It seems that most of the people who put down Vegas have never lived there.
Someone said that most Vegas residents don't live the "Vegas lifestyle". That's true to some degree. Others moved there for the lifestyle. The bottom line is that it's up to you. You can live in Henderson or Summerlin, and it will be a lot like any suburb of Phoenix. Or you can live near the strip and "live the dream". It's up to you.
Vegas sucks in the summer. It's dusty, windy, smoggy, and hotter than hell. Even at night it's hot... the air is stale and hot like a blow dryer blowing in your face. Those "dry heat" people only say that to laugh and watch the Easterners sweat. I don't care how "dry" the heat is, when it's 110 in the shade and the inside of your parked car is about 350. My oven is a dry heat too, but I wouldn't stick my head in it.
In the winter, Vegas rocks. It's in the 50s-60s and mostly clear. In the mountains there's snow.
There is a lot of traffic in vegas and it's very crowded for a city of its size. A lot of highway construction proects have been stalled by environmentalists which hasn't helped. Vegas is growing much faster than its infrastructure, which is plaguing a lot of the desert cities.
Vegas does manage to be cheaper than, say Phoenix, due to Lake Mead (cheap electric and water) and no income tax. While the days of $5 steak buffets are gone, you can still eat pretty well in the off strip casinos for not much money. Sam's Town comes to mind as well as the Stations. These are casinos mostly frequented by locals (no tourists=good).
There's a lot of outdoors stuff to do too. Lake Mead is right there, as well as Red Rock Canyon and the mountains if you like hiking. Mt Charleston rises to about 11000 ft and is very nice in the summer. It's snow covered most of the winter. The Grand Canyon is about a three hour drive.
For flying you would want to go to North Las Vegas (VGT). You'll make a lot of good contacts there. I know a good instructor there, PM me if you're interested and I'll give you his name. VGT is where Scenic Airlines is based.
All in all, I don't think Vegas would be a bad town for a young person starting out if you can take the heat in the summer. There's plenty to do if you want to, but unlike most tourist places (like Florida), you can get away from the crowds if you want since they mostly stick to the strip.
The canyon scene may be dying, but for training and instructing it's a good place to be. You will have good flying weather nearly every day and you'll make good contacts. Good luck
New Years in Vegas is a must to experience especially at Rum Jungle in the Mandalay Bay.
