National Headlines Tout Lifestyle & Business Climate of Las Vegas

"Las Vegas has over-delivered on quality of life." - Teddy Liaw, CEO NexRep

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Jennifer Hardy
• LVGEA News

Las Vegas attracts 41 million annual visitors, from business conference travelers to tourists looking to have a good time. But it’s the economic climate of Southern Nevada that makes the Las Vegas Valley an amazing place to live for its 2.3 million residents. The exceptional quality of life, diverse lifestyle choices, and stellar business incentives (e.g., tax savings, lower operating costs, 20 minutes to anywhere, etc.) make the Las Vegas Valley a perfect place for a one-way trip.

CEOs from California and other states are descending on Las Vegas and discovering it’s a great destination to relocate or expand their business. Don’t just take our word for it – top publications like the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Mansion Global, and Business Insider are touting the Las Vegas Valley. If you’re a business owner looking to grow revenues, cut costs, and offer a better quality of life to your employees, learn why Las Vegas can be right for your company.

All Eyes on Southern Nevada

With an exceptional tourism industry, Las Vegas resonates on a palpable level. Rarely do initial reactions go beyond the neon lights, vibrant nightlife, and gaming reputation.

Sure, those elements helped build a city, but beyond the Strip, Southern Nevada leaders morphed “What Happens Here, Stays Here” into an encouraging message about what happens when you stay here.

The objective headlines keep pouring in, focusing on the livability and business acumen of the Las Vegas Valley and Southern Nevada:

Las Vegas Valley locals nod their heads when reading these articles, but we want to help you see the side of our storied city and expansive county that highlights an unparalleled live, work, play trifecta.

If your company seeks to expand your business to a strategic location with easy access to the West Coast of the United States, it’s time you look beyond the lights and learn the true breadth and depth of what Las Vegas has to offer.

Las Vegas Valley Safety & Security

Teddy Liaw, CEO of NexRep, made a decision that couldn’t have come easy for the California native. He grew up in Southern California, double majored at UC Berkeley, and started his San Francisco-based company in 2009. California Governor Newsom even tapped Liaw to serve on the state’s Entrepreneurial Task Force.

After a series of unfortunate events, including a home burglary, Liaw saw San Francisco differently from his top-of-a-hill condo with a bay view.  He considered Washington and Texas before taking a trip to Nevada.

“The trip opened my eyes to what (Las) Vegas had to offer, including new houses, clean living, and ample playgrounds for children.” – Teddy Liaw, NextRep CEO

In a self-penned letter, Liaw told Business Insider that moving to Las Vegas was not only best for his family and his business, but he’s passionate about how other business leaders should take notice.

Liaw told the Las Vegas Sun in 2022, as he was planning the first Vegas Tech Summit, “Everybody’s been here along the 2-3 miles that we know as the Strip, but we’re going to expose people to other places. We want people to have a new perspective about living here, playing golf here, eating here. We want them to say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that was in Vegas.’”

The third annual Vegas Tech Summit will be in the fall of 2024. While lamenting the reasons Las Vegas is one of the best cities for business, especially in the tech industry, Liaw also noted how beneficial the quality of life is for employees.

“At $150,000 in San Francisco, you’re getting a studio, maybe a one-bedroom apartment. Here, you’re getting a 3,000-square-foot house.” -Teddy Liaw

At the Vegas Tech Summit, Kent Yoshimura, co-founder of Neuro, compared doing business in Nevada vs New York as reported in the Las Vegas Sun: “It’ll be impossible (in New York) to meet with the attorney general there unless you’re a Facebook or something.”

Liaw added that there are no plans to create a Las Vegas tech scene that supplements Silicon Valley. Instead, he wants Southern Nevada’s tech industry to be seen as a “great alternate destination.”

The Vietnamese-American loves to golf, and he admits that he “…travels the globe in search of the perfect green.” We couldn’t help but agree that the golf courses in Las Vegas Valley were an attractive aspect. As Liwa said, “there are so many golf options here. Quite frankly, Vegas has over-delivered on quality of life.” 

The Great Southern Nevada Outdoors

From the golf green to the great outdoors surrounding the Las Vegas Valley, famed rock climber Alex Honnold doesn’t mince words when it comes to why he chose to live in this area.

“Honestly, I would say Las Vegas is better than any of the other cities in the country that have a reputation for being outdoorsy. It just has unparalleled access to the outdoors,” – Alex Honnold, Free Solo Rock Climber

“People go to Denver because they say they want to be near the outdoors. But it’s at least an hour’s driveaway from the real mountains. In Vegas, you can live in the middle of suburbia and be 15 minutes from trailheads where you can be completely alone,” Honnold told the L.A. Times.

Southern Nevada is quickly growing as the sports and entertainment capital, but elite athletes like Honnold are showing up for reasons that have nothing to do with the Strip.

The irony of a California newspaper, much less one as heralded as the L.A. Times, writing the headline “Why some of California’s most outdoorsy people are moving to…Las Vegas?” isn’t lost on anyone. In fact, it was Hannold’s free solo climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan and subsequent Academy Award Winning Free Solo documentary that helped catapult his rise to fame.

The article even points out that Boulder, Colorado native Jonathan Siegrist chose to call Las Vegas home due to the epic climbing opportunities and lower cost of living compared to his hipster hometown. Then there’s the secret sauce only Las Vegas locals know–living here allows you to harness the vibe and be whomever you want to be.

“I’m not just talking about racial diversity. I’m talking about economic diversity, diversity of ideas and diversity of interests,” Jonathan Siegrist told the L.A. Times, later adding, “I mean, there’s no income tax! And the house was so cheap, it nearly paid for itself in tax savings.”

Wall Street Journal: Why Public Companies Are Leaving
Delaware for Nevada

We’ve covered the “live” and “play” aspects of relocating to the Las Vegas Valley, but the “work” benefits are also making business headlines.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article, a guest column written by Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and UNLV Law Professional Benjamin Edwards, about why companies are leaving Delaware for business-friendly states like Nevada.

Aside from their astute business landscapes and three syllables, the two states have very little in common. Prompted by travel behemoth TripAdvisor moving its incorporation across the country to Nevada, three more companies have followed suit.

The authors of the column note that businesses are choosing to move from Delaware to Nevada for several reasons, mainly due to differences in legal and financial environments. Delaware has long been a popular place for incorporation because of its experienced court system and established case law, which provides certainty for businesses.

However, the state has also become known for its litigious environment, where companies frequently face costly lawsuits. This litigation can discourage businesses from engaging in potentially beneficial transactions and add significant costs.

In contrast, Nevada offers a more business-friendly legal framework. It has lower annual filing fees and a more protective approach toward corporate officers and directors, reducing the risk of litigation. Nevada’s legal system focuses on preventing lawsuits unless there is clear evidence of wrongdoing. This can make Nevada more attractive to companies looking to minimize legal risks and associated costs.

Additionally, some businesses find Nevada’s approach to corporate law more predictable and less burdensome. While Nevada’s legal system is less established than Delaware’s, many companies value the reduced risk of litigation and the associated financial savings.

This trend highlights a growing preference for Nevada’s business-friendly policies among companies looking to avoid the complexities and costs associated with Delaware’s litigation-heavy environment.

Mansion Global: Las Vegas’s Bet on Tech Has Been a Winner for Home Buyers

When global real estate digital publication Mansion Global wanted to tell the story of the Las Vegas Valley housing market and tech sector intersection, they came right to the LVGEA. Mansion Global is a luxury real estate platform owned by Dow Jones, the same parent company that owns The Wall Street Journal.

We’ve been telling this story for years.

Above the digital fold, the Mansion Global article states that “…they’re (tech companies) remaking this playground of vice into one of the top tech destinations in the country.”

The article gives a special nod to the quality-of-life efforts in Southern Nevada. Alex Hancock, national director of sales and leasing for developer Howard Hughes Holdings, pointed out that “Clark County has added four and a half residents per hour over the last 20 years.”

“A lot of times these companies coming from the coastal cities are looking for more affordable quality of life, for business purposes at first, but then they get here and we hear, ‘I had no idea,’” said  LVGEA President and CEO Tina Quigley.

As the article goes on, the “If you build it, they will come” mentality showcases the fantastic neighborhoods, one-of-a-kind amenities, and a workforce of people with transferable skills hungry to keep excelling in a city that embraces diversity.

They even tapped Liaw for comment since his accolades resonate across important tech and industry sections. “There’s a different type of friendliness here that feels sincere and authentic, and I think it’s because people are just happier,” Liaw told Mansion Global.

While once hammered by the 2008 housing crisis, the article points out how Las Vegas bucked high interest rate troubles that have plagued other housing markets.

“The real estate market is moving to deliver products for that higher-net-worth individual,” said Douglas Elliman realtor Kristen Routh Silberman. “It’s not that our existing houses are getting more expensive. We’re just building more expensive homes.”

Those homes north of $10 million aren’t just for occasional vacations. They’re being sought out at a rate of about one per month as more business leaders and trendsetters see beyond cliques and capture the true essence and energy of the Las Vegas Valley.

Relocating Your Business to Southern Nevada

These four headlines from major publications only scratch the surface of what you and your employees can expect when making the smart decision to relocate to this region. The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance is poised to help you scout the best sites, showcase the numbers that make sense for your company, and exemplify the quality of life you can only get in the Las Vegas Valley.

Connect today with a member of LVGEA’s Business Development team to learn more about the personal and business benefits of moving your company to the Las Vegas Valley.