentary tickets to some area shows with open seats.
“Living in Las Vegas provides residents a unique array of entertainment options that may not be available to tourists visiting the city,” said Jason Lee, owner of Plug In Vegas, a locals-only entertainment club in Las Vegas. “Venues count on the support of the locals to fill the gaps left by the ups and downs of tourism trends, which generally translates to savings, discounts and unique opportunities—if you know where to look.”
The Perks of Locals Casinos in Las Vegas
When you visit The Strip a few times a year and do a little gambling, you’ll find that you get some unique invitations, like free meals or discounts on hotel rooms for your return trip.
However, if you live in Las Vegas and frequent a neighborhood casino resort, like the Gold Coast, Red Rock Casino, or the Silverton, your perks are different. Regardless of what or how often you play, it’s handy to sign up for a free Players Card. You’ll find that the incentives are worth it, even if you’re just an occasional visitor.
Casinos that cater to locals tend to give away gifts like housewares, electronics, bottles of wine, or logoed merchandise. You can also end up with comp meals, free play cash, and other incentives that’ll stretch your entertainment budget quite a bit.
Other Opportunities
Las Vegas is filled with other incentives to residents holding the coveted Nevada license. Plus, if you work in the culinary industry, as many people do, you get even more perks, like dining deals and free tickets.
You can take advantage of free cocktails and, sometimes, complimentary meals at your local bar as well. It’s not just the casinos that roll out the red carpet when you’re gambling. If you pull up a stool and play slots, video poker, or video keno, your drinks are typically comped.
Reason #8: Your Family Will Visit
This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about having company or people dropping by to say hello. Your family will come to visit and they will expect you to be a tour guide. If you love having them over, this will become a regular occurrence. Your friends from college and your old neighborhood will also expect a place to stay when they decide on a last-minute trip to Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas that you’ll know after moving there is different than you think. The Las Vegas that your friends and family believe you are experiencing will really never exist. You’ll trade in late nights in a casino for early mornings on a trail, and the cocktail attire will be supplanted with casual, comfortable clothing that will keep you cool. Your sunglasses will have a permanent place on your head and your clock will seem to have more hours in the day.
Las Vegas is infectious, but in a different way than you or your friends would have ever thought before considering the reasons to move to Sin City. People will be jealous of you, and you’ll soon be making space for them on your couch.
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the Life Storage blog on March 20, 2018. It was updated with new information from Las Vegas expert, Lu Ann Wall, on May 23, 2021.
