Life as a Vegas Local
When my cousin moved to Sin City, the family assumed that he’d be back in a year or two – whenever the honeymoon phase was over. They even kept his room for him. That was 11 years ago. And after spending a couple weeks with him at his pad in the Henderson ‘burbs, I discovered how locals make fulltime-residence in a high-octane party town possible. As it turns out, there’s a lot more to Vegas than boozing and gambling.
That’s not to say that locals don’t party here; they certainly do. With an endless array of adult-only roof-top pools, glitzy casinos, drunken foam parties and bumping nightclubs, locals and tourists alike enjoy relinquishing inhibitions and getting wild – something I witnessed at a casino staff post-shift party. But if you live in a city with adrenaline constantly coursing through its veins, people need to take breaks from the stimulation and rejuvenate with fresh air.
When locals do need a breather, there are a ton of things to do just outside the city centre. No more than an hours’ drive offers plenty of outdoor opportunities, including hiking trails, kayaking opportunities, hot springs and endless canyons that can be cycled through. These attractions give locals breaks from the intense stimulation of the city.
But even more important than the respites from the city are the people who populate it. While staying with my cousin, his buds immediately accepted me as part of the crew. A communal nature binds locals together in a city that would otherwise swallow you whole. People band together and reserve judgments because if you’ve lived in Vegas for any amount of time, you’ve done and seen it all. You get to a point where nothing surprises you.
Maybe it’s a cop out to say that living in Vegas is whatever you make of it because that can be said of so many places, but the locals I hung out with firmly believe that it’s especially true of Sin City. You can party 24/7, or immerse yourself in the great outdoors. The locals I spent time with seemed to have figured out the ideal balance: 80% party, 20% recharge. It’s the Vegas way-of-life.
