Those Pesky Snowbirds

I live in warm and beautiful Mesquite, Nevada, a haven for "Snowbirds". (You know, those pesky part-time residents who stay in their second homes here in the late fall and winter months, who then return to the northern states and Canada when the spring comes?) This city swells when Snowbirds arrive, around October each year, and then thins out when they leave, around April each year. But during those colder months, city businesses bustle with customers and make money.

Snowbirds bother me. They tend to be older, drive slower, and I almost trip over them in the grocery store aisles because they slow down and I'm always having to go around them. They walk slowly, drive slowly and congregate for conversation right in the foot-traffic lanes in the casinos. They fill all the tables at the 5'oclock early bird specials in the good restaurants so I can't get a seat. And my condo complex gets noisy in those colder months with the Snowbirds around, sitting on their porches and chatting the day away with their spouses and friends. They take all the good handicapped parking spaces and crowd the DMV when I need to renew my driver's license. I could go on and on....

Obviously, I am a full-time resident in this city which attracts visitors for its wonderful golf courses, casinos, and easy access to Las Vegas. Snowbirds have this part of the year, but residents have this all year! Mesquite's attractions keep and attract residents because residents can do all those things all the time. Plus it has the added bonus of being a nice place to live. Snowbirds leave because it gets hot in the summer! Hey, Snowbirds, have you ever heard of air conditioning?

During this recession we've seen an increasing number of businesses fail and construction come to a stop, but those who endure do owe a lot to the Snowbirds and their spending. So the Snowbirds and their money have kept Mesquite going during the recession, is that what I'm saying? Well, perhaps. That's not the only thing, but ok I give. I wouldn't have the casinos and stores to shop in if they didn't have the patronage of Snowbirds. I guess I do owe the Snowbirds a little "thank you" for being here. Besides that, I have made some friends with Snowbirds and after all, they can be nice people, taken one by one. In other words, they ARE nice people!

How the Recession has Affected Mesquite, Nevada

Mesquite, Nevada is a town of about 18,000 people situated on the Utah/Nevada border, 90 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada. Two years ago, this place was a boom town! New construction was rampant, new businesses were moving in all the time, and lots of people were visiting the Mesquite casinos and golf courses. Today, February 2010, as I drive around the City of Mesquite, I see many half-finished homes standing as silent representations of the poor economy. Sun City is still selling homes, but few other subdivisions are producing sales. If I look in the want ads in the newspaper, there just aren't very many jobs listed and there are a huge number of rentals listed because of layoffs from the casinos. Rents have gone down in general, and since I am a renter, this has been positive. But friends looking for work have a hard time.

Golfers, who tend to be upper-income anyway, still keep the golf courses busy and inside the casinos one wonders if there's been a recession at all! People still flock to the Mesquite casinos for some reason. It makes me wonder why they keep laying people off. It just doesn't appear, from an outsider, to be justified. But hey, the recession is a good excuse to trim the fat for everybody.

Three of the four major casinos here just changed ownership, and I hear it's because the owner had too much debt. I can understand how that happened, because a few years ago, casinos were a good place to invest, especially in this once-growing town. But the City of Mesquite is still keeping the place looking good, with lots of improvement projects, and the main street businesses are mostly occupied. There's a huge sports complex being built that will mean more jobs in the near future, so it's just a matter of the citizens of Mesquite hanging on until things improve.

All in all, I love living here. The weather attracts so many "Snowbirds" and retirees that the base economy still has some money coming in, and the quality of life is quite nice. I look at the situation in poor Las Vegas...things there are pretty bad! Comparitatively speaking, Mesquite is still a good place to live and I love it here.

I Want One!

Enjoying Life

Here's the secret to a happy life: "Happiness Comes From Within". I have stopped looking to the outside world to make me happy. I can be happy with or without material things, other than food and shelter. I have made conscious contact with my higher power, and I know that power dwells within me, through meditation and giving thanks for my awareness of that power. I hope you can find that peace also.

Farm Town vs. FarmVille

I recently read an article online that implied that FarmVille was the number one application game on Facebook/My Space. Oh, please! I have tried both Farm Town and FarmVille. Farm Town takes creative ability, thoughtful doing and re-doing of space on the farm, and you must work on other people's farms resulting in interactive fun. FarmVille just asks you to work on your own farm and there's very little creativity involved. Unless you have played both, you probably don't know what I am talking about, but by far I recommend Farm Town. My opinion. Please visit my farm at http://apps.facebook.com/farmtown/?farm_id=626024592