What's it like up here?
So, having been here for about a month, what are the pros & cons?
Well, despite the elevation (6030 feet above sea level) I seem to be sleeping better and feeling better in general. Took me a while to get used to the thinner air up here - for the first few weeks even the slightest bit of exertion had me gasping for air. My blood sugar has been improving, but the weight stubbornly refuses to come down. I'll whup it. No colds, no reopened leg wounds, no health issues at all, which is just as well since there's no VA clinic closer than Pahrump, and if I'm going to go there I might as well just drive to the VA ER in North Las Vegas since that's about as far. The apartment was recently remodeled and has a very efficient a/c unit in the living room, new stove, fridge & dishwasher, so those should be good for the year or so that I'll be here. The DSL from Frontier seems just as speedy as the cable internet I had on 14th Street and Kishner Drive (RIP) as well as the wifi at the Candlewood, so no complaints there.
There's a shortage of entertainment options here, since I don't drink and have fallen out of the habit of playing video poker. I have not yet been to the library, which I've been told is pretty decent for a small town like this, but I have been to the used bookstore, whose prices are comparable to what you might find at a library sale. There are several restaurants and cafes here, but no fast food unless I want to go to the other end of town past the Clown Motel (which I haven't been to) for BK or Subway. I admit to hitting the BK a couple of times to take advantage of offers in the app, but otherwise it's not worth the time. There is an A&W downtown but it's a sit-down restaurant and not a drive-in. None of this is terribly bothersome, since with the Internet and the sizable collection of books & DVDs I've built up over the years I really don't need to go out to be entertained.
The downsides of being here aren't really that big a deal. Food is more expensive here than back in Las Vegas, since the only food stores are a Raley's and Family Dollar, and as anyone who's shopped at Family Dollar knows, the good food isn't a bargain. As for Raley's, I stick to buying stuff that's on sale, which means I'm still paying anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar more than I would have for the same things at Walmart, with occasional exceptions. Gasoline is more expensive up here ($2.75/gallon for regular) but then nothing in town is more than a couple of miles away. Despite the fact that their trucks go through town all the time (US-95 is the highway that runs from Las Vegas to Reno, and in Tonopah it's called Main Street). Amazon's Prime Delivery takes seven days instead of two, and only a fool would trust UPS to deliver to their home/apartment with any degree of reliability. Better to just have everything sent to your PO Box (you have to have one, because USPS doesn't do home delivery here either) and pick it all up at the post office, I have learned. One gets used to these things.
Crossposted to the Book of Feces; comment/ask questions there, not here.
Well, despite the elevation (6030 feet above sea level) I seem to be sleeping better and feeling better in general. Took me a while to get used to the thinner air up here - for the first few weeks even the slightest bit of exertion had me gasping for air. My blood sugar has been improving, but the weight stubbornly refuses to come down. I'll whup it. No colds, no reopened leg wounds, no health issues at all, which is just as well since there's no VA clinic closer than Pahrump, and if I'm going to go there I might as well just drive to the VA ER in North Las Vegas since that's about as far. The apartment was recently remodeled and has a very efficient a/c unit in the living room, new stove, fridge & dishwasher, so those should be good for the year or so that I'll be here. The DSL from Frontier seems just as speedy as the cable internet I had on 14th Street and Kishner Drive (RIP) as well as the wifi at the Candlewood, so no complaints there.
There's a shortage of entertainment options here, since I don't drink and have fallen out of the habit of playing video poker. I have not yet been to the library, which I've been told is pretty decent for a small town like this, but I have been to the used bookstore, whose prices are comparable to what you might find at a library sale. There are several restaurants and cafes here, but no fast food unless I want to go to the other end of town past the Clown Motel (which I haven't been to) for BK or Subway. I admit to hitting the BK a couple of times to take advantage of offers in the app, but otherwise it's not worth the time. There is an A&W downtown but it's a sit-down restaurant and not a drive-in. None of this is terribly bothersome, since with the Internet and the sizable collection of books & DVDs I've built up over the years I really don't need to go out to be entertained.
The downsides of being here aren't really that big a deal. Food is more expensive here than back in Las Vegas, since the only food stores are a Raley's and Family Dollar, and as anyone who's shopped at Family Dollar knows, the good food isn't a bargain. As for Raley's, I stick to buying stuff that's on sale, which means I'm still paying anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar more than I would have for the same things at Walmart, with occasional exceptions. Gasoline is more expensive up here ($2.75/gallon for regular) but then nothing in town is more than a couple of miles away. Despite the fact that their trucks go through town all the time (US-95 is the highway that runs from Las Vegas to Reno, and in Tonopah it's called Main Street). Amazon's Prime Delivery takes seven days instead of two, and only a fool would trust UPS to deliver to their home/apartment with any degree of reliability. Better to just have everything sent to your PO Box (you have to have one, because USPS doesn't do home delivery here either) and pick it all up at the post office, I have learned. One gets used to these things.
Crossposted to the Book of Feces; comment/ask questions there, not here.