I'm not sure what makes such a big difference between cities -- priorities of the individuals? Ease of communication? The internet makes the latter moot, really, because I've tried so hard to find a community here I could get involved with.
I even started looking for a church, and while I did find that there's one Unitarian congregation here, the church itself is in a sketchy part of town, and when I looked at it on Google Earth, it was a dealbreaker. It looked like you'd get mugged in the parking lot. This city scares me, more than anything. I don't feel safe or comfortable here, unless I'm in my car. This city breeds distrust and manipulation.
Anyway, I started noticing this because I'm moving back to Portland, as long as everything goes right, in December/January. And I found a website called PortlandPooch (because I'm completely obsessed with getting a dog ASAP), and I realized, no one gives a shit about anything in Las Vegas. Except drinking, partying, and shows. There's no community here. There's a small amount of community, it seems, in the Summerlin area (which is far west of Las Vegas proper), and they have things like neighborhood plays and such.
This certainly isn't a new thought. I've never liked it here, even as a child, and it's only gotten worse as I've aged. I'm tired of feeling like an island in my city. I enjoy being an individual in a larger community, like a city or subculture, and I don't get that here. It's frustrating.
I know it'll work out this time. Going to Portland. I came back for... one main reason, really, and then many lesser reasons. But those are all settled now, and I think it'll stick. I'm more determined to make it work, also. I know what I want now, and how to get it. And step #1 is to get out of Las Vegas.