One thing is for sure about Nevada:  you can’t say it is boring!  If you can’t find something to do there, then you really aren’t trying.  You can ski world-class runs in the morning, kayak the river through downtown Reno in the afternoon and then take in a world-famous show and dine at a five-star restaurant at night.  Or, if that is too active for your new, active adult life, you can take a drive on “The Loneliest Road in America” which is along Highway 50.  It is roughly the same path as the Pony Express Territory.  Then maybe you could take in one of many unique museums from the Liberace Museum to Madame Tussaud's wax museum.  Or maybe you’d prefer to visit one of the many state and national parks including Lake Tahoe.  Of course, then there is also always the gambling, fantastic shopping and nightlife of the Las Vegas Strip.

Nevada began as part of the Utah Territory.  It separated from them in 1861 and adopted its current name from “Sierra Nevada”, which is Spanish for “snowy range”.  That is ironic as most of the state is desert.  The separation of the two Territories was important for two reasons.  One, it was important because the population of what is now Nevada was largely Christian settlers while Utah was predominantly Mormon.  The two groups were often violent towards each other.  Second, the separation was important to the federal government because of the population’s political leanings.  In fact, Statehood was rushed to help ensure Abraham Lincoln’s reelection and Republican dominance in Congress.  This was due to the fact that its mining-based economy made them more in alliance with the more industrialized Union.

The current governor is Republican.  That position is limited to two 4-year terms.  The legislature is a bicameral body divided into an upper house Senate and a lower house Assembly.  Members of the Senate serve for four years and members of the Assembly serve for two.  Starting in 2010, both house members will be limited to twelve years total.  There is a noticeable division of politics between northern and southern Nevada.  The north has consistently maintained control of key positions in state government, even though the southern part of the state has the most population.  The north sees the south as encroaching on their water and electricity resources while the south sees the north as old guard and keeping the state from making more progress.  However, even with that rivalry, the state is about evenly split between the two major parties which makes it a swing vote state.  That is proven in that the state elected President Clinton for both his terms and they elected President Bush for both his terms.

The state’s economy initially revolved around silver mining, hence its nickname “The Silver State”.  In the portions of the state outside of Vegas and Reno, mining is still a large part of the economy.  However, it is now gold that is mostly mined.  That output makes up over 8% of world gold production.  Silver is a distant second.  Those portions of the state also add to the state’s economy with agricultural outputs in cattle, hay, alfalfa, dairy products, onions and potatoes.  Other components of the state’s economy are printing and publishing, food processing, manufacturing of electric equipment and machinery and the very obvious segment of tourism.  To that end, unregulated gambling was common in the early mining towns but was outlawed in 1909 as part of a nation-wide anti-gaming movement.  But, mining started to decline during the Great Depression and Nevada re-legalized it as a short term fix for budget problems.  It is now the state’s primary source of revenue.  Recently, however, the housing market collapse, declining gaming revenue due to less tourism also due to the economy, and higher gas prices have caused over a one billion shortfall in the budget.  Nevada requires a balanced budget.  The gaming decline has even led the halt of construction of a new casino project meant to replace the old Stardust Hotel and Casino.  Another problem facing the state is a projected water shortage by the year 2010.

Nevada is the 7^th largest state.  Over 80% of the state’s area is owned by the federal government.  Much of the northern part of the state is desert with extreme heat in the summer and sub-freezing temperatures in the winter.  The state’s highest recorded temperature was 125 degrees in 1994.  Above the desert plains lie lush forests and mountain ranges, some of which have peaks above 13,000 feet.  The eastern parts of the state have some rivers and streams that break up the desert terrain.  On occasion, moisture from Arizona monsoons will cause summer thunderstorms, but the state overall does not receive much precipitation.

The state’s population is about 2.6 million with 85% residing around Las Vegas and Reno.  The population is 65% White American, 20% Hispanics, 7% African-American, and 6%  Asian-American.  Between 1990 and 2000, Nevada’s population increased over 66%.  As to religion, the population is 27% Roman Catholic, 26% Protestant, and 11% Mormon with various other religions at less than 2% each. 

Nevada is one of the few states with no personal income tax and no corporate income tax.  The state sales tax is 6.5%.  Counties can levy local option taxes as well making it as high as 7.75% in some areas.  State and local governments collect the 2^nd highest amount of sales taxes in the nation.  Property taxes are 30^th highest nationally.  The state’s friendly incorporation laws make it attractive for corporations across the country to incorporate there.  It offers great flexibility in the formation and operation of a corporation which allows companies to avoid many cumbersome rules found in other states.

Nevada has a lot to offer and there are many active adult communities to look at for retirement.  One thing is for sure, you wouldn’t be bored unless you wanted to be.