Leaving Las Vegas

I've lived in Las Vegas for 5 out of the last 6 years. For a vast majority of that time, I've wished that I could be living elsewhere. And I can't figure out why. Particularly since I got to move to a place I expected to enjoy a lot more, then found out that I didn't.

In about 6 weeks, I'll be leaving Las Vegas once more, and I'm pretty wide open as far as choosing where I want to go next. I've started trying to figure out what I want, and checking out a few places. Strangely enough, I like what I'm seeing even less than where I am.

You see, Las Vegas actually isn't such a bad place to live. Well, for me, anyway. Unemployment here is probably one of the worst in the country, so I don't advise anyone move here without a secure job waiting for them. And the education ranking is now near the bottom, I hear, so anyone needing school will probably do better elsewhere. Anyone who has, or might be prone to develop, a gambling problem should stay far away, of course.

The thing is, people tend to think of Las Vegas as the Strip. But the city has grown so much that the Strip is now a tiny part of it, rather than its center. In fact, I've only been there a handful of times in the last several years. Where I've lived in Las Vegas could literally be in any number of cities in the South/Southwest.

I like the climate okay, I like the palm trees. I like that there is usually something to do if I feel like it. I like that there is a decent airport with nonstop flights to all of the places I might want to visit. And those are pretty much my criteria for choosing a place to live.

Ideally, I'd like to not own a car. This makes things a lot trickier, because there are only a few places in this country with excellent public transportation and I don't want to live in any of them. I love New York and Washington, D.C., and can't wait to revisit them both. I've lived in NYC, could still spend weeks at a time there, but not longer than that. That's kind of how I feel about the French Quarter, too, where I could probably get by without my own car.

The apartment complex I'm located in now in Las Vegas is pretty well situated in that regard, and that's one of the things I like about this town. I'm at the corner of a fairly major intersection, but it doesn't feel like it. There is the convenience of a supermarket across one street and a movie theater, with my favorite restaurant next door, across the other street. The boulevards are nicely landscaped, so there is always a pleasant aspect about coming home. The next, really major, intersection has a ton of other stores and restaurants. It is easily walked to, but there are also frequent buses available to use in case of inclement weather.

Seriously, I have no clue why I keep trying to leave here. Probably I've just spent way too much time here. I don't usually like being in one place more than a year or so. Most of our moves have been back and forth between Florida and Nevada, and I have a feeling Florida will likely be next again.

I haven't been to Ft. Lauderdale in a really long time, and I have a bit of a hankering to try there again. But I'm not sure I could, or would want to, live there without a car. Also, there are no non-stop flights to Europe from Ft. Lauderdale. Too close to Miami.

So I'm thinking of Orlando. I used to fly in and out of there when one of my daughters lived in a nearby city. The flight landed early morning and everything always seemed so fresh and clean and pretty. Quiet, too, not hectic even in the airport. Because of Disney World, there are non-stop flights to and from an enormous amount of places, certainly all of the ones I would be visiting most frequently. I've been there many times, but have never lived there. That's a plus, because I'd like something new this time around.

Another good thing is that it's looking like I may actually be there in early August. So I can take a good look around then and see what's what. Due to the timing of all kinds of things, I probably won't be making a permanent move before October/November, anyway.

The dilemma is this: with an elderly mother and two daughters who could conceivably benefit from having me around, how do I justify moving to a place that is nowhere near any of them? Saying that I've already served my time seems a little lame, even though I've spent the last two years doing exactly that. Mentioning that I'll probably visit them all at least 4 times a year doesn't really make it better.

My daughters are grown ups now, and they both realize that I'm entitled to a life of my own. But I get this feeling that the rest of my family may think that the only reason good enough for me not to go and live with my mother and sister is if one of my daughters needs me to help out.

Even though my sister wanted my mother to come and live with her, and my mother wanted to go live with her, the stroke has made everything much more difficult. There's more work, more stress and my sister very much deserves the break she gets on the long weekend she has from work every month. I've been zipping up there to relieve her, but that will be a lot more involved and expensive doing so from across the country than from a quick hour's flight away.

Fortunately, my mother is continuing to improve. The sitters, who were once there the entire time my sister was at work, are now there only until lunch. Soon, the plan is for them to be there only through breakfast. My sister leaves the house at 6 a.m., and my mother is not usually up by then. Since she can't get out of bed by herself yet, someone needs to be in the house to help her get up in the mornings.

We're also extremely lucky that the two women we have as sitters for my mother are truly the best we ever could have asked for. Since their hours have been basically cut in half now, they will very likely appreciate the opportunity to make up for that by taking my place on those long weekends. One of them is even able to spend the nights, no problem.

Still, there's no denying that both my mother's and sister's lives would be immeasurably easier if I were to live with them. And, truth be told, it wouldn't be such a hardship. We do have fun together. I could still travel from there. I could actually travel more without having a place of my own to worry about maintaining.

I could almost convince myself that I was just staying there, instead of actually living there. Wouldn't need my own car. A lot cheaper than living on my own. But, remember my criteria? Good climate/palm trees - it was still snowing up there as of today. A lot to do, in case I feel like it - not so much, at least not the kind of things I like. Non-stop flights - not to many places I'm interested in going. Some decent places to eat, though, and my favorite is just a few blocks away.

So, here's the deal. I'm going up there with 7 year old, as soon as she's out of school, for at least two weeks. Summer is kind of up in the air. I may end up spending a big part of it up there, or in the French Quarter. Plans are in place for early August in Orlando, and back up to my sister's beginning of the second week so she can take a cruise. I'm hoping to spend a big chunk of September/October in Europe, a big dream of mine come true...if it happens.

Which brings me to November. Way too far away for me to be worrying about. Who knows what can freaking happen between now and then. It doesn't get clearer until it gets much closer. Still, I can't help wondering. Where will I end up, after leaving Las Vegas...again?