So What did I think of Reno ? (casino, living in)

[redwhiteblue]

That sounds like Reno

[pharcyde5098]

Originally Posted by MILWCITY

We'll my wife and I arrived on sunday to 71 degress and getting off at the Reno airport was a easy and quick! I was already liking the mountains in the background and the laid back feel keep in mind I'm still at the airport and had to put on my flip flops right away. We arrive at the Eldorado and Loved the hotel and the Casino was okay, and loved the fact that 3 casinos were all connected. Know for my complaints and there is a lot of them. Sorry Reno/Sparks.

I have never seen so much white trash in my life, I couldn't believe the whole east side of the street from the Eldorado was all pawn shops. So I said no big deal it looks a little like a very mini LA. So we walked down to the river walk which is nice but should be called a creek walk. Then we walked downtown, The whole town seemed very dumpy, it was 4pm on a sunday and there was nobody around any where. Where are all the people? No traffic and no bars, no clubs, no nice resturants. At this point I'm sick and tired of people asking me for change it reminded me of that south park episode of "Change". So we took the 1 bus down to the mall and still no nice bars/lounges or anything, just pawn shop after pawn shop. The mall was ok and then we took the 6 line back to see more of Reno. I do however like you buses and the card system and the book avail for info. the bus book was very helpful. I did not like all the homless people that got on the bus along with all the weirdos. So we walked around to all of the other casinos and no nightclubs and the town seem to be filled with white trash every where. I thought reno was was the dumpiest town I have ever been to. Granted Im coming from Milwaukee(2million) with a bar/lounge on every corner, but there was no night life in Reno. I walked around the nice homes on the bluff south of the casinos and took some nice pictures but from here reno doesn't seem so bad maybe cause you couldn't see the street bums. Reno really needs to clean up it's act, even in the casinos homless people were playing slots constantly. A lot of abandoned buildings/white trash/casino food was no good. I did win 350 on a wheel of Fortune slot so I was happy for that. The people seem to stick to themselves and I felt the need to wash my hands every time I went into a casino. Fitzgeralds was a dump along with the Nugget. I don't know how any one can live in Reno, there is nothing to do but gamble. I don't think I will be coming back agin. Milwaukee feels like NYC compared to Reno, I did like the bowlng stadium thought very nice!!!!. Just judging by the people walking by the whole town seem very boring and dirty, along with the dirty buildings. The Auto musuem was nice, but thats about it. Sorry reno/sparks but this is one western town I wont be coming back to. Whats with all the young white kids that look angry and pissed off and they all seem to hang out on every corner. Reno is a dump!!!

Well, let me give you my take on Reno. I am from the Sacramento and Bay area region of California. I have been in Reno for over 10 years now. The areas of Reno that you visited and the areas you described, a majority of us who live here never even visit or spend time in those areas either. Come out here again and visit the outlying suburb areas. You will be surprised my friend. As for the "white trash" as you stated, yes I know what you mean. I am a white male of an interacial family, and that was the first thing I noticed that I didn't like about this community up here (compared to California) when I first moved here. Too many country people! Well, let me tell you. It's changing quickly up here. I's becoming very much Californiaized. I'll tell you how popular this place is. This is one of the most envied communities to live by those in California. People are fleeing up here from California! No joke. Reno is in Washoe county, which the democratic vote finally won for the first time ever here in this presidential election. There is so much opportunity in this little city, it is not even funny. The job market is unbelievable. My favorite thing about living here is that it is only a skip away over the mountain back down to California for the weekends to have some real fun (clubing, huge sportbike nights - I ride with SBF, etc.), and then once I realize why I no longer like living in California because of the serious crime and the damn "rat race" lifestyle, I return to this small quaint peacful little city that I am proud to call home.
Also, you are comparing Reno to Milaukee. I would never compare Reno to Sacramento, because it's not. Reno is tiny(but growing quickly). Think of it this way. Compare the Reno/Sparks(I actually live in the Sparks suburb of Wingfield Springs) area to any other small community in this nation of equal size/population area, and they do not even compare to this place! Hence Reno's nickname, "The Biggest Little City in the World". I've been through numerous other small cities driving back east numerous times, cities actually larger than Reno, and they don't even compare to this place! There is no other small city in this country of equal population of the Reno area that actually has a skyline of buildings as Reno does. This is a 24 hour town. There are virtually no other communities of this size across this country that don't close up and go dark through the midnight hours. No it doesn't have a nightlife and clubs like larger cities, but it's not a large city. It sure as heck has a much larger night life compared to other cities of the same size! And again, most of those of us that live here don't even hang around that downtown area except during events like Hot August nights and numerous other events. Downtown Reno is a weekend party pit for those from California and other bordering states. Yes, it's usually dead down there and down the South Virginia coridor any given day of the week. Tell you what, come to Reno during one of the many events this little city hosts or during a summer weekend, and you will be surprised how much different it is than when you visited.
In addition, those of us that live here spend a lot of time up in the Tahoe area. Awesome road riding like you wouldn't believe. The lake. Jet skies in the Summer. And yes, I finally got into snow boarding in the winter. Wholly crap is that fun! And again, Sacramento is only 1.75 hours away and Frisco another hour further - not far at all. I attend all AMA/Moto GP bike races in Sonoma and Monterey CA as I always have. There's even a really decent race track just east of Reno here and it is home to one of only 3 Keith Code's California Superbike Racing Schools.

Anyway, I love this small city. I know you are used to a bigger community, so am I. But I think you got a wrong take on this place. You visited the tourist trap portion of the town. Yeah, that part of Reno sucks. I never gamble. It's a waste of money and it's boring. But this place does have a lot to offer. This is a great place to live if you ask me.

Peace man =) Obama 08

[mattyj46]

When you look at Reno you've also got to look around as well, experience all of Reno and its surroundings and you'll find a great place.

[MILWCITY]

So your saying minus Reno's downtown, as a whole it's a pretty town? I need more than just walks in the woods for entertainment, like a nightlife scene.

[jwaters943]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay. With that said, did you try any of my suggestions aside from the Automobile Museum? http://www.city-data.com/forum/reno-...tion-reno.html It sounds to me like you saw what you wanted to see and ignored the rest. November - April is typically our slow season so it's no suprise downtown was a bit empty. As for the Fitzgeralds, it's currently closed and it supposed to be renovated and turned into a sort of boutique hotel in case you were curious.

You complain about a lack of nightlife. Did you visit any of the following?

Divine Ultra Lounge
210 North
Imperial Bar & Lounge
Bubinga in Eldorado
The Chocolate Bar


Fine Dining?

Harrah's Steakhouse
Bistro Roxie by the fountains between Eldorado & Silver Legacy
Beaujoulais Bistro (on West St. near First)
LuLous on S. Virginia & Holcomb
Charlie Palmer's Fin Fish or Steakhouse at Grand Sierra Resort
Dolce at Grand Sierra Resort

And at you thinking the Bowling Stadium was nice. That place has always been an eyesore. Yuck.

[schizrade]

Originally Posted by MILWCITY

So your saying minus Reno's downtown, as a whole it's a pretty town? I need more than just walks in the woods for entertainment, like a nightlife scene.

So stay away from Cities where people actually go outside.

[MILWCITY]

Yeah the bowiling alley from the outside looks like stalin just dropped it off, the auto musuem was very nice. I still think Reno has a ton of potential, I had a ton of people in Milwaukee tell me Reno was a dump and I kept telling them it wasn't this is until I went there. I did enjoy the river walk area although I think they need to expand it, in Milwaukee panhandlers would not be allowed to panhandle all day. I asked the locals where the nightclubs are and nobody could tell me where one was. Bubinga was more of a lounge than a nightclub, but nice. I like mountian biking but I also like a strong nightlife and I know how wierd that must sound with me being from Milwaukee, you don't actually think Milwaukee has a nightlife but since chicago is 30 miles away we have a lot of chicago transplants that have opened very nice nightclubs. Don't worry I'll be back next year and this time I'm taking my golf clubs and renting a car. The homes around lee and court street were nice and the view was cool. Also the workers in the casino weren't exactly a happy bunch any reason for this?

[schizrade]

Originally Posted by MILWCITY

Also the workers in the casino weren't exactly a happy bunch any reason for this?

Probably because most of their clientele are the knuckle-draggers from California. That and the Casinos are fading away as time marches on.

[Tressa]

[quote=MILWCITY;6316516]. Like in Milwaukee where condo's where the cataylist to redeveloping downtown, I see the same for Reno. Milwaukee downtown pop. used to be only 5,600 back in 1989 and now it's 20,000+.

Small town feel is what we were after that's why we chose the Northern Nevada area. We've traveled to Milwaukee and felt that it was sooo conjested with traffic and tall buildings that we didn't feel safe at all.

As far as night clubs seems that most of the larger casino's have night club entertainment especially the ones that I've been to in Reno.

Now as I say to my kids while they were growing up, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

[Ant.]

I just signed up because I was reading some of these threads floating around here with certain people posting a lot of misinformation about the area. I was born and raised here, growing up I always wanted to leave and never really knew why I just wanted something new for the most part. Well when I turned 18 I moved to Maui for 2 years just because I always thought it would be a good experience and fun. I eventually got island fever and decided to leave. I then moved to Denver because that was another place I had always thought about moving to. I really liked Denver live there for 3 years while my girlfriend went to CU Boulder. We then moved back to Reno when she was done with college to be closer to my family and I was feeling a little homesick. We lived back in Reno for 2 years were she finished college, then moved to Vegas because that is where she was going to grad school. I hated Vegas with a passion, I would never live there if my life depended on it. I then moved back to Reno (left the gf there) and have been back here for about a year now. Since the age of 18 I have been on a mission to find the "perfect place" to live. I have decided that Reno is home for me it has so much to offer in so many ways. There are lots of lakes within 30-45 minutes, numerous ski resorts within the same amount of time, 300 days of sunshine a year, lots of good people, good little hole in the wall restaurants, a few fun bars, decent amenities, the festivals, etc.. are all reasons why I like it here. I personally can't think of a better place to be. The cost of living has gone up quite a bit due to the large amounts of california people moving here but it hasn't driven me to the point to where I feel the need to leave. Like others have mentioned the downtown area isn't a place that people that live here frequent, and doesn't give Reno a good vibe for people that come here to visit unfortunately. However once you become familiar with the area you will find that it has a lot of character and there is plenty to do both outdoors and inside. The good restaurants here aren't right in front of your face you have to know the good spots and they are usually small little moms and pops places. You can use any of the land outside of town to do whatever you please, 4 wheeling, shooting, running a muck, etc... There aren't many places that you can do that.