The fabulously low cost of living allows us now to be a one
income.
This is the main reason for the massive population influx. Nowhere
else is it possible for a hotel maid or a waitress to qualify to buy
a new house---even if it IS sixteen miles from the city center in
the midst of Dirt Gulch (renamed Parakeet Pointe by the developer).
The weather, compared to some of our previous abodes (NYC,
Cleveland!, Richmond), is excellent.
I know a few Minnesota transplants who, when queried about the
weather here, stare off into space and mumble over and
over, "Doesn't snow...doesn't snow...doesn't snow." If you indeed
grew up in the Rust Belt then Vegas weather would seem idyllic by
comparison. But IMHO, the fact that Vegas weather is better than
SOME places (like Jupiter) doesn't make it GOOD. Our summers are now
humid as well as hot due to all the settlement, which is the worst
deterioration possible.
> Yes, the infrastructure sucks.
I'm with Jean's response to this one...the city is going through
growing pains, but being improved every day.
And the infrastructure sucking is a direct result of the casino
control of every aspect of life. The casinos make sure that if there
are two major construction projects going on---one, a 32-story
second tower for the Silver Commode, and the other, an extension of
the beltway, the casino gets all the labor and resources. This is
not to say that civic projects don't get done---in fact, they seem
to get done faster than in a union-dominated town.
The real reason for the lag, though, is that for so long the powers-
that-were (casinos) visualised Vegas as a ring of cheap housing
surrounding the casinos, with bus lines running into and out of the
Strip--PERIOD. No amenities such as parks, or more than minimal
schools, or SIDEWALKS for that matter, were ever contemplated,
because the casinos thought that the population was transient anyway
and didn't DESERVE basic infrastructure and services. The present
boom, that started in the late 80's with the simultaneous
construction of so many casino megaresorts, has caught
the "authorities" (nonelected officials who are casino puppets) by
surprise, and they're still trying to catch up.
> The real waterlimits should be placed on the developers, which
would help immensely...
The casinos are the biggest strain on the water supply simply
because of the sheer number of people in the hotels on a busy
weekend or during convention time, all of whom are taking long
showers to alleviate their hangovers. No casino is going to install
low-flow bathroom appliances, turn off its fountain display, etc,
etc, when its competitors are not being forced to. And, as I've
already noted, there exists no government body in Nevada than can -
or has TRIED- to force the casinos to do ANYTHING, much less
conserve water.
I would also add golf courses to the great water waste of the city.
We've noticed that there just aren't many sandtraps here. What
about a course that includes desert landscaping, now that would be a
challenge and much more water efficient!
Also, if you moved to the desert why are you interested in having a
lawn? Plant a cactus and place a few ornamental rocks. I just
don't understand why so many homeowners have tried to turn Vegas
into the
NorthEast with their landscaping.
You don't understand. The lush greenery in the front yards and the
swamplike golf courses are all part of the "Vegas Lifestyle", a
grand delusion that sells $750,000 homes out at "McDonald Highlands"
and other such developments. People move here because they get
convinced that it somehow isn't really a desert, that you don't need
to conserve water, that it isn't really hotter than hell here, that
the land has the capacity to accomodate infinite growth. IT'S ALL A
HUGE LIE. We are strangling on our "growth", like any organism
suffering from cancer. We are going to be like California, with so
many people fleeing here for the mythical "lifestyle" that that
lifestyle becomes no longer worth having.
> Vegas is really just a small town dressed up as a big city. For
all the glitz and glamour, it's blue-collar electricians and
construction workers and plumbers that are driving the growth of
this city.
No, they provide the labor. That's like saying that chickens are
responsible for the growth of KFC stands. The real impetus behind
the growth of Vegas is the huge amount of investment capital that
has fled the stock market in the wake of dotcom implosion, scandals,
etc. If interest rates rise (thus making fixed-income investments
attractive once again) then the bottom will fall out of this market.
but it is a very under-educated population. We solve our need for
better world news coverage by subscribing to the NYTimes...this
also adds a little culture, too, since we can keep up on what's
going on in the "outside" world of Art, Music, Literature, etc.
How can you educate a public that spends virtually all of its
leisure time playing bingo and Wheel of Fortune slots? People move
here--and retire here--because they don't WANT to think any more--
they're tired of it!
> We do have some culture....
The cultural opportunities are improving, but there's still a way
to go. For all of you who complain about there not being enough
cultural activities in Vegas when was the last time you made a
contribution or bought season tickets for something. Have you
offered your volunteer services to help grow your favorite cultural
activity? That's how cultural things improve in a city, citizens
start funding them and start pressuring their employers to make
matching contributions.
Boy, what a socialistic approach! Arm-twisting aside, what supports
the arts in a community is PATRONAGE. Period! And for a city of 1.5
million, we have less people willing to patronize the arts than,
say, Paducah.
We have beautiful scenery
Someone wrote in an earlier thread (they didn't identify themself in
their very negative review of the city....annonymity breeds
contempt!) about the bleak, boring colors and scenery of the city.
The mountains and canyons around the city are amazing, changing
colors and views every moment with the changing light and cloud
cover. I would recommend joining AAA and getting a few maps and
guides for the area. Within a few hours drive time are a multitude
of National Parks to visit (use some of your "Idiot Points" from
Fiesta for gas, fill up the tank, and go visit some of them!)
I don't consider Zion or Bryce, beautiful as they are, to be part of
the "surroundings", given that they are a three-or-more-hour drive
away. And yes, we have canyon scenery in pockets around the city,
and you could spend several days visiting it all. Two problems
remain: the aforementioned scenery is on the PERIPHERY of the city.
Nothing worth seeing exists IN the city; it's a hideous mishmash of
rocks, dirt, and creosote bushes. The other problem is that
everything you might want to see, the Utah parks included, involves
at least a six-hour round trip--too far for a daytrip. We really are
horribly isolated here.
> Traffic can be bad here. But, honestly, it's mostly the drivers
that scare me.
Bettie has hit the nail on the head! The reason the traffic is so
bad in this city is because so many drivers are so self-centered.
After living and driving in NYC, where there are almost 15 times the
number of drivers on the roads, it couldn't be more obvious that the
two major problems with getting around Vegas are that people just
aren't civil to each other and the public transportation options
suck here.
Actually, these are highly skilled drivers in the LA mode. You will
notice in LA that a crowded freeway continues to flow because
EVERYONE is paying attention to what they are doing, not fixing
their hair, beating their child, or whatever. The trouble is that
this kind of driving mixes very badly with the rubbernecking lost-in-
a-fog driving style of the tourists and newcomers.
Someone wrote about the casinos running the city...what major city
ISN'T run by business? Follow the flow of cash and you'll discover
who is in charge. The casinos provide the majority of our jobs and
the majority of our tax base so it makes sense that they have great
power and influence here. (In NYC it's investment banking and the
markets, LA has the entertainment and tech industries, Seattle has
Starbucks and Mr. Gates, this list goes on and on.)
And do you think this is some kind of benevolent dictatorship? Just
try suing a casino. Just try getting justice if the casinos, or the
police, violate your civil rights. Our mayor is a drunk who passes
out political favors like canapes at a party. Our police force
executes suspects while arresting them, and is never brought to
accountability (LA police heaven). Union organizers, strikers, and
civil liberties advocates are discouraged with routine, casual,
police-endorsed violence. You can be a happy video poker machine-
feeding, buffet-going, golf-playing retiree and never see all this--
but it's there. And BTW, let me correct one HUGE misconception--the
casinos don't "provide" jobs or tax base. The jobs are minimum wage,
in many cases actually paid for by casino patrons (like cocktail
waitress/dealer/valet parking attendant) rather than the casinos
themselves. In every case the casinos derive FAR more economic
benefit from their employees than they provide. It's exploitative
and detrimental to people's well-being. As far as tax contributions
go, casinos here have so many exemptions and exceptions to tax law
(aside from the obvious one of no corporate income tax) that they
pay approximately 30% of what other industries pay on equivalent
revenue. (The preceding is not MY figure; I would have put it at
more like 10%.)
If you don't want to be around or in casinos, if you can't make
their presence a positive for yourself, then living in Las Vegas
might not be the best choice for you.
Point missed. If you DO want to be in or around casinos, then Vegas
might be the WORST POSSIBLE CHOICE. Vegas is best taken in small,
intermittent doses. If you move here, the casinos will take over
your life. It WILL happen.
My other question: why do people have hundreds of thousands of "Idiot
Points?" Use them up, go to the movies, have a fabulous meal, see a
show, spend a few hours at a spa, or get a manicure. Take advantage
of all the great things the casinos do offer.
Ah..spend your leisure time in the casino, earn lotsa slot club
points, and then in order to use them...spend even MORE of your
leisure time in the casino. And then, of course, it's back to the
ol' Deuces machine so we can earn enough points to eat at the buffet
and see "Krazy Girls of Vegas" TOMORROW. Et cetera, et cetera.
Unending.
This brings me to my final second (or third) of something that was
already written. Where ever you live you make the world what you
want it to be. There are an awful lot of bitter, angry people living
here...if you don't like your environment help to change it or move
on. Do something more than complain about it. Every city has its
problems and every city has its highpoints. We can either complain
about the former or encourage the latter.
Horse puckies. Some places are inherently better for quality of life
than others, by whatever standard or standards you choose. North
Platte, Nebraska will never be a better place to live than San
Francisco, for example.
As far as changing what I consider to be "wrong" with Vegas, how
much chance would I have when the majority of people here (not to
mention the majority of people on this board!!) think that the
present situation is heaven on earth! They LIKE the casinos. They
LOVE them, in fact. They display loyalty to them that would shame a
lapdog. A lifetime spent shoving twenties into a slot machine and
forcing down buffet food is the ideal form of existence to them.
Zombie-like, they shuffle from the parking lots to the slot clubs,
2X point coupons clutched in their hands.
If this is all you aspire to in life: to be amused, overfed, and
hypnotized, then Vegas is indeed where you should be. I would just
about forcibly prevent any of my friends from moving here, however,
because they have lives. Anyone who doesn't have a life, however, or
has a life that sucks, will probably improve it by moving here.
Kevin M. Lewis (12-year Vegas resident, who has watched it all go
slowly down the toilet)
