OT: General OT Thread [NO POLITICS OR RELIGION]

[buckboy]

Also, you haven't lived until you walk to/from the strip from to/from the airport.

Not sure what is safer, walking with luggage in 110 degree heat during the day, or at night where it is basically "just say no" scenario clip the whole walk?

I generally just have a backpack I think, maybe I had a roller, I don't remember.

This basically occurred like 6 or 7 years ago when all of us coming there pretty much flew in at different times/from different cities.

My one friend that flew in at like 9 PM when most of us were already well on our way, walked into the casino and we asked why he got there a bit later than he landed. "I walked from the airport." He's a loose cannon so we kinda just laughed our asses off.

This was also the time that I stayed a 3rd night and it was just the aforementioned walker and me on the final day. That morning, I blew past whatever budget I had for gambling and that friend actually cabbed/shuttled to the airport like 5 hours before I was supposed to fly out. So as a broken/broke man, I figured I'd try out his theory since I was in no position to do anything productive there anymore. I think it was a 55-60 degree January day there so it was comfortable.

Right before he left we did laugh that on the monorail map at whatever hotel we were at, in big red letters, the airport stop read: "Not in walking distance" on the airport stop.

It was a hilarious experience that our one dumbass friend started. I doubt I'd actually do it again unless I was somehow in the same position of being stuck there with no money on a 60 degree day.

I was gonna say that that's a long walk. I wasn't sure though because i'm inevitably hammered on the way to the casino and horribly hungover on the return trip. I thought maybe it just seemed longer than it was.

[Kerb Hohl]

Not sure what is safer, walking with luggage in 110 degree heat during the day, or at night where it is basically "just say no" scenario clip the whole walk?

I generally just have a backpack I think, maybe I had a roller, I don't remember.

This basically occurred like 6 or 7 years ago when all of us coming there pretty much flew in at different times/from different cities.

My one friend that flew in at like 9 PM when most of us were already well on our way, walked into the casino and we asked why he got there a bit later than he landed. "I walked from the airport." He's a loose cannon so we kinda just laughed our asses off.

This was also the time that I stayed a 3rd night and it was just the aforementioned walker and me on the final day. That morning, I blew past whatever budget I had for gambling and that friend actually cabbed/shuttled to the airport like 5 hours before I was supposed to fly out. So as a broken/broke man, I figured I'd try out his theory since I was in no position to do anything productive there anymore. I think it was a 55-60 degree January day there so it was comfortable.

Right before he left we did laugh that on the monorail map at whatever hotel we were at, in big red letters, the airport stop read: "Not in walking distance" on the airport stop.

It was a hilarious experience that our one dumbass friend started. I doubt I'd actually do it again unless I was somehow in the same position of being stuck there with no money on a 60 degree day.

I was gonna say that that's a long walk. I wasn't sure though because i'm inevitably hammered on the way to the casino and horribly hungover on the return trip. I thought maybe it just seemed longer than it was.

I think we were at Harrah's and Google maps says it is a 2.6 mile walk. 45-60 minutes depending on your stride.

If you're at MGM or something it's probably only a half hour or less. You actually don't go through terrible areas and there is surprisingly a nicely paved sidewalk once you leave the last road walking up to the airport. I think you get a bit of a view of UNLV's campus and arena depending on the street you choose.

[MickeyDavis]

I go to Vegas a couple of times a year. We haven't stayed on the strip in years unless I'm going with someone who's never been to Vegas. Higher room rates/resort fees, paid parking, bad gambling, no thanks. Sometimes we'll go to a show or restaurant on the strip. The strip is great for those who have never been to Vegas or rarely go, it's certainly unique (so is downtown). We always rent a car as we enjoy doing a lot of things around the area. Red Rock, Valley of Fire, Lake Mead. And of course a great selection of strip clubs (GF enjoys those too).

WIth the expansion of gambling in the US over the years the strip has shifted to try to get a lot more non gaming revenue. Clubs, shopping, shows, restaurants. And they've made the gambling much worse. 6/5 blackjack. Yuck. Triple zero roulette? Come on now.

We usually stay at Red Rock resort, love it. Sometimes Green Valley Ranch.

[humanrefutation]

I'm thinking of traveling to Europe this year. Any recommendations on where to go from you all? My original plan was to pull a London-Paris swing over a week and then next year split a week between Barcelona-Madrid. I've also got Istanbul on my short list, too.

I'd be open to other suggestions.

I think I have the thread bookmarked on my PC, so I'll try to link the thread I made a couple years ago. Ultimately decided on Barcelona, and I'm not sure I could have made a better decision for my first trip. Either way, there were some GREAT suggestions in that thread all over the map, so it'd be worth the read.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1508329

That's the one. Really good stuff in there.

Thank you, good sir!

[Kerb Hohl]

I go to Vegas a couple of times a year. We haven't stayed on the strip in years unless I'm going with someone who's never been to Vegas. Higher room rates/resort fees, paid parking, bad gambling, no thanks. Sometimes we'll go to a show or restaurant on the strip. The strip is great for those who have never been to Vegas or rarely go, it's certainly unique (so is downtown). We always rent a car as we enjoy doing a lot of things around the area. Red Rock, Valley of Fire, Lake Mead. And of course a great selection of strip clubs (GF enjoys those too).

WIth the expansion of gambling in the US over the years the strip has shifted to try to get a lot more non gaming revenue. Clubs, shopping, shows, restaurants. And they've made the gambling much worse. 6/5 blackjack. Yuck. Triple zero roulette? Come on now.

We usually stay at Red Rock resort, love it. Sometimes Green Valley Ranch.

I think I have not been for ~4 years but I think the Venetian and Bellagio maybe were some of the only remaining 3 to 2 blackjack payouts? Are those left?

Yeah, if I go back, I may need to try elsewhere in the city.

[MickeyDavis]

The normal blackjack is 3-2. You can find those if you are a green ($25) chip player. There may be some others scattered around the strip but it's rare. MGM has sold Bellagio, and other strip properties, but they are managing the casinos. So we'll see what changes are in store.

[Kerb Hohl]

The normal blackjack is 3-2. You can find those if you are a green ($25) chip player. There may be some others scattered around the strip but it's rare. MGM has sold Bellagio, and other strip properties, but they are managing the casinos. So we'll see what changes are in store.

Oops, typo.

I guess I'll just have to be a green chip player next time.

[DingleJerry]

I love Vegas and go multiple times a year. The thing most don't realize that whatever your interests are (outside of cold weather activities) you can do it here. It doesn't matter if you don't gamble. I still stay on the strip as I get free rooms and I'm still young enough to binge drink for a couple days.

3-2 BJ is still most common. It's just some of the low stakes tables that have gone away from it. $25 and above you won't have to worry about it. Another funny quirk of the 6-5 it is that they also don't allow to take even money on a BJ when dealer is showing the A.

I'd say the biggest thing that's changed imo in the last 15 years since I've been a regular is that they've figured out that everyone is on vacation and willing to pay whatever for anything they're doing, such as drinks. Food too is way up. It used to be a value vacay destination but they've taken advantage and are now just like everyone else grabbing for every penny. Used to be that you could get normal priced drinks on the strip as long as you're not in a posh spot, now they've jacked it up everywhere. Also probably somewhat a result of all the places being owned by like 3 companies thus killing competition.

I'd never want to the Airport walk though, wow. We used to have a joke that you know the trip has been going badly if you're eating $2 hot dogs at Weinershnitzel. Never thought of badly enough to not afford the cab to the airport, haha. These days though you can credit card it all and uber.

[Aaron It Out]

I've only been to Vegas once and it was for work. I can't imagine the kind of trouble I'd get in if I wasn't busy from 7a-6p and having my expenses reimbursed. Need to go back soon.

[MissKhriddleton]

Anyone know how I figure out what kind of house I can afford? I legit have no idea.

[Mags FTW]

Anyone know how I figure out what kind of house I can afford? I legit have no idea.

Depends on the length of your mortgage and how money you put down.

[MikeIsGood]

Anyone know how I figure out what kind of house I can afford? I legit have no idea.

Go talk to your bank. It's free and they'll pre-approve you. There's no obligation to do anything with the information. You can shop around later for rates, but you're not suddenly going to have an extra couple hundred thousand to spend unless something changes financially for you.

[Finn]

Anyone know how I figure out what kind of house I can afford? I legit have no idea.

There are a million online calculators, here's one from Zillow.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Anyone know how I figure out what kind of house I can afford? I legit have no idea.

Go talk to your bank. It's free and they'll pre-approve you. There's no obligation to do anything with the information. You can shop around later for rates, but you're not suddenly going to have an extra couple hundred thousand to spend unless something changes financially for you.

There's what you can afford / get pre-approved for and what you should actually get. Kind of shocked what the bank pre-approved us for and that would've put us in some bad financial times if we just relied on that. Personally I would see what you can monthly afford on a 15-year loan and then use that house price range over a 30 year mortgage since rates are so low. This could also keep you out of PMI with a cheaper house . But I'm pretty conservative (read cheap) with my finances.

Make sure you use the Zillow calculator with property taxes. Can be as much as 50% of mortgage payments depending on area.

[worthlessBucks]

Your monthly expenses and debt ratio are the big factors in affordability.

[HaroldinGMinor]

There's what you're pre-approved for and what you can afford. Often two very different numbers. Just remember you don't want to be "house poor". In other words, you spend so much of your income on mortgage that you can't afford furniture.

[MikeIsGood]

Anyone know how I figure out what kind of house I can afford? I legit have no idea.

Go talk to your bank. It's free and they'll pre-approve you. There's no obligation to do anything with the information. You can shop around later for rates, but you're not suddenly going to have an extra couple hundred thousand to spend unless something changes financially for you.

There's what you can afford / get pre-approved for and what you should actually get. Kind of shocked what the bank pre-approved us for and that would've put us in some bad financial times if we just relied on that. Personally I would see what you can monthly afford on a 15-year loan and then use that house price range over a 30 year mortgage since rates are so low. This could also keep you out of PMI with a cheaper house . But I'm pretty conservative (read cheap) with my finances.

Make sure you use the Zillow calculator with property taxes. Can be as much as 50% of mortgage payments depending on area.

Yes, very fair point. It will vary from person to person/family to family depending upon your comfortability and what the rest of your finances look like. I would still absolutely suggest doing it as one of your first steps, as I know from stories from friends that they were approved for less than they expected. Don't find a place you like, wait to get approved, then find out you can't get the money.

School loans, car loans, known medical expenses, etc. all play a large role in determining how much you can/should spend.

And don't forget to plan for retirement, as well. Bank won't factor any of those savings into their number.

[Mags FTW]

The down payment you can make on a house is a huge deal. I've mentioned this before in posts about weddings. If couples saw what a difference is made by a larger home down payment, many would cut back on the size of their wedding and honeymoon.

One of my college buddies and his wife basically ate Ramen for a couple of months so they could lay down a bigger payment.

[MickeyDavis]

Pay down at least 20% to avoid PMI

[DrWood]

The ads I see at the top of the page are often for ladies lingerie. You guys getting that, too?