Living in the Reno area: Plus and Minus (Carson City, Fernley: transplants, sale)

[Scorpion3510]

Hi all,

We're doing a bit of exploring and looking at the Reno area as potential moving destination.
Wife is in Healthcare and has cousins working at the hospital in Reno. I can work anywhere with an internet connection (I'm NOT in tech) and job is stable.

We're looking at the area as we have cousins there and my wife's family is just south of Sacramento. We used to live in the Bay Area but hated it. We do like Sacramento and it's people but can't stand California's government and refuse to live in that state again.

Currently in Seattle and like it here but with a small child and possibly another, it would be easier to be closer to family and their support. Both of us like heavy snow and rain (yes I realize Reno is high desert) and would like to at least be near snow.

So enough of my rambling. What is Reno like compared to other cities? We have experience with living in the BA, Seattle, Sacramento, Vegas, east coast, and Cleveland as references.

Is it decent for young families? Parks? Biking, hiking, breweries, children's museums, zoo, ect is what we are mostly into.

Our cousins seem to enjoy it but we've actually never been to Reno and will likely take a trip there in June to get a feel of the area.

Any help is appreciated, thank you in advance!

[ChrisMT]

Northern Nevada is going to feel very dry in climate compared to WA, CA, and the East Coast. It is extremely sunny and the climate is fairly mild compared to the East Coast, but definitely harsher than the Bay Area. We can get out and hike/bike year-round on the many trails systems along the Eastern Sierra Front or in the valleys. We get plenty of snow for most people's tastes, or you can drive 1/2 hour up into the Sierra for snow and skiing for many months of the year. We are having an unusually cold and snowy winter with snow on the ground for over a month now...the weather here is boom or bust..drought years then heavy winters with some flooding in the Spring... its a familiar cycle to me.

Reno is all about neighborhoods when it comes to safety, parks and good schools. There are museums in Reno and in Carson City, about 30 minutes to the south. Reno has lower crime compared to Vegas, the Bay Area and Seattle, but it is not low-crime by any means. Remember, Sacramento and the Bay Area are only a few hours drive over the beautiful Sierra for zoos or other big city amenities.

Northern Nevada is a tourist destination...lots of restaurants and breweries.

The economy here is booming and there are plenty of jobs in healthcare and manufacturing/tech.

[Scorpion3510]

Originally Posted by ChrisMT

Northern Nevada is going to feel very dry in climate compared to WA, CA, and the East Coast. It is extremely sunny and the climate is fairly mild compared to the East Coast, but definitely harsher than the Bay Area. We can get out and hike/bike year-round on the many trails systems along the Eastern Sierra Front or in the valleys. We get plenty of snow for most people's tastes, or you can drive 1/2 hour up into the Sierra for snow and skiing for many months of the year. We are having an unusually cold and snowy winter with snow on the ground for over a month now...the weather here is boom or bust..drought years then heavy winters with some flooding in the Spring... its a familiar cycle to me.

Reno is all about neighborhoods when it comes to safety, parks and good schools. There are museums in Reno and in Carson City, about 30 minutes to the south. Reno has lower crime compared to Vegas, the Bay Area and Seattle, but it is not low-crime by any means. Remember, Sacramento and the Bay Area are only a few hours drive over the beautiful Sierra for zoos or other big city amenities.

Northern Nevada is a tourist destination...lots of restaurants and breweries.

The economy here is booming and there are plenty of jobs in healthcare and manufacturing/tech.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions. I appreciate it! Have a good day!

[Teacher Terry]

I moved to Reno 26 years ago for my career. I absolutely love it here! I love the mild 4 seasons and how sunny it is. In all that time I think we have only had what I consider 4-5 real winters but I am from Wisconsin). I love the low humidity except for how dry my skin gets. If you like rain you will definitely miss it as we don’t get much. It’s a short drive to beautiful Lake Tahoe with all the snow you want.

Housing is expensive and I think I read it’s more expensive than Sacramento. Schools have always been rated lower than most other states but my friends kids all went to college and did well. My kids were grown by the time I moved here. Property crime tends to be high regardless of neighborhood. I have always found people to be friendly and nice but it could be because there’s very few natives and most are transplants.

[nowhereman427]

Northern Nevada in areas such as Reno, Carson City, Dayton, and Fernley are actually more expensive to live in compared to Sacramento, California if one is on the market for the newest most modern home?

The laws of California are bad enough to make one move out of that state of Chaos, taxes, and horrible traffic with the worst condition of roads that do damage to your cars suspension.

[Teacher Terry]

Besides no income taxes the property taxes are partially based on the age of the home. So I owned a 1950’s house and the taxes were only 770/year. If the house had been new it would have been more.

[Scorpion3510]

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

Besides no income taxes the property taxes are partially based on the age of the home. So I owned a 1950’s house and the taxes were only 770/year. If the house had been new it would have been more.

Is it based on age or appraised value of the home? Or is there some combination of both?

[tomchard]

Originally Posted by Scorpion3510

Is it based on age or appraised value of the home? Or is there some combination of both?

We had it explained to us this way: New-built homes are taxed at 1% of their sale price. A $500,000 home will have property taxes of $5000.00 for the first year. Each year after that, there can be (up to?) 3% of the tax amount added to that original tax amount.
When you purchase an older property, you ‘inherit’ the tax amount from when it was built, and any / all additional assessments levied by the Assessor/Collector.

I hope I’ve stated it correctly. This is how “property taxes” were explained to us. If anyone knows differently, please feel free to add to whatever I missed.

Many Thanks! … T.

[Teacher Terry]

I honestly don’t remember exactly how taxes are calculated but I know the age of the house is part of the formula. I am sure you can find it on the tax assessor website.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

Northern Nevada in areas such as Reno, Carson City, Dayton, and Fernley are actually more expensive to live in compared to Sacramento, California if one is on the market for the newest most modern home?

The laws of California are bad enough to make one move out of that state of Chaos, taxes, and horrible traffic with the worst condition of roads that do damage to your cars suspension.

At the end of 2022, Zillow stated that the median home price in Sacramento was $490,537 and the median home price in Reno was $541,423.

I lived in Reno for 14 years, it's a nice place to live, but in my opinion so is California