When you sit around and think about where you want to live, a hot, barren desert is probably going to be near the bottom of the list with the moon and at the bottom of the ocean. However, if Las Vegas were to enter into the equation, the idea of a desert suddenly doesn’t seem so dry. This is undoubtedly what when through many people’s minds as they re-located to Paradise.

Paradise, Nevada is an unincorporated town in Clark County, Nevada, directly outside of Las Vegas. Technically, Paradise is part of Las Vegas, located directly south of Sin City and acting as an urbanized area. The Clark County Commission governs Paradise and the population is near 200,000, making it one of the more populated areas in the county.

Since Paradise is really just south of Las Vegas, there are not a lot of original destinations in the town that are separate from Vegas. Even still, a lot of tourists don’t know much about the entire Vegas area if it doesn’t involve a new-age casino resort or an all-you-can-eat buffet. Unfortunately, some of the country’s best scenery is overshadowed by the gambling.

The Vegas/Paradise area is an outdoorsman’s dream. Not only are there dozens of historic trails throughout the Clark County area, but the various mountain ranges offer up priceless views, plenty of camping locations and a much needed break from the everyday hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps.

Las Vegas itself doesn’t have any real residential areas to speak of. If you were to live in Vegas, you’d have to settle for a casino suite-slash-apartment, some type of condo or another domicile attached to a public building. Paradise and similar towns offer the residential areas that an uber-city like Las Vegas desperately need.

Since “Paradise” doesn’t appear on postal addresses - instead it’s all Las Vegas or just Clark County - the town goes relatively unnoticed by everyone who doesn’t live there or who doesn’t plan to specifically browse around neighboring areas. This has worked to Paradise’s advantage, however. Even though it’s sometimes crowded, traffic and crime and other “city” elements are lower.

The entire south end of Vegas’ Strip is located in the middle of Paradise, meaning that part of the town can still be considered a city. However, with residential neighborhoods on both sides and further south, the two worlds don’t normally mix unless a visitor wants them to.

The McCarran International Airport is located in Paradise, Nevada, as well as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, the Palms Casino Resort, the MGM Grand, and plenty of Paradise-specific hotels, bars, restaurants, parks and other locations.

Because Paradise can be described best as the suburb to Las Vegas, it’s primarily the area where permanent “Vegas” residents choose to live and not necessarily a standalone tourist attraction. In many ways, it’s like Staten Island to Manhattan.