[starsnsunshine]

It all started with a cross-country motorcycle trip my boyfriend convinced me to go on in May. For months, I said absolutely NOT! I am not getting on a bike with you and riding from ORLANDO, FL to LAS VEGAS! Well, after much debate I finally waved the white flag and hopped on the back of his kawasaki which turned out to be a brutal yet many times beautiful ride.

The aforementioned bf has friends there so we stayed with them from May - July 2011. And you know what my final verdict on Vegas is? It is AWESOME!!!

I thought I would get bored after a couple weeks like I have with most other places I've moved to or visited for a week too long but to the contrary! There was always something to do, somewhere new to drive, new people to meet. Surprisingly, I can actually see myself living there permanently...however we are not taking the plunge without jobs. The bf already has a job here in FLA and we live by the beach so its not a bad deal. Anyhow, these are the main pros and cons that I experienced during my few months there:

Pros

Amazing food! From the restaurants to the grocery stores...can I just say I'm in love with Food4Less and Marketon! Great quality food - inexpensive and much fresher than what we have here in Florida.

Endless Scenic rides through the desert watching burnt orange sunsets along the clay colored mountains. Especially loved the ride to Lake Mead and the Valley of Fire.

Gambling and all-u-can-drink at most bars as long as you put 20 in the machine...gotta love it..

Close to Cali...took several 2-day trips to Laguna Beach, LA, Seal Beach, etc. on the bike while in Vegas every ride was incredible.

The weather is awesome ...nice and dry. THe humidity and bugs in FLA is a buzzkill really. May and June were pretty mild whereas it did heat up in July above 100 but if anyone has spent a summer in Orlando (the hottest place in fla) you'd know that its similarly brutal.

Some people are a little wacky here but at least there are a lot of characters. HA! Many cities in fla are very homogenous and everyone kind of moves about like robots with little sense of humor..so I'll take the characters..

Traffic is very reasonable, the highways there actually move unlike Orlando's I-4 and 408. There is bad traffic on the strip, but that is to be expected.

The entertainment! Went to see several house djs that I like such as Paul Oakenfold, Calvin Harris, etc. Most of the good int'l djs have residencies at the casinos so there is no lack of good music.


Cons

Pollution. While there are many clean air areas in Vegas, places like NOrth Las Vegas suffer from extremely bad smog..imagine being on a bike you can really taste it for days and it pretty much chokes you right away.

Crime...there are a lot of hustlers there that prey on the weak or oblivious. Someone actually tried to snatch my purse on the strip but I was aware so that thwarted the incident.

Homeless population...there are a lot of vagabonds that hang out at places like the library especially. The librarian was telling me the area has been hit really hard and the homeless line up before the library opens every morning and stay in all day and there is nothing they can do. The main reason its annoying is trying to studyat the library while the person next to you reeks of poop and parmesan is quite distracting..

Lack of employment options. It seemed most people I met either worked at the casinos or a restaurant or in security. It seems the pay is pretty low and it is difficult to get a top tier job.

Ok, well those are my observations from my summer stint in Vegas...I loved it and hope to be back this summer and maybe this time I can finally make it to the Elec Daisy Carnival! Enjoy you Las Vegans and just remember..it beats many places any day so appreciate it!

[macgeek]

TWO Words. Saddle Sore!
two more words, Your still a tourist. young and partying..
and Las Vegas is a GREAT place to be young, and Partying.

WAIT that's more then two words..

Glad you had a great time

Jonathan

[ft_chief]

Originally Posted by starsnsunshine

It all started with a cross-country motorcycle trip my boyfriend convinced me to go on in May. For months, I said absolutely NOT! I am not getting on a bike with you and riding from ORLANDO, FL to LAS VEGAS! Well, after much debate I finally waved the white flag and hopped on the back of his kawasaki which turned out to be a brutal yet many times beautiful ride.

The aforementioned bf has friends there so we stayed with them from May - July 2011. And you know what my final verdict on Vegas is? It is AWESOME!!!

I thought I would get bored after a couple weeks like I have with most other places I've moved to or visited for a week too long but to the contrary! There was always something to do, somewhere new to drive, new people to meet. Surprisingly, I can actually see myself living there permanently...however we are not taking the plunge without jobs. The bf already has a job here in FLA and we live by the beach so its not a bad deal. Anyhow, these are the main pros and cons that I experienced during my few months there:

Pros

Amazing food! From the restaurants to the grocery stores...can I just say I'm in love with Food4Less and Marketon! Great quality food - inexpensive and much fresher than what we have here in Florida.

Endless Scenic rides through the desert watching burnt orange sunsets along the clay colored mountains. Especially loved the ride to Lake Mead and the Valley of Fire.

Gambling and all-u-can-drink at most bars as long as you put 20 in the machine...gotta love it..

Close to Cali...took several 2-day trips to Laguna Beach, LA, Seal Beach, etc. on the bike while in Vegas every ride was incredible.

The weather is awesome ...nice and dry. THe humidity and bugs in FLA is a buzzkill really. May and June were pretty mild whereas it did heat up in July above 100 but if anyone has spent a summer in Orlando (the hottest place in fla) you'd know that its similarly brutal.

Some people are a little wacky here but at least there are a lot of characters. HA! Many cities in fla are very homogenous and everyone kind of moves about like robots with little sense of humor..so I'll take the characters..

Traffic is very reasonable, the highways there actually move unlike Orlando's I-4 and 408. There is bad traffic on the strip, but that is to be expected.

The entertainment! Went to see several house djs that I like such as Paul Oakenfold, Calvin Harris, etc. Most of the good int'l djs have residencies at the casinos so there is no lack of good music.


Cons

Pollution. While there are many clean air areas in Vegas, places like NOrth Las Vegas suffer from extremely bad smog..imagine being on a bike you can really taste it for days and it pretty much chokes you right away.

Crime...there are a lot of hustlers there that prey on the weak or oblivious. Someone actually tried to snatch my purse on the strip but I was aware so that thwarted the incident.

Homeless population...there are a lot of vagabonds that hang out at places like the library especially. The librarian was telling me the area has been hit really hard and the homeless line up before the library opens every morning and stay in all day and there is nothing they can do. The main reason its annoying is trying to studyat the library while the person next to you reeks of poop and parmesan is quite distracting..

Lack of employment options. It seemed most people I met either worked at the casinos or a restaurant or in security. It seems the pay is pretty low and it is difficult to get a top tier job.

Ok, well those are my observations from my summer stint in Vegas...I loved it and hope to be back this summer and maybe this time I can finally make it to the Elec Daisy Carnival! Enjoy you Las Vegans and just remember..it beats many places any day so appreciate it!

Don't know what you are talking about,"smog in North Las Vegas". I've lived here over 2yrs and have never seen or heard of a smog problem. You must have been dreaming and thinking you were in Los Angeles!!!

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by ft_chief

Don't know what you are talking about,"smog in North Las Vegas". I've lived here over 2yrs and have never seen or heard of a smog problem. You must have been dreaming and thinking you were in Los Angeles!!!

I can see the smog hanging in the valley from my perch here on the rim. Remember, she's from Florida, which has really, really good air quality. It's humid and full of bugs. But I prefer moisture and bugs to ozone and carbon monoxide.

Even "middle of the state" towns like Orlando benefit from the sea breezes which change the air constantly. It's one of the things I miss most about home -- the smell of that fresh sea air. It was the 2nd best thing about living on a dinky little island in the middle of nowhere. Some days when the wind is blowing really strong from the South, I can catch a whiff of the Gulf of California. That usually means it's time for a boat drink and some Peter Tosh or calypso on the stereo.

[TAHOE GIRL]

Homeless hang out at librarys in every city. So do pedophiles. its a PUBlIC library like it or not. Long as they are not bothering and obeying the library laws there is nothing the library system can do . I don't think most people in most big cities enjoy public librarys these days and think of where those books have been. Imagine what some of the users homes look like. GERMS galore.

[starsnsunshine]

@Macgeek - Thanks it definitely was a time to remember...and yes you know what I'm talking about those seats are killer on long rides! When you disembark you have to wait a minute to get the feeling back, lol!

@ft_chief - I definitely wasn't dreaming, when I was in a car it was fine but on a bike the smog in N Las vegas near cheyenne and the base was definitely there...when we rode in other parts like henderson, summerlin, the strip, etc. much better air quality. Just my observation..

@Tahoegirl - Nothing against homeless people, its just that they tended to use the computers all day long so it was impossible to get a computer to do my schoolwork, like 4 hr waits. Everyone should be able to utilize the library resources is all I'm saying.

thanks for the comments guys

[Jalhop]

starsnsunshine I aprpreciate that report! I'd like to see a lot more such reports from others.

The libraries where I am are great, with very few unhygenic folk. (The Seattle central library is a different story.) I visited a couple LV libraries and found that I wouldn't want to spend much time in them. Next trip I'll try out the big new Windmill Library that looks nice in pictures.

I'd like to know the fuller story on the smog. On air quality charts LV ranks low, in the bottom 20%. I can see smoggy pix on Google images, but even Seattle has some smoggy (high pressure) days. I've viewed many YouTube videos of LV showing clear blue skies and puffy white clouds, and there was no significant smog (that I remember) on my many visits. So how often is it smoggy there, and does it really pool noticably thicker in Henderson and other lower-elevation areas?

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Jalhop

So how often is it smoggy there, and does it really pool noticably thicker in Henderson and other lower-elevation areas?

I'd say 30-50 days a year, I see a substantial orange-yellow haze clinging to the city. Not an issue at all on windy days, though. And we have those in abundance. Hendo has it worst, because it's the most industrial part of the valley.

If it's an issue, move to the rim. That's what we did.

[UTES]

The pollution discussion is interesting. All I can figure is it's relative.

One of the things I like about Las Vegas is the air is MUCH cleaner than Salt Lake City. I feel like I can breathe in Las Vegas.

Bill

[macgeek]

never saw smog in Spring Valley 89103 - always Blue skies here!

Jonathan