Was contemplating a move to San Antonio in the distant future- now my employers have decided that they are on a 3 year plan to sell the veterinary practice they have now and relocate to Reno, Nevada. I’m definitely going and they even going to help me move up there. Now, I’m a native Nevadan and I’ve been to Reno and like what I see, but would like the inside info :).
Especially about the winters…how good/bad are they? I’m a desert rat but tired of summers and willing to sacrifice the good winters here to make up for it. But how snow bound does it get?
I know its much more agriculturally minded than Vegas, but if anyone can tell me about the horsie culture/folks up there, that would be cool :).
What do you do there besides ski & hike (which I like)?
Actually, I just want 3 years to go really fast so I’m going to extend the torture but talking about it as much as possible :wally .
I lived there for several year in the early 90’s. Unless things have dramatically changed since then, there will always be an unbreachable wall between native Renoans/Sparkites and transplants. This was confirmed to me by my boss, Claudia Martin. If Dean Martin’s daughter couldn’t be accepted into the social life a a town based on casino culture, I doubt any other outsider could.
As for winters, I guess it depends on what you’re used to: one of my coworkers, Kansan and I, a Wisconsinite, laughed at the way the locals complained about the relatively mild winters they experienced. However, things could get frustrating in the winter, because everything in Reno comes from someplace else, so our promises to our customers were dependent on timely arrivals of materials from either Salt Lake City or Sacramento. When snowfall stopped transportation over the desert or the Sierras, we had to just smile and take it while deadlines were missed.
The best thing about Reno (not knowing if this applies to you) is that the university there has a teachers’ college, so our daughter’s pre-school was run as a sideline by a professor, and the teachers were all moonighting students, a much better situation than some lush watching All My Children while ignoring all yours.
It doesn’t really snow all that much, but when it does, it can be kinda messy for a while in the hilly areas (mostly the west side). Last winter was so over-hyped it was sickining. It wasn’t that bad. Other than that, the wind blows steady.
All kinds of stuff to do. Tahoe is a short drive south. All manner of hills, rivers, small lakes to the north/west. Desert to the east/southeast. Virginia City (dump with paved streets) is close by. Lots of golf, shopping, non-gaming stuff to do. Lots of “events” including Hot August Nights, Street Vibrations (going on as I type), Art-town, Air Races, Balloon Races, Rodeo (Gay and Straight!) etc. etc.
I can’t tell ya about the nightlife, cause I’m married and live on the other side of the mountain, but there are lots of great concerts and shows.
The city is expanding rapidly to the south, with lots of high-dollar stuff going up on the southwest along the Mt. Rose Highway area. Virgina Highlands are booming. Big growth up north, but not quite as swanky from what I’ve seen. Northeast, out above sparks is booming as well. Fernley is becoming a suburb, with 2-10 acre horse property springing up all over. Some real nice stuff out there. Plans are being made for a road from Silversprings to I-80 (somewhere around Mustang or there-abouts) which will make it possible to live on 20 acres on Lake Lahontan (an overgrown mudhole in my opinion) with horses and dirtbikes and NO SMOG CHECKS on your vehicles.
I’ve lived in the area for 20 + years and I just love it here. Winters (with the exception of last one) are mild. If it snows, the snow is usually gone by noon. Summers can be pretty hot–but nothing like Vegas. There are plenty of things to do here—One of the things my daughter and I love is going to Victorian Square in Sparks…they have a nice movie theater and a cool interactive fountain. Plus, there’s the Farmer’s Market in the summer (go early because it gets really crowded). Labor Day weekend, there is the rib cookoff…but that gets really crowded.
When I moved here, I felt like Slithy Tove…that the natives were unwelcoming to new comers…I think that has changed—there are so many people here from lots of different places that I hardly come into contact with people who were born here (except my daughter :dubious: ) Originally, I’m from Toledo, Ohio and Reno is so much better than Toledo.
Yes, I did consider that if I move to Reno, I may encounter some interesting police type folks. I hope so …
I’m a native Nevadan, and in Vegas we have the opposite issue- its more “how much you got?” rather than where you are from. Native Nevadans are the exception almost everywhere we go LOL. I’m not much into social climbing either way.
I think where we are looking to build is in a newer area off of I-80, one that has some horse property and some major new developments. Haven’t pinpointed the exact property yet, they are planning to buy that in the spring.
As far as the “messy” winters- in most places do you get away with not having 4 wheel drive, or should I put trading in my 2 wheel drive truck in the three year plan? I may trade up anyways because I want something that can pull.
my employers have decided that they are on a 3 year plan to sell the veterinary practice they have now and relocate to Reno, Nevada. I’m definitely going and they even going to help me move up there. Now, I’m a native Nevadan and I’ve been to Reno and like what I see, but would like the inside info :).
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