I lived in Vegas for a year and really enjoyed it. However, I’m allergic to Vegas, most likely the dust from the desert caused me to have a runny nose for the full year. I also like Reno, but I’m not sure if what made me sick in Vegas is also in Reno. I have to go to Vegas for at least a day to clear out my storage unit, but after that I don’t know.
I am open to moving anywhere in Nevada, but probably not in the desert.
What I would like:
Rent under $400 a month for an apartment, under 300 for a room/shared apt situation.
A decent bus system, I’m not likely to get my own transportation.
The best part of my neighborhood in Vegas was that everything was a block away: shopping center, 3 supermarkets, library, etc.
The worst part of my neighborhood was it was next to the airport, possibly on one of the incoming flight routes, so usually I would get a plane flying overhead at least 4-5 times an hour.
So basically:
Low rent
Fairly urban
Decent neighborhood
Not in the desert
I guess in summary, is there anywhere in nevada just like vegas but not in vegas?
Sounds like Reno would be your best bet since its out of the desert but I’m not sure you’ll get the rent you want. Same with Tahoe. Elko is pretty desert too.
Carson City might be worth looking at too. It’s generally more laid-back than Reno, although I don’t know if that translates to lower housing prices.
Although out of curiosity why does it have to be in the state of Nevada? The same distance Vegas-to-Reno would have some other nice small cities in other states.
Carson City is nice, close enough to Reno and Tahoe. Public transportation isn’t great but it’s easy to bike around town. Still kind of deserty though.
I’m pretty sure if you asked Old Man Köppen he’d tell you the entire state of Nevada is technically desert except parts of the Sierra high country. Just a matter of cold desert or hot desert.
Southern Nevada (really about 1/5 by area) is the Mojave desert. Sand and cacti. The rest is the Great Basin - sagebrush and higher altitude, nary a cactus or Joshua tree in sight (e.g. Reno 4500 ft, Vegas 2000 ft). My sinuses took about a week to adapt after moving. A strip along the west, centered on Tahoe, is forest. South Lake Tahoe, CA/Stateline, NV is the most populated part. North Shore gets expensive. Big parts are sparsely inhabited, so outside the two big metros there are only smaller areas like Elko and Tonopah.
Northern Nevada, while still desert, gets decent snow.
What is your occupation/trade or what is your education suited for?
Reno-Tahoe has less than 1/6 the air traffic of McCarran, FWIW.
If you wanted to move your stuff from Vegas to Reno/Sparks/Carson/Tahoe, note the drive distance. It’s not a day trip.
It’s not a day trip in the sense of “round trip,” but it’s absolutely a day trip. It’s only six or seven hours, and I’ve done it at least three times (Henderson-Carson). Driving a U-Haul, add an hour.
You almost sound like a damned, dirty European decrying any road trip longer than two hours!
Meaning that it will, depending on what you have in storage, require a UHaul, not piling stuff in your back seat. And in my experience, people don’t rent storage to keep a few things.
I vacationed in Henderson several years ago and absolutely loved the city. I might move there in a few years.
It’s down the street from Vegas, though, so the geography is obviously similar. Still, if you want the feeling of something similar to Vegas that isn’t actually in Vegas, then Henderson kicks all kinds of ass.
