Current life in Las Vegas- Housing, retail, social life?

[desertrunner]

Two PFA shows ago, Druff was interviewing a guy that lived in Vegas, but moved to Texas. Druff used to live in Vegas, I used to live in Vegas and wish I never left as I had a good life there. I would go back if I could, but right now, Reno is looking like a real deal.

So who lives there now and how do you like it? How is the housing market, flat? Apartments, retail stores, bars, restaurants- Is life there slow and just locked down? How is dating for singles, still plenty of people or also slow to dead?

How is the crime there? I still have flashbacks of the outside home videos of the kids breaking into the nice homes. Seems like the crime there is going to stay bad no matter what and you are initially on your own as 911 is slow. When I lived there, the cops were slow then too. A pizza delivery might get there faster than Metro PD, not joking.

Your thoughts?

[Dan Druff]

Current Vegas is a mess, and might stay a mess for a long time.

The big increase in crime in 2020 is on the strip, committed by tourists. This differs from the late 2000s housing crash era where crime ticked up among locals (especially property crime, which went through the roof).

There are pros and cons to living in Vegas, like most US cities.

Pros:

- Better weather than most of the US. Even the brutally hot summer is dry, so it's not as bad as many parts of the US which are less known for their summer heat. California weather is much better, though.

- Access to a lot of good restaurants within a fairly short drive. Also, there are more 24-hour dining options than anywhere else, though most of the really good places aren't 24 hours.

- A lot of people visit Vegas, so friends and relatives from other cities tend to come to you, making it a lot easier to see them.

- Biggest gambling/poker scene in the world, though LA is arguably better for poker. (However, LA is less convenient for poker, as the rooms are mostly in lousy neighborhoods which require a drive in traffic to visit.)

- Younger women are much more willing to date somewhat older men, even in the non-gold-diggers, compared to other places. It's kind of in the culture.

- You can buy a much better house for the same money, compared to most places in California or the Phoenix area.

- A large number of entertainment options exist, within a short drive.

- The underrated Mount Charleston nearby.

- Tons of strip clubs, Asian jerk shops, and hookers, if you're into that sort of thing. I wasn't, but if you are, Vegas is a great place to be.


Cons:

- Very isolated. Once you leave the greater LV area, there is no city of any consequence for 200+ miles in any direction. Also, for being in a state which borders California and Utah, good skiing isn't easy to come by. Mt. Charleston has a small resort, but for anything decent, you have to drive 300 miles to Mammoth, which surprises people.

- Healthcare sucks. I'm not sure why, but it sucks, and it has for a long time.

- Public school system sucks. Doesn't matter if you don't have school-aged kids, but something to keep in mind.

- The entire city revolves around the gambling industry, which causes massive pain to the economy when there's a downturn in that industry. We saw some of this in the late 2000s, and we are seeing it big time now. If COVID never goes away completely, Lord help Las Vegas (I sound like Anna Khait now, I know...)

- No MLB or NBA team, and I don't see one coming anytime soon. Combine that with the isolation mentioned above, and it's hard to see a live MLB or NBA game if you live there.

- Vegas is unfortunately the destination for a lot of lost, directionless people, who show up in town with no real plan. This eventually combines to form a depressing/hopeless vibe which kinda envelops the city, and it's hard to ignore unless you really isolate yourself. When I lived in Vegas, I felt like I had to leave town every so often to get away from this, even though I was never feeling depressed/hopeless myself.


I do miss Vegas, though, especially because I have spent very little time there (3 days total) since July 2019. I also think it's a better place to live if you're single rather than married or in a long relationship.

[gut]

- Portland is unfortunately the destination for a lot of lost, directionless people, who show up in town with no real plan. This eventually combines to form a depressing/hopeless vibe which kinda envelops the city, and it's hard to ignore unless you really isolate yourself.

FYP

[desertrunner]

- Tons of strip clubs, Asian jerk shops, and hookers, if you're into that sort of thing. I wasn't, but if you are, Vegas is a great place to be.

I only went to the strip clubs as a visitor and not really as a resident. As a resident the late 90s, I honestly never saw an "Asian jerk shop" or hookers on the street or hotels, etc. Im sure they were around, I just didnt notice them as a resident. Now I wouldnt mind going to an Asian place and getting a legit back massage only, might be ok.

[desertrunner]

Was reading about the lack of rain every year in Vegas. I love rain, so there is a draw back to living there.

[sonatine]

i lived in vegas for a minute and theres a lot of living to do there if you move beyond the casinos (obviously). like within a 45 minute drive you have;

- fly fishing the colorado river

- wind surfing lake mead

- unbelievably gorgeous hiking in red rocks etc

plus youre a mellow 5 hour drive from los angeles.

the food there is great with strong delivery options... elon's boring company is actually about to revolutionize transportation to/from the airport as well. apparently because the monorail contractor folded, he announced he is going to build a tesla loop connecting all the major casino properties to the airport. like its going to be a 5 minute tunnel drive to get from MGM to the airport, that sort of shit, instead of 30+ minutes in traffic.. also it looks like tony hsieh's attempts to infuse some arts/culture into downtown are going to survive his passing... plus lots of shooting ranges, legal weed, so on.

downsides: theres so much to be depressed about there if you go looking for it... the traffic is intolerable... it attracts a lot of the most terrible people in the world but thankfully they tend to aggregate on the strip.. and if you want to hit the morning futures market, set your alarm for 4:30am. shrug.

so yeah honestly im kinda bullish on vegas right now and actually considering relocating back if/when covid is sorted.

[Krypt]

if daddy tine ends up in vegas in the next 1-3 yrs, I will strongly consider a move there myself.

[Krypt]

im also re-reading blood meridian so there’s that

[desertrunner]

If you have your Nevada or Clark County CCW, make sure you carry at LVB and Sahara in case you run into Bum Fights...

[sonatine]

im also re-reading blood meridian so there’s that

fucking bold.


consider yourself invited over for venison chili and porterhouses.

[apwiz]

Vegas is affordable by California standards. Coming from the East Coast, I was shocked how expensive Vegas is and what houses cost even in crap ghetto looking neighborhoods I would not want to walk on foot.

I am involved in gambling, but being surrounded by desperate degens is just depressing. It is depressing pulling up to a gas station to see homeless people scrounging together a dollar so that they put it in the slot machine inside. The city is just depressing overall, poor people everywhere, homeless encampments and druggies just a short walk away from the Strip. Vegas is largely composed of poorly educated people with not much going for them. It's a service industry town. I am talking about pre-Covid "good times"...

The strip itself is OK, but terribly overpriced for what it is. For a similar price tag, you get better entertainment here in NYC... and better restaurants, more variety, more everything.

On the positive side, I think the desert scenery is quite amazing. Great national parks and hiking/camping/etc opportunities. This could be a great spot to pursue outdoorsy hobbies, from gun stuff to atvs to dirt bikes to mountain biking etc... The weather is great; I would much rather endure the heat than freezing, cold, windy nyc days.

Also, Vegas is isolated to some extent, but the airport has great routes, including international routes that are competitively priced.

[Dan Druff]

Vegas is affordable by California standards. Coming from the East Coast, I was shocked how expensive Vegas is and what houses cost even in crap ghetto looking neighborhoods I would not want to walk on foot.

I am involved in gambling, but being surrounded by desperate degens is just depressing. It is depressing pulling up to a gas station to see homeless people scrounging together a dollar so that they put it in the slot machine inside. The city is just depressing overall, poor people everywhere, homeless encampments and druggies just a short walk away from the Strip. Vegas is largely composed of poorly educated people with not much going for them. It's a service industry town. I am talking about pre-Covid "good times"...

The strip itself is OK, but terribly overpriced for what it is. For a similar price tag, you get better entertainment here in NYC... and better restaurants, more variety, more everything.

On the positive side, I think the desert scenery is quite amazing. Great national parks and hiking/camping/etc opportunities. This could be a great spot to pursue outdoorsy hobbies, from gun stuff to atvs to dirt bikes to mountain biking etc... The weather is great; I would much rather endure the heat than freezing, cold, windy nyc days.

Also, Vegas is isolated to some extent, but the airport has great routes, including international routes that are competitively priced.

Pretty much agree with all of this. NYC is superior to Vegas for restaurants and entertainment, but it's on the other side of the country, and it has its own downsides (the weather being just one).

You described the depressing element pretty well. It really would get to me after awhile. I'd have to leave town and spend a little time away from all that, or it would start to really affect me. I was never really able to get numb to all of that stuff, and it seemed to be right in my face wherever I went.

sonatine mentioned the traffic. Definitely a factor, too, and it doesn't get mentioned much. I didn't bother mentioning it because I've dealt with it so long in LA, the Vegas traffic just seemed like the norm. But yeah, it sucks, even if you learn how to avoid driving on the strip by sticking to the various back routes and service roads.

I still feel that Vegas as a single dude and Vegas as a family man are two very different things. The former is far better.

[dwai]

why would you ever want to live in Las Vegas

[sonatine]

sonatine mentioned the traffic. Definitely a factor, too, and it doesn't get mentioned much. I didn't bother mentioning it because I've dealt with it so long in LA, the Vegas traffic just seemed like the norm. But yeah, it sucks, even if you learn how to avoid driving on the strip by sticking to the various back routes and service roads.

this is just a gut feeling thing but i never felt as endangered by traffic in LA as i did in LV. like i always felt the odds of being rear ended or clipped in LA were much, much lower than LV, because i got the impression that there were so many more drunk/distracted drivers in LV. just tons of people renting cars on vacation, down on their luck, had one or two too many to blow off steam.. plus those people are wired into risk mode before they get behind the wheel. LA, everyone is a lot more professional about traffic.

[TheXFactor]

Vegas is affordable by California standards. Coming from the East Coast, I was shocked how expensive Vegas is and what houses cost even in crap ghetto looking neighborhoods I would not want to walk on foot.

I am involved in gambling, but being surrounded by desperate degens is just depressing. It is depressing pulling up to a gas station to see homeless people scrounging together a dollar so that they put it in the slot machine inside. The city is just depressing overall, poor people everywhere, homeless encampments and druggies just a short walk away from the Strip. Vegas is largely composed of poorly educated people with not much going for them. It's a service industry town. I am talking about pre-Covid "good times"...

The strip itself is OK, but terribly overpriced for what it is. For a similar price tag, you get better entertainment here in NYC... and better restaurants, more variety, more everything.

On the positive side, I think the desert scenery is quite amazing. Great national parks and hiking/camping/etc opportunities. This could be a great spot to pursue outdoorsy hobbies, from gun stuff to atvs to dirt bikes to mountain biking etc... The weather is great; I would much rather endure the heat than freezing, cold, windy nyc days.

Also, Vegas is isolated to some extent, but the airport has great routes, including international routes that are competitively priced.

At almost every 7/11 in California, you will run into homeless people begging for a dollar.

Not as bad as Venice, California.

You don't walk the streets in Venice Beach, do you?

[desertrunner]

Some random thoughts...

- In my mind I am hoping Vegas recovers and gets back to a better place. Obviously once the economy opens up, I think the recovery would be quick to stable, but a 2-3 year window to fully recover.

- Yes, the medical facilities and hospital suck. I can only assume because the doctors and nurses so want to be near the ocean like most people and leave once they can.

- Schools suck, its too bad, should be an easy fix I guess. Offer better pay and benefits, same formula as anywhere else.

- Nye County outside of Las Vegas is nice, but the OG rooted residents are fighting to keep it old school all the way. One issue I call BS on and it freaking pisses me off is that the local Board of Commissioners feel that they need to force their religious views on anyone and use taxpayer money to do it. Look at the wall of the Board of Commissioner's cambers, it says "In God We Trust" and they never did ask the taxpayers if it was ok, someone had an idea and just did it without asking anyone. Total BS in my opinion and this is just the "Nevada Way".



- Nevada is and has been in the top 5 for corruption and this has NOTHING to do with the California people moving there. This has been a long time home grown rooted issue dating back to the 60s, 70s, etc.

- Any problems in Nevada, they always blame California for it, even when CA had NOTHING to do with the issue. Some people there are dumb and dense.

I would still love to live in LV again now that I'm older and have more street sense and survival skills. Still lots of single women there as well as they cater to the locals mid-week, my fav time to be there.

[apwiz]

At almost every 7/11 in California, you will run into homeless people begging for a dollar.

Not as bad as Venice, California.

You don't walk the streets in Venice Beach, do you?

The video you posted says clearly that once it crosses into Santa Barbara jurisdiction, this whole mess instantly disappears. Per video you posted, the reason why it is not cleaned up in Venice is because there is some lawsuit in progress - lawsuit that will eventually have a resolution and all these people will get kicked out... Venice beach will get cleaned up. Vegas will not.

At the end of the day, gambling is not good for local economies. Casinos sell themselves as jobs and opportunities, but we end with parasites that bleed locals and attract and create problems. Atlantic City had a monopoly on gambling for many years and prime ocean front location. What did 40 years of privileged status and privileged location get them? Our whole 1500 mile Atlantic Coast line is lined with exclusive cities and wealth - except for the one sliver of Atlantic City.

Zappos guy gave it his best shot. What do people think of the outcomes? Downtown Vegas is better than it used to be?

[Zap_the_Fractions_Giraffe]

i fly fish hammerhead sharks with my dick

[sonatine]

i fly fish hammerhead sharks with my dick

[desertrunner]

Any fans of Reno, Nevada?