There are some things that are just downright disrespectful to Nevadans. If you’re thinking about visiting Nevada and you want to stay on our good side, you’ll definitely want to educate yourself on the top 10 no-no’s listed below. Consider it a list of things NOT to do while you’re in the Silver State. These are guaranteed foolproof ways to make someone from Nevada cringe. Be sure to take notes.
- Ask us “How close do you live to The Strip?”.
David Stanley/Flickr Just don’t do it. This goes for “How close are you to Reno?”, as well. Las Vegas is a teensy-tiny speck on the map of Nevada. We’re the 7th largest state in the country, so Las Vegas can actually be up to a full day’s drive away for many Nevadans. There’s a lot more to our wonderful state than just one city.
- “I just moved here from California!”
Know Your Meme We’ve all had this exact facial expression when somebody tells us they just moved from California. We may not say what we think at the time, but our face tells all. What we’re thinking is: We like Nevada the way it is, so if you could just stop moving here that’d be great. Thanks.
- Complain that there is no water in Nevada.
John Getchel/Flickr Ummm, have you heard of a little place called Lake Tahoe? With a surface area of 191 square miles, it’s kind of considered one of the most majestic lakes in the country. Not to mention countless other bodies of water like Pyramid Lake, Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, etc.
- Immediately start talking about the wild time you had at Burning Man.
Bexx Brown-Spinelli/Flickr Sure, Burning Man is actually pretty cool and many Nevadans have made the trek out to the Black Rock Desert at least once. However, the festival represents the one week out of the year that out-of-staters come into our desert, party, and leave. There’s a lot more to Nevada than that. Oh, and true festival goers will say that the festival just isn’t the same as it once was.
- Ask about brothels, gambling, alcohol, casinos, etc.
el-toro/Flickr We are well aware that Nevada is unlike any other state, with things like public drunkenness and brothels being legal here. However, that doesn’t mean everybody in our state is just walking around drunk and partying all the time. That’s exactly the opposite. It’s the tourists who seem to take the most advantage of those things, actually.
- Say Nevada’s landscape is “ugly” or “just a bunch of desert”.
Wayne Stadler/Flickr Okay, have you seen our deserts? You can describe our landscapes in many ways, but “just desert” is not one of them. Case closed.
- Say there’s nothing to do in Nevada…besides gamble.
Adam Bautz/Flickr We’ve already covered there’s a lot more to our state than Las Vegas. The only way you can actually get bored here in Nevada is if you’re a boring person! There’s so much to explore in our state that you could spend an entire lifetime in Nevada and never see it all.
- Complain that you couldn’t deal with the heat all year long.
Wayne Stadler/Flickr This may come as a huge surprise, but Nevada does in fact experience seasons. Yes, it does get hot in the summer. However, we experience mild and cold temperatures just like anywhere else. Heck, it even snows.
- Pronounce it wrong.
tdeckard2000/Flickr There’s no better way to get underneath a Nevadan’s skin than by pronouncing our state’s name wrong. Just try it.
- Disrespect our natural areas.
James Marvin Phelps/Flickr The best thing about Nevada? It’s full of pristine, unspoiled, and untouched natural areas. If you want to make us cringe, all you have to do is leave around some litter, trample some native plants, or degrade our natural areas in some other way. But please don’t do that.
How many of these are you guilty of? What would you add to this list? Nevadans sure are a specific type of people. Be sure to check out these 15 Strange Habits Every Nevadan Will Defend To The Death.
David Stanley/Flickr
Just don’t do it. This goes for “How close are you to Reno?”, as well. Las Vegas is a teensy-tiny speck on the map of Nevada. We’re the 7th largest state in the country, so Las Vegas can actually be up to a full day’s drive away for many Nevadans. There’s a lot more to our wonderful state than just one city.
Know Your Meme
We’ve all had this exact facial expression when somebody tells us they just moved from California. We may not say what we think at the time, but our face tells all. What we’re thinking is: We like Nevada the way it is, so if you could just stop moving here that’d be great. Thanks.
John Getchel/Flickr
Ummm, have you heard of a little place called Lake Tahoe? With a surface area of 191 square miles, it’s kind of considered one of the most majestic lakes in the country. Not to mention countless other bodies of water like Pyramid Lake, Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, etc.
Bexx Brown-Spinelli/Flickr
Sure, Burning Man is actually pretty cool and many Nevadans have made the trek out to the Black Rock Desert at least once. However, the festival represents the one week out of the year that out-of-staters come into our desert, party, and leave. There’s a lot more to Nevada than that. Oh, and true festival goers will say that the festival just isn’t the same as it once was.
el-toro/Flickr
We are well aware that Nevada is unlike any other state, with things like public drunkenness and brothels being legal here. However, that doesn’t mean everybody in our state is just walking around drunk and partying all the time. That’s exactly the opposite. It’s the tourists who seem to take the most advantage of those things, actually.
Wayne Stadler/Flickr
Okay, have you seen our deserts? You can describe our landscapes in many ways, but “just desert” is not one of them. Case closed.
Adam Bautz/Flickr
We’ve already covered there’s a lot more to our state than Las Vegas. The only way you can actually get bored here in Nevada is if you’re a boring person! There’s so much to explore in our state that you could spend an entire lifetime in Nevada and never see it all.
This may come as a huge surprise, but Nevada does in fact experience seasons. Yes, it does get hot in the summer. However, we experience mild and cold temperatures just like anywhere else. Heck, it even snows.
tdeckard2000/Flickr
There’s no better way to get underneath a Nevadan’s skin than by pronouncing our state’s name wrong. Just try it.
James Marvin Phelps/Flickr
The best thing about Nevada? It’s full of pristine, unspoiled, and untouched natural areas. If you want to make us cringe, all you have to do is leave around some litter, trample some native plants, or degrade our natural areas in some other way. But please don’t do that.
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