Gah! Anyone else hate where they live?

[Torrid]

Raising kids is not just about education (although that is certainly an important criteria), but also about the society and surrounding demographic. It is about opportunities outside of school (e.g. internships, volunteer opportunities, taking college classes in high school, access to good libraries and college resources when in school etc), social interactions, extra-curricular activities (e.g. music lessons), networking (some of my best friends to this day are children of my parents' family friends) etc. It is also about having a social support structure outside of your family, and the quality of such a structure. That is not to discount the quality of said support in Las Vegas, but having looked at the demographic distribution in the Vegas suburbs, I have my doubts.

You seem to think that the alternative is living in a small town, but that need not be the case. You can live in a good suburb in a big city with good education. In fact, I live in Cambridge, which pretty much has a rather insignificant suburbia per se, and yet has an outstanding educational opportunities at all levels.

A lot of people seem to think being a Las Vegas resident means living in a casino. I know most of my neighbors and talk to them on a regular basis. We gather together on a number of holidays which all of our kids love. I have my daughter in a dance class to prepare for ballet in the future. There are a lot of dance academies and places to take singing lessons. I'm sure your city is a great place to live as well, but taking the position that this is a poor place to live based on assumptions is flat out ignorant. I live just up the road from Wayne Newton not far from Henderson and most neighborhoods are nothing like the old run down downtown living area that some know.

I used to live in Phoenix and I can't even recall my neighbors even making eye contact with me. My aunt who lived there didn't even know her neighbors names because it was more common to stay private there. I was glad to see Vegas had a closer to Midwest feeling hospitality.

[leoo]

I live in new Jersey. 20 minutes out of Philly. Its nice here.. but I went on vacation to HK a few weeks ago and I want to move there eventually. Being white I might stick out a little.. but I wouldn't care.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Metlin]

A lot of people seem to think being a Las Vegas resident means living in a casino.

Nope, far from it. However, there's something to be said about the demographics of a community so close to the Las Vegas establishments.

I know most of my neighbors and talk to them on a regular basis. We gather together on a number of holidays which all of our kids love. I have my daughter in a dance class to prepare for ballet in the future. There are a lot of dance academies and places to take singing lessons. I'm sure your city is a great place to live as well, but taking the position that this is a poor place to live based on assumptions is flat out ignorant. I live just up the road from Wayne Newton not far from Henderson and most neighborhoods are nothing like the old run down downtown living area that some know.

If you'd notice my original comment, I'd mentioned opportunities and communities outside of just the basic education, which goes a long way in providing opportunities. I know kids in this area who are given opportunities to work in biology and finance at a very young age, and will build credentials that will take them places that are entirely far removed (not to mention out of reach) from people lacking in such opportunities. One of those kids' mother is a neurologist, and she gets to work with researchers in bio-tech startups. Is it fair? Of course not. But it helps that parents move to locations ripe with such opportunities that can nudge their children in the right direction, giving them advantages that set them apart. Like I said, I am sure Vegas is great as a community, but I am merely unsure about the potential opportunities above and beyond mere education.

I used to live in Phoenix and I can't even recall my neighbors even making eye contact with me. My aunt who lived there didn't even know her neighbors names because it was more common to stay private there. I was glad to see Vegas had a closer to Midwest feeling hospitality.

I think that's a problem endemic to most communities with fleeting populations. You'll find that this is less of an issue with communities whose residents have been rooted for a while.

[Ray MacDonald]

It's a great privilege to have the mobility or skillset to be able to choose your place of residence. I certainly did not have that privilege in my working career. It was only as a retired person that I made the choice to move and live where I do now. Even that choice was tempered by the wish to be close to family - both grandkids and aging parents.
Within the necessity to live close to work one can make certain sub-choices I suppose. We lived in a smaller community and had some commuting to put in each day to get to work. However having our daughter grow up in a secure and child friendly milieu was worth it.
Even our carefully chosen venue changed radically over 30 years to the point where I'd have to think twice about settling there now. Thankfully I don't have to make the decision at this point in life. It's still relatively safe and secure, but the population has grown by a factor of 5 since we first moved there.

[Statius]

Here's two pictures. The top is my neighbourhood in Calgary, which I've left behind for work reasons for the second picture, my area of Peterborough. Granted the Calgary one is a bit sub-urban, but it's good for kids, and we ride on those bike paths quite a bit. Plus the mountains are just gorgeous. Peterborough, I'll admit, has some good options, though. The picture really brings out its best side.




(Mine's the one in the middle. Downtown Peterborough)

[GinGinD]

I grew up a military brat, and naturally, my father was stationed in Fort Bragg, NC. He eventually retired there and that's where I spent approx 13 years of my life. Fayetteville, adjacent to Bragg, was the most boring place to live during that span of my life. I now live in Northern VA and welcome chances to visit my folks and take it easy in Fayetteville. It's calm and quiet. I actually can't wait to move from VA and make my way up to Chicago as my girlfriend and I have been in a long distance relationship for 3.5 years... Just wish the job market would open up some more, there...


Sent from my lucky rocketship underpants

I live in Fayetteville. I'm very happy here.

Jeannie

[HoustonChris]

I lived in two cities in New Jersey for a total of four years, both in the greater Philadelphia area. As a result, I developed a strong love for Jersey and an intense hatred for Philadelphia. All of the detrimental things said previously about New York City apply equally to Philly, and add to them higher crime, lower income, worse infrastructure, pervasive racism and a general meanness of spirit (in all senses of the phrase) unlike anywhere I've ever lived before or since.

Even Houston, which is largely an armpit of a city, is exponentially better.

[AlexMachine]

Finland. What a dull place. Okei, born and lived here 40 years. Cold, dark winters, dec-feb usually -20C to -30C and īcos i live by the sea, windy... almost 6 months of cold and snow, and the darkness. Dec-Jan maybe 4 hours of sun between sunrise and -set (if you are lucky and actually see the sun īcos itīs cloudy and grey all the time).
Summer is nice here, heck summer is nice everywhere.
You can just barely manage the cold, but darkness is the real let down.

[Ray MacDonald]

Towns and cities are like people. If you look for the worst in them - expecting to find it - you surely will. (Borrowed from A. Lincoln.)

[dbakiva]

(Mine's the one in the middle. Downtown Peterborough)

Well, that's the problem, my friend. Clearly the view would be better from one of the end units.