The Expat Retirement Thread (or expat thread)

Quote: Evenbob

I've said many times I wouldn't live
in Vegas if it was free. Too ugly
and depressing, too hot in summer.
It's a giant strip mall with brown
as the background color.

I briefly considered it. One of my first threads on the other side was about it. I cannot see a ton of reason to do so except to work in gaming or if you need to pull a Doc Holiday and need the dry air for health reasons. I did like the dry air.

A lot of the southwest seems to be the same strip-mall thing. It was the "Phoenix Starter Kit" as I called it. Main intersection you throw up a gas station, a McDonald's, a grocery store, and the rest smaller strip stores. Over a few years the housing filled in. Then out a couple miles and do it again at the next big intersection on the grid. I lived near 51st but an hour outside of town some street on the 230s was already started. It went just 10 feet or so, but you could see where it would be.

I google earth many of the houses I work mortgages on and the endless suburbia many are buried in is nothing but depressing. "Little Boxes" was right on the money.

Quote: Evenbob

I've said many times I wouldn't live
in Vegas if it was free. Too ugly
and depressing, too hot in summer.
It's a giant strip mall with brown
as the background color.

I agree, Vegas is an ugly city.

Quote: Evenbob

I've said many times I wouldn't live
in Vegas if it was free. Too ugly
and depressing, too hot in summer.
It's a giant strip mall with brown
as the background color.

I agree, Vegas is an ugly city.

Quote: DRich

I agree, Vegas is an ugly city.

There is no place in the city to just chill and relax or get exercise without being bothered by pan handlers or those costumed clowns
I just spent yesterday walking around the London bridge area in Lake Havasu
They built some relaxing beautiful walkways on both sides of the bridge with lots of benches
It was wonderful seeing so many people just being so chill enjoying the outdoors
The perfect antidote to Vegas just taking some long walks along the water

Quote: terapined

There is no place in the city to just chill and relax or get exercise without being bothered by pan handlers or those costumed clowns
I just spent yesterday walking around the London bridge area in Lake Havasu
They built some relaxing beautiful walkways on both sides of the bridge with lots of benches
It was wonderful seeing so many people just being so chill enjoying the outdoors
The perfect antidote to Vegas just taking some long walks along the water

Is there any major (or even minor) cities where this is not the case? (maybe not so much costumed people, though this certainly happens in other cities as well).
(Especially now, that pan handling was ruled a first amendment protected activity and it is now essentially illegal for cities/localities/states to criminalize it......)

https://law.justia.com/cases/washington/supreme-court/2016/91827-9.html

I think panhandling is bad everywhere. Though I will concede that cities with casinos tend to be very bad in or near casinos (especially on the casino floors, people asking you for cash or chips, especially if you just won and are leaving the table, which they somehow seem to always know, some casinos are better than others at stopping this behavior). I don't know the actual data on this, just my anecdotes, but in a world where less and less people carry cash, casinos are pretty much the one place where virtually everyone carries cash, so it seems logical for panhandlers to target areas in and around casinos.

Quote: Gandler

Quote: terapined

There is no place in the city to just chill and relax or get exercise without being bothered by pan handlers or those costumed clowns
I just spent yesterday walking around the London bridge area in Lake Havasu
They built some relaxing beautiful walkways on both sides of the bridge with lots of benches
It was wonderful seeing so many people just being so chill enjoying the outdoors
The perfect antidote to Vegas just taking some long walks along the water

Is there any major (or even minor) cities where this is not the case? (maybe not so much costumed people, though this certainly happens in other cities as well).

I've traveled all around the country
I think most towns and cities admire central park in NYC.
I think every city and town need a centrally located recreation area to just chill
One of the best places I have experienced
Tulsa I think it was. It was called "The Gathering Place"
Absolutely magnificent and wonderful

Quote: terapined

Quote: Gandler

Quote: terapined

There is no place in the city to just chill and relax or get exercise without being bothered by pan handlers or those costumed clowns
I just spent yesterday walking around the London bridge area in Lake Havasu
They built some relaxing beautiful walkways on both sides of the bridge with lots of benches
It was wonderful seeing so many people just being so chill enjoying the outdoors
The perfect antidote to Vegas just taking some long walks along the water

Is there any major (or even minor) cities where this is not the case? (maybe not so much costumed people, though this certainly happens in other cities as well).

I've traveled all around the country
I think most towns and cities admire central park in NYC.
I think every city and town need a centrally located recreation area to just chill
One of the best places I have experienced
Tulsa I think it was. It was called "The Gathering Place"
Absolutely magnificent and wonderful

I have not been to Central Park is a couple of years. But, I recall quite vividly large numbers of panhandlers and homeless....
And, I would imagine that it is worse now with this Supreme Court decision (as it is in just after every city after, even cities that used to have very strict panhandling laws).

Tulsa I have never been to.

Quote: Gandler

I think panhandling is bad everywhere. Though I will concede that cities with casinos tend to be very bad in or near casinos (especially on the casino floors, people asking you for cash or chips, especially if you just won and are leaving the table, which they somehow seem to always know, some casinos are better than others at stopping this behavior). I don't know the actual data on this, just my anecdotes, but in a world where less and less people carry cash, casinos are pretty much the one place where virtually everyone carries cash, so it seems logical for panhandlers to target areas in and around casinos.

I have to say this is not a problem at casinos in my neck of the woods. Happened once and I alerted security specifically saying I wanted to help the place not be a place where panhandles hang out. The southwest in general was worse than the northeast as far as panhandling went.

Quote: AZDuffman

I have to say this is not a problem at casinos in my neck of the woods. Happened once and I alerted security specifically saying I wanted to help the place not be a place where panhandles hang out. The southwest in general was worse than the northeast as far as panhandling went.

There is certainly more in warmer areas I think that is fair to say. I am not sure what area you are from (when referring to casinos in your area). But, Nevada and AC always seem pretty bad in the casinos. Its even worse if you are alone, its almost like there are people who watch you and wait for you to win while alone and then leave the table to approach you (maybe its just my paranoia).

Casinos seem great at getting APs out like almost instantly, I never understood how they let the same people just loiter on the floor and ask multiple people for money. To be fair more recently in AC casinos seem better at cracking down in the last couple years (I have less experience in Nevada), but this is also pre-covid. (Or maybe its my personal anecdotes that as I get older and more confident less people see me as approachable on the casino floor? Maybe a combination of both? Who knows....) I used to feel really bad for people and had issues saying no when people said they need help, this I have all but overcome, so its also possible that I am better at filtering out such people now, so I don't notice it as much. But, I am still fairly confident there are people who do nothing but loiter in casinos, watch for people alone who look like easy marks, and wait for them to win and walk somewhere..... (It may be more so scammers than legit panhandlers, since they seem almost too sophisticated, but probably a combo of both to some degree).

In my limited experience slots seem to be even worse.

I don't play much slots, but I remember one time that I won some jackpot on a single line game, I think 1 dollar credits, (nothing crazy, but enough for a W2G), that when the slot attendant came with the paperwork and the winnings, he pointed to I think two people in the general vicinity and said while discretely motioning "watch out for them, they now know you just won X amount", and had the guard with him stay in the area until they wandered away, so the casinos seem to be at least aware of such people.
Another time I got a W2G, with no warning (again nothing crazy but over the barrier for a W2G, I was burning free play on a 5 dollar credit single line and got lucky or unlucky perhaps since it was barely enough to need a W2G), and somebody approached me some time later in another part of the casino and asked me to help him, and I said "sorry sir, I don't have any cash", and he replied , "I know you won X amount on machine X, God says the right thing to do is share" (or something along those lines, I remember it because it was bizarre and creepy). I just said "no sorry" and walked away to a busier area (I think he followed me into a smoking room where nobody else was at the time which is where he confronted me).
I don't play much slots or video poker (which seems to be even more problematic areas than table areas), and I only have gotten 3 W2Gs in my lifetime and 2/3 I have had this happen (the other time I just left instantly after winning so there was not really an opportunity).
It just seems like another reason to avoid slots in my view, lose money quick, and when you do win between the scammers and the tax forms its more stress than its worth (just my opinion).

Quote: terapined

There is no place in the city to just chill and relax or get exercise without being bothered by pan handlers or those costumed clowns
I just spent yesterday walking around the London bridge area in Lake Havasu
They built some relaxing beautiful walkways on both sides of the bridge with lots of benches
It was wonderful seeing so many people just being so chill enjoying the outdoors
The perfect antidote to Vegas just taking some long walks along the water

It may worse with the current Las Vegas economy. In the 90’s I often went down to a park off Tropicana. Never had an issue, even at night.