Considering a move from Omaha to Reno (2009, apartments)

[shanon723]

My husband and I are considering a move in the next year or so from Omaha, NE to Reno. I saw several posts, but none seemed to have much recent information. We do not have kids, are in our mid 30's and are just tired of the Omaha weather, and not much to do here. We are planning a visit to the area probably in the spring sometime to make our final decision, and my biggest concern is the current job market in the area. Most of the posts I have seen on this previously are at least 6 months old, so I was wondering if there has been improvement in that area, or the unemployment is still relatively high, or improving? I am a Veterinary Technician, and he has worked various types of jobs, but has no college degree. From what I can find on Crag's list and such it seems there is some reasonable apartments available to start with for us. Any input would be appreciated, as I said we won't be considering a move for at least a year or so, could be a little longer, but just wanted to get some opinions early.

Thanks for any input

Shanon

[movin out of reno]

I recently lost my job in Reno and Im an RN! Jobs were tight before the economic downturn up here. The current unemployment for the state is 13% and Reno is more around 16 or 17. This city and state have the worst economy in the country. Luckily I was able to quickly find a job in Phoenix, and I love it here. Much better quality of life in Phoenix as well. There is also much more to do in Omaha than Reno. Reno lost 20,000 people in the last year.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by movin out of reno

I recently lost my job in Reno and Im an RN! Jobs were tight before the economic downturn up here. The current unemployment for the state is 13% and Reno is more around 16 or 17. This city and state have the worst economy in the country. Luckily I was able to quickly find a job in Phoenix, and I love it here. Much better quality of life in Phoenix as well. There is also much more to do in Omaha than Reno. Reno lost 20,000 people in the last year.

You are kidding, right? I sincerely hope an RN would not be this uneducated. Seriously, you need to get your facts straight before posting nonsense. Just for starters....

Michigan has the worst economy in the country, not Nevada.

Reno's current unemployment stands at 13.1% as of September 2009, not 16 or 17% as you said.

Phoenix does NOT have a better quality of life than Reno. I have lived in both places and this is completely false.

Reno has more to do than Omaha, but that is just my opinion.

[shanon723]

I cannot imagine there is less to do in Reno than Omaha. Not that Omaha is all that bad, just not all that exciting either. The climate here sucks, hot and humid in summer, cold and ice and snow in winter. We are lucky if we get a few really nice days in the spring and fall that aren't rainy..
Anyway, we are looking for a change, and the climate of Reno is very appealing, and seems from what I read quite a lot to do there. We love the outdoors and the mountains so that is all good, we also like the nightlife, so that aspect seems good too. Not that we plan to go party every day and night, but choices are good.
Anyway, any other opinions or thoughts?

[las vegas drunk]

Reno was a little too cold for me, but then again I am a Phoenix, Arizona native. The summers in Reno are beautiful, and you are also very close to Lake Tahoe which is absolutely stunning. Reno is a 24 hour town just like Vegas, so there is always something to do. I can guarantee you the nightlife in Reno absolutely blows away Omaha.

[Clarks]

Phoenix does NOT have a better quality of life than Reno. I have lived in both places and this is completely false.

Reno has more to do than Omaha, but that is just my opinion.

10-4, Reno is a great place, you will find plenty to do, whether you are outside or inside. Because it is a relatively isolated city, it has had to provide the economic and entertainment hub for Northern Nevada and North East CA.

You will love hopping in the car and driving to, Tahoe, Truckee, Nevada City, Sierraville, Downieville, Alturas, the Black Rock Desert, Berlin Icthysaur State Park, Pyramid Lake, Bodie, Mono Lake, Yosemite, Genoa, Ebbets Pass, just to name a few great places nearby to visit.

[Jays1983]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

Reno was a little too cold for me, but then again I am a Phoenix, Arizona native. The summers in Reno are beautiful, and you are also very close to Lake Tahoe which is absolutely stunning. Reno is a 24 hour town just like Vegas, so there is always something to do. I can guarantee you the nightlife in Reno absolutely blows away Omaha.

Yeah.... So I have been to Reno several times for some face time with a client and can tell you with 100% certainty that Reno may have more so called "nightlife" but the nightlife itself sucks. Reno is like Vegas’ ugly little step brother.
No offense to the people of Reno, but the city itself, leaves a lot to be desired. If you are only interested in going out, getting **** faced, and spending your hard earned money in a slot machine, go for it.
For a more stable environment, "non-gimmicky" nightlife, a job, good cost of living, I would try Texas.

Reno just seems like such an off-the-wall suggestion that im baffled by it. Anyway, just my opinion of course.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by Jays1983

Yeah.... So I have been to Reno several times for some face time with a client and can tell you with 100% certainty that Reno may have more so called "nightlife" but the nightlife itself sucks. Reno is like Vegas’ ugly little step brother.
No offense to the people of Reno, but the city itself, leaves a lot to be desired. If you are only interested in going out, getting **** faced, and spending your hard earned money in a slot machine, go for it.
For a more stable environment, "non-gimmicky" nightlife, a job, good cost of living, I would try Texas.

Reno just seems like such an off-the-wall suggestion that im baffled by it. Anyway, just my opinion of course.

No disrespect here, but I can't say I agree with any of this, especially regarding Texas. I have lived in Texas, and it was flat out horrible. You couldn't pay me to live there. Texas is a right-winger state that has ridiculous laws. Just try to register your car there for example. It would be the absolute worst place to go for someone who likes to party. Do you know they have actually send undercover police officers to the bars, and if you look intoxicated, they will arrest you for public intoxication, take you to jail, and be fined $500 at the minimum? I watch the tv show "Jail", and nearly every public intoxication arrest on it comes from Texas. On the other hand, it is against the law to arrest someone for public intoxication in Nevada. Geez, if Nevada was like Texas, I would be locked up every weekend. For nightlife, you can not beat Vegas. However, Reno had a decent nightlife with 24 hour drinking which no where in Texas has. Reno does beat out Vegas in regards to the beauty of the city, and air quality, so to each his own.

[shanon723]

I have made a number of visits to various parts of Texas and see nothing there that would encourage me to want to live in any of the areas I have visited, so that was not on our short list of appealing places. lol.
We were looking for someplace with a reasonably nice climate, warm in summer, not so hot all you do is sit in the AC all summer, and tolerable most of the winter so you could do things other than sit in the heated house all winter (Omaha suffers from both of those problems) and that had mountains or some kind of other outdoor activities nearby, and that had a good nightlife scene.
We will most likely visit for a week or so sometime in the Spring and make a final decision, then if looks good hope to move around 1 to 1 1/2 year from now, so nothing we are planning to rush into.
We ruled out Vegas because of the extreme heat in the summer.. again spending 4 or more months of the year sitting in the house with the AC blasting because its miserable out is not too appealing, and also the extreme dryness of the air there (I know Reno is not a ton better, but slightly) made me miserable on our recent visit to Vegas. I don't know if one gets used to that or not, but my nose and eyes and skin were so dry the whole week we were there..

Anyway, I appreciate all the comments on Reno!

[VerdeOjos5]

I would totally disagree with Jay as well... especially about if all you want to do is get &^# faced and gamble away your hard earned money... COME ON. That kind of stuff is all about the person. If I never wanted to go downtown, I never would! There were plenty of people where I grew up that would spend their whole paychecks in those small Indian casinos. again it is all about the PERSON. There is so much more to Reno than the casinos and gambling and drinking. I would say the night life is perfectly fine. However, remember it is a smaller city and you may see some of the same people out, depending on where you go (for example if you always end up at Rumbullions or Brew Brothers inside Silver Legacy) Either way, I enjoy it every time I go out. I always have fun.

I do have to tell you though, I know what you mean about Vegas being too hot (the reason im nervous to move down there)... but Reno is HOT too. it's not "warm" summers. it is HOT and you will be in AC believe me. It's miserable getting in your car that has been sitting out... but at least there are times that it is absolutely beautiful like 9 AM. i would suggest doing whatever you need to do early!! and the winter time... it snows here. a lot. i mean, maybe not a lot to people that live in Ohio or wherever, but enough that it will be packed on the ground for a week (at least in the north valleys where i live and my friggen HOA doesn't take care of snow sweeping the roads!)...

Overall i love it here in Reno and will be sad to leave if that happens (and it's not back to Myrtle Beach LOL).

I think not moving in a year to a year and a half is a long time... but i have to say i only visited Reno one time before I moved here, and I ended up loving it. 4 years later I still love it. good luck.