Columnist Susan Snyder: Newcomer adjusting to Vegas

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2000 | 10:06 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

Jennifer Askew is one of the 6,000.

That's the staggering figure forever tossed in our faces as the number of newcomers who move here each month.

Askew, 30, left Arlington Heights, Ill., about five weeks ago and headed to Las Vegas for a fresh start in a new town.

By her own admission, Askew's reason for pulling up stakes isn't all that exciting or different. She had a relationship that went south. It seemed like a good time to say adios to Chicagoland and snow.

"My mom moved here last year, so I thought at least I would know somebody," Askew said. "I visited in March and I said, 'I could never live here, Mom.' Well, never say never."

First off, she moved here in July of all months. Yes, yes, she knows it's the hottest time of the year. A bazillion people already have told her.

Some of the other stuff they've told her isn't quite true, she says. It's not cheaper to live here. And there aren't tons of jobs, unless you work in the service industry. A lot of houses look like they were punched out with cookie cutters, she says, and the palm trees look just plain weird.

"I miss water and trees. I really, really, really miss trees. You don't know how much you miss being away from green," she said.

Remember, what looks green to us looks dead to most newcomers.

But Askew isn't complaining. Honest. Different isn't bad. It's just different. And sometimes that's good. Take the traffic, for instance. She says driving here is easier.

No kidding.

"You don't get the gridlock here," she said.

She says even the three-hour wait for a driver license and vehicle registration tag at the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles wasn't so bad -- considering she doesn't ever have to do it again.

And Las Vegas is a lot more normal than most would believe, she said, even though she has danced with Elvis already. It happened when she went to karaoke night at Texas Station with a few new friends.

"We were dancing and I spotted Elvis sitting there by himself. I thought Elvis shouldn't be sitting. He should be dancing," Askew said. "So I asked him. It was a Kodak moment, but nobody had a camera."

There also was the night she went to a local swing-dance club recommended by a new acquaintance. She's a rabid swing fan, she says, and was looking forward to meeting a few more.

Would have been nice if they'd been within, say, 15 years of her age group, though.

"I kept waiting for someone to show up younger than me," she said. "But it was all 65-year-old people. I was dancing with 65-year-old men. That's the first time I've done that."

But she did do it. She could have turned around and left, but she stayed. Maybe that's the allure of moving to Las Vegas. It's a town where the willing can grab a few firsts, hold on and enjoy the ride.

There's still some adventure to be had out West, and Askew figures she's here to embrace it. It's not like it was back East. And that's part of what 6,000 people a month are after.

"Life is really what you make of it," Askew said. "If you expect Las Vegas to come to you, it's not going to. You have to reach out."