I don't intend this to be a "versus" thread, but more a question about where to begin from the perspective of lore and story.

I have never played a Fallout game before, and with the Steam sale going, I'm trying to decide whether I'd like to try out Fallout 3 or Fallout NV first. I am pretty happy with everything I've tried by Bethesda, so I'm not really concerned with which is "better" -- but was wondering if there is a good reason to "start" with Fallout 3, or if the stories are distinct and separate from one another.

Any thoughts? Thanks