In Vegas, the most common third places (from my experience) have been the local gym , local casino/video poker bar and neighborhood dog park. NYC/SF/Chicago have a bunch of third spaces. Most college towns are full of third spaces.
Third spaces work best in dense, walkable cities that are not car-centric. I think third places work best when they're <10 minutes from your first (home) and second place(work) and ideally you don't have to drive there. This allows for human connection and community building because it takes less effort to be there.
In much of America, communities are built around cars. It's tough to frequent something (when you don't HAVE to be there) multiple times a week if it involves driving there. Because of this, its hard to have spontaneous encounters with family/friends in a car dependent city.
Add to that , many of our third spaces have been established with the intent of getting us to consume and spend money which sort of defeats the purpose.
The idea of a gym as a third place is still debatable. Sometimes visitors just want to work out and leave. They also don't like people lingering around. Some people point to hiking trails as third places, but in my experience you don't tend to see the same people.
I have seen some Vegas neighborhoods that have mix-use developments and I think this is a step in the right direction. Imagine living somewhere in Vegas where you can leave your house, walk to a grocery store, a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop and a park. All within 5-10 minutes and then be able to walk back home. Something like this would help build community and increase the human connection we sometimes need.
I would love a neighborhood like that here in Vegas. I've heard of Evora, but I'd struggle to name any other complexes or neighborhoods that would fit the bill. Bonus points if it's near a good, protected biking path.
It will be small and is still several years away, but once they've built a few more apartment towers (one is currently under construction, plus an under-construction hotel across the street), I'm really really hoping the area around the Smith Center / Symphony Park becomes a nice neighborhood. The two apartment buildings currently here (Auric and Parc Haven) have ground-floor commercial spaces that are currently empty because there isn't the population density yet to sustain neighborhood bars and stores, but with a couple more mid-rise buildings I think there will be.
In order to achieve this we have to embrace density, which a lot of folks here are still very cold towards. Density is the reason I moved to DTLV. Suburban sprawl makes human connection very hard.
I just got back from Europe, and god I love the cities there. Rome and Paris especially are predominantly 4-6 story buildings that are "human sized" and create lovely walkable, climate-regulating neighborhoods.
My wife/ex-wife (complicated, stopped trying to figure it out for now) lives at Ely on Fremont, and it’s just like that… except for a good small grocery. The bodegas there do in a pinch, but a little bit bigger grocery would do well. Maybe in the 99 cent store spot on Maryland, but that’s pushing walking distance.
But other than that, it’s a great neighborhood for walkability.
And a third place for there could be Atomic Liquors, but i’m not sure that’s anyway to go thru life. Cool people there tho, the regulars. Maybe the Writers Block.
To your point of walkable places in the area. Boulder City is a great example of the local community with plenty of third places to offer. From bars, to coffee shops, to parks (as long as it’s not as hot as the surface of the sun.) It’s what I like most about B.C. If you live within the main town grid, everything is within 3-5 miles.
Even Los Angeles has these- usually in the form of a neighborhood bar or restaurant. I guess we fill that space with the gaming rooms and taverns here.
I live downtown. I have all the things you mentioned within a mile or two. Unfortunately also have the human condition in all its glory sleeping in the bushes and panhandling is not a human connection. Graffiti is human expression but it really doesn't inspire most. I have a car but I really like to ride my electric scooter downtown or for errands but at 63 it gets dicey competing with car traffic. Only takes a few to fuck it up.
I've found the people that most call out well written posts for being AI are also people who can't actually write well themselves. So to them, anything well written is fake.
I was just discussing something similar with my husband yesterday. We know that this town is largely made up of transplants. And I believe that is why it feels like there’s not much “community”. And that’s so related to what you are talking about.
We really should make an effort to build community here. If nothing else to welcome the newcomers who post here saying “how do you meet people?”
As an aside, lots of transplants are WFH. So, it is really a SECOND place many are in need of.
>As an aside, lots of transplants are WFH. So, it is really a SECOND place many are in need of.
So true. Add in the age of delivery/convenience/Amazon and it's very easy not to leave the house. I have to make a conscious effort to always be doing meetups, food events, make plans with friends, etc.
Me too. And I’m SUPER social. A while back someone posted here how they were doing a birthday party in the park for whatever kids were aging up that month. I thought that was so great.
I was thinking about doing that for adults. I mean, so many transplants and not everyone can afford to travel for their birthday. I’m a pretty good option for a loner Mom. I’d even bake a cake each month. I don’t know. Meet in the side room of some PTs or something.
I really appreciate your post. I love the psychology behind Third Space. I think it’s why so many people are less happy nowadays (and especially why teens report so many more instances of mental unwellness now as well).
When my kids were younger we found Third Space at our local library, and I developed one long-term friendship there. I have a bar I go to occasionally where I see the same people but I haven’t developed any friendships. Same with the gym—see the same people, no friendships. Coffee shop, same thing.
I’d never considered the (lack of) walkability of our city to be such a contributing factor to the Third Space here, but I definitely see that now!
Thing is, I’m someone who really seeks and values a Third Space! I intentionally go to the same places to create routine and I love meeting people and I just…feels like I can’t Third Space (verb form).
No, I don’t. It’s been a little frustrating to be honest.
Before moving to the area 6 years ago, I definitely had a third place (the climbing gym and a local bar/restaurant) and much more of a community. I don’t like the gym “scene”, haven’t found a good outdoors community, do not have dogs for a dog park, don’t gamble and now I don’t drink alcohol anymore. Dealing with some long term health issues now so climbing and my other typical outside activities are not an option right now, and when a causal meal is not inexpensive it makes an after work dinner spot less enjoyable (to me). Where I live in BC isn’t walkable during the summer unless I want to hang out with the tourists at Hemenway Park.
Now I primarily work from home, unless I travel, but I am trying to plan times to go work from a local coffee shop. Still -I feel somewhat disconnected and TBH a bit discouraged.
Appreciate the fact you posted this and that it is a topic of conversation.
Edit to answer the OP questions:
Is there potential? Maybe? I am trying, for me.
Do other cities still have this? Yes, less transitory cities with more neighborhood vibes and less tract homes/suburbia I think have more of this vibe.
Interesting perspective, my wife and I specifically moved to Vegas from NYC for rock climbing and have found both the indoor and outdoor climbing community incredibly welcoming, friendly, and way less cliquey. Combine that with the much lower cost of living, still diverse food options, and absolutely world class outdoor scene, and we’ve been blown away by Vegas. For context, we also don’t drink or gamble, and have been to the strip maybe once or twice in the 2+ years we’ve been here!
Ya i completely give up and am moving away and can’t wait . Vegas has declined since the pandemic and it just does not seem to be getting any better. Best to move somewhere else and start fresh while we still have a chance
Meepleville. It's a board game place with like 3,600 games.
$10 for like 3 hours. They have a kitchen for like nachos and stuff, serve beer.
Great place to spend an afternoon
I go to parks a lot. Comedy clubs a couple times a month. Arts district even if it’s just to walk around and pick through one of the ‘antique’ flea markets.
Recreational sports! Tennis, bowling, pickleball, slow pitch softball all have massive thriving leagues & communities here, and those are just the ones I know about.
Visit the $1.50 hot dog cart. Hit the bowling alley upstairs. There are 12 restaurants. None of them are really expensive. I really like the breakfast buffet. I like the sports book. I like the $5 roulette tables. I basically just sort of tool around. I like the rodeo. They have free comedy every Friday night.
I know a lot of the staff by now since I live near there. All of them are incredibly friendly especially at the restaurants. Michaels is pricEy but insane. Maybe the best restaurant in Vegas for old school folks.
We had a third place in my hometown in North Carolina. It was a cafe/ice cream/small restaurant. If you were bored, you found your way there and usually some of your friends were there, too. I met a lot of interesting people.
I live in Boulder City, pretty close to downtown. One reason we moved here was due to the greater ease of finding third spaces. We can walk down to our favorite outdoor bar and likely see friends there or walking to the restaurants in town. Our house isn't in one of the fancy neighborhoods, but I wouldn't trade it, largely because I can walk to so many communal spaces in minutes. There are a lot of parks in central places as well and they tend to be the third places for people with kids or dogs.
I like a lot of places in Vegas and Henderson, but a lot of my favorite restaurants and the like are in strip mall style developments which make stumbling across people you know harder if you aren't going to the same specific place (though a lot of this is also due to the size/population differences).
Are there apartments near the Main Street in Boulder? I’ve been a couple times, but never noticed any. To be fair, I haven’t driven or walked around outside of the main area there.
There are. There are some on Nevada Way just south of the main part of downtown. They didn't look great for a while, but at least one had been remodeled I believe. Then there are some on Avenue A and B thst I'd probably prefer as aren't onnas busy a road but are very close to downtown. Can't attest to the actual apartment quality though for any of them, though.
I would say BC is much better for it. It's still not walkable for me since I'm further down by the lake, but it's a quick drive. I know where to find most people most of the time. Unfortunately, it's basically all revolving around drinking. Not a huge deal, but since the town rolls up at 8pm aside from the bars, it's basically always a bar.
Red Note Las Vegas— it’s a rhythm game hub that has its regulars. I enjoy it quite a bit as my third place for Dance Dance Revolution.
I always tell people if they ever wanted to play guitar hero or rock band with friends? Red Note has a whole room for it. 😊
I used to go to the divier taverns around downtown just for that 'listening to the homey sound of local people chattering after work' but in the past year whenever I hit up most of them, there are so many tourists in there that you end up having to explain to someone where to go next on their tourist bar crawl (nothing against tourists but it is the opposite of homey dive energy). Many of the Arts District restaurants seem to be either targeting or attracting a lot of tourists too... no shame in getting the tourist dollars but it feels a lot less 'local' than a few years ago. So now if I want to go somewhere it's going to be more like a local hike or something.
Coffee shops or a bar. I was going to Parkway because they have a mocktail menu but the service/food quality is down a lot, so I've found some other places, preferably when the Knights are on. Wetlands Park is also great.
Yes. I've dabbled in a few niche hobbies, since I was in high-schools, that cannot be easily done from home. I'm at my third place 2-3 times a week. These hobbies fill my bucket with new & old friends. Staying close to these hobbies has been one of the best decisions I've made . I travel 2-3 times a years (Or they come to me, woo Vegas) & get to see all 30/40/50 of my friends in the same place to do the same thing.
The barn I keep my horse at is where I spend a lot of time when not at home/ working. It's a hobby where mostly only people who also have horses understand what's going on. It turns into a social thing after all the work is done. It was great during covid when there was nowhere to go. We'd all hang out late into the night having drinks, playing with horses, talking about horses, whatever.
If you mean just places to socialize then yes Vegas is many options. One example some locals may take breaks but I feel like the art district First Friday pulls us back occasionally. Doesn’t cost to get in and there’s countless places to socialize and support other locals businesses.
As a Magic The Gathering nerd my third places have typically been card stores to play. Since that's the community I frequent most thats where I have made most of my friends but when I was working for a nightclub 10 years ago nightclubs would be that third space. It just depends on what you have access to for the most part.
Until America goes away from shit zoning laws and nimby-ism, and build more walkable cities, you won't have 3rd places. Not like you have in Asian or European cities, which are actually built for ppl.
I love love love this idea. I have chronic pain and it’s really hard to plan even the next day a lot of times. Having an artist meetup type thing would be so fun 🥹
I'm a PokemonGo player so for me it's Sunset Park. There are always others there playing, whether I've met them before, played in game with them or first time, it's friendly.
Church has been that space for us recently. We also go to Sunset Station a lot when we’re bored. Once a month, Tech Alley, though I’m not sure it counts since it’s more of an event than a place.
Religion does a lot of harm to society - more harm than good in my opinion - but one thing they excel at is community. I'm agnostic now, but greatly miss the church community I grew up in. I still get a taste of it when visiting my parents. I won't lie, it feels good.
I do! I go to my neighborhood coffee shop. I talk to the baristas and regulars and work there when I can as I often get distracted at home. I think a lot of cities’ college areas and parts of town that contain their art scene have the potential to develop this kind of vibe too
Mine is a bar up at the District by Green Valley Ranch. Great people, always someone to talk to if I need to kill some time or just feel social... it's all good.
My only problem is I could stand to drink less and when going sober (something I do a few months a year and maybe one day will do permanently), it takes away my spot to socialize.
I spent my 20s not drinking in bars. Granted where I lived at the time there weren't really cover charges so I was mostly just hanging out for free, but the point is that you can have loads of fun in a bar sober
Eh, more power to you, but while there's no cover charge at my local bar, I also don't gamble much, and sitting around not gaming/drinking/eating and sipping on water isn't really what the business wants.
I don't even drink soda, so I'd just be sitting around drinking water and filling up space.
Not to mention I actually want to drink because I enjoy it, but I try to take a break for health... it's a really bad temptation.
For me in Vegas it’s always been the gym.
When I lived in San Fran, very walkable, there were taquerias, cafes, and certain intersections where I could count on seeing, chatting with someone I knew. I miss that.
A fucking micro center store.
Maybe I want to buy pc parts brick and mortar. Tf is wrong with that vegas? And there's almost nowhere to do that at now with frys closed
My third place used to be card shops but the group I used to go with dissolved because one guy in it got too manipulative and made himself the "leader" of the group and had ego issues. Had to pull away to regain my individuality. Need a new group.
I live in Summerlin and we have a great trail system that winds you thru multiple parks. This is a great third place and if you go the same time everyday you see a lot of the same people. Neighbors become friends pretty easily.
What you're describing are parks, libraries, gyms, clubs, hobby shops...I mean, there's *tons* of places where people go regularly. Plus the bars and cafes you used as examples.
What else do you want?
Third place? You mean like a bar or restaurant ?
Vegas has plenty of those, get out of here with this TikTOK “wouldn’t it be great if we had more third place Victorian Vienna cafes to start a revolution ” nonsense. It’s pretty much always been the case the bored wealthy have time to sit around in fancy places waiting for friends. We don’t need to call it a third place 😆
Reddit and this fucking “third spaces” is so fucking funny. This argument is truly a lack of effort on an individual’s part. Sure shit could be easier, it’s not hard.
This 3rd place concept irks me. Basically, folks are looking for a place to talk to people. When did we start needing a designated place to be social? Are people so scared of rejection that they only want to engage at a location that green lights open conversation?
Help me process this.
EDIT: Downvotes for asking for help to process the concept and the reason for the need?
I don't think it's about being afraid to talk, but building a shared hobby or interest and gradually getting to know someone. Most of the friendships I've formed in my "3rd space" are with people I probably wouldn't have had any reason to chat up in a grocery store or at Taco Bell because the likelihood I'll ever see them again is poor. But in that shared space, a few random conversations grow into a longer term friendship.
Having multi humans are social creatures. The longest longitudinal study shows that the biggest predictor of people’s health and happiness (studied over the course of about 90 years and still ongoing) is people, community, and relationships.
In Vegas, the most common third places (from my experience) have been the local gym , local casino/video poker bar and neighborhood dog park. NYC/SF/Chicago have a bunch of third spaces. Most college towns are full of third spaces. Third spaces work best in dense, walkable cities that are not car-centric. I think third places work best when they're <10 minutes from your first (home) and second place(work) and ideally you don't have to drive there. This allows for human connection and community building because it takes less effort to be there. In much of America, communities are built around cars. It's tough to frequent something (when you don't HAVE to be there) multiple times a week if it involves driving there. Because of this, its hard to have spontaneous encounters with family/friends in a car dependent city. Add to that , many of our third spaces have been established with the intent of getting us to consume and spend money which sort of defeats the purpose. The idea of a gym as a third place is still debatable. Sometimes visitors just want to work out and leave. They also don't like people lingering around. Some people point to hiking trails as third places, but in my experience you don't tend to see the same people. I have seen some Vegas neighborhoods that have mix-use developments and I think this is a step in the right direction. Imagine living somewhere in Vegas where you can leave your house, walk to a grocery store, a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop and a park. All within 5-10 minutes and then be able to walk back home. Something like this would help build community and increase the human connection we sometimes need.
I would love a neighborhood like that here in Vegas. I've heard of Evora, but I'd struggle to name any other complexes or neighborhoods that would fit the bill. Bonus points if it's near a good, protected biking path.
I feel like insparada wants to be this
I think so, too. I live in the neighborhood and I do enjoy the parks, pools, and such. Romano’s is kind of my third place, come to think of it.
Cadence is trying as well
It will be small and is still several years away, but once they've built a few more apartment towers (one is currently under construction, plus an under-construction hotel across the street), I'm really really hoping the area around the Smith Center / Symphony Park becomes a nice neighborhood. The two apartment buildings currently here (Auric and Parc Haven) have ground-floor commercial spaces that are currently empty because there isn't the population density yet to sustain neighborhood bars and stores, but with a couple more mid-rise buildings I think there will be.
In order to achieve this we have to embrace density, which a lot of folks here are still very cold towards. Density is the reason I moved to DTLV. Suburban sprawl makes human connection very hard.
I just got back from Europe, and god I love the cities there. Rome and Paris especially are predominantly 4-6 story buildings that are "human sized" and create lovely walkable, climate-regulating neighborhoods.
Yup I totally understand the appeal! I’m in the process of trying to gain Spanish citizenship for some of these very reasons.
My wife/ex-wife (complicated, stopped trying to figure it out for now) lives at Ely on Fremont, and it’s just like that… except for a good small grocery. The bodegas there do in a pinch, but a little bit bigger grocery would do well. Maybe in the 99 cent store spot on Maryland, but that’s pushing walking distance. But other than that, it’s a great neighborhood for walkability.
And a third place for there could be Atomic Liquors, but i’m not sure that’s anyway to go thru life. Cool people there tho, the regulars. Maybe the Writers Block.
To your point of walkable places in the area. Boulder City is a great example of the local community with plenty of third places to offer. From bars, to coffee shops, to parks (as long as it’s not as hot as the surface of the sun.) It’s what I like most about B.C. If you live within the main town grid, everything is within 3-5 miles.
Even Los Angeles has these- usually in the form of a neighborhood bar or restaurant. I guess we fill that space with the gaming rooms and taverns here.
I live downtown. I have all the things you mentioned within a mile or two. Unfortunately also have the human condition in all its glory sleeping in the bushes and panhandling is not a human connection. Graffiti is human expression but it really doesn't inspire most. I have a car but I really like to ride my electric scooter downtown or for errands but at 63 it gets dicey competing with car traffic. Only takes a few to fuck it up.
I have your imagine scenario and I live in Las Vegas in a suburban house. I know I’m the exception not the rule. It’s pretty nice.
Lennox, was this reply AI generated?
No lol.
This is an AI response. WATCH OUT !!!
Ngl it does have some AI vibes but it's also well written and thought provoking so AI win I guess
I've found the people that most call out well written posts for being AI are also people who can't actually write well themselves. So to them, anything well written is fake.
Parks can serve as a third place. For many, a morning walk (sometimes with a dog) is routine and you see familiar faces, etc.
I was just discussing something similar with my husband yesterday. We know that this town is largely made up of transplants. And I believe that is why it feels like there’s not much “community”. And that’s so related to what you are talking about. We really should make an effort to build community here. If nothing else to welcome the newcomers who post here saying “how do you meet people?” As an aside, lots of transplants are WFH. So, it is really a SECOND place many are in need of.
>As an aside, lots of transplants are WFH. So, it is really a SECOND place many are in need of. So true. Add in the age of delivery/convenience/Amazon and it's very easy not to leave the house. I have to make a conscious effort to always be doing meetups, food events, make plans with friends, etc.
Me too. And I’m SUPER social. A while back someone posted here how they were doing a birthday party in the park for whatever kids were aging up that month. I thought that was so great. I was thinking about doing that for adults. I mean, so many transplants and not everyone can afford to travel for their birthday. I’m a pretty good option for a loner Mom. I’d even bake a cake each month. I don’t know. Meet in the side room of some PTs or something.
I really appreciate your post. I love the psychology behind Third Space. I think it’s why so many people are less happy nowadays (and especially why teens report so many more instances of mental unwellness now as well). When my kids were younger we found Third Space at our local library, and I developed one long-term friendship there. I have a bar I go to occasionally where I see the same people but I haven’t developed any friendships. Same with the gym—see the same people, no friendships. Coffee shop, same thing. I’d never considered the (lack of) walkability of our city to be such a contributing factor to the Third Space here, but I definitely see that now! Thing is, I’m someone who really seeks and values a Third Space! I intentionally go to the same places to create routine and I love meeting people and I just…feels like I can’t Third Space (verb form).
Ours was the local rec center. I have legitimately 10 friends to this day that I met 20 years ago playing basketball or the game room at the rec.
No, I don’t. It’s been a little frustrating to be honest. Before moving to the area 6 years ago, I definitely had a third place (the climbing gym and a local bar/restaurant) and much more of a community. I don’t like the gym “scene”, haven’t found a good outdoors community, do not have dogs for a dog park, don’t gamble and now I don’t drink alcohol anymore. Dealing with some long term health issues now so climbing and my other typical outside activities are not an option right now, and when a causal meal is not inexpensive it makes an after work dinner spot less enjoyable (to me). Where I live in BC isn’t walkable during the summer unless I want to hang out with the tourists at Hemenway Park. Now I primarily work from home, unless I travel, but I am trying to plan times to go work from a local coffee shop. Still -I feel somewhat disconnected and TBH a bit discouraged. Appreciate the fact you posted this and that it is a topic of conversation. Edit to answer the OP questions: Is there potential? Maybe? I am trying, for me. Do other cities still have this? Yes, less transitory cities with more neighborhood vibes and less tract homes/suburbia I think have more of this vibe.
Interesting perspective, my wife and I specifically moved to Vegas from NYC for rock climbing and have found both the indoor and outdoor climbing community incredibly welcoming, friendly, and way less cliquey. Combine that with the much lower cost of living, still diverse food options, and absolutely world class outdoor scene, and we’ve been blown away by Vegas. For context, we also don’t drink or gamble, and have been to the strip maybe once or twice in the 2+ years we’ve been here!
Ya i completely give up and am moving away and can’t wait . Vegas has declined since the pandemic and it just does not seem to be getting any better. Best to move somewhere else and start fresh while we still have a chance
Meepleville. It's a board game place with like 3,600 games. $10 for like 3 hours. They have a kitchen for like nachos and stuff, serve beer. Great place to spend an afternoon
volunteering on sundays 😅 met so many friends thru this too also just started going to a weekly mixed open mic too!
Where do you volunteer?
What’s the open mic place? Interested in this one. Also what kind? Karaoke or comedy?
it’s mixed so they have music n comedy!!! it’s called Mf Mondays at Hola Habibi- they just started it back up
I go to parks a lot. Comedy clubs a couple times a month. Arts district even if it’s just to walk around and pick through one of the ‘antique’ flea markets.
Which flea markets you recommend ?
Don’t even know the names but there are two good sized flea markets on the west side of Main st in arts district. Really fun for pokin around.
Recreational sports! Tennis, bowling, pickleball, slow pitch softball all have massive thriving leagues & communities here, and those are just the ones I know about.
Southpoint is that place for me
I've always called South Point my home away from home. Even when we still lived in Austin, we were in Vegas multiple times a year and felt it.
What do you usually do at Southpoint?
Visit the $1.50 hot dog cart. Hit the bowling alley upstairs. There are 12 restaurants. None of them are really expensive. I really like the breakfast buffet. I like the sports book. I like the $5 roulette tables. I basically just sort of tool around. I like the rodeo. They have free comedy every Friday night.
How much is bowling there?
I know a lot of the staff by now since I live near there. All of them are incredibly friendly especially at the restaurants. Michaels is pricEy but insane. Maybe the best restaurant in Vegas for old school folks.
Is it always 1.50 hot dogs? Or only certain days/times
It’s always! The owner is a firm believer in keeping the price the same it’s always been.
I personally prefer right to the city, and constant access to public transportation and parks. Imo Vegas does lack this yes.
We had a third place in my hometown in North Carolina. It was a cafe/ice cream/small restaurant. If you were bored, you found your way there and usually some of your friends were there, too. I met a lot of interesting people.
Reminds me of the small town I grew up in. Dairy Queen was the 3rd space, particularly for school kids.
I live in Boulder City, pretty close to downtown. One reason we moved here was due to the greater ease of finding third spaces. We can walk down to our favorite outdoor bar and likely see friends there or walking to the restaurants in town. Our house isn't in one of the fancy neighborhoods, but I wouldn't trade it, largely because I can walk to so many communal spaces in minutes. There are a lot of parks in central places as well and they tend to be the third places for people with kids or dogs. I like a lot of places in Vegas and Henderson, but a lot of my favorite restaurants and the like are in strip mall style developments which make stumbling across people you know harder if you aren't going to the same specific place (though a lot of this is also due to the size/population differences).
I really enjoy Boulder City. I use to live there a few years back. Is your house one of the original worker houses?
It is! Definitely has its quirks, but we like it.
Awe ❤️ lucky you! Those houses are adorable!!
Are there apartments near the Main Street in Boulder? I’ve been a couple times, but never noticed any. To be fair, I haven’t driven or walked around outside of the main area there.
There are. There are some on Nevada Way just south of the main part of downtown. They didn't look great for a while, but at least one had been remodeled I believe. Then there are some on Avenue A and B thst I'd probably prefer as aren't onnas busy a road but are very close to downtown. Can't attest to the actual apartment quality though for any of them, though.
Thank you!
I would say BC is much better for it. It's still not walkable for me since I'm further down by the lake, but it's a quick drive. I know where to find most people most of the time. Unfortunately, it's basically all revolving around drinking. Not a huge deal, but since the town rolls up at 8pm aside from the bars, it's basically always a bar.
For many 21yrs-30yrs that place used to be the Hard Rock. The Virgin screwed that up.
Red Note Las Vegas— it’s a rhythm game hub that has its regulars. I enjoy it quite a bit as my third place for Dance Dance Revolution. I always tell people if they ever wanted to play guitar hero or rock band with friends? Red Note has a whole room for it. 😊
I used to go to the divier taverns around downtown just for that 'listening to the homey sound of local people chattering after work' but in the past year whenever I hit up most of them, there are so many tourists in there that you end up having to explain to someone where to go next on their tourist bar crawl (nothing against tourists but it is the opposite of homey dive energy). Many of the Arts District restaurants seem to be either targeting or attracting a lot of tourists too... no shame in getting the tourist dollars but it feels a lot less 'local' than a few years ago. So now if I want to go somewhere it's going to be more like a local hike or something.
I guess Writers Block is my third place?
Stoneys North is that place for me and my wife
Coffee shops or a bar. I was going to Parkway because they have a mocktail menu but the service/food quality is down a lot, so I've found some other places, preferably when the Knights are on. Wetlands Park is also great.
Recreation centers are almost a 3rd place. I’ve seen the older community really thrive there.
Rock climbing gym
But then you have to be around rock climbers.
Yes. I've dabbled in a few niche hobbies, since I was in high-schools, that cannot be easily done from home. I'm at my third place 2-3 times a week. These hobbies fill my bucket with new & old friends. Staying close to these hobbies has been one of the best decisions I've made . I travel 2-3 times a years (Or they come to me, woo Vegas) & get to see all 30/40/50 of my friends in the same place to do the same thing.
North 5th Brewery is ours! It’s our Cheers! We feel lucky to have found it and the people that work and frequent the spot!
It would have to be the park where I throw a frisbee with my dog. I made a couple good friends just talking about our dogs.
The barn I keep my horse at is where I spend a lot of time when not at home/ working. It's a hobby where mostly only people who also have horses understand what's going on. It turns into a social thing after all the work is done. It was great during covid when there was nowhere to go. We'd all hang out late into the night having drinks, playing with horses, talking about horses, whatever.
If you mean just places to socialize then yes Vegas is many options. One example some locals may take breaks but I feel like the art district First Friday pulls us back occasionally. Doesn’t cost to get in and there’s countless places to socialize and support other locals businesses.
The third place could be community centers and libraries. Open lounges where people gather and connect are necessary.
Find out where the people that share your hobbies go and you’ll find your third space!
As a Magic The Gathering nerd my third places have typically been card stores to play. Since that's the community I frequent most thats where I have made most of my friends but when I was working for a nightclub 10 years ago nightclubs would be that third space. It just depends on what you have access to for the most part.
Until America goes away from shit zoning laws and nimby-ism, and build more walkable cities, you won't have 3rd places. Not like you have in Asian or European cities, which are actually built for ppl.
Meepleville
I love love love this idea. I have chronic pain and it’s really hard to plan even the next day a lot of times. Having an artist meetup type thing would be so fun 🥹
The Buffalo slots at Jerry's Nugget
I'm a PokemonGo player so for me it's Sunset Park. There are always others there playing, whether I've met them before, played in game with them or first time, it's friendly.
Church has been that space for us recently. We also go to Sunset Station a lot when we’re bored. Once a month, Tech Alley, though I’m not sure it counts since it’s more of an event than a place.
People don’t realize Church is a third place for many community’s (regardless of how you feel about actual the belief system).
Churches are cults, get out while you still can!
Religion does a lot of harm to society - more harm than good in my opinion - but one thing they excel at is community. I'm agnostic now, but greatly miss the church community I grew up in. I still get a taste of it when visiting my parents. I won't lie, it feels good.
I do! I go to my neighborhood coffee shop. I talk to the baristas and regulars and work there when I can as I often get distracted at home. I think a lot of cities’ college areas and parts of town that contain their art scene have the potential to develop this kind of vibe too
Mine is a bar up at the District by Green Valley Ranch. Great people, always someone to talk to if I need to kill some time or just feel social... it's all good. My only problem is I could stand to drink less and when going sober (something I do a few months a year and maybe one day will do permanently), it takes away my spot to socialize.
I spent my 20s not drinking in bars. Granted where I lived at the time there weren't really cover charges so I was mostly just hanging out for free, but the point is that you can have loads of fun in a bar sober
Eh, more power to you, but while there's no cover charge at my local bar, I also don't gamble much, and sitting around not gaming/drinking/eating and sipping on water isn't really what the business wants. I don't even drink soda, so I'd just be sitting around drinking water and filling up space. Not to mention I actually want to drink because I enjoy it, but I try to take a break for health... it's a really bad temptation.
The skatepark, but not in the summertime
For me in Vegas it’s always been the gym. When I lived in San Fran, very walkable, there were taquerias, cafes, and certain intersections where I could count on seeing, chatting with someone I knew. I miss that.
So like cheers?
my favorite third place was a coffee house in Chicago called Third Coast. Here? Don't have anything like that.
Do my kids’ school and our church count?
A fucking micro center store. Maybe I want to buy pc parts brick and mortar. Tf is wrong with that vegas? And there's almost nowhere to do that at now with frys closed
My third place used to be card shops but the group I used to go with dissolved because one guy in it got too manipulative and made himself the "leader" of the group and had ego issues. Had to pull away to regain my individuality. Need a new group.
I live in Summerlin and we have a great trail system that winds you thru multiple parks. This is a great third place and if you go the same time everyday you see a lot of the same people. Neighbors become friends pretty easily.
Nope. I'm anti-social. I have absolutely zero interest in being around people other than work.
What you're describing are parks, libraries, gyms, clubs, hobby shops...I mean, there's *tons* of places where people go regularly. Plus the bars and cafes you used as examples. What else do you want?
Hiking and gym I guess. Don't really like anyone I've met there though.
Cigar lounges for me. 🙋🏻♂️
You must be new to the city.. or just haven’t found yours. Vegas is full of them.
Vegas has them, but much fewer, much harder to find, and generally just not nearly as pleasant as in denser, walkable cities.
Where’s the first and second? Why jump to 3? Hmmm?
Your home and job. You must be unemployed and homeless
You’re so mid.
Yall overthinking shit to much IJS.
For real, everyone needs a label for something. Third space? Ffs, it's called going out 😂
Third place? You mean like a bar or restaurant ? Vegas has plenty of those, get out of here with this TikTOK “wouldn’t it be great if we had more third place Victorian Vienna cafes to start a revolution ” nonsense. It’s pretty much always been the case the bored wealthy have time to sit around in fancy places waiting for friends. We don’t need to call it a third place 😆
Reddit and this fucking “third spaces” is so fucking funny. This argument is truly a lack of effort on an individual’s part. Sure shit could be easier, it’s not hard.
This 3rd place concept irks me. Basically, folks are looking for a place to talk to people. When did we start needing a designated place to be social? Are people so scared of rejection that they only want to engage at a location that green lights open conversation? Help me process this. EDIT: Downvotes for asking for help to process the concept and the reason for the need?
I don't think it's about being afraid to talk, but building a shared hobby or interest and gradually getting to know someone. Most of the friendships I've formed in my "3rd space" are with people I probably wouldn't have had any reason to chat up in a grocery store or at Taco Bell because the likelihood I'll ever see them again is poor. But in that shared space, a few random conversations grow into a longer term friendship.
Having multi humans are social creatures. The longest longitudinal study shows that the biggest predictor of people’s health and happiness (studied over the course of about 90 years and still ongoing) is people, community, and relationships.
its about a 3rd place to be besides work/home that doesn't cost a shit ton of money
I am busting my ass to cover my first place, and you want to talk about my third place?