I think you're right concerning the collective vibrancy and excitement of Vegas...and you're correct in attributing this to the fact that most people living there CHOOSE to live there. (i.e. they excersised their free-will by moving from somewhere else) Also, the personal freedoms give one a sense of greater personal control and contentment.
By contrast, I spent 5 years in a mid-sized city in Alabama...I met the most miserable people there. I was one of few "foreigners" Most of the population was literally 5th or 6th generation Alabamian. Most people felt trapped and the conservative social norms (imagine a Christian Taliban) were suffocating.
Vegas does have its' down side...I had a friend who moved there and fell into the cocaine, strip club, heavy drinking, and tobacco lifestyle. His life fell apart and he's never recovered. He had too much freedom, I guess.
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