[stayhuman]

I agree. I tried living in Vegas last year. I even had an extremely cheap place to stay with a friend and a nice job and still could not find any good in that city. From my experience it was dirty, impersonal, and trashy. But this is just my opinion, and I grew up in a tight-knit Mid-Western community so maybe my standards are a bit high. I did enjoy being surrounded by mountains, and the sunrise (minus the smog!) there, and I met people from all over the U.S. living in that city which was great.

[kimba01]

Originally Posted by VegasGrace

I see this is an older post come to life.

I've lived in New England and got out of there quick as possible! Vermont is no place to raise a family w/ teens and New Hampsire is a place where school officials admit to housing kids til they turn 16 so they can drop out.

Maryland....teen pregnancy....just walk the halls of the high school...and I heard even Jr. High.

Georgia....that was a horrific place for teens.
And the courts are as crooked as they come.

Utah...well, that was great for families...but young adults...not so great.

All the things you mentioned were there in those states...but unseen. Snakes in the grass...if you know what I mean.

Well here's a thought--maybe it is not the place, but the spoiled-all-about-me-I-am-entitled teens we are all raising today. I have raised my children in the same area I was raised in and it was VERY family oriented, with plenty of things to do. All 4 are different and have different issues of one kind or another. And their friends? I don't even want to get started. Alot of kids don't even get off their behinds to see what is beyond their PS2's, Xboxes, cell phones, iPods, DVR's...

There are many children who make the very best of their situation-no matter how good or bad. Even nasty 'ole Detroit has programs for kids. They just have to show up with an interest.

[LV_James]

My wife and I moved here about five years ago. We had already established a business, so work wasn't an issue. We started it here because of the absurdly poor business climate in NY vs the fantastic business climate here (plus the weather, of course).

What I don't understand is all the complaints I hear about the people. Since our move (to an older, middle class neighborhood), we have found the people here to be some of the friendliest, most helpful people anywhere (and I have lived in six different states over the years).

And it's not just the people in our neighborhood. My wife and daughter both work at casinos (different companies, and very different jobs), and they both enjoy the company of their coworkers.

Perhaps the complainers just enjoy hanging around with other complainers. The folks we have met are active, adventurous, and definitely not whiners. Mostly, they are doers. They get out and get stuff done.

It seems that no matter where I have lived, there are always people who would much rather whine than actually do something useful.

I try to avoid them, but if I have to listen to them, I'd rather do so while enjoying great weather, low taxes, and unmatched entertainment.

Just my 2 cents.

[dynimagelv]

your two cents is worth it's weight in gold....

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

I lived in Las Vegas between 1991 and 1993, and basically agree with everything that the OP said. I did not like living there and was happy to leave. Vegas is the most plastic, cheesy, place in America.

It is interesting that no one is really from Vegas. Most everyone is from different parts of America and they move to Vegas to try to make a new start. It's more or less a melting pot of Americans with the usual results. Also, no one lives in Vegas because they want to, (besides Tony Curtis and other Vegas entertainers.) only because of the "job opportunities".

Las Vegas for good or for ill is a very libertarian place, with 24 hour gambling and bars. If you are someone with an addictive personality, this is not a great place to live. The gambling here is so in your face anyway, slot machines seem to be everywhere and anywhere. One does not need to go to "The Strip" to gamble, as there are casinos catering to the local crowd. As a matter of fact, very few locals who have been there for a while even go down to "The Strip" when they can throw their money away in the little clip joint next door. Really, living in Vegas is an exercise in restraint.

Rent there is high. I had an almost condemnable one room apartment with feces brown colored carpet and cockroaches galore for $300 a month, and that was 15 years ago (the apt was located on Naples Dr. off Paradise next to Thomas & Mack arena, it is now torn down) Las Vegas has so much E M P T Y space outside of town, that it can accomodate everyone and then some. I have asked about this on other message boards and was told that it was because most of the outer wasteland is owned by the Federal government.

Well, I am not going to totally dump on the place, I hated it there, but I'll give it it's due..

1.) There is no Nevada state income taxes.

2.) There is no sales tax on food bought in the supermarkets and medicine.

3.) There is fantastic entertainment to be had if one has the resources to go.

4.) Great restaurants of all types. Many of them are cheap too!

5.) The outdoors is not bad. Many people own dune buggies and drive in the desert. There is Mt. Charleston for skiing (it's also cool and alpine up there), Red Rocks, and Lake Mead for boating and fishing.

6.) One can buy alcoholic beverages or go to a bar 24/7. No closing times, no Sunday blue laws, no hassle. Wanna martini at 7 AM on a Sunday morning. No problem. Not even New York City can do that. (However, this goes back to that Nevada has the highest rate of alcoholism and suicide of any state in the nation)

Senor

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by stayhuman

I agree. I tried living in Vegas last year. I even had an extremely cheap place to stay with a friend and a nice job and still could not find any good in that city. From my experience it was dirty, impersonal, and trashy. But this is just my opinion, and I grew up in a tight-knit Mid-Western community so maybe my standards are a bit high. I did enjoy being surrounded by mountains, and the sunrise (minus the smog!) there, and I met people from all over the U.S. living in that city which was great.

So you were here less than 12 months and you couldn't find any good in the city? When I was moving back from Seattle to San Diego I stayed overnight in San Fransisco. I could not find anything good about that city either. Of course I was there for 12 hours and did not leave my motel room.

FWIW, I have lived all over Southern California as well as living in Seattle for over a year. Vegas has it's downside just like anyplace else, but really is not much different than anywhere I've lived aside from the gaming. That being said, you being from a (I assume) small mid-western community you probably would not like any major metro area.

Originally Posted by Senor Boogie Woogie

I lived in Las Vegas between 1991 and 1993, and basically agree with everything that the OP said. I did not like living there and was happy to leave. Vegas is the most plastic, cheesy, place in America.

It is interesting that no one is really from Vegas. Most everyone is from different parts of America and they move to Vegas to try to make a new start. It's more or less a melting pot of Americans with the usual results. Also, no one lives in Vegas because they want to, (besides Tony Curtis and other Vegas entertainers.) only because of the "job opportunities".

Las Vegas for good or for ill is a very libertarian place, with 24 hour gambling and bars. If you are someone with an addictive personality, this is not a great place to live. The gambling here is so in your face anyway, slot machines seem to be everywhere and anywhere. One does not need to go to "The Strip" to gamble, as there are casinos catering to the local crowd. As a matter of fact, very few locals who have been there for a while even go down to "The Strip" when they can throw their money away in the little clip joint next door. Really, living in Vegas is an exercise in restraint.

Rent there is high. I had an almost condemnable one room apartment with feces brown colored carpet and cockroaches galore for $300 a month, and that was 15 years ago (the apt was located on Naples Dr. off Paradise next to Thomas & Mack arena, it is now torn down) Las Vegas has so much E M P T Y space outside of town, that it can accomodate everyone and then some. I have asked about this on other message boards and was told that it was because most of the outer wasteland is owned by the Federal government.

I disagree with Vegas being the most cheesy, plastic city in America. There are quite a few other cities that are right there, if not more plastic. Plenty of spots like that in SoCal, Southern Florida, etc.

There are quite a few folks that were born and raised here that are still here. However, the city is still quite young compared to most other major metros. What, 40 years? Southern California has been going since the late 1800's. Most major east coast cities have been around since the 1700's. Vegas has had 40 years. Give it some time to grow.

If I didn't want to be here I would leave, unlike the majority of whiners on here. Do job opportunities play a role? Of course they do, but there are other locales that have plenty of job growth that I would not want to live at by any means. There are only 3 places I'd rather live than Vegas. La Jolla down by San Diego(way too expensive for now), Seattle (don't know if I could handle that weather again), and the Mediterranean Coast . People have to remember that you get what you give, if you have nothing but negative to give then we don't want or need you here (to the complainers in general, not the poster I am quoting). I understand if the city is not a fit, but if that is the case there is no need to generalize the city based on your criteria and certainly no need to bash it.

$300 a month is high for rent? Where are you from, Tijuana? I can't think of any MSA that has an average market rent of under $300 dollars, even 15 years ago.

[dynimagelv]

I am gettin soooo tired of the bustouts that cant hack it here....I wanna puke.....

[PinkString]

Let's have a puking party. lol We can dedicate it to all the negative nellies that keep posting in here.

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

$300 a month is high for rent? Where are you from, Tijuana? I can't think of any MSA that has an average market rent of under $300 dollars, even 15 years ago.

Like I said before, this was the bare bones cheapest apartment one could rent 15 years ago. A decent one bedroom there, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO ran about $5-600 a month, so I am sure it has gone way up by now.

I think some of the problem with the rent are all the people moving in from Southern California who pay outrageous amounts of money there, so they think that probably everywhere else has similiar prices. Also, as I mentioned before, why is rent/housing so expensive when there is almost unlimited space in the desert for growth?

I think Vegas is like anywhere else, some people like it, and some people hated it. I lived there for 21 months. Some of my perceptions of the place stemmed from the fact that I was in my early twenties when I was there, struggling, alone with a **** job. I am also someone with very little discipline, and there was a lot of drink, drugs, and sellable sex there anytime.

I didn't like the place. Many do. I did say some good things about the place at the bottom of my post, mainly fun activities to do, mainly outside of the city limits.

Senor

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Senor Boogie Woogie

Like I said before, this was the bare bones cheapest apartment one could rent 15 years ago. A decent one bedroom there, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO ran about $5-600 a month, so I am sure it has gone way up by now.

I'm thinking you didn't look very hard. When we moved to LV in 1994, we rented a pretty nice 2 br/2 ba apartment at Nellis and Vegas Valley for $480/month, and two years later I rented a decent 1 br/1ba apartment at Trop and Spencer for $450/month. Neither of them were the Ritz Carlton, but the areas were safe at the time, and units were clean and well maintained.