Reno (Las Vegas, Sparks, Carson City: transplants, real estate market, violent crime)

[DLetch1]

Hello all -

Up until recently, Reno has never been on my radar. Although with some recent developments, it very well could be. I just have a few questions.

1 - I’ve read online that violent crime in Reno is higher than the national average. Do you feel unsafe living in Reno? We have small kids and definitely would not want to take them somewhere where we have to worry about violent crime. What are the safest areas/neighborhoods in Reno? What parts of town are safe, and what parts of town should we avoid??

2 - I’ve noticed reno has had a pretty long and bad winter. Is this normal? And if not, how bad is a “normal” winter. I suffer from seasonal depression, so does reno get much sunshine in the winter months?

3 - How is traffic there? I know it’s one of the fastest growing places in America, so I’m curious, has traffic gotten to be brutal?

4 - Lastly, in your opinion, is Reno a good place to raise a family? What are some of your favorite things, and least favorite things about living in the Reno area.

Thank you so much for any and all replies!

[ChrisMT]

Hello!

I live in a nearby city, but have co-workers and family members who live in Reno.

Most of the violent crime stats are coming from the downtown area or where there are transient populations from what I can tell. Also, violent crime tends to be domestic or ‘among thieves’. There are a few other neighborhoods that are adding to the statistics, maybe a local realtor can help you with which neighborhoods to avoid or seek out.

South Reno is pretty safe and has good schools as well. Kings Row is a nice neighborhood...there are plenty of good neighborhoods.

Reno normally has a rather mild winter season with mostly sunny skies. This winter has been extremely unusual for cold and for heavy snow storms with snow cover in some locations for months. Reno has seen the lowest snowfall out of the Nevada communities adjacent to the Sierra. My community has been covered in snow since November, while Reno has had the snow melt quickly between storms for the most part.

The traffic in Reno is nothing compared to a typical big California city. There are rush hour traffic jams in a few places from my experience...maybe this has changed the last few years with all the growth. Also, the growth out to Verdi on I80 has been impacted by the heavy winter storms shutting down I80 to semi-trucks or requiring chains almost constantly this winter...severely backing up traffic outside of Reno along that corridor.

Reno can be fine for raising kids in the right neighborhoods and schools. Nevada does have legal marijuana and it is a 24 hour tourist destination for gambling tourism (as well as outdoor adventure tourism) so there is that negative aspect for raising a family. Those of us who have lived here all our lives hardly notice the casino's nor do we gamble much...but it is a pervasive presence and alcohol is cheap and plentiful...again I never noticed it growing up here, but it is a definite factor. Sports are big in the schools here and many students and athletes have achieved college scholarships from my experience. Remember when you read scary stats for Nevada that Las Vegas is home to 75% of the population and that fact severely skews the statistics for crime, school quality and every stat you see on Nevada. Northern Nevada is very, very different than Las Vegas.

My favorite aspects about living in Northern Nevada would be the abundant open lands and mountains to recreate in all year. We also have a variety of very visible wildlife. We do have a sunny and dry climate that is comparatively mild to the Northeast or higher latitude locations of nearby states. The public lands here have quite a few trails and roads for access and very little 'rules and regulations'. I also appreciate the tax structure here and 'live and let live' attitude of the locals.

My least favorite aspect about living here has been that many desirable locations are unaffordable for locals as transplants with plenty of cash move in and snap up the nice properties! That's been happening for 30 years or more! I also do not appreciate some of the unsavory aspects of the gaming tourism economy at times.

[DLetch1]

Thank you for all the info

Is Damonte Ranch considered a safe area?

[ChrisMT]

Yes.

Damonte Ranch is in South Reno. South Reno is newer and nicer than many other locations and has nice upscale amenities, shopping etc.

Also home to wild mustang herds. No kidding….

[MayMoveInFuture]

We've been here a few years. Moved from Western NY. We love it. The desert landscape is very different from what we're used to but we don't mind it. The major increase in sunshine makes up for it, in my mind.

We definitely notice a difference this winter from the previous two but it's still better than where we left. We live in Sparks. It's further from the mountain and seems to be a bit better regarding snow and wind. I would guess my area has received one foot of snow this winter.

I work from home so can't comment on commute but I have seen issues in tv.

Housing is ridiculous here. If we had not bought when we did, we would not be living here. It's another reason we picked Sparks. Just a little less expensive than Reno.

[Steveareeno5]

Originally Posted by DLetch1

Hello all -

Up until recently, Reno has never been on my radar. Although with some recent developments, it very well could be. I just have a few questions.

1 - I’ve read online that violent crime in Reno is higher than the national average. Do you feel unsafe living in Reno? We have small kids and definitely would not want to take them somewhere where we have to worry about violent crime. What are the safest areas/neighborhoods in Reno? What parts of town are safe, and what parts of town should we avoid??

2 - I’ve noticed reno has had a pretty long and bad winter. Is this normal? And if not, how bad is a “normal” winter. I suffer from seasonal depression, so does reno get much sunshine in the winter months?

3 - How is traffic there? I know it’s one of the fastest growing places in America, so I’m curious, has traffic gotten to be brutal?

4 - Lastly, in your opinion, is Reno a good place to raise a family? What are some of your favorite things, and least favorite things about living in the Reno area.

Thank you so much for any and all replies!

tell us where you're coming from.

[Teacher Terry]

I moved to Reno 26 years ago for my career and love it here. The weather is a mild 4 seasons and most years my sweater is my winter coat). In all that time we have only had 5 real winters. People are friendly and Lake Tahoe is only 45 minutes with lots of great hiking trails, snowshoeing and many other outdoor activities. Housing has become very expensive. The Damonte ranch area is very nice.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by MayMoveInFuture

Housing is ridiculous here. If we had not bought when we did, we would not be living here. It's another reason we picked Sparks. Just a little less expensive than Reno.

Is it though? I know it's all relative, but Reno is still quite affordable by national standards - and certainly compared to California. Seems like everyone everywhere complains about cost of living, even when it's low!

[2sleepy]

Actually, prices have gone up more in the Reno/Sparks area than they have in California. The average home price in Reno 518k , and the average in Sacramento is 461k. I lived in Reno for 14 years and it was ok, the things I disliked were the wind and the cold winters. We lived above the city in SW Reno so we got more snow more often than what you would experience downtown. I like Carson City, it has a small-town feel but there are still plenty of places to shop. I never felt unsafe anywhere in Northern Nevada. Reno schools are usually really good or really awful. They have some charter/magnet schools that blow away anything that I've seen in Sacramento.

We live in Sacramento now and for the most part, I like it but it has the most unresponsive Sheriff's Dept I have ever encountered. I am not sure what they do, but I figured out where you can get a deputy if you need one - the parking lot of Dutch Bros.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Actually, prices have gone up more in the Reno/Sparks area than they have in California. The average home price in Reno 518k , and the average in Sacramento is 461k.

I suppose that's true, if we're talking about Sacramento vs Reno. I'm in the Santa Cruz/Bay Area, which obviously affects my perspective a little... and I've been thinking about moving to Reno for years, so I have kept an eye on the real estate market. Still seems okay, especially if you're not trying to buy a new build in town. I am mostly interested in older homes, and not right IN Reno itself. Maybe a bit outside.

I was just there last week, in fact, taking the Washoe County exam (for a specific job classification). It was lovely.