raising family in Eureka NV (Reno, Elko: crime, primary school, pros and cons)

[dusa2001am]

Hi, as things are we might be moving to Eureka NV - just as we are planning to start a family. Anybody who live there or has lived there see this as a place to raise a family? I read the demographic stats and it seems there aren't that many families in Eureka. I would love to hear honest comments on the pros and cons - also in terms of meeting friendly people and community life as a whole. Would be leaving sunny and warm Phoenix area, is there enough sun in Eureka?

[scirocco22]

Good grief! Eureka is in the middle of nowhere, IMO. *laughs*

Since it sounds like you have good reason for relocating there, I guess you'll have to make the best of it but the town itself has less than 1,000 people, I believe. The whole county has less than 2,000 population.

I'm pretty sure it has a one-school-serves-all facility where all grades are in the same building. Student to teacher ratio, though, will probably be pretty low, I'd assume.

I guess the things that I'd find uncomfortable is that you'll be so far away from a major population center. It's not like it's a suburb of a major city. It's literally out in the middle of nowhere. I think it's about 80 miles from Ely which is a rather small town in itself. Major cities will be even further, of course. The Reno area is at least 4 hours away and the Salt Lake City area will be about 4½ to 5 hours away.

The climate is high desert as the elevation there is over 6,000 feet. You'll see plenty of sunny skies but it will be cold in the winter with snow at times.

However, the people might be friendly as the town slogan is "the friendliest town on the loneliest road in America."

[NVDave]

Eureka is a great place to raise a family. Everyone knows everyone else - literally. The average class size in the schools is about 12. Twelve. The people are indeed friendly and engaging. I know, we lived there for 8+ years.

The upside: the people are engaged in the community, the school has great participation in sports and extracurricular activities. There is so little crime in the area that most folks don't remove the keys from their vehicles. We used to own a farm there and we never removed a key from farm equipment that cost much more than any car. Never ever had a problem. Never locked the house. Never locked our cars. Used to leave keys in the cars on Main Street after the tourist season was over (after Labor Day). The postmaster knows everyone by name. The bankers know everyone, the county Treasurer knows everyone, etc, etc. When you go to any Notary Public, after the first couple of times, they quit asking for your ID and they enter "PK" in the "identification" column -- ie, "Personally Known."

The taxes are low (the lowest in a low-tax state), the schools, roads, community are well funded. There is minimal government. Folks pretty much will leave you alone if you want to be left alone. There is a growing Mennonite community there because of this.

The downsides: There is a new mine that will be opening up in the area that will double (or more) the population of Eureka. Miners, in general, are not known for participating in the community. They work their shifts and when they have time off, they leave town; they're "there but not there" - so when their kids get into trouble, the parents don't see it the same way as the farmers/ranchers/businesspeople who live there regardless of the mining boom/bust cycle. Miners are folks too, but miners know that as soon as the ore runs out, they have to move. So they don't put down roots in a community the way that ranchers, farmers, businesspeople who have been in the community for three+ generations have put down roots.

If you want to shop, you're going to be driving a minimum of 120 miles (one way) to go to Elko. If you really want to shop, you'll be going to either Reno (250 miles) or Twin Falls, ID (about 300 miles). We used to prefer going to Twin Falls - it is smaller than Reno, but has more. Elko has the bare minimum of shopping - because most of Elko's economy is supported by the gold mining jobs in Eureka County, Elko doesn't have the sort of economic diversity and base you'd expect in a town of 50K people. As a farmer, Elko was pretty well useless to me and I had to keep driving on up to Twin Falls.

Other observations: If you live in Eureka, look up on a winter night. You're living in one of the last, truly dark places in the continental United States. If you allow your vision to adapt for at least 20 minutes away from artificial lights at night, you will see stars, satellites, you name it - that you have NEVER seen with the naked eye. I used to amaze visitors by taking them a couple miles away from town, letting them stand there for 10 minutes, then pointing out satellite after satellite in north->south orbits whizzing by overhead. Usually, these are so dim that you cannot see them.

But on a night with no moon in Eureka.... they're absolutely obvious to the naked eye.

[NVDave]

Sorry I didn't address this earlier.

Eureka has a primary school and a high school. They're in individual facilities - close to each other, but then everything in a town as small as Eureka is "close" to everything else.

[scirocco22]

Thanks for clearing that up, Dave. I was just guessing. I've been through town several times and I shouldn't have assumed that.