I have a job offer in Reno. Tell me about your city. (Sparks: apartments)

[Alexia1997]

I have a great job offer at one of the hospitals in Reno. I've been there several times and love it for the weather, outdoors, and western lifestyle. I have some time to decide and am looking at every factor. Cost of living is equal to where I live and work now except housing is 50% more expensive.

It would just be my wife and I. Kids are grown up and gone. We've been there several times for a few days at a time and love the area.

So tell me the pros and cons of living fulltime in Reno please.

Thanks in advance.

[Gatopescado]

There is always something going on in Reno. Art festivals, music, theater, car/motorcycle rallies, food/beer cookoffs, counter-culture "stuff", the Air Races, semi-pro and college sports- all while maintaining a "small town" feel.

Close to mountains, deserts, lakes and the river, pretty much on all sides. Traffic ain't too bad. Some nice, new sections of roads that make getting around pretty nice. Weather is generally pretty good. No state income tax.

If you are bored in Reno, you aren't trying.

One con is you have to smog your vehicle in Washoe county.

[Nn2036]

Pros: Lake Tahoe, good weather, little traffic, beautiful mountain view, close to California, lots of outdoor activity, lots of cool events, etc...

Cons: the metro is small, not many international destinations from the airport, expensive housing.

[owelles]

Originally Posted by Nn2036

Pros: Lake Tahoe, good weather, little traffic, beautiful mountain view, close to California, lots of outdoor activity, lots of cool events, etc...

Cons: the metro is small, not many international destinations from the airport, expensive housing.

Good list, although some would say the size of metro area is just about right. Some prefer midsize cities to major metro areas, which have their own set of accompanying headaches.

[Vic Romano]

Other than what has been said, I would say this (from a So. Cal. perspective):

Pros: 1) People are friendly (from what I have experienced) and more relaxed. 2) We have been dealing with many vendors in preparation for our move the past year and all have either been on time or early for appointments. Unheard of in So. Cal. 3) Certain vendor services seem less expensive. 4) Food at chain fast food places are less expensive. 5) Traffic is pretty good. 6) Lake Tahoe is less than an hour away, Bridgeport and Sacramento are 2 hours away and Mammoth Lakes is 3 hours.

Cons: 1) Food at markets does not seem to be cheaper. 2) Going to non-chain restaurants does not seem to be cheaper, perhaps even a little more. 3) Overall restaurants not as good or diverse (haven't found a good sushi or Chinese restaurant yet). 4) Would be nice to have more flights out of Reno/Tahoe airport. 5) There have been complaints that the salary to rent ratio is not very good. 6) Gas in Washoe County is about the same price (which means high compared to most of the country).

Overall the cons are not unexpected for a smaller metro area. Hey, you can't have everything.

[utsci]

I love living in Reno and as mentioned, if you are bored in Reno you haven't looked very hard. Just in Sept alone we have the Rib Cook off, Air Races, Balloon Races, Burning Man, Food Truck Fridays, annual AKC dog show and lots of smaller local things going on. There are a lot of outdoor activities and the state parks and local programs have lots of informational fun things to do like star gazing, animal identification, bee keeping, gardening. You will never be bored here.

If coming from major metro you will miss ethnic food. There is some, but hard to find. We have finally found a couple of Mexican places, a Greek place, and lots of breakfast places. But truly ethnic food is lacking. We miss German, Italian, and eclectic stuff. The franchised restaurants started building up here 10-15 years ago and seemed to run the little mom and pops out of town. Slowly, some of those are coming back.

Housing and gas are both expensive here so choose wisely. My advice is to find the best house for the money as close to your employment as possible. At least live on the same side of town, which is generally dictated by the intersection of I80 and 580/395. If you are working at Renown or St Marys I would not choose to live in Sparks and go through the Spaghetti Bowl (intersection mentioned above) going to/from work unless your shift is not the normal 8-5. I've worked at Renown and we live in south Reno suburbs (just outside city limits to the south) and it is about 12 miles. If there were problems in the Spaghetti Bowl, and there often are, it can turn that into a 45 minute ride with few workarounds. You might look into the NW suburban area...lots of nicer apartments. Most housing started out there in the 1980s to current (though not as much growth there now as south Reno and Sparks).

The other reason I prefer living close to work is to give me more time to enjoy all of the fun stuff there is to do here! Also, although we have four seasons, it is nothing like back East or the Midwest in the winter. We rarely cancel anything here due to weather. This summer and last had some weeks of hot temps and smoke from fires in surrounding states that made being outside unpleasant. A few days were unhealthy to be outside per health department. But anywhere in the West is going to have the same problem these days. Just depends the direction of the wind. Fall and Spring are fantastic weather. I would say that February is my least favorite month as there tends to be some overcast, foggy, cold, damp weeks. But I use it as a great time to do my garden planning and knowing that summer will soon be here.

Given the central location, Reno is a great jumping off place for trips to Sacramento (we like to go to Ikea and fruit/vegetable stands), San Francisco (ball games, ballet, theater, ethnic food fix, zoo, museums), Oregon (coastal camping, berry picking, clamming). The airport isn't as convenient for flights as larger cities, but on the other hand you can show up an hour before a flight and fly thru security in 15 minutes...if that. We live about 15 minutes from the airport and let visitors know to call us when they have gotten off the plane. We arrive at the airport by the time they have retrieved their luggage. Not bad. Our daughter just came back from Denver, where she showed up three hours before her flight and spent over 90 minutes in the snake lines for security.

Both hospitals have a long history here. St Marys has had financial issues over the years but Dignity Health seems to be very stable. Renown took advantage of St Mary's lack of growth due to their finances, and has expanded into every nook and corner of town. Many of the doctors now work for Renown vs private practice, St Marys also has multi-practice offices but not as many. St Marys has 3-4 satellite locations for imaging, Renown probably has 12-15.

Good luck with your choice!