More on Reno please? (Sparks, Spanish Springs: real estate, rentals, crime)

[supathings]

I've seen some pretty extensive news for Vegas, and hoping some locals can do the same for Reno regarding crime, neighborhoods, what's the best zip code to search out, average rent prices for good location? How diverse is it?
It seems after reading much on this forum, the whole country is changing and not all places for the better, how sad.
I have the choice of going back to Texas, which I love, but have mixed feelings about the climate...I hate the humidity and creepy crawlies lol.
Hoping someone can give great details...Happy weekend all!

[momof2dfw]

Supathings,

I don't live in Reno nor have I ever but I have visited there and the Lake Tahoe area. We were just there 2 weeks ago. Gosh I miss the weather there (it's over 104 here in the Big D today....). Reno is of course in Nevada so there is gambling and the casinos. There seems to be some nice developments going in around Reno. We went down for a day to Reno/Sparks for the Hot August Nights event while we were there. Totally cool event that has been going strong for 20 years now (5000 classic cars registered for the event). Plan on going back next year. Anyway, watching the evening news for the Reno area I did not notice any more crime reported than I do here in the Dallas area, probably less actually since it is so much smaller. This year the Reno PD had a law put in place for the Hot August Nights for the last 2 nights of the event (Friday & Saturday) that there could not be any alcohol sold after 8 p.m. except in restaurants and the casinos. No open containers allowed outside after 8 either. Seems they had some trouble try to start up last year and did not want it to become an issue this year or in the next few years. I like that mentality. Nip it in the bud but don't get rid of the entire event. We had our kids w/ us and there were tons of families out enjoying all of the shows, cars, concerts & parades and I felt totally safe. There are so many activities, shows, events, etc that go on year round in this region you will no doubt find something of interest.

As for the weather, OMY heavens. It was AWESOME!!! Up around Lake Tahoe the highs were no more than 75-80 while we were there. About 2 weeks prior they had 2-3 days of 90 degree weather and some were complaining (and NO humidity, pah-leaze. LOL). Nothing in the Tahoe area has a/c. Lots of outdoors things to do. They treat the lake like the beach. So you get the best of both worlds: mountain activities in the winter & beachy, outdoor activities in the summer. Down in Reno the high was like 94 the day we were there. We were outside all day walking around and never broke a sweat. Now, the sun beating down on you after awhile would get warm but you would just move over to the side of the road w/ the shade and you were fine. Not many creepy crawlies but in the Tahoe region you are in Bear Country. We have seen lots of deer on every trip up there.

Real estate. Try checking out realtor.com for listings to get a good idea of what they are going for. I would also recommend checking the websites of the well known real estate companies like Century 21 & Remax to see what they have listed for rentals. The Sunday paper is another good resource to get ahold of. The entire paper on Sunday should give you a good idea of what is going on in the area from the main section, business, real estate, etc. I can not really tell you about the demographics but they did not seem totally skewed one way or the other. Being in the Dallas area it is pretty diverse here and it felt the same there. I would venture to say the Reno area may (MAY) be lower in the Asian population just from what I saw but that is it. Their is a website that gives the demographics of all schools and school districts. While you may not have any kids in school this should give you a good idea of the demographics for the areas around Reno/Sparks and Tahoe if you want to venture over into the mountain side. Look up http://www.publicschoolsreport.com/district.html (public schools report). It breaks down every ethnic group for every school, tells how many kids at each campus get free or reduced lunches, etc. Like I said, while you may not have kids or kids in school this may help you get an idea for the population of the area (or any area you may be interested in).

Good luck

[Bangladesh]

There's almost always humdity. Sometimes there realy is for real absolutely no humbidity in Libya.

[greatbasinguide]

I vote for Idaho. Reno is growing unpleasantly. traffic, poor planning, for instance, Spanish Springs, is destined for 20,000 people with two streets,,, not freeways out of it. The weather is fine, low humidity, summer temps in the 90's winter in 40's50's. Real Estate prices approaching California,, Homes from the low, $300,000's