Tales of one city

Living in this city for two-and-a-half years, I've heard countless stories of why people chose to come to Las Vegas.  Such tales are ubiquitous in a town where almost everyone recently came from somewhere else.  I've heard people coming for economic opportunities, to escape California, to make a quick buck, to live the Vegas high-life, to get away from something (or someone) unpleasant, or simply to dabble with the new and unusual.

Since I'm restarting this photoblog, on my first entry, I'd like to share of how I wound up in this Nevada desert.

On a whim in August 2005, I moved to Las Vegas from Los Angeles three weeks after a friend had pitched the idea.  Alyson was unhappily living in Chicago at the time and our friend Susan had purchased a condo in Las Vegas as an investment and was seeking tenants.  One night, Alyson suggested half-jokingly to move to Las Vegas and rent Susan's condo.  I pondered the idea for about thirty seconds and summarily agreed to take the plunge.  Three days later, I gave notice to my employer and landlord.  Shortly thereafter, I tossed myself onto unemployment, packed possessions into a Ryder truck and bid an unrepentant farewell to California.  It was the most spontaneous (my parents would say, “reckless”) thing I’ve ever done.  Thinking back, I almost shutter thinking how events unfolded at such a breakneck tempo.

I awoke the next morning in a barren Vegas apartment, staring at the ceiling and pondering why I was there and, more importantly, where my next paycheck will come from.  The predicament was simultaneously unsettling and exhilarating, not only because I was navigating uncharted waters, but also because I was starting life anew in this flamboyant tourist mecca.  That scorching August morning would be the start of an unforgettable ride.

The main reason I made the decision to come was boredom, after spending my entire life in Los Angeles.  Being a UCLA graduate, I never even had the going-away-for-college ritual experienced by my peers.  At the time I decided to move, I was working at a small technology firm for four years going nowhere.  I logged almost half a decade at the same salary laboring within the same job description, thanks in part to the post-9/11 recession and the dotcom meltdown.  Furthermore, throughout this entire duration, I was living in the same claustrophobic studio apartment in Long Beach.  I had dreamt of fleeing this hypnotic sameness for the longest time and Alyson’s flippant proposal provided the convenient push.

I had planned to move to Vegas to start a business I had tinkered with on a small scale in Los Angeles.  I figured rent in Vegas was cheap, there is no income tax and, since the job market in Nevada was hot, I could always return to the workforce if my business idea didn’t pan out.  Well, like for most lofty ideas, things didn’t go quite as planned.  I think I was a bit naive, inexperienced and, most importantly, lacked enough money to start a viable business.  Without a regular paycheck, money became a problem.  Although Nevada unemployment hovered at record lows, it still took time to land something decent.  With my Wells Fargo balance spiraling downward with each passing week, I suddenly developed appreciation for financial prudence and even nostalgia for my soulless dot com job back in Los Angeles.  There were plenty of reflective moments filled with angst, regret and even desperation.

Thinking back at those harrowing latter months of 2005, I consider my impulsive relocation to be one the wisest, most challenging and most rewarding things I've ever done.  While it was financially disastrous, ironically, the move was also a wonderful investment by offering life lessons of incalculable value.  As they say, "suffering prepares the soul for vision".  Eventually, I found a job I'm satisfied with, made new friends in the city and, with new goals, developed some practical direction in my life.  Life was good again.  Well, almost good. This city does have numerous drawbacks, ones I will not discuss today.  Nevertheless, I harbor no regrets coming here and blindly taking a chance on a city where taking chances is a cultural staple.  With Los Angeles four short hours away, I'm distant enough from my old life but close enough to visit several times a year a city where most of my friends and family live.

I’ve learned everybody should do something impulsive and irrational at least once, preferably while they’re still young and unanchored by family or obligations.  Your parents may not approve, but I promise you’d learn something about yourself un-teachable by any teacher or author.  For me, coming to Las Vegas was that moment of impulsion and absolution.  During those first six-months, I never felt more alive wondering (and worrying) about the unknowns lurking beneath those twinkling casino lights.  But as long as you’re half-intelligent, hardworking and possess an inkling of ambition, I’ve learned you can survive in any city.

One day, when I leave this city for good, I know I'll be grateful to Las Vegas for opening my eyes even if there are facets of the city I despise today.  In fact, as I write these words, I'm already itching for another adventure and penning another tale.