The surprising side to Las Vegas that few know
Despite its glitzy casinos and tens of millions of tourists, Las Vegas has
just 600,000
residents and a small-town side that only locals know
Lindsey Galloway
With its glitzy casinos, never-ending nightlife and tens of millions of tourists, Las Vegas looms large in the international imagination. But with just 600,000 residents, the city has a small-town side that only locals know.
Sure, Las Vegas is a place where on a Monday afternoon you can party like its 1999, said Thomas Schneider, CEO of Vegas Jets, who moved here from Toronto after a holiday. But most people think living in Vegas means that we party every single day like the tourists, which is certainly not the case. Vegas has beautiful suburbs that are actually quite child-friendly and there are plenty of things to do away from the Las Vegas Strip like boating and hiking.
Why do people love it?
As an international destination, Las Vegas offers the big city perks and frequent celebrity sightings that no small town can match. World-renowned restaurants are a huge draw for locals and its easy to find any kind of food imaginable.
Vegan restaurants make eating plant-based in Sin City a pleasure
I love the abundance of vegan-friendly restaurants across the valley, said Ethan Reynolds, who moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas four years ago.Places like Vegenation, Vege-way, Violettes and Simply Pure make eating plant-based in Sin City a pleasure, and the Wynn also offers a vegan menu at all property restaurants.
Locals can even end up sweating alongside celebrities, who frequent lesser-trafficked parts of the city. I teach Hot Pilates at TruFusion [fitness studio], and Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriquez and Kendra Wilkinson recently visited, Reynolds said. The Shops at Crystals, a shopping centre on the south end of the Strip, is also a favourite for Celine Dion and Ricky Martin, who are both performing in long-standing shows here.
The perks of Vegas go beyond the glitz, though, and make even daily tasks more convenient. I love that I can go grocery shopping at 3am, said Jewell Musgrove, who lived in the city for five years after moving from the East Coast for work.
Whats it like to live there?
Very few residents are native Nevadans; most come from other countries or states (particularly next-door California) for the unique job opportunities, primarily centred around entertainment and service-related roles in food and tourism as well as the small but growing startup technology scene. But residents stay for the weather, affordability and lack of traffic that cant be matched by other big cities with similar career prospects.
We never have to check the weather forecast
The dry heat of the desert climate is a huge draw. Its always sunny, we never have to check the weather forecast really. And if it does rain, its short and sweet, Schneider said.
Las Vegas has an easily accessible outdoor lifestyle, with hiking and biking trails right in the citys backyard. Locals also frequently make the drive 40 miles west to Mount Charleston to escape the heat. The mountain town can be anywhere from 20 to 30F cooler than central Las Vegas, and even has skiing and snowboarding during the winter months.
Its easy to feel like a high roller here even on a modest salary. I lived in a master plan community that had a golf course, man-made beach, indoor/outdoor tennis, Musgrove said. My house was also pretty big with a private swimming pool for $1,300 a month. The expansive desert land and low population makes Las Vegas especially affordable; to rent a similar place in Los Angeles will cost at least 50% more, according to price-compare site Expatistan.com. BBC
