mellielee

Bel Air Drive is one of the streets inside the Las Vegas Country Club, a gated community with houses placed around a nice golf course. An exclusive area that has been around for decades, the country club is located in the center of Las Vegas, just a few blocks from the famous Las Vegas strip and just a block from the Boulevard Mall.

Bel Air Drive is lined with large single family homes, kept up and landscaped nicely. The homeowner's association is in full effect here, as to keep everything uniform and tidy. Although many of the houses were built from the same model, they are unique in their own way, from the style of fence, the color of the house, or the types of trees or bushes out front. They all look inviting and friendly and have a unique charm not usually seen here in Las Vegas.

The area is gated and you feel safe when inside. You cannot enter the community without passing the security guards which on on duty at every entrance 24-hours a day, seven days a week. You feel safe and protected as the crime rate is incredibly lower inside the community as it is in the surrounding neighborhoods. Bel Air Drive is a beautiful neighborhood to live in, close to shopping and entertainment.

South Rancho Drive runs north and south in the north-central part of Las Vegas. There has been a lot of development on the street over the years, and it's just like any other, filled with retail and commercial businesses that provide services to the residents. It cuts through town at an angle which sometimes makes it a little difficult to find a location or address, but once you learn the area, it's no problem.

However, my favorite part of South Rancho drive is the stretch of road just a little north of Sahara. Right after you leave downtown Las Vegas and drive west, you'll find some rural estates, built dozens of years ago. These homes are kept up beautifully. They are large, gated, and have wonderful landscaping. It's possible to live in a huge beautiful home right in the center of town. The crime is kept to a minimum in this area due to the abundance of private security guards. I believe this is where our esteemed Mayor Goodman Lives.

South Rancho Drive is a great travel street, as even though it's full of businesses, the traffic flows well and there are seldom accidents. It's centrally located near downtown Las Vegas making it convenient to travel either north to North Las Vegas or south to the strip.

North Gibson road, south of Sunset road, is best known as home to the Valley Auto Mall, a one-square mile area full of dozens of different car dealerships, the largest in the world. For anyone interested in buying or test driving a new car, Gibson road is the place to be.

Just a few years ago a freeway off ramp was created at Gibson, making it simple to take the 95 freeway and get off right at Gibson road. In addition to the crazy amount of cars for sale, there are also many car related businesses that have storefronts on Gibson, providing car detailing, painting, and autobody services. You will also find some small but newer apartment complexes on Gibson road, perfect for a person or a couple looking for an apartment on a budget but still in Henderson very close to shopping and entertainment.

Located close to Sunset station, the Galleria mall, the Department of Motor Vehicles and lots of shopping, something you need is never far away. Because Gibson road is centrally located between the 95 freeway and the 215 freeway, it is a great travel street and a great place to work or live. The traffic is never too bad and the noise is usually kept on the down low.

Stephanie street here in Henderson is one of the newer streets, which was built when needed when all the new busy traffic appeared on Sunset road.

It's a great travel street as it is never very busy and has only a few amount of stop lights to slow you down. You can get off the 95 freeway at Russel, turn on to Stephanie, and then drive south until you get to Horizon Ridge Parkway. There are lots of great shops located on either side of the street, including the Galleria mall. Excellent shopping and dining makes it a great location to stop.

In addition to the shopping and eating, there are some beautiful apartment complexes located up and down Stephanie street. They are newer, built within the last decade. They may be a little on the pricey side, but many of them are gated, so you are paying for security, style, and convenience to shopping and entertainment. It's centrally located in the center of Henderson, which makes it a snap to jump on the 95 freeway or the 215 freeway and get to where you're going quickly and easily.

Industrial road used to filled with, well, industrial businesses and was the manufacturing center of Las Vegas. It is a long road, adjacent to the west of Las Vegas boulevard and runs to downtown, which was convenient for the companies who shipped their merchandise by train. But as the town has grown into the "sin city" atmosphere which it is today, Industrial road has turned into a less-than family friendly experience.

Driving down Industrial road today, and you see nothing but adult strip club, one after the other. Sure, you will find gentleman's clubs in every town in every state, but usually there are not dozens within a few square blocks. At night you see many taxi cabs driving tourists to these clubs, where they get paid a nice fee for bringing new meat into their business.

Along with the strip clubs and women dancing on tables brings prostitution and drugs, both of which you can find along the street. Working girls available on the street and drug dealers selling anything that anyone could be looking for. The street has become dirty, rundown and very unsafe. It's a place I definitely recommend you stay away from, unless of course, you are in the mood to get robbed or killed.

East Warm Springs used to be nothing more than desert and dirt, but with the building of Sunset station and the surge or people that moved into the area about ten years ago, it has been developed into a pure shopping environment.

Very close to the Valley Auto Mall which is filled with dozens of car dealerships, east Warm Springs road is also close to neighborhoods, the 95 freeway and the 215 freeway, downtown Water street, and Boulder Highway. Since it's centrally located, you can find everything and anything here.

Many huge nationwide retail stores have set up shop on east Warm Springs road, including Sears, Savers, Big Lots, Ross, GoodWill, Whole Foods, and many, many more. There are many clothing stores, discount stores, restaurants, and more, providing a great shopping experience for everyone. As the only GoodWill store on this part of town, it is quite large and filled with tons of goodies, reasonably priced.

There is tons to see and do on east Warm Springs road, just west of Boulder Highway. It's a perfect place to spend the day shopping and eating with friends and family.

East Charleston Boulevard has been an excellent location for antique shopping for decades. Since it is close by downtown and close to all the freeways, it was the perfect place for many of the antique store owners to set up shop years ago. Although it has been built up into a huge, wide street filled with retail stores, supermarkets and services, it used to have a small-town feel and a friendly, neighborly atmosphere. There is still a small track of land that is nothing more than cute, quaint, older shops run by people that have lived in Las Vegas for longer than some people are old.

In addition to the glorious antique stores, you will also find many large thrift shops on east Charleston Boulevard. For people looking for inexpensive clothing or just for a nick-knack, there are many stores to browse in for days, usually with the profits going to a charitable organization.

East Charleston Boulevard is a perfect place to go browsing and wandering with a friend, as you can spend the whole day going in and out of little shops, looking for that perfect item.

Sure, Whitney Ranch is a short connector between Russel road in Las Vegas and Sunset road in Henderson, but it is so much more than that. On either side of this small stretch of road is a small community, filled with large new houses.

While the area is still on the newer side, the houses and street are kept up nicely, as well as the few small parks in the area. It's a great place for families to live, with the elementary and middle school within walking distance and the huge park at the corner of Whitney Ranch and Russel. The neighborhood is relatively safe, as there are really no retail or commercial shops until you get to Russel or Sunset. The police include the street on their patrol, keeping it safe.

Even though it is used by many as a quick connection route, the traffic situation stays low uncluttered. The noise level is always very low and quiet. It's a very peaceful location, close by to shopping and entertainment but in a nice family environment.

Water Street is known as Old Henderson, since it was the first area of Henderson to be developed after World War II. Since then, the west end of Henderson has been built into an exclusive and expensive gated community, filled with cookie-cutter sterile homes. While most residents of Henderson don't visit Water street unless they have to pay a late water or power bill, some people know that this little street has tons of appeal and charm.

Buried deep off Lake Mead Parkway is a small tri-casino entertainment area, with three older, small locals casinos. The Rainbow, Emerald Isle, and the Eldorado have been around for decades. They don't have the huge resort feel as some of the strip casinos, but they have tons of charm. The employees are always very friendly and the food is always delicious.

Although it's still in the beginning phase, downtown Water street is in the middle of redevelopment. The city is planning on turning the area into an art and culture center. There are currently a few small art galleries which show off local artist's work, but there will be more once it's completed.

I remember just about 10 years ago when you'd get of the 95 freeway at Sunset road and head west towards the mall, the land surrounding the street was nothing more than dirt and desert. You really felt like you were in the middle of nowhere.

Once Sunset Station was built, the area just exploded. The casino resort brought huge entertainment value to the area, along with a gambling and dining opportunity. The Valley Auto Mall became the largest car mall in the world, providing more than two dozen car dealerships within a one square mile area. Soon a huge Walmart Superstore was built right off the freeway, bringing many large nationwide retail stores, restaurants, and services to a previously empty location.

As more and more people moved into the area, more and more stores arrived. Now, there is nothing you can't find on west Sunset road. Craft stores, clothing stores, discount stores, specialty restaurants, electronic stores, and more. It's a great location if you need retail therapy or just feel like browsing.

Boulder Highway used to be just the connector from Henderson to downtown Las Vegas, but now it has grown to a small town within a town. It has been built up to a new "strip," only about four miles from the real one but with a different feel. Here you will find many "locals" casinos which cater strictly to the local population but are full-service casino resorts. Driving down the street you'll see casinos such as Sam's Town, Arizona Charlies, Joker's Wild, and the brand new Cannery, which just opened last year but has been very busy. There are tons of places to go and have a good meal, listen to music, have a drink, or gamble the night away.

Boulder Highway has also become a retail mecca, full of shops, stores, services, and more. Anything you might need or want is located on Boulder Highway including supermarkets, restaurants, fast food stops, gas stations, and everything else.

It may not be the most glamorous, upscale, up-kept city street, but there is a lot to do, see, and buy on this long east Las Vegas street.