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Elko is actually a great place, if you are an Elko person, my wife grew up in Elko, went to Grammar School #2, taught school in Ruby Valley, 60 miles from pavement in a two room school house,, but,,, and this is a big but,, you have got to be the kind of person who likes remoteness,, hiker, rider, hunter, etc.
I have to say if you move to Nevada it has to be Reno, Galena area. I grew up in Lake Tahoe. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Tahoe. Reno is where all my friends went when they figured out they couldn't afford to live in Tahoe. We are the nicest, most down-to-earth people you will ever meet. I lived in Reno for 5 years and then moved to Maui. I am moving back to Reno in 2 months and I can't wait! I love Maui, who wouldn't, but I cannot wait to get back to a life of true friendships and relationships!
I have to say if you move to Nevada it has to be Reno, Galena area. I grew up in Lake Tahoe. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Tahoe. Reno is where all my friends went when they figured out they couldn't afford to live in Tahoe. We are the nicest, most down-to-earth people you will ever meet. I lived in Reno for 5 years and then moved to Maui. I am moving back to Reno in 2 months and I can't wait! I love Maui, who wouldn't, but I cannot wait to get back to a life of true friendships and relationships!
Has more to do with the people than the place. Used to know a Lady who felt the same way about Paducah KY.
Ouch! Guess you have to live here to know what really goes on. Yes Elko does have snow, no elko is not all red neck. Currently Elko boasts the lowest unemployment rate in NV and one of the lowest in the US. While housing has cooled nation wide, we are still behind in building homes with waiting lists up to 2 years. We have too many jobs avail and not enough places to house the people. It is rural, there are real cowboys and mining is the largest employer. These "red necks" don't have goats in their yards as indicated on another post. they have Snow mobiles, quads, campers, boats and RV's. Being the nation's largest gold producer, you see a community reflecting families that bring home well above the average income. It is a tight family oriented community where you can actually leave your door unlocked at night. It is the polar opposite of Vegas in every way. (lived there too). I moved here to raise my family over 4 years ago and have not regreted it once.
We're not miners or ranchers, just people who wanted to live in a place where you can still breathe the air, see the stars at night and drive 20 miles in 20 minutes! Imagine that.
J
I would be looking at NV as a 'winter getaway' of sorts. I like it being nice and roomy and all,but isn't northern NV pretty much cold and snowy in the winter? I'd therefore have to just consider southern NV but I think I'd hate the city type junk associated with Vegas. Is there any smaller towns in southern NV?
I'm not a Nevada-ite (??), but have been through basically every part of the state, and lived on the border for a while (in S. Lake Tahoe)... I at least know enough to not pronounce it "Nev-ahh-da", LOL.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I agree with the others about Elko. I've been there, and it's basically a pit-stop along the desert's interstate... stayed there on my drive home from Wyoming (to Tahoe), and it's REALLY desolate! My friend & I were looking for food to be delivered to our hotel, so we checked the phone book... there was a listing for Domino's Pizza, with the slogan "The only pizza in town!" Now that, to me, is a sign you're in a town with nothing going on. And if you're a Stephen King fan, it's clear why he set the book "Desperation" in that valley. I was there close to 10 years ago, so it may have grown a bit since then, but I'm guessing not much.
Have you considered the Reno area? It's really beautiful up there, and the people always seem very nice & down-to-earth when I visit (frequently). There are many outlying towns with nice housing, and prices are generally cheaper than the Vegas metro. Plus, I think the weather is much better! It's dry and warm in the summer, without reaching the ridiculous Vegas temps - usually averages between 80-85... and it cools down nicely at night, with that crisp mountain air. Winters are colder & somewhat snowy, but nothing compared to Boston! I have relatives in Massachussetts, and visit yearly, so I'm aware of what you deal with. Just thought I'd suggest Reno, since it would be my personal choice in that state. Good luck!
I agree that this post is accurate about the weather in Reno as I lived there 7 years...Versatile and pretty..But loads of politically correct northern Californians and their B.S....Then on the other hand you have the poopy-butted rednecks and plenty of them to contend with..High prices, real estate priced out of sight, small minds..Low wages...Would like to live there again but with the above obstacles..No..No..No.. As they say in REEE NUH Thank yuh I said muh piece....
A Bostonian moving to Elko may as well be moving to another planet
First, I wouldn't call Elko all that isolated, but then I've lived in much smaller towns in Nevada. Elko (taken as Elko+Spring Creek) is over 35,000 people.
Second, here's some observations for big city slickers looking to move "out west" to small towns:
1. We don't want your silly politics. You made a mess of your hometown with your silly ideas about how the world should work... and now you want to move away because the taxes, crime and cost of living are high.
Hint: When you move to a small town with low taxes, low crime and low[er] cost of living, here's a tip: Keep your mouth shut and your big-city politics to yourself. You'll get along with folks much better. Don't think for a moment that folks in small towns in the west aren't aware (acutely aware, in fact) that you big city types have made a complete mess of your own neighborhoods in the past. If you start mouthing off about how "This is how we did XYZ in Boston/NYC/LA..." guess what? Folks are going to stand up and say "Well, then perhaps you'd best move BACK THERE..."
2. If you don't like small town people, don't move there. There's no faster way to feel really isolated in a small town than to move there and then start bad-mouthing the people there because you think they're ignorant of all the "cultural" nonsense you have in big cities.
There isn't a daily newspaper in many small towns, but I'll guar-an-dam-tee you this: If you move into a town and start bad-mouthing people as stupid hicks, you can bet every last dollar you have that within two weeks EVERYONE IN TOWN will know what you said and likely be able to quote it back to you.
3. Lots of big city folks get all flustered that "everyone knows my business." Well, yes, that's the way small town people work. They're going to poke into your business. Big city folks often get very annoyed at this, because they're used to the faceless, nameless, drone-like existence that one has in big cities, where you can live next to someone for five years and know almost nothing about them.
That won't happen in a small town. People want to know something about you. They want to know you're not a child molester, murderer, ex-felon, etc. And yes, those types of people DO try to move to small towns - all the time. They're found out for who they are, quickly.
Small town people want to know you're not on the run from the law, that you're a stable productive person, etc. They're very trusting people - if you've not lived in a small town, then you really don't understand why. Here's why: their children play without supervision - many times, parents don't know exactly where their children are. They know they're playing with other kids somewhere in town. They don't lock their doors. They don't lock their cars. They often can't even locate the keys to their doors and they leave keys to their cars in the ignition or under the floor mat. When neighbors need to borrow tools, they often walk into the shop, leave a note (or call the owner's cell phone) and borrow the tool without someone being there.
If you're an unacceptable person, their behavior will have to change. And they don't want to change their trust in people. Breaking people's trust makes people in small towns mad - really, really mad. And hurt. They like that they don't have to live in a siege mentality that one has to in big cities.
So that's why they're so nosy. They can't run a NCIC check on you, but trust me - within a few months, they'll know stuff that FBI would take weeks to learn if they came to town. Once they trust you, you can ask for favors a city neighbor would never think of granting. Need a car? Many folks have a spare kicking around. Need a place to stay because your plumbing froze? Here's the spare room. Need a particular tool or machine? Here it is.
3. This trust and knowledge goes two ways: you'll learn something about your neighbors too. When folks tell you where they're going to be, who their kin are, when they introduce you to their friends, etc - they're implicitly expecting you to remember some of this stuff. This is part of the network of trust in small towns; folks are telling you who they trust, who is part of their circle of friends and family, people who you should treat as that person's trusted people.
4. Why is point #3 important? Because your neighbors and friends in small towns will protect you from outsiders: Your "nosy neighbors" will confront people they have never seen who show up on your property, or who are messing with your car. If some stranger shows up in town asking about you, often small town folks will fake ignorance about you until they get a chance to call you or see you and then they'll tell you "Hey, this guy showed up in town asking about you... OK to tell him where you are?"
Your friends from Big City USA will be completely baffled by this. And they'll likely be offended. Tell your big city folks to keep their mouths shut. This is how small town folks protect their own. And if your Big City Friends are snooping around your home when you're not home, tell them they should not be surprised if someone comes by and asks "Can I help you?" Tell your Big City Friends to be courteous and civil, because most of the time that small town folks do this, they're prepared for snotty responses from Big City folks. Small town folks might not say much in this situation - but your Big City Friends might get to meet John M. Browning or Mess'rs Smith and Wesson.
It would be best to tell your neighbors that you're expecting some folks from out of town, where these people are coming from, etc.
5. In small towns, you're expected to know how to DO something. And I don't mean write commentary for some give-away paper or magazine on the latest "cultural" sensation. I mean "do something" as in you can do something with your hands and produce something tangible. If you're used to being an "idea" person, you'd better learn how to swing a hammer and twist a wrench. Ideas are a dime a dozen and they don't mean jack. Putting something together, being able to fix stuff -- that means something.
If you're expecting that you can just whip out the phone book and call a plumber/electrician/framer/etc and have one out there that afternoon... you're so sadly mistaken. If you're expecting restaurants to deliver food, you'd best stay in a big city. In small towns, you don't have all these "conveniences" - you have to do it for yourself. If you have skills that other folks don't have, you can swap and trade your skills for their skills. One of the biggest problems I see in big city folks is that they're helpless and ultimately useless. No one needs postmodernist literary critics in a small town, for example. Moving into a small town and complaining that there are no plumbers/electricians/interior decorators/pizza delivery will get you laughed at. Folks will wonder just what the heck you were expecting to find.
If, however, you can start learning how to get along with folks and introduce yourself to the community and your neighbors, you'll find that there ARE people that can do almost anything you'd want in a small community. There are plumbers, electricians, framers, machinists, auto mechanics, diesel mechanics, etc. They just don't have a shop on Main Street, they don't advertise in the phone book and they don't hang out a shingle. You have to ask around and you'll find them. They won't get stuff done on a strict schedule, mostly because they might be committed to several projects at once. I've seen ratty-looking doors swing open in itty-bitty towns and behind the door is a $50K collection of machine tools - and while they don't have the particular part you need for your car in stock at the parts store, these really handy sagebrush handy-men can make one out of a raw chunk of steel in less than an hour and the end result is better than the crappy replacement part made in China.
Great dissertation...I agree with alot of it but perhaps 'small town' life isn't for me then. I don't generally like 'nosy' people around and usually keep to myself,not because I'm hiding anything. I'm just more of a private person.
Perhaps the mountains of Montana may be more my style then
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Reno Think Twice Three Times And Then Some
I was there close to 10 years ago, so it may have grown a bit since then, but I'm guessing not much. 
Just thought I'd suggest Reno, since it would be my personal choice in that state. Good luck!
