Hi all,

moving to las vegas in two weeks (!) for work and starting to get a bit nervous...I'm going to be moving there from London, am single and relatively unburdened by property/furniture, so it's going to be pretty much me and my suitcase...
Was wondering about how easy it is to set up a bank account/find a flat once I'm there. I've got a hotel for the first week, but I need to find something as quickly as possible.
I'm a bit apprehensive as I won't have a car to start off with, and I don't know the place at all.
Anyone have any advice? Apart from the obvious 'take sunscreen'...
Would be greatly appreciated!

Hi and welcome. Take your passport/visa into the bank and you should be able to set up an account easily. As to which bank is another question... national for convenience and no ATM fees but impersonal, or local and personal, or somewhere in between.

Get your Experian credit report on paper from the UK. Technically it counts for nothing but if it's a good enough score then a landlord might use it - worked for me anyway. No harm in trying.

You'll need to rent a car first thing - because public transport in Las Vegas is non existent.

I moved to LA from Birmingham on my own and almost fell apart in the first week. It was so overwhelming with all the things I needed to do in such an alien place.

Then I found this forum and received some great advice. List all the things you need to get done. Take a deep breath. Then attack them one by one. You actually have a lot more time than it seems.

So, bank account, SS number, a cellphone, drivers license, a car, somewhere more permanent to live. I had all this stuff and more wrapped up within 4 weeks and then wondered what all the fuss was about.

Enjoy.

As long as you have the appropriate visa, employment letter, it will all be easy

Go for a large bank that can be accessed across the US, like Chase, Wells Fargo, or Citibank since you will want to travel, right? Your employment letter should be sufficient to rent a place. Make sure you identify the right area to live first. That's important

Buying a car should be easy, just make sure you haggle like crazy on the price! Welcome to America!

I've often wondered, what exactly are these complex banking services that people need when they are away from home, that means they need to walk into a branch of their home bank? When I'm away from home, I typically use a credit card, a debit card, and possibly access an ATM. Although I rarely need to stock up on cash when travelling. None of these services require a branch of my bank nearby. As for ATM fees, my bank has just one branch (well, the head office I guess) and I've never paid an ATM fee, despite occasionally drawing cash in places thousands of miles away..?

Well the advantage to having a reasonably sized bank versus your local bob's bank is that you don't need to switch banks when you move towns or states. Also, banking fees are a bis source of revenue and do exist for ATM withdrawals. Hence the suggestion to find a regional or national bank

Depends on the bank. I prefer not to use cash but some place you have to - and inevitably when you're away from home! I think WF is $2.50 plus whatever the ATM itself charges, if anything. My "record" has been a total of $6 in charges for the "convenience" of withdrawing $100.

As for services, again it probably depends on the bank. Most WF stuff you can do online but some things you have to go to the branch. HSBC, for business banking at least, did bugger all online. In fact, did bugger all except bugger about.

My small town savings & loan is part of a network so most ATM withdrawals are fee free world wide. If there is a fee, my bank refunds it. So I've never paid an ATM fee in the eighteen years I've banked there.

I've never paid any fees for any other services either. And they still pay interest on checking account balances.

Well, only if that bank has a presence in the town or state that you move to. For instance, AFAIK there are no branches of Wells Fargo, Citibank or any other national chains within a hundred miles of here. All our banks are local or regionally based.

Also, my daughter lived for several years in Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Missouri then back to MA and made do with her account at our small town, rural NYS, one-branch bank. Everything she needed to do she did online, by phone, or using her debit or ATM card.

Hi

thanks for all the advice! I have to admit I'm getting pretty nervous. But it seems like the practical issues can be sorted out quite quickly.
I think I am very worried about buying a car - I haven't driven in about 10 years...I'm guessing insurance is probably pretty steep as well? I'm going to be a bit skint after paying first months rent/deposit etc...

I've spent a lot of time there on business

Avoid North Las Vegas, thats the bad side of town, Spring Valley (west) or Henderson (south) are good. CarMax on Sahara for a low mileage, late model vehicle for a reasonable price, one price, no negotiation and they take good care of you after the sale. A week is not a lot of time so if you need a clean/safe/cheap place to stay for another week or two, I recommend

Las Vegas Hotels | South Point Hotel Casino and Spa

That is one of the things I like about Discover Card. When checking out at most the major supermarkets, drug stores, and many other stores you're asked if you want cash. Initially I assumed that was a "cash advance" but later discovered that is a "cash over" which doesn't have any fees. So if I need some cash, I just walk into one of those stores and buy a coke with my Discover Card and get up to $120 per day "cash over".

Discover Cash Over

Discover Cash Over Merchants

Of course in order to avoid a "cash advance" fee, you have to pay off your credit card in full each month.

And with Discover Rewards, they don't confuse the issue and talk about points but cash rewards of 1% back on all purchase except 5% back at certain types of merchants that change quarterly (this quarter is for gas stations) and 5% or more when purchases are made though their web site at most of the popular merchants. Therefore if I want to buy something from Home Depot or Best Buy, I link though their web site to the merchants web site, place the order and go to the store and pick it up.

..... so what visa do you have? Someone saying they are going to be skint does not sound as though they are coming over on a work visa.

I don't know the local rental market, but without credit history and if it's a busy rental market, be prepared to pay first/last plus 1-3 months worth of rent as deposit on signing the lease.

Down my way, you also pay the realtor fee's even if you don't use one, but in other areas where it's not as hopping, then the landlord would pay it and it ranges from 1/2 month up to 3 months worth of rent as a fee.

Getting a car is easy, insuring also shouldn't be hard, but budget $1K per six months of cover for decent level of coverage on a half decent car. Might be less, but best to be prepared for it.

Good luck.