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05 January 2011

Where at Wednesday: Life in Las Vegas

Several years ago hubby and I moved to the southwest. We were tired of the cold, rain, snow, taxes, etc. of NJ. Plus, at the time, he wanted to train for the iron distance triathlon in Kona, HI and living in a better climate would let him do what he needed to do. So we packed up and moved.
Though we only transferred from one part of the country to another, there was more than just family, friends and horrible weather we left behind. Who knew that we wouldn’t be able to find some of the foods that we liked! And, trying to find a good pizza place and Chinese restaurant…omg…that took some trial and error. But eventually we were able to track down some places that sell the particular foods we were looking for and discover some really great restaurants.
Over the course of the year, I’ll share my take on restaurants and other venues here in Vegas, but for now let me share some inside information regarding certain items for fellow transplants, or those who are looking to move to Vegas or are doing research.
Best Foods® is known as Hellmann's® east of the Rockies. ~ I remember the first time I went to look for mayonnaise in the store. I stood there looking at the bottles thinking, they look like Hellmann’s, but they don’t say Hellmann’s. lol!
Malomars. Sure they’re only distributed in the winter, but tracking them down here in the desert even during the shipping season was an interesting process. Finally found them in an Albertson’s.
Pork roll. A while back I learned that Jersey Mike’s at the Boca Park Shopping Center location had it as part of a sandwich/sub, but if I remember correctly it was only available in the morning. Way too early for this night owl. But then, after searching and searching and even going to a butcher who claimed to be from the northeast but didn’t know what it was, we found it in a grocery store! Smith’s up on Lake Mead and Rampart has it. It’s a huge store and has a lot of items from all over. Probably because of its location near a retirement community. So, if you’re looking for something in particular, check that store out before you make yourself crazy going all over the place.
Pierogies. Finally found those as well at the Polish Deli on Charleston.
As for discussing the pizza places and Chinese restaurants, those reviews will come at later dates. ;)
Some common questions I’ve received about moving & my answers to them:
- You hate traffic. Won’t it bother you even more in Las Vegas? ~ It’s true. I hate traffic. Before I moved, when people asked me this, I told them that it probably will but I expect traffic in Las Vegas. (I grew up in a rural area that over the years became very urban. It bothered me that trips that used to take 10 minutes were taking double to triple the time because of the congestion.) In Vegas there was one evening I was trying to get to work and it took me an hour and a half to get there. I was in my car thinking “Back in Jersey I could have been to the shore by now.”
- Won’t you miss the snow, rain, change of seasons? ~ Um, no. If I want to see snow, I can look at the mountain ranges and see the snow capped peaks or go up Mt. Charleston and experience it first hand. Rain, well, we get that here. In fact, back in December it rained for a few days straight. As for the change of seasons, they happen here, too. In the spring the trees in my neighborhood will sprout beautiful pink and white flowers. In the fall, they’ll change colors. It gets cold here (we had one of the chilliest New Year’s on record this past season) and it snows (take a peek at my facebook pictures.) In the spring our vehicles get covered with the green-yellow sheath of pollen.
- But it gets so hot there. How will you deal with that? ~ I deal better with the summers here than I did back east. Truly, there is something to be said for the dry heat. I don’t have to deal with sitting still and being soaked anymore just because it’s ninety-some degrees out with ninety-some percent humidity. A friend of mine said this about the differences in heat: for the hot southwest it’s like turning your oven on to 125 degrees, and once it’s heated, opening the door and feeling the blast of hot, dry air. For back east, it’s like stepping into a sauna. Granted, I’ve become so acclimated to the weather here that when the humidity creeps above 20% I can tell.
Have anymore questions for me about life in Vegas? Planning a vacation here or doing research for a book and want some inside information? Feel free to ask! Comment below or email me at contact@crmoss.net  I’m happy to answer your questions.

Happy Reading!
C.R. Moss

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