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Welcome to fabulous

Andrew Kiraly

I’m kind of spoiled, having grown up here. Not because I have “connections” (?!) or even an especially deep bench of friends (they all absconded to Portland years ago to live Instagram lives of quaint, curated grit), but because the truth and impact of Southern Nevada doesn’t present itself to me in a bewildering single dimension like I imagine it does for most newcomers. My stream of impressions, rather, and rather luckily, is inflected with experience, narrative, memory, perspective. I mean, heck, I still get shivers of nostalgia when I cross the skuzzy, trash-strewn Albertsons parking lot on Charleston and Bruce (really, to anyone else, an agoraphobic heath of methy asphalt despair), because I still see the ghostly outline of the old Fox Theatre, still hear the chock and grind of our skateboards slapping against the red curbs when, many years later, we east-siders would commandeer the parking lot as our personal skatepark, still smell the veil of tropical mist from fruitball, an illicit juvenile sport that, uh, involved a baseball bat and rotten apples, oranges, plums and bananas culled from the dumpster behind the store (to whoever had to clean that up: Sorry, yeah, that was us.). You say boring strip mall, I say plangent locus of personal history.

Of course, we can’t — or at least can’t yet — jack you into a neural net and download a petabyte of this kind of ectoplasm that turns a strange place familiar. So we did the next best thing: Created this issue, our Newcomers Guide (p. 57). Whether you’ve come to Vegas to launch a business or start a family, save the world or dance until dawn, we’ve got you covered, with background intel, expert pointers, tips on who to know and where to go. But just as important as resources are our crib notes on the basic dynamics of the different facets of Las Vegas, from where to get the best networking done to 101ers on navigating our nightlife to the best hikes to squeeze in on a busy weekend. To do that, we tapped those-in-the-know from all facets of Southern Nevada, from our own outdoor enthusiast Heidi Kyser to Desert Companion dining critic Debbie Lee to nightclub expert Xania Woodman of Vegas Seven. Rounding it out are short essays and sidebars on the quirks of living in Las Vegas, warts, wrinkles and all.

Getting the lay of the land is one thing; making a home in Las Vegas is a project of another magnitude entirely. Also in this issue, we launch the first installment of Making It Home, (p. 31) a six-part, bimonthly series that aims to give you a sort of panoramic snapshot of life in different parts of the valley — part real estate guide, part lifestyle primer highlighting the diverse home styles, communities and personalities of Las Vegas. In this first installment, we feature the best of South Las Vegas, an area where old-school ranch vibe meet modern master-planned suburbia. In future issues, we’ll cover central and downtown Las Vegas, Summerlin and Centennial Hills, North and East Las Vegas, and Henderson and Boulder City. Whether you’re looking to relocate or hoping to discover something new about your own neighborhood — or just want to see how green the grass is over the fence — Making It Home should prove a valuable resource.

Sponsor Message

When people move to Las Vegas, they can be a little flummoxed, not just by the whole Jekyll/Hyde Strip/suburb thing, but by the distances — physical, psychic and spiritual — and yeah, being able to buy milk and gamble at the grocery store, at 3 a.m. no less. Living here can be a lifelong project. Let the Newcomers Guide be your immediate cheat sheet, and let Desert Companion be your trusted source every month.

As a longtime journalist in Southern Nevada, native Las Vegan Andrew Kiraly has served as a reporter covering topics as diverse as health, sports, politics, the gaming industry and conservation. He joined Desert Companion in 2010, where he has helped steward the magazine to become a vibrant monthly publication that has won numerous honors for its journalism, photography and design, including several Maggie Awards.