We moved to Las Vegas from St. George, Utah when I was twelve. It was a HUGE culture shock. I felt like a little town bumpkin in the big city. I’ve lived here practically my whole life and cannot wait to get away! It is so funny how so many people think that people that live in Las Vegas live by the strip or go to the strip regularly. When I was young and partied I went to clubs on the strip, but rarely (if ever) did I go just “hang out” on the strip. We live in the far corner of the city and I pretty much stay in a 10 mile radius of here. I never ever go to the strip unless we have out of town company and every time I’m down there it reminds me how much I hate it.
This weekend Jeff’s twin sister Leah was in town from Canada (on a “work” retreat - snicker). Sunday she had a free day so she spent it with us (thanks Leah!!!). We don’t get to see Jeff’s family much so this was a real treat. We picked her up from her hotel (on the strip) and went to brunch. Just driving on the strip is crazy. Taxi’s weaving in and out of lanes, people walking EVERYWHERE. It is like the old video game Frogger where the tourists run across the street dodging cars. The casinos are NOT baby/kid friendly at all. Some (like The Wynn) do not even allow strollers in their casino. There is smoking allowed in all casinos so when you walk through one you leave smelling like an ash tray. Everywhere you go there are billboards of semi naked chicks. Men on the street are constantly trying to stop you to give you cards with naked chicks on them. Women are dressed like skanks with their butts and boobs hanging out. Living here for so long this isn’t shocking to me, but I seriously DO NOT want my kids to grow up in this atmosphere. Leah was shocked at how many people had their young kids out at 1 and 2 in the morning walking the strip and hanging out in the casinos.
The few benefits of living here are…..ummmm….hmmmmm……let’s see. If you ever need ANYTHING at 3am you can get it. Steak dinner at 3am, no problem. Ice cream, candy, popcorn, alcohol, fast food, you name it you can get it 24/7. When we do move (hopefully sooner rather than later) I will miss the convenience of having things available at any given time (not that I’m EVER up at 3am), but still, if I did want something I could get it.
I may hate Las Vegas, but I do not hate the shopping. We have some pretty good malls and outlet stores which Leah and I hit up with great success. I’ll post more on our awesome shopping spree later. With Leah’s help I stepped out of my comfort zone and bought something other than black *gasp*!
April 27th, 2009 at 6:14 am
Hey thanks……that kind of answers my questions on my email to you
I have a sister that lives in close proximity of DC and she is the same way. She has been there almost 20 years so the whole Abraham Lincolon monument has worn off 
However, she is a great sport when we visit because of course, we always want to spend some time in the downtown area. So I think it makes sense when you talk about staying away from the strip. I chuckled as well about getting a steak at 3:00 a.m. Long gone are those days 
Have a good one!
April 27th, 2009 at 6:42 am
That’s exactly how I feel about Chicago! It was a great place to live in my 20s but I never ever wanted to have a family there. Too many instances seeing people urinate in public and everything is way too crowded. I’ll be interested to see where you end up since you don’t like nature iether haha!
April 27th, 2009 at 7:50 am
MOVE HERE! I know you would love Asheville! And you would have so many gorgeous backgrounds to take pictures of those babies of yours!
April 27th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Don’t leave!