Postings on my hometown forum

I posted a question on the Chicago TA forum and then took a moment to look over the entries and there were darn few I had a clue of the answer for.

Now I can tell you most anything about Las Vegas especially Downtown right up to the schedule of the bartenders at the Atomic and when the recently released overnight inmates from the city jail will hit the Gold Spike for a first drink as free persons, but despite living here all of my life, I am totally mystified by some of those questions. I mean I don’t even know where these hotels are that they are asking about and I don’t spend time at the nightclubs nor the other tourist areas.

It was kind of a weird experience for me.

Postings on my hometown forum

Ill be the 1st to admit I cant tell you much about the Strip or DT when it comes to tourist type questions. Living there I avoided the tourist areas and now that I dont live there but am still in town frequently, I still try to have nothing to do with those areas.

There are plenty of Strip Hotels that Ive never stepped foot in and have no desire to do so.

Postings on my hometown forum

I look at the Orlando site once in awhile but I don%26#39;t dare tell the tourists what really goes on in some of the tourists areas especially the hotels. Maybe I%26#39;m doing them an injustice. I wonder if the locals in Vegas think the same about us tourists but don%26#39;t say anything for fear of scaring a lot of us away.

It is not uncommon for people who live in LV to not know much about the tourist side of there city, many dont visit the strip on an on going basis and very few have ever spent a night in any of the hotels.

As someone who spend months at a time in Vegas(for years)- I don%26#39;t think people in Vegas keep anything from the tourists. Why should they?

I don%26#39;t bother looking at other forums because I would have to give up my job - I just don%26#39;t have the time.lol But I do go to NYC(next door) but I don%26#39;t stay at the hotels, etc. because my brother and sister live there. Plus- it is such a large area- with many more attractions, restaurants, shows, stores, etc. than Vegas that it would be difficult to become an ';expert'; there.

99% of the time I spend on Trip Advisor is on the LV forum, reading trip reports, etc. By now I think I%26#39;m more knowledgeable about Las Vegas than Chicago.

To me, Chicago is where I live and work, just going about my normal life. I rarely do any of the tourist things this city has to offer unless I have friends or relatives visiting from out of town. As far as hotels go, I don%26#39;t know about any of them. Why would I? I%26#39;ve never needed to stay at one myself, and our visitors are always welcome to stay at our home.

So, I agree with you ChiTown. On those odd moments when I wander over to the Chicago forum, I feel like a stranger in a strange (yet oddly familiar) land.

TheDiceMan

That is not always true. If you live in Vegas and gamble you will get comps just like everyone else. It is nice to take a mini-vacation and spend the night at a hotel- just like everyone else. I did that whenever my SO was on the graveyard shift. Plus- I continued going to the strip every day (just not for hours at a time). Just because you live in Vegas it doesn%26#39;t mean you know any less or any more about the tourist areas than anyone else.

If fact- when you move to Vegas you suddently become very popular with friends and family. People who you didn%26#39;t think loved you that much DESERPERATELY want to see you-often. So you do have to do the ';tour guide'; bit.

I dont think that I have ever even been on the Denver forum!! I was born and raised in Denver and lived in many of its suburbs growing up and I probably could tell you more about downtown LV than there!! It is sorta funny when you think about it!!

S;-)

I know lots of people that live in Vegas and do the touristy things, but I know a whole lot more that dont. If I want to go to a casino I go to GVR or Sunset or The M. Mostly as a Vegas resident I lived a normal life went to college, graduated, got a real 9-5 non tourist related job, bought a house ,got a dog, got married, never really gave it much thought that I was living in a place that has two streets that tourist flock to by the millions each year.

I am originally from the south side in Englewood and my family moved west as the years went by and my Dad still resides near Midway. I grew up on the #62 Archer Bus. I moved to the north side to be closer to school since the transportation in and out of that area was awkward before the El was extended to Midway.

I now take the train under or around the tourist areas to get to and from work. When the Mailman came to visit, I had to spend a night just refreshing my memories of the area which has changed a lot over the years. Some parts now have luxury condos where the deadliest of public housing projects once stood. Lenny63 is coming to visit soon from the UK and we want to take him around so we have to relearn the area again. For you Chicago folks, he is going to meet me Downtown with the Lady one afternoon when the weather is good, then the Sears, we take a river taxi to Navy Pier, if the weather is as good as today, a water taxi to the Shedd then a walk along the lake shore. the Red Line or #29 Bus, then a drink on top of the Hancock, then Blues Chicago or some other such place or if he is tired, the El back closer to home where there are some good bands at Dukes, the Redline Tap or the Heartland maybe even the Hidden Cove..

I do work near the Union Station Amtrak Station and Sears Tower, as seen in the Dark Knight, so I have some interaction with tourists who are usually lost and looking for a landmark. I am knowledgeable about public transportation questions in person and I point out the Sears Tower, some 110 stories tall, as a good landmark.

if I lived in Vegas, I would probably avoid the tourist areas there too, unless work or out of town guests take me there.

Chitown, I%26#39;ve never flown into Midway but have a chance to on a cheaper ticket with Southwest - is it easier or harder to get to the Oakbrook area than from O%26#39;Hare (see, maybe a question you can answer!)?