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Why don't locals like going to the strip?

Discussion in 'Living in Sin (City that is)' started by lp670lambo, Feb 12, 2017.

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  1. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

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    Well it's not about the chains, it is about the mass concentration of tourists in one area. In addition to the chain (and non chain) restaurants. the Theatre District is right there,, as well as hotels which offer tourists a central NYC location. The streets are just as packed in and around Times Square as they are on the Strip, and the traffic surrounding it can be just as bad. Am I saying it's exactly the same? Of course not - how could it be? No city's tourism is exactly the same as another's. There is no other city in the world like New York (just like there is no other place like Las Vegas). The Strip is very unique in that it is one long stretch of tourism, while in most other cities, the bulk of the tourism is not isolated like it is on The Strip, it is in the midst of the local citizens going about their day-to-day lives. The one thing NYC has is that it is a very walkable city and the subway and bus system allows for easier exploration than many other cities. Even though there are tourists all over Manhattan, they do seem to gather en masse in Times Square, and the same reasons why Vegas locals might avoid the Strip are the same reasons a New Yorker (and I am speaking for myself here) might try and steer clear of Times Square.
     
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  2. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

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    Even here in New York, a lot of revenue is made from tourism. Tourism helps boost the economy of cities all over the world. It's not tourists per se that I object to (I have been one myself, many times). However, if tourists were more considerate, it wouldn't be an issue but unfortunately people are people and they are not always that way. I for one try and be considerate of others wherever I go, not just while I am visiting another locale.

    As for the aside, there is never any excuse for racial remarks - none. But even though the economy of that town was suffering, there is something that doesn't sound right to me about making a concentration camp a money-making tourist opportunity. I know it's a part of history, and I know that time tends to dim the atrocities that we humans commit against each other, but It could be that is what they were reacting to. Who knows if perhaps their family members had been lost there and they resent it now being a money-making tourist attraction. It is not like coming to a casino to spin a wheel for luck - to me, at least, visiting a concentration camp would seem ghoulish, like taking a serial killer tour to see where they flayed and dismembered their victims (because they were serial killers, who marched men, women and children into gas chambers, made lampshades from their skin and committed other atrocities that I cannot even begin to comprehend). But that is just my take on it.
     
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  3. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    I don't know that we are saying different things. If I never saw Times Square, I'd not consider that a loss. I think the Strip is a must. But if we're talking about nearby streets or districts or must-sees in proximity to these two tourist hotbeds, the Strip is the there there, Times Square is not.

    When we made a couple serious runs at moving to Vegas back in the '00s -- and thankfully we did not -- of all the things we talked through, avoiding the Strip if we became residents wasn't one of them.
     
  4. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

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    If I ever become a Vegas local I am sure I would not completely avoid the Strip (to me it is a more desirable destination than Times Square could ever be) but I know I wouldn't go there all the time. I am not sure how I would feel about living in Las Vegas - I really love the desert and feel and atmosphere of the city, but there is something special about the anticipation of an upcoming trip that I think would be lost if I were to live there full time.
     
  5. TomTWI

    TomTWI Custom Title

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    No, but I do think my budget would last longer.

    TomTWI
     
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  6. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Have you eaten at Industrial Eats in Buellton? And our favorite bakery anywhere in the larger SYV is Pattibakes, also in Buellton. Oh, and Fig Mountain now has food!!
     
  7. Craps_Player

    Craps_Player High-Roller

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    As a constant tourist to Vegas (and indeed the USA), my opinion is based on what I view as a tourist. Firstly, I think it's a generalisation that locals don't go to the strip. It's going to be the same for all of us in that as a local lifestyle, we generally fall into a routine that inevitably looks to budget or save money. So, why go somewhere when it's cheaper down the road locally. I would visit my main city areas, but usually when the need or occasion arises. I won't go to a 5 star hotel in the main city areas of Hong Kong and order drinks every night for example. But I would go, and wouldn't make a point of not going. After all, its a key reason for wanting to be there in the first place.

    Times Square has been used on this thread to represent a parallel example to the Strip. I am racking my brains to think what Times Square has that makes it a compulsory visit if you aren't showing people around. Well...not much actually, not if you've already been there. From a tourist point of view, Times Square represents a very important place in terms of attractions and places to visit for the tourist. Almost the very essence of the USA brand. Of course there are many landmarks around the country, but Times Square would feature very heavily in the top of anyone's list as a landmark in terms of USA identity. I tend to stay at the Sheraton Times Square every time I go to New York however, so I find myself wandering through there to get to Macy's and beyond every visit. I don't find the hustle and bustle of the crowds to be any hindrance at all. If anything, it's fantastic to feel the pulse and vibrancy of the place.

    I imagine that a local in Las Vegas would view the strip as just another part of town, but recognise it's importance to the community. Living is living, and when the need or want arises, then they would probably head onto the strip (whether it's a dinner date, or meeting with friends, or whatever). If they want to play blackjack however, then a green felt is probably the same as the next green felt except one pays 3:2 still on blackjack for minimums less than $50. So, it's a matter of convenience and price comparison.

    Many have stated that a local won't go to the strip for very negative reasons. I walk pretty much everywhere on the strip; for exercise, for entertainment and for reflection (!!). I do not believe that I am hindered in any way walking through the crowds of people. I do not feel put out at all, and usually make my way very efficiently. The only times I can feel the slight throng of human traffic is when crossing a main road across the strip, however if you've crossed the main intersection road in Shinjuku district in Tokyo, Japan, then you would agree that this experience would make Vegas crowds to be rather light on numbers.

    My main point would be that there is nowhere else on the planet that has what the strip has....countless numbers of casinos all lined up where you can hop from one place to the next and be dazzled by the lights and sounds and thrill of the place. That's a unique experience and one I never grow tired of. I live next to Macau. Macau cannot compete (at the moment, and probably never) with the Vegas Strip. Nowhere close. Not even remotely close.

    As a Brit, doing a 'pub crawl' was a common thing to do around town. Walking from one public house (that's a Bar) to the next (if you can manage to stand up and walk). Well, on the strip you can do a 'casino crawl' ! So, the local casino has got better odds, cheaper food, free parking, reserved seating for your favourite game, familiar people to greet you as you walk through the joint. Great. It doesn't however give you the Vegas experience of walking through so many casinos, hotels, bars, restaurants, entertainment areas, all on one stretch of road. This currently isn't replicated anywhere else in the world.

    Of course, if you live and work in Vegas, then it's more unlikely that you are going to take that experience in every waking moment, because you can do it any day of the week. But to suggest that locals don't like going to the strip is probably overstated. If you work on the strip 5 days a week, then you'd probably want to get away from it for the days off, but that cannot mean that you don't like the strip. It represents the lifeblood of the community.
     
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  8. lp670lambo

    lp670lambo Low-Roller

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    Excellent points
     
  9. caltrinity

    caltrinity Tourist

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    I visited the concentration camps in Europe for the same reason that I have visited the Holocaust museum in LA: to educate myself through profound introspection and perspective, to develop greater sympathy and understanding, and most of all, to expand my capacity for love and kindness amidst such historical atrocity.
     
  10. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    how many real new yorkers have seem the ball dropped in times square for new years.lol
     
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  11. WichitaMuskie

    WichitaMuskie VIP Whale

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    I went to Dachau. There's nothing money making about that place as a tourist venture. There's a a buck or two to take the city bus to the camp, but that's it.
     
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  12. deansrobinson

    deansrobinson VIP Whale

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    We live in America's vacation destination and, if you wanna, take a guess at where we NEVER GO! EVER! NOT AT ALL! That's right, boys and girls - Orlando / Kissimmee. If you're familiar with the bay area, you know that Tampa doesn't have good beaches...they're all over in Clearwater / St. Pete. And the key to a successful day at the beach is being where the tourists are not (I know mommy and daddy think it's cute...and you probably think it's fun yourself, but there's a reason why the signs say seagull feeding is prohibited). Both C'water & St. Pete beaches are developed to the nth degree so we head to Amelia Island, Caladesi Island, etc. You can't escape the tourists altogether, but you can take steps to reduce your exposure.

    I think what happens is, life catches up with you. Before we moved here, I had visions - more like fantasies - of what life would be like. Well, not so much. Eventually you settle into the commute, buying groceries, car repair, home maintenance, and everything else and that comes with being a responsible member of the community and all of that touristy stuff? Well, it stays for the tourists. You don't live your everyday life like you think you would. "Oh, but you're only about twenty minutes from the beach!"...yeah. What's your point? I'm also only twenty minutes from countless thousands of sunburned speedo-wearing rubber-necking-in-the-fast lane excursionists. 'scuse me while I drop a little more ice in the blender. :cool:
     
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  13. vegasdev

    vegasdev VIP Whale

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    heck, I could even list plenty of reasons why VISITORS don't like going to the strip!! :soapbox:
     
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  14. BostonJP

    BostonJP Low-Roller

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    I grew up an hour away from New York City and even I can't stand Times Square!!

    Now though I live outside of Boston and every time new friends come to visit, they all want to go to the same ultra-touristy places like Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. There are so many nice places in Boston that it pains me to have to go to the overpriced, super-crowded food court where every other fast food place advertises "Chowdah" as if that makes it taste as good as real chowder.

    If the Strip is like the Vegas version of Faneuil Hall and Times Square, I don't blame the locals!
     
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  15. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    I've been to the LaBrea tarpits twice in my life.

    I'll never go back to Olvera Street.

    I've been on the Queen Mary once, in the early '70s when she first appeared.

    I've eaten pancakes at the original Du-Par's.

    I think the Temecula wineries generally suck.

    I think Torrey Pines South is one of the most overrated, overpriced and unplayable courses in the land.

    But there is plenty in LA and SoCal that brings us in often: LACMA, the Petersen and Autry museums; Laguna and Huntington; old Pasadena; Spago; PCH between SM and Hueneme; the Coachella Valley; the muni in Ventura; so much more. And all of those are quite popular and crowded. I don't think it's headcount that is at play.
     
  16. WichitaMuskie

    WichitaMuskie VIP Whale

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    I worked in a building right next to Faneuil Hall. To eat chowder there when the Sail Loft is just a few steps away is a tragedy.
     
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  17. paperposter

    paperposter MIA

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    i went too and that was a very solom place too go and historic i hope your not comparing that too the strip and times square
     
  18. WichitaMuskie

    WichitaMuskie VIP Whale

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    No, I was just replying to this from above (and when I replied I was on my phone, so my ability to quote was a bit impaired). Point being that I don't think the concentration camps are money-making tourist opportunities, thankfully. And Dachau certainly isn't.

     
  19. mjames1229

    mjames1229 # of visits includes only trips w/ hotel stays

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    Woo-hoo!

    "Go Anyone-but-the-Cubs, Go!"
     
    USBC Nationals are back in Vegas
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  20. vegasbound

    vegasbound VIP Whale

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    I don't like the strip on Fri & Sat nights, during special events or big holidays like Valentine's Day. I'll avoid it then, unless it's for a concert. Sun - Thurs and weekend daytime is fair game. I dine on the strip 2-3 times month. It's convenient to grab lunch at FSM, meet the husband when he gets off work or it's a central location for dinner with friends. I love easy in & out properties like SLS, Mirage or Mandalay. Though, charging for parking has changed my habits. I've not been to Carnegie Deli since the change. The local discount isn't enough to lure me, if I'm paying to park.

    I will admit I go to shows less than ever before. Sure, I've seen a lot already, but others are just too pricey and the local specials are few are far between. Staycations are practically nil because I can't swallow the resort fees. I'm not a gambler. But even when we did play on the strip we earned nothing for our play, same goes Stations, but smaller local casinos are more generous with offers.
     
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