Is Reno a good place to live? (Carson City, Spanish Springs: rent, neighborhoods)

[tulegirl]

With the added - but I didn't live there... exactly. I lived in Carson City & Stagecoach both. We commuted. I am a country girl and loved living in a rural area so close to a large city. I could see the stars at night at home - or go into the city to see the Stars at the clubs. The city is super easy to navigate. Love the shopping and the food. Never went to the strip unless we had company to entertain. You can go months without seeing a slot machine. I go "home" every chance I get to visit with my friends and eat at my favorite Sushi bar. And so close to Tahoe!

Got married in 'Vegas, and now have to drive through it to get to the grandkids = HATE IT (the mountain is cool - reminds me of Palm Springs')

[redwhiteblue]

Weighing the good and the bad. I do think there is good and bad with any area but the post made by Robertpolyglot made me LOL! I agree about it being a transient town but more because of bums, they are everywhere!
I myself haven't found the sea of companies looking for employees, I have been out of work for 6 months! I have found it to be a pathetic place to find good jobs.
I think the people are like most places I have been, either nice or jerks.
For me it's not quite clean enough, the city of Reno and Sparks need to learn how to landscape the side walk areas dirt just doesn't cut it.
But saying that I do love the scenery, the weather has been pretty good minus the snow (yuck!) and there are many outdoor things to do as well as the concerts to go to.
And of course everyone has their opinions, some LOVE it here and think it's the best while others look at you like - why the hell did you move HERE????

Best of luck!

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

I myself haven't found the sea of companies looking for employees, I have been out of work for 6 months! I have found it to be a pathetic place to find good jobs.

And of course everyone has their opinions, some LOVE it here and think it's the best while others look at you like - why the hell did you move HERE????

Thanks for the insight and balance, countering that there must be something with ME, according to a post that followed mine.

There is a difference when a company moves somewhere and you basically have to go with them. If it's a professional services firm (like engineering), you simply don't join up if you don't want to move to the area.

I lived in Sacramento for over 2 years, hanging on to virtually all of those friends to this day, many years later. My profession did not have the highest quality representation in Reno, that's for sure. Also, part of the "problem" is that I'm single and married people, as some of my co-workers were, tend to "pooh-pooh" their single friends once they move on. Oh, well.

I would think that, by and large, most transplants that I've talked to don't much care for Reno and would choose somewhere else. Also, I never want to experience something like the winter of 2005 again, if I can help it. It was a miserable 3 months.

[redwhiteblue]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

Thanks for the insight and balance, countering that there must be something with ME, according to a post that followed mine.

There is a difference when a company moves somewhere and you basically have to go with them. If it's a professional services firm (like engineering), you simply don't join up if you don't want to move to the area.

I lived in Sacramento for over 2 years, hanging on to virtually all of those friends to this day, many years later. My profession did not have the highest quality representation in Reno, that's for sure. Also, part of the "problem" is that I'm single and married people, as some of my co-workers were, tend to "pooh-pooh" their single friends once they move on. Oh, well.

I would think that, by and large, most transplants that I've talked to don't much care for Reno and would choose somewhere else. Also, I never want to experience something like the winter of 2005 again, if I can help it. It was a miserable 3 months.

I also lived in the Sac Valley and met some wonderful people there. In fact I just went down there today and it was 60 degrees, God I miss that weather!
I did here that '05 winter was horrible!
So have you moved out of Reno yet and if so may I ask where?

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

I also lived in the Sac Valley and met some wonderful people there. In fact I just went down there today and it was 60 degrees, God I miss that weather!
I did here that '05 winter was horrible!
So have you moved out of Reno yet and if so may I ask where?

Yes, I actually moved out in the summer. I am sort of living in Sac and sort of living in Portland (near family). I am in a job transition. I just finished a Master's at UNR while working full-time during the day in Reno and moved away within a month of wrapping that up. I was exhausted and took some time off...including a 2 month jaunt to Europe.

I am expecting to end up in Sac. I am working on a project with a finite date up here in Oregon. Yes, I agree, Sacramento is an easy place to make friends. It's not particularly pretty, except up in the foothills, but there are a lot of down-to-earth and reasonably smart people there. I am still friends with about 5 or 6 people I met in Sac. I don't care for how aloof Portlanders are (see some threads on that city...yikes). Of all the places I have lived, people were the best in Sacramento and, believe it or not, in Atlanta GA.

[norm]

What are the winters like in Reno? I live outside of New York City and I am thinking about us moving to Reno in two years when my wife retires. One of the things I don't want is to move to a place that has very cold and snowy winters.

[ReneeG71]

After living in Chicago all my life, the winters here are mild. I wasn't here for the winter of 05 everyone talks about. But, from what all the locals tell me..and from what I have experienced, it rarely snows in the valley. My kids miss the snow and the sledding. When it does snow, it usually melts by noon. The only bad thing is the drivers act like it is a blizzard when it flurries. They do not use salt either so the roads can become slick. I don't understand it since there is usually a warning before it snows, but the city is never prepared. I actually experienced a main road closed due to less than an inch of snow. The temperatures here do not get frigid like Chicago or New York either.

[handitak]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

Weighing the good and the bad. I do think there is good and bad with any area but the post made by Robertpolyglot made me LOL! I agree about it being a transient town but more because of bums, they are everywhere!
I myself haven't found the sea of companies looking for employees, I have been out of work for 6 months! I have found it to be a pathetic place to find good jobs.
I think the people are like most places I have been, either nice or jerks.
For me it's not quite clean enough, the city of Reno and Sparks need to learn how to landscape the side walk areas dirt just doesn't cut it.
But saying that I do love the scenery, the weather has been pretty good minus the snow (yuck!) and there are many outdoor things to do as well as the concerts to go to.
And of course everyone has their opinions, some LOVE it here and think it's the best while others look at you like - why the hell did you move HERE????

Best of luck!

I just said the other day to my kids Doctor how dirty I find it here, and it feels a lot more unhealthy and "germy" than Maine ever did.

mrs h

[robertpolyglot]

Nah, it's not that cold. It's a dry cold. But cold snaps do come. Overall, the low humidity is bad for your skin and I had some serious sinusitis problems which I've never had elsewhere.

But for me, the thing that makes me hate Reno even more is the relatively high crime rate. With so much low-life, it's high for a city of 200,000 people. It was the first place in which I was the victim of a violent crime, ending up in Saint Mary's for stitches in my head. An obviously meth-ed out P.O.S. threw a metal object through my car window when I wouldn't lower the glass in a supermarket parking lot in NW, which is a nice area. He was a big guy that, by the object he hurled that lodged in my car, was in construction. The police arrived and here I am -- in a coat and tie and in a conventional American car -- and shook their head "who do you know that would have done this to you?". I didn't even know who to call for a cup of coffee, let alone anyone to tangle with. There was enough to find the guy, but I guess it was low priority. If it had hit me 3 inches forward, I would have been killed or blinded.

Yep, Reno is as WHITE TRASH as it gets. There is a decent university that is of a nice size, you can get a good buffet for $ 14 and you can run up to Tahoe every now and then. However, if you require anything else from your living experience, RUN in another direction...please.

[redwhiteblue]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

Nah, it's not that cold. It's a dry cold. But cold snaps do come. Overall, the low humidity is bad for your skin and I had some serious sinusitis problems which I've never had elsewhere.

But for me, the thing that makes me hate Reno even more is the relatively high crime rate. With so much low-life, it's high for a city of 200,000 people. It was the first place in which I was the victim of a violent crime, ending up in Saint Mary's for stitches in my head. An obviously meth-ed out P.O.S. threw a metal object through my car window when I wouldn't lower the glass in a supermarket parking lot in NW, which is a nice area. He was a big guy that, by the object he hurled that lodged in my car, was in construction. The police arrived and here I am -- in a coat and tie and in a conventional American car -- and shook their head "who do you know that would have done this to you?". I didn't even know who to call for a cup of coffee, let alone anyone to tangle with. There was enough to find the guy, but I guess it was low priority. If it had hit me 3 inches forward, I would have been killed or blinded.

Yep, Reno is as WHITE TRASH as it gets. There is a decent university that is of a nice size, you can get a good buffet for $ 14 and you can run up to Tahoe every now and then. However, if you require anything else from your living experience, RUN in another direction...please.

That is crazy! I too am surprised by how even in the "nice" areas there is some nasty people. Every time I go to the Walmart off of 7th and Mccarren there is a bum begging for money at the stop light, that is something you expect to see downtown but up near neighborhoods not ok.
I certainly have not been all over the county but have been able to live in 3 states now and several towns and cities and have come to the conclusion that the towns I once lived in and thought weren't great, well they were pretty nice (yes that is regret you hear).
I always have my eye out no matter where I am but even more living here.

My parents live in Spanish Springs and if we don't ever leave a 3 mile radius it is wonderful.