Reno (insurance, crime, house)

[MrWillys]

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

Mr Willys, no place is perfect and I think the perfect place is different for everyone. When I was working in human services I was frustrated by the lack of services for my clients that a place with higher taxes can provide. Now retired on a fixed income I am happy about the low taxes.

Although a friend of mine lives in a low income senior housing complex and she gets quite a few free or discounted items but probably most are benefits from the feds. However, many of these people bring in less than 1k a month in SS and have no other income.

I'll get over it, just was a bit shocking. Made the mistake thinking an HOA was a good thing. Just little things like manhole covers not centered in the roadway and driving over them. Like you we bought our when things were cheap so our taxes are cheap. We'd be fools to move but I sure like Susanville. I enjoy traveling in Nevada and the lack of congestion. US95 has gotten much busier in the years we've lived here but nothing like California.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

I guess it still might be if you are talking about moving to the SF Bay area, but prices are much different in places like Sacramento, I just looked up median sales prices:

The median home list price in Sacramento was $414,500 in September 2023

The median sales price for homes in Reno in August 2023 was $575,000

Crazy, huh?

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by MrWillys

I'll get over it, just was a bit shocking. Made the mistake thinking an HOA was a good thing. Just little things like manhole covers not centered in the roadway and driving over them. Like you we bought our when things were cheap so our taxes are cheap. We'd be fools to move but I sure like Susanville. I enjoy traveling in Nevada and the lack of congestion. US95 has gotten much busier in the years we've lived here but nothing like California.

There is nothing "like California" That's the main #1 problem here is traffic and the high probability of getting killed or injured in a vehicle collision here. I have personally experienced this too many times now.
I work from home but still suffer from traffic anxiety and everytime I must go out whether high commute times or not it is always an adventure/incident I must avoid from road debris to road rage from the other crazy drivers we have here that are very ignorant .

I also need more privacy and quiet in a peaceful neighborhood with less traffic on the street and less pedestrian traffic.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by MrWillys

Both of you kind of crack me up. We moved to Reno from Livermore in 2011 and I retired from the Carpenters union. We didn't come here to be in Nevada but to be on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Real Estate is only cheaper than the bay area because California's central valley is a ghetto. It's way colder here in the extreme North Valley than where I'm from and I honestly like it. Car registration here is just as high as California and gas is only slightly cheaper. Alcohol is higher here and energy was cheaper until Berkshire Hathaway bought our power company. I'd move back to California in a heartbeat because standards in Nevada are lower. State tax paid is worth every penny compared to second rate everything in Nevada.

It would usually be the other way around.

CA has the worst traffic, torn up roads and tons of road debris to dodge on freeways from refrigerators, couches, plywood, nails, that can do major damage to your vehicle. Also CA is not an automobile friendly state.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

As someone already mentioned the age of the property is factored into the taxes. 2 years ago we sold a home for 400k that was built in 1950 and the property taxes were 700/year. I have lived in 5 states and this is really cheap.

Yes that surprised me too, when a house reaches a certain age they start depreciating it and that reduces the taxes.

[MrWillys]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

It would usually be the other way around.

CA has the worst traffic, torn up roads and tons of road debris to dodge on freeways from refrigerators, couches, plywood, nails, that can do major damage to your vehicle. Also CA is not an automobile friendly state.

Again, standards are lower here in Nevada. We had an old 5th wheel trailer sit on the frontage road of US-395 in the valley where we live for 6 months before the county removed it. In California a broken down car on a freeway has 72 hours before it's towed, but here in Nevada it takes 7 to 10 days. I get it that California has its problems but until you leave and come to a lower class area you appreciate the higher standards the greatest state holds. To say California is not automobile friendly makes no sense to me either. I'm a car guy and have built several. A 1974 Vega with a V8, a 1969 Z28 and my 1955 CJ5 that I still own all built while living in California.

[ChrisMT]

Originally Posted by MrWillys

Again, standards are lower here in Nevada. We had an old 5th wheel trailer sit on the frontage road of US-395 in the valley where we live for 6 months before the county removed it. In California a broken down car on a freeway has 72 hours before it's towed, but here in Nevada it takes 7 to 10 days. I get it that California has its problems but until you leave and come to a lower class area you appreciate the higher standards the greatest state holds. To say California is not automobile friendly makes no sense to me either. I'm a car guy and have built several. A 1974 Vega with a V8, a 1969 Z28 and my 1955 CJ5 that I still own all built while living in California.

Sir, you moved out of California 20 years ago, it’s gone downhill a bit since that era. Nevada is not ‘lower class’, maybe it’s less governed, that’s part of the appeal.

As far as RV’s taking months to remove. This is not because Nevada is ‘lower class’ or needs higher taxes. The issue with RV’s is that they need a specialty towing company that is certified to handle hazardous waste to remove them. The company can take months to book and the fees are outrageously high.

This is a problem all over California as well, if California will even bother to tow them. Apparently, California is allowing people to live in them on city streets in a terrible state. A few months ago in a very ‘upper class’ city in the Bay Area, entire streets were lined with falling apart RV’s and trash. It was quite shocking. Very expensive city and obviously the RV’s weren’t going anywhere as we temporarily needed to stay in the area for months. Tents in between, trash everywhere and kids playing in a park next to them.

We did love having the ocean nearby, but many of the beaches were covered in trash and graffiti. It’s really sad to see. We couldn’t visit our ‘secret’ redwood grove as there were signs everywhere warning of car break ins if you parked at the trailhead. It’s heartbreaking to see that beautiful state so run down now

[Teacher Terry]

I used to love to go to San Francisco after I moved to Reno and would go yearly. The last time I went was 2018 and it was disgusting. Garbage everywhere and the smell of urine. I can hardly smell because my allergies are so bad so that tells you how bad it is.

Yes we don’t have as many services as higher taxed states. I grew up in Wisconsin and the taxes are so high that my friends pay as much as my mortgage just for taxes for houses that cost under 200k. Personally reno is heaven for me. I am so glad my career brought me here 26 years ago.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by MrWillys

Again, standards are lower here in Nevada. We had an old 5th wheel trailer sit on the frontage road of US-395 in the valley where we live for 6 months before the county removed it. In California a broken down car on a freeway has 72 hours before it's towed, but here in Nevada it takes 7 to 10 days. I get it that California has its problems but until you leave and come to a lower class area you appreciate the higher standards the greatest state holds. To say California is not automobile friendly makes no sense to me either. I'm a car guy and have built several. A 1974 Vega with a V8, a 1969 Z28 and my 1955 CJ5 that I still own all built while living in California.

I have to disagree with you on CA being an auto friendly state especially with these smog tests. Even worse the poor condition of the roads and freeways as well as the the debris we have to avoid on these freeways such as building materials, furniture, landscaping tools etc. It should not be like this at all.
Plus the costs of maintaining a vehicle in CA is much higher than most other places just because of the bad roads that ruin our tires/suspensions as well as the congestion encountered that just adds to the severe usage of the vehicle.
Don't get me started on the worst ignorant drivers we have and freeway/road rage shootings.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by ChrisMT

Sir, you moved out of California 20 years ago, it’s gone downhill a bit since that era. Nevada is not ‘lower class’, maybe it’s less governed, that’s part of the appeal.

As far as RV’s taking months to remove. This is not because Nevada is ‘lower class’ or needs higher taxes. The issue with RV’s is that they need a specialty towing company that is certified to handle hazardous waste to remove them. The company can take months to book and the fees are outrageously high.

This is a problem all over California as well, if California will even bother to tow them. Apparently, California is allowing people to live in them on city streets in a terrible state. A few months ago in a very ‘upper class’ city in the Bay Area, entire streets were lined with falling apart RV’s and trash. It was quite shocking. Very expensive city and obviously the RV’s weren’t going anywhere as we temporarily needed to stay in the area for months. Tents in between, trash everywhere and kids playing in a park next to them.

We did love having the ocean nearby, but many of the beaches were covered in trash and graffiti. It’s really sad to see. We couldn’t visit our ‘secret’ redwood grove as there were signs everywhere warning of car break ins if you parked at the trailhead. It’s heartbreaking to see that beautiful state so run down now

Yes I concur with you 100%. It has gone downhill a WHOLE LOT. Not to mention all of the smash and grab car burglaries and crime rates have gone way up. Just look on the ground and you will see all of the broken glass from the break ins.
Tons of transients roaming and sleeping in the streets. Needles and feces litter the streets where you MUST be careful where you walk. Panhandlers galore and forget the public transit systems phew!