Living and Playing in Vegas

[Cool Hand Luke]

I don't know why you are thinking of only Tampa and Vegas (family?) but if you are open to suggestions, how about the San Frnacisco Bay area. Great quality of life, climate, several top school districts on the peninsula, and some pretty darn good poker.

[MicroBob]

I've been to Tampa many times.
It's okay. I guess it would be alright for raising kids although, like many places, I would think the public school-system might be not-so-great.

The poker is not exactly abundant there of course.

But I too do not understand why OP has limited his choices to LV and TB. Seems strange.

[Crane]

Don't even think about LA. What a God awful place. I put Vegas a close second, but I'd prefer it over LA without giving it any thought.

If you want a nice quality of life, and everything else you could imagine try Portland or Seattle. Yea it rains a lot in the winter, but you couldn't ask for nicer places to live.

[pig4bill]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know why you are thinking of only Tampa and Vegas (family?) but if you are open to suggestions, how about the San Frnacisco Bay area. Great quality of life, climate, several top school districts on the peninsula, and some pretty darn good poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

The poker sucks (high rake, very little NL), the cost of living sucks, the traffic sucks, but yeah, the weather's good if you live in the right place.

[NoPoHustler]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't even think about LA. What a God awful place. I put Vegas a close second, but I'd prefer it over LA without giving it any thought.

If you want a nice quality of life, and everything else you could imagine try Portland or Seattle. Yea it rains a lot in the winter, but you couldn't ask for nicer places to live.

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Quit telling people how nice it is here, please. We locals, as a whole really hate new people moving here. Come to visit but hen leave, please. Oh and it does rain here quite a bit. But we don't get more than alot of places. What really drives people crazy is that it is cloudy probably 8mo a year. We do have the best summers hands down. From June till October it will usually be sunny and 80, give or take 5 degrees either way.

Portland poker scene obviously sucks compared to Vegas but we do have a few cardrooms within driving distance. (30min-90min). We also have the "underground" scene here as well in town. My favorite runs daily donkaments (20-100 buy in) which then turns into a degenerate cash game that you can pull a G out of without trying hard.

[uclaben]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't even think about LA. What a God awful place. I put Vegas a close second, but I'd prefer it over LA without giving it any thought.

If you want a nice quality of life, and everything else you could imagine try Portland or Seattle. Yea it rains a lot in the winter, but you couldn't ask for nicer places to live.

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As someone who's from Northern California and now lives in Los Angeles...yah, LA has its downsides, but it's still one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. If you're not into that, fine, but a city like Las Vegas doesn't compare.

And the poker is unbelievable.

[LocustHorde]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't even think about LA. What a God awful place. I put Vegas a close second, but I'd prefer it over LA without giving it any thought.

If you want a nice quality of life, and everything else you could imagine try Portland or Seattle. Yea it rains a lot in the winter, but you couldn't ask for nicer places to live.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't come to Seattle, the city is going to sink into the Puget Sound when Mt. Rainier erupts, which is going to be sooner than later

[wizexel22]

Haha, I don't get what's wrong with LA? Its not like the guy has to move right into South Central or East LA. The thing about LA is, its SO HUGE. You can pretty much choose from a vast variety of different lifestyles. You can live right in the city, or if you like a beach environment there's Santa Monica. Pasadena is a nice old suburban environment. Plus LA is surrounded by many other counties that suit different lifestyles. There are tons of nice places to live in OC (Orange County) and there are also very good schools in OC as well.

As far as poker goes, there are several big card rooms in LA and so you likely won't be too far from a casino. I think the only benefit of Vegas is that the poker games are easier, the parties last longer, and the strippers are hotter. But if I had a 10yr old son, I definitely would NOT go to Vegas. He'll be fine till hes about 13-15 and then the temptations of Vegas are just simply too high. Why even take a chance with that? Believe me, swimming pools and riding bikes in mountains is fine when your 10-12, but no 15 yr olds will want to ride bikes around forever.

[knicknut]

[ QUOTE ]
Haha, I don't get what's wrong with LA? Its not like the guy has to move right into South Central or East LA. The thing about LA is, its SO HUGE. You can pretty much choose from a vast variety of different lifestyles. You can live right in the city, or if you like a beach environment there's Santa Monica. Pasadena is a nice old suburban environment. Plus LA is surrounded by many other counties that suit different lifestyles. There are tons of nice places to live in OC (Orange County) and there are also very good schools in OC as well.

As far as poker goes, there are several big card rooms in LA and so you likely won't be too far from a casino. I think the only benefit of Vegas is that the poker games are easier, the parties last longer, and the strippers are hotter. But if I had a 10yr old son, I definitely would NOT go to Vegas. He'll be fine till hes about 13-15 and then the temptations of Vegas are just simply too high. Why even take a chance with that? Believe me, swimming pools and riding bikes in mountains is fine when your 10-12, but no 15 yr olds will want to ride bikes around forever.

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Do 15 year olds really want to go to strip clubs and get fake ids saying they're 21 to gamble in casinos and drink booze?

I mean, I wasn't 15 that long ago, but that seems hard to believe. Using a fake ID to grab a 12 pack at the gas station to drink with your friends is one thing. Trying to fool bouncers at a club or a pit boss is another.

[pokerswami]

[ QUOTE ]
Do 15 year olds really want to go to strip clubs and get fake ids saying they're 21 to gamble in casinos and drink booze?

I mean, I wasn't 15 that long ago, but that seems hard to believe. Using a fake ID to grab a 12 pack at the gas station to drink with your friends is one thing. Trying to fool bouncers at a club or a pit boss is another.

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I was 15 years old over 30 years ago. As a teenager I attended several regional conventions/meetings/conclaves with other teenagers in a youth group. This covered kids from at least Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, plus parts of other states.

There was a huge difference between the guys from New Orleans and El Paso, Texas on the one hand and everyone else on the other hand. Because of the nature of New Orleans and Juarez, Mexico, just over the border from El Paso, those kids all had stories of hookers, brothels and other underground activity. Most had personal involvement with all of the above.

This was all before the advent of AIDS, the widespread dissemination of Herpes and Hepatitis C, and the popularization of cocaine, crack, meth, ecstasy, oxycontin and more.

It DOES make a huge difference to what kids are exposed, and where they grow up. It matters who your neighbors are.