Moving from Golden, CO to Reno, NV - Need Input! Help! (Minden: ski resort, rental)

[kellylynn111]

Hello and thanks in advance for your help! I'm having a terrible time making a decision! I'm a 32 year old female teacher and I've been offered a job in a seemingly wonderful elementary school in Reno. I currently reside and work in Golden, CO. I am VERY active (hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, snowboarding, camping - all and any outdoor activity!) and spend as much time as possible outdoors. Would I enjoy Reno? While Golden is lovely, here are the reasons I am considering leaving and what I would hope to improve upon by moving to Reno:

The cost of living here in Golden is very high. I insist upon staying in Golden because it is as close to the mountains as I can possibly be and I don't enjoy the areas closer to Denver, but a small and old house in need of refurbishing costs upwards of $300,000 while rent for a shabby 3-bed house in town is $1800. I cannot afford a place on my own here and have to live with room-mates, although I would rather not.

The school district in the county is very broke. Haven't had a pay raise in 4 years and last year our pay was cut 3%. This upcoming year our insurance premiums are increasing, thus another pay decrease. If the mill doesn't pass, many people will be losing jobs this upcoming year. Not complaining, because I am fortunate to have a job, but it is difficult to feel like I will never get ahead! I am looking for a more financially stable district and I've also noted that Washoe County spends appx. $2,000 more per pupil per year than Jefferson County.

Because I always want to be recreating in the mountains, I am never actually at my house in Golden! I want to be part of a community and not have to escape the city every single weekend. Is Reno too far that I'm going to have to, say, rent a condo every weekend to enjoy the mountains during ski season? That is a common thing for people to do here on the Front Range. Due to ski traffic and camping traffic, it is normal here to sit in traffic for 4-8 hours for what should be a 1 hour drive. That's why people spend a few hundred dollars every month to go in on a condo share in the mountains. Does that happen there? I'm hoping it will be a very simple commute to the lake and resorts from Reno. Is it a production to get up there from Reno? Will I have to sit in stand-still traffic every single weekend or holiday?

Having mentioned that I REALLY want to be IN the mountains, are there any well-priced communities closer in to the lake/resorts where I could live yet still easily commute to my job in Reno (Jessie Beck Elementary)?

My PRINCIPAL reason for moving is because I want mountain recreation to be more feasible and less of a hassle. I want to settle down in an active community that I can afford. Does that sound like Reno?

A bit more info. that may help you help me - I am not married, but have a boyfriend. He may or may not be joining me on my move. I do have a dog that goes on all outdoors adventures with me though! I also have an interview in Truckee this week and know I would definitely be happy in that community! Is Reno close enough to that type of environment?

Any and all information you can provide me with will be appreciated! Thank you!

[Snoop22]

Originally Posted by kellylynn111

The cost of living here in Golden is very high. I insist upon staying in Golden because it is as close to the mountains as I can possibly be and I don't enjoy the areas closer to Denver, but a small and old house in need of refurbishing costs upwards of $300,000 while rent for a shabby 3-bed house in town is $1800. I cannot afford a place on my own here and have to live with room-mates, although I would rather not.

If possible, you could buy a house and be paying less then it would take to rent (dependent on the area it could be as little as $300 a month). I’ve seen rental ads from $500 to $1200 a month (I would assume that what you would consider buying or renting would be based on some type of snobbery ratio, no other way to put it), I’ve met people who only wanted to buy a stick built home. The home across the street just went on the market for $49,000 with an estimated monthly mortgage of around $200 a month (which to me is cheap).

Originally Posted by kellylynn111

The school district in the county is very broke. Haven't had a pay raise in 4 years and last year our pay was cut 3%. This upcoming year our insurance premiums are increasing, thus another pay decrease. If the mill doesn't pass, many people will be losing jobs this upcoming year. Not complaining, because I am fortunate to have a job, but it is difficult to feel like I will never get ahead! I am looking for a more financially stable district and I've also noted that Washoe County spends appx. $2,000 more per pupil per year than Jefferson County.

I’m actually surprised that a county that’s trying to get its citizens to shop locally is hiring people from out of state, but welcome anyway (just my poke at government).

Originally Posted by kellylynn111

Because I always want to be recreating in the mountains, I am never actually at my house in Golden! I want to be part of a community and not have to escape the city every single weekend. Is Reno too far that I'm going to have to, say, rent a condo every weekend to enjoy the mountains during ski season? That is a common thing for people to do here on the Front Range. Due to ski traffic and camping traffic, it is normal here to sit in traffic for 4-8 hours for what should be a 1 hour drive. That's why people spend a few hundred dollars every month to go in on a condo share in the mountains. Does that happen there? I'm hoping it will be a very simple commute to the lake and resorts from Reno. Is it a production to get up there from Reno? Will I have to sit in stand-still traffic every single weekend or holiday?

Tahoe is close, although I go around it seldom during the winter months, when I have gone, it never seems to crowded or congested. The best mountains in Nevada are the ones East of Reno in the deserts.

Originally Posted by kellylynn111

Having mentioned that I REALLY want to be IN the mountains, are there any well-priced communities closer in to the lake/resorts where I could live yet still easily commute to my job in Reno (Jessie Beck Elementary)?

Maybe, maybe not, dependent on your money supply and cash flow. Otherwise, sometimes life gives you a choice of a cheap home and travel or a fancy high priced home and always lacking money for the things you want to do. The closer you get to the hills the more expensive housing becomes ($200,000 to $1,000,000). Reno is not a big town, you can live almost anywhere and most commutes are less then a half hour. Jessie Beck looks to be in the middle of Reno.

Originally Posted by kellylynn111

My PRINCIPAL reason for moving is because I want mountain recreation to be more feasible and less of a hassle. I want to settle down in an active community that I can afford. Does that sound like Reno?

So far yes

Originally Posted by kellylynn111

A bit more info. that may help you help me - I am not married, but have a boyfriend. He may or may not be joining me on my move. I do have a dog that goes on all outdoors adventures with me though! I also have an interview in Truckee this week and know I would definitely be happy in that community! Is Reno close enough to that type of environment?

Truckee is only a 20/30 minute drive, but it is California .

[kellylynn111]

Thanks so much for your input - I appreciate it!

[bigdave01]

Where is the school that you're working at located?

If you want to be in the mountains(depending on where the schools located) you could live in far South Reno up by Galena Forest, or as Snoop mentioned Truckee or Verdi.

Reno is really close to skiing, from South Reno you can be at Mount Rose ski resort in 20-30 minutes, and Tahoe in 30-40.

Although I do believe schools in Nevada have much less funding than Colorado, I think you are making a good move and will love Reno. Reno is incredible for outdoors stuff, and much less congested than Denver. We have the Truckee River for rafting, kayaking, thousands of miles of open desert and mountains to our east for 4 wheeling, shooting, camping, etc. And the incredible Sierras and Tahoe to our west.

[Shredder]

Minden, Carson and even Genoa can offer some very reasonable housing choices. We live in Genoa and the Kingsbury Grade gets us to Heavenly in 20 minutes, and the lake in 25. The roads are well plowed and traffic is light.
Living in Los Angeles, we had similar frustrations....the beach is close, but the traffic to get there is insane and then there is no parking.
If the lake were a clock, we would be at about the 5. We have quick access to skiing, snowshoeing, x-country, kayaking,hiking, and the road biking is superb.

Good luck in your search!

[kellylynn111]

Thanks all! The school looks likes it is located in central/west Reno, based on Mapquest. Hard to believe, but the Washoe school district spends almost 1500 dollars more per pupil per year than my current school district . I'm pretty excited to check it out this weekend!