North Las Vegas Lets Me Live a Normal Life Without Losing Access to the Desert Diamond
Learning that my employer was relocating me to Las Vegas originally left me feeling a little bit apprehensive. In my mind's eye, my family and I were either going to be living above a shimmering sea of neon or in the middle of an arid no-mans-land miles from our nearest neighbor. My neurotic nature aside, what else had the cultural depiction of Las Vegas shown me? Was my family going to be able to readjust to living in such a radically unique place?

Upon settling into North Las Vegas, it became apparent to me that Vegas is a lot less overwhelming than most people realize once you go beyond the dazzle of the tourist hot spots. While I knew this much, my inclination was that the surrounding areas were dusty attempts at establishing good quality living in an environment not meant for mortal man. North Las Vegas is anything but. When walking outside my front door, there's no telling I'm standing in the middle of a desert.

Nor is it apparent that I'm only a few miles away from Las Vegas bail bonds on every corner and everything else that comes with the diamond in the rough Nevada desert. It's admittedly shocking how superbly civilized the greater Las Vegas area has become. Not that casinos and bondsman aren't signs of civilization, it's just great to see that for the overwhelming majority of Nevadans living near Las Vegas life is as normal as it would be in any other city in the country.

But at the same time, I learned that Las Vegas is itself quite an unending source of family entertainment. Originally, my belief was that Vegas' level of kid-oriented stuff to do was low, but in some ways, the focus on the family has entirely taken over the city. You can definitely still find the lingerings of the city's bygone grittiness and adult-exclusive edge, but chances are your kids won't be picking up on any of that which can take loads off of parents' minds.

My original apprehensions about Las Vegas were totally wiped out by both our decision to move to the City of North Las Vegas and by visiting Sin City itself. It turns out neither are as abnormal as we're often led to believe. Life goes on in the Greater Las Vegas area like it does everywhere else. The only difference between it and any other city is that when our everyday inhabitants want to live a night on the town, the best place to do it is only a few minutes away.