[Tom Lennox 70]

I currently live in the Baltimore-Washington DC area and am seriously SERIOUSLY considering a move away from the East Coast either in the next 2 years or definitely within the next 5 or 6. I'm a graduating college senior and I'm going to either pharmacy school or dental school after taking a year off. I really can't stand the East Coast after living here for the past 17 years. I lived in New Orleans until I was 5 and my extended family lived in Idaho and Texas and I still hear all these rosy stories about the South, the West, or anywhere but the Northeast and how nice it is. We all know about Floridians and North Carolinians complain about the transplants but truth is, newcomers from New York, New Jersey, Philly, and Boston messed up my state and transformed its values and politics not to mention the cost of living here so that I can no longer seeing myself staying here for the rest of my life.

Las Vegas is one of the areas on the top of my list of potential places to settle, along with Phoenix, Charlotte, Raleigh, Tampa Bay and perhaps Dallas-Fort Worth. Are there a lot of job opportunities for a dental or pharmacy degree especially with the major growth in Nevada? Are there a lot of unpleasant people moving to the Las Vegas region from California, New York, New Jersey, or the New England states? I'm Asian American but I'm very Americanized (my favorite genre of music is country) and I'm not comfortable with a lot of ethnic/identity politics. I'm not very religious but I'm politically conservative and patriotic. I plan to vote John McCain in 2008 if not him then Rudy Giuliani.

Also I don't want a very fast pace of life...I mean are the Californians and New Yorkers adjusting or are they bringing their rude manners, unpleasant attitudes, crazy driving and arrogance with them? I want to live in a place that is tolerant but does not have a lot of illegal immigrants or people from the Northeast or California. My cousins used to live in Boise, Idaho and they complain about Californians "invading" and messing up their way of life. They complain about how aggressive the driving is and how the transplants are always in a hurry, how its ironic that they leave LA or SF but then want to change Idaho into another Calif. People from NY and NJ have definitely done this to Maryland. Is this also happening in Nevada? Slightly unrelated, Californian transplants are at least SLIGHTLY less miserable people than the NJ folks?

How is the cost of living, etc. Unlike a lot of young people I"m not that much into urban living....just want a nice big house with a big yard in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Does anyone find a problem with moral values and the impact of the Downtown/Strip areas, stripping, etc on the surrounding populations? I live near DC but most ppl here in the suburbs have nothing to do with the gov't and politics in the city.

I've been to Las Vegas twice and have liked what I've seen, once in the summer and once in the winter. I've seen the area beyond the Strip and it seemed rather pleasant. Not like DC or Baltimore where there are miles and miles of ghettos and slums often populated by illegal immigrants and gangstas. The summer was hot but at least its not humid. I really hate cold weather which is why I wouldn't move to Utah...the WINTER Olympics were held there after all. Reno is probably too cold too.

[Golfinnova]

Hey Terrapin,

I gather by your handle to you're a UMD graduate as I am also (Fear The Turtle). Anyway, we just signed a contract on a new house in the NW part of town (where the horse country is getting squeezed out by new communities). We have been coming out here 3-4 times a year for the last 4 years, and we finally decided that it was time to get out of the mess that is the DC/Baltimore region for the same reasons you listed.

As to the weather, it's perfect. Yes, it gets hot but when we were out here last month 85 felt like 74 compared to this week in DC 85 with 40 percent humidity felt like I was carrying 2 people while playing golf not to mention the gnats flying in your eyes, ears, face. I lived in Raleigh/Durham for a while and everything that was here in the DC area is headed that way, the roads can't handle the amount of traffic, and the schools are starting to suffer from overcrowding. I do agree that as far as jobs in healthcare, Raleigh/Durham will be better, but pharmacies are popping up all over the place in Vegas.

As to crime, not even close to what we experience here. Yes, there are bad areas of town, but if you learn to stay away from them you won't have any problem. While there is graffiti in Vegas, it is no different than what we have here in DC.

As to housing, the prices are getting close to what we have here in DC. The good news is that there is plenty of inventory, the bad news is that a lot of homes need to be fixed up (lots of foreclosures). So you can find what you're looking for, but you may be faced with having to put additional money into getting the house into shape. My wife looked literally at 20 homes during the last visit and all but 2 were torn up. We just happend to stumble upon the new community where our house is to be built, and it is everything we were looking for, plus with the house being built by Pulte Homes, they guaranteed that our electric bill will only be $145/month.

Finally as to the pace of life, those who have lived here think it's fast. It is to a degree but not what we experience here in DC/Baltimore, it is a little slower here. Traffic does get hectic is some areas, but I think once the Beltway in Vegas is completed, it will be good. Our house will be ready in mid-October, and we're flying out Monday to Oregon for a few days then stopping in Vegas for a week.

Hope this helps, PM me with any questions.

Good luck,
Golfinnova

[Tom Lennox 70]

Actually a quick question....are a lot of these pharmacies 24 hours b/c of Vegas's repuation as a 24-hour town (though from my trips there a lot of stores and all do close at normal hours.)

I'm not into working overnights lol.

[lvkewlkid]

IMO, there aren't many 24 hr pharmacies, I can only think of 1 CVS and 1 Walgreens that are 24 hours near my house (within 5 miles)...

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by lvkewlkid

IMO, there aren't many 24 hr pharmacies, I can only think of 1 CVS and 1 Walgreens that are 24 hours near my house (within 5 miles)...

Yeah that's good. I won't work in a 24 hour one!!! I'm all into the normal business hours thing.

So what's all the hype about Vegas being a 24 hour town? At least when I was there aside from the casino very few things are open 24 hours, not even the Fremont Street Experience light show.

And how bad are the summers in Vegas? Last summer everyone at my summer job ate lunch outside in Washington DC even during the so-called heat wave when it was 95 degrees and humid and we didn't find it unbearable. How does the dry heat compare? I've only spent 2 days in Vegas in the summer but it didn't feel hotter than Utah or Idaho that time. Though for the record I would prefer a 95 degree day over a 35 degree day, humid or dry.

[lvkewlkid]

dry heat is like sticking your head in an oven, which is why I prefer humidity...The light show couldn't be 24 hours, it would be hard to see it in the daylight...most supermarkets are 24 hours, except for 1 VONS, several Albertsons, and a couple Food4Less's...There are some 24 hour massage places, lol, and that is all that i can think of at the moment...

[PinkString]

Dry heat is much better than humidity. I will never live in a place with high humidity. I also really like not being eaten alive by skeeters in the summer. I have not heard one of those since before leaving California 13 years ago.

[Chest Rockwell]

99% of grocery stores and gas stations are 24 hours. There is also a huge selection of 24 hour bars and restaurants. Since casinos run 24 hours, there is a large portion of the population that works graveyard, so the city in turn is open all night to cater to this shift's needs like a happy hour at 6a.m. for example.

You don't know how much you miss the 24 hour facet to the city until you leave.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Is the 24 hour aspect just in the city or in the suburbs too? I mean like the Outback Steakhouse or the drugstore in the burbs still close at normal times right? When I was in downtown Vegas last January a lot of stores actually closed around 10 or 11.

I'm not into working graveyards, weekends or holidays. I'd prefer to be a pharmacist in a place with better hours...like here in Maryland the pharmacy is never open 24 hours a day. All gas stations are open 24 hours here, at least the self-serve/credit card option. But the 24 hour thing is increasing here too.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

Is the 24 hour aspect just in the city or in the suburbs too? I mean like the Outback Steakhouse or the drugstore in the burbs still close at normal times right? When I was in downtown Vegas last January a lot of stores actually closed around 10 or 11.

I'm not into working graveyards, weekends or holidays. I'd prefer to be a pharmacist in a place with better hours...like here in Maryland the pharmacy is never open 24 hours a day. All gas stations are open 24 hours here, at least the self-serve/credit card option. But the 24 hour thing is increasing here too.

It just occurred to me, from reading posts like this, that you can't explain Las Vegas to someone who has never been here. Vegas is to be experienced, not explained. There is no city like Las Vegas anywhere on the planet. Not even Reno. All I can say, from my experience of growing up in the east, then moving here completely clueless, is that Vegas is nothing like what you imagined. So the only thing to do is come here and experience it yourself.