ON THE BEAT: Meet reporter Danielle Nadler

Reporter Danielle Nadler joined the View staff one month ago. She covers Southwest, Spring Valley and Southeast. Nadler shares here observations of her new life in Las Vegas.

Ahh … the benefits of moving to Vegas.

After three years in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, I made my way to the desert four weeks ago. It’s no surprise that the heat was more of a shock to my system than the first month of newlywed-dom. Every morning when I fling open my front door to step into the day – already 95 degrees at 8 a.m. – I want to flee to my childhood home beside a cool lake in South Dakota.

But what’s surprised me more than the heat is that I feel I must tote a sweatshirt with me at all times. With each transfer from the 110-degree outdoors to the seemingly 55-degree shopping centers, restaurants and offices, my body jolts abruptly in attempt to adjust to the climate change. Why do building owners crank the air conditioning? I’m sweltering. I’m frozen. I’m sweltering. I’m frozen. And I’m about 25 years too early for menopause.

The temperature frenzy aside, I’ve managed to cling to a few positives in this city of sin.

I’ve enjoyed the Las Vegas wildlife that’s bold enough to call my apartment home. I’ve spotted at least two dozen cockroaches scurry across sidewalks, one crouched in my living room and one in my bathroom. They are fascinatingly creepy bugs.

I love that I can window shop on the Strip with a glass of wine in hand. And there’s not many places a person can decide one afternoon that they’d like to drop $200 to see Elton John that evening.

And the most glaring benefit to move east to Nevada is because I can talk freely on the phone in the car. As of July 1, the day after I left the state, California drivers must use a hands-free earpiece while talking on the phone. Whew, I sidestepped that landmine.

I’ve been chatting, phone in hand, up and down I-15, enjoying my newfound Nevada freedoms.

And I can only wait to discover more. Why do you love Las Vegas?