[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by madtown

good advice. I was already waiting until I talked with some co-workers for suggestions as well. By the way, you can still get burritos as big as your head at La Bamba. I think they would go out of business if they stopped serving them.

right! but i heard that you could no longer get the 'bigger than your head' size...

[madtown]

They may have gotten rid of the bigger size, I'm not sure I haven't been there for awhile.

[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by madtown

They may have gotten rid of the bigger size, I'm not sure I haven't been there for awhile.

really....that is pbby for the best - that thing was a beast (not that the 'big as your head' isn't a handful itself). but it sure hit the spot after a night out.

[cjski21]

Originally Posted by sheriff

If I were in your position, I wouldn't commit to anything long-term. Once you begin your job, your co-workers and peers will be a better source of info for the type of living conditions you will eventually find desireable.

That is actually the best advice so far.

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by guinnessjim

right! but i heard that you could no longer get the 'bigger than your head' size...

Well...maybe not. It depends on which head you're measuring.

[vegas_4u]

Originally Posted by madtown

Thanks for all the input. Olecapt you seem to turn up on all threads involving properties or where to live, so I will definitely check the south end of the strip. I'll also take another look at the Henderson, Blue Diamond, and Northwest areas.

The reality is, there really isn't all that much of a difference in the burbs -- southwest, northwest, Henderson...it's just all master planned gated condos and homes, outdoor shopping centers... they are all unique, but it's all pretty much the same - the burbs. The District at Green Valley and 215 is nice, shops with lofts above... the new Summerlin Center, the Park one that Olecapt mentinoned... it's all neat stuff, but its all the burbs, and some is expensive. Some areas are nicer than others, but it's all what you would expect in the burbs --- gated master planned communities surrounded by boulevards with tons of shopping and restaurants, and your neighborhood opulent casinos dispersed here and there, like Red Rock and Suncoast. I would avoid Henderon, because there is alot of industrial - you will see factories when driving down the 515 south towards henderson from downtown Las Vegas. Town Center is nice, in Summerlin.... it's all very nice, but again, it's all the burbs. For the burbs, I recommend the western rim because it is all new and nice -- there is no industrial, no old stuff -- that meaning, southwest, summerlin, to northwest side.

However, your answer is in density per square mile --- you want to meet people in their 20s. Well, you will meet people of all ages in the burbs, but there will lots of families. If you want high-density of younger people within a few square miles, there is no argument -- you will want to be near UNLV and the Strip..... hope this helps...

[vegas_4u]

Originally Posted by guinnessjim

look at the downtown neighborhoods (huntridge, marycrest). no tourist nonsense, right near the action, some great places. 2-3 bd houses w/ decent yards, some w/ mature trees (shade is a real luxury here). rents aren't ridiculous, and if you are so inclined you could pbby snag a place w/ a pool (although you have to consider the cost of monthly pool maintenance). don't know if there are any apts in my area, but there are some kinda kool looking condos more in the downtown area (bit rougher than where i am, but they look secure).

the neighborhoods vary block by block, and there are some good and some bad, but as a whole i wouldn't want to live anywhere else (35 and single). given that you were in madison, i know you are no stranger to having a good time (i went to grad school in mke and had many badger friends...and i heard a rumor that you could no longer get a burrito bigger than your head...say it isn't so!). if you want to be able to hang out at a variety of bars w/o destroying your pocketbook you'll be better off getting to know the downtown haunts anyway. there are a good number of new bars catering more to the young locals than the tourists (e. fremont and downtown) that regardless where you move to will be worth checking out.

oh my. ....let me try to be objective without insulting anyone who lives downtown.

Downtown fell apart over the past few decades, as the new modern cosmopolitan city transitioned over to the Strip and the western burbs and Henderson. There is a renewed downtown plan, with the help of Oscar Goodman, and there are some things happening there like mid-rise Newport Lofts, Juhl, Sreamline...a few local joints...art district...but it hasn't done much yet.

I can't even being to explain the pockets. You can go from a nice street, one tenth of a mile, to instant ghetto with boarded up homes built in the 40s...to old gross commercial and industrial buildings, to flat out creepy eiree spots where there is no person in site. And in the small main area of downtown, Fremont St, Ogden, LV blvd, main, etc... there are just creepy people lurking around, to put it mildly. And at night, besides the Fremont St experience, it is creepy.. there are streets with no person in site.. or a car....

it's just an odd scene.........

[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by vegas_4u

oh my. ....let me try to be objective without insulting anyone who lives downtown.

Downtown fell apart over the past few decades, as the new modern cosmopolitan city transitioned over to the Strip and the western burbs and Henderson. There is a renewed downtown plan, with the help of Oscar Goodman, and there are some things happening there like mid-rise Newport Lofts, Juhl, Sreamline...a few local joints...art district...but it hasn't done much yet.

I can't even being to explain the pockets. You can go from a nice street, one tenth of a mile, to instant ghetto with boarded up homes built in the 40s...to old gross commercial and industrial buildings, to flat out creepy eiree spots where there is no person in site. And in the small main area of downtown, Fremont St, Ogden, LV blvd, main, etc... there are just creepy people lurking around, to put it mildly. And at night, besides the Fremont St experience, it is creepy.. there are streets with no person in site.. or a car....

it's just an odd scene.........

oh my....what a jaded view (and hardly objective, IMO). you used the subjective word 'creepy' 3 sentences in a row...and again, IMO unjustifiably so. but hey...i find the suburbs (were i will go out on a limb and say you live) to be both odd and creepy at times (not to mention boring) - so to each his/her own. but i don't go outta my way to bash the 'burbs because i assume ppl who live there like it and every place has its positives (and conversely, its negatives)...interesting to see that the respect doesn't go both ways.

[vegas_4u]

Originally Posted by guinnessjim

oh my....what a jaded view (and hardly objective, IMO). you used the subjective word 'creepy' 3 sentences in a row...and again, IMO unjustifiably so. but hey...i find the suburbs (were i will go out on a limb and say you live) to be both odd and creepy at times (not to mention boring) - so to each his/her own. but i don't go outta my way to bash the 'burbs because i assume ppl who live there like it and every place has its positives (and conversely, its negatives)...interesting to see that the respect doesn't go both ways.

Well, i used the word creepy to keep it generic... but if you want specifics, creepy meaning, for the majority, people you normally wouldn't want to see walking down the street or coming up to you.....such as homeless, drugeees, derelics, etc....things like that....

You say you live in the action... the action downtown is pretty minimal, except small touristy Fremont St. Experience area. . .

Let's talk local scene ---- once you leave that small area, it's not all that happening.... and you have to be careful because it changes block to block.....it's not like you have tons of pumpn hot clubs over many blocks, hip cafes, young college students and professionals hanging around, restaurants with people sitting on outside tables by the sidewalk...... it's just not there yet....

plus the stuff I mentioned before... 10 to 20 years it might be....

[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by vegas_4u

Well, i used the word creepy to keep it generic... but if you want specifics, creepy meaning, for the majority, people you normally wouldn't want to see walking down the street or coming up to you.....such as homeless, drugeees, derelics, etc....things like that....

You say you live in the action... the action downtown is pretty minimal, except small touristy Fremont St. Experience area. . .

Let's talk local scene ---- once you leave that small area, it's not all that happening.... and you have to be careful because it changes block to block.....it's not like you have tons of pumpn hot clubs over many blocks, hip cafes, young college students and professionals hanging around, restaurants with people sitting on outside tables by the sidewalk...... it's just not there yet....

plus the stuff I mentioned before... 10 to 20 years it might be....

hmmm...my guess is that you don't go out much down this way or you would know better.

1st off...i said near the action, not in it. out my door, 5-10min drive (even w/ traffic) to what i assume you are referring to as the action (aka the strip..tons of 'pumpin' clubs etc. and not usually what i am looking for when i go out). this also translates into a very short and relatively inexpensive cab ride.

your assessment of the downtown social life as nothing but the 'small' FSE demonstrates your lack of understanding of the area. i'm just going to name a couple things off the top of my head: just off FSE (hogs & heifers, Sidebar), E. Fremont (the griffin, beauty bar, downtown cocktail room), expand a bit to the art bar, the bunkhouse saloon, the icehouse lounge. eat at the florida cafe (great cuban) or tinoco's (and i know there is a great mexican place whose name eludes me). last friday i saw at least two cafe looking places that i need to check out (one was called potato something). at night, the bars are for the locals (rarely tourists), including young professionals and college students. there is live music and plenty of entertainment (both on FSE and off, depending what you are looking for). and the dives...man there are some great dives...huntridge pkg liquor, dinos, atomic.

my guess is that your definition and my definition of creepy are remarkably different...you pbby should never come down to 1st friday...lotsa "creepy" there...u know artists and drugeees and derelicts, and lions and tigers and bears (oh my ). my guess is anything out of your comfort zone gets a creepy tag (for a frame of ref - how old are you? where are you from? etc.). i think we have different target audiences.

and of course the area is a bit sketchier...its downtown, what do you expect? but there is never a lack of things to do...and it is always interesting. u really shouldn't go bad mouthing places you don't know.