[Lvpunk]

Personally, when I was younger, I was upset about the growth, all these "crazy" (I thought at the time) people from other states coming to live here, now I pretty excited, my little hometown has become an important international city. I had so much pride when I worked at the aiport, I was the first person anybody saw as I was the guy who drove the jetway to plane. I worked the international flights and got on the plane before anybody got off and used the PA system to welcome people to my city and tell them about the US Customs process. My biggest complaint though, is that all these people have brought there terrible driving with them, and I'm not just saying that to knock anyone from other states, it has been a very noticeable change, and I'm going to assume the accident stats would confirm this. When I see someone from Texas or Oklahoma on the road I get as far away from them as possible, no joke, they're bad.

[bing_bing]

I know I don't really have any "street cred" being as I've only lived here about a week (love it!), but you are right about the bad drivers from out of state. Granted the U-Turn thing was a little bit to get used to. I seriously fear for my life when I have to make a left hand turn down town some nights.

[kimba01]

Originally Posted by bing_bing

I know I don't really have any "street cred" being as I've only lived here about a week (love it!), but you are right about the bad drivers from out of state. Granted the U-Turn thing was a little bit to get used to. I seriously fear for my life when I have to make a left hand turn down town some nights.

Ditto!!!

[olecapt]

The demographics here are pretty odd. More than 80% of the population was born somewhere else.

So you have a place where local is simply not an important part of the population. Not putting them down by the way...just observing there are so few they really don't get a vote. Three big cliques probably more important than the locals are the Californians, the midwesterners and the Hispanics. All three I think outnumber the locals.

How is that for a weird melting pot. Imagine how the guy from Arkansas or Montana must feel.

[Lvpunk]

So are there no locals or "natives" as I say on this board? Surely there must be, I'm one.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Lvpunk

So are there no locals or "natives" as I say on this board? Surely there must be, I'm one.

They are actually very rare. I know a couple.

I think many have moved to New Mexico.

it is one of the odd things about Vegas. Nobody started here.

Note however the town is run by those who went to a couple of high schools in the 70s. But that is the power structure...not the regular people .

[AA702]

I do find that odd myself. It is very rare to find someone who is born and raised here. I think a lot of them moved out of Las Vegas to find other opportunities elsewhere. It is a unique city in that sense.

[PinkString]

I know a few natives, but they don't post in here. And from what they tell me, they hate that the town has grown in all directions..they liked it small and dusty.

[lvre411]

Vegas is a very young city when you compare it to others with similar populations... It's come a long way in the 16 years since I first moved here.

I do have several friends that are locals... they all seem to know all of the other locals which makes sense since 30 to 40 years ago, Vegas was a small city. (It seemed small when I moved here in 1992.)

The locals I do know don't complain about the New Vegas... they just sometimes complain that things are not taken care of like in the Old Vegas... And don't even get them started on the corporate way Casinos are run nowadays.

In the early to mid 90's, it seemed like everything (shows, etc..) was free if you lived here and had some friends...

[martian82]

I'm a native, as are most of my friends. For the most part, I hate Vegas and finally escaped three months ago. I drove back last week and knew right away I was in Vegas because of the a$$hole drivers. It's silly to blame it on people being from all over because, as I said, just about everyone I know is a native, and they are just as careless on the road as anyone else.

I'm in a small town now, and I miss having access to things I had in Vegas such as a good dependable yoga studio that always had students, the nearby colleges to take classes (for fun) at my convenience, Spanish food, 24 hour everything, jobs in more industries, good hair salons, etc. However, all those things can be found in any real city, and, in my opinion, they're much better in other places.

I am hoping to be able to move to a bigger, better city in the near future, so I can have all the things I liked in Vegas but with better quality. Vegas is lacking a sense of community, and I fear for my family's safety (the drivers, my mother living alone, my sister wasn't in the best of neighborhoods but I was able to get her out). I'm not ecstatic about where I live now, but I pray everyday that I never end up back in Vegas!