A Positive Opinion, For Once
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11/17/2008
PEOPLE
For the most part, people are friendly but keep to themselves. Personally, I prefer this "mind-your-own-business" mentality to the "hello-neighbor-I-noticed-you-got-new-curtains-for-your-bedroom-window."
Most people in Reno are outdoorsy. Almost everyone skis or snowboards. A lot of people enjoy hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding, hunting, and fishing. I'll admit that some people here are just straight up rednecks, but come on, we're out West.
For those that aren't outdoorsy, there are plenty of things to do in town. The casinos always have shows, there are tons of stores, and there's usually some kind of event going on downtown, from the BBQ Cook-Off to marching band parades.
For those who don't like anything or anyone, you can go online and complain on Sperling's Best Places about how much Reno sucks.
ECONOMY
For how small it is, Reno has one of the best economies in the country. If you have any kind of skill or education, a decent job is not that hard to find. If you're a high school drop-out that moves to Reno from the Mid-West with a bunch of other bums hoping to land a casino job, you'll find yourself on the news starting a homeless tent city.
Starting wages are a few dollars higher here than some of the places I've lived, and a person can make more than twice as much here. For example, a college student working at the DMV in Provo, Utah, will make around eight dollars on hour. In Reno, a person working that same job will make around twenty. That's just one example from my personal experience. Although some ill-informed and perhaps uneducated people complain that Reno is a city filled with poor homeless people, believe me, there is money to be made that does not require you to step over anyone else. It just takes an education.
HOUSING
The housing crisis is a nation-wide problem. The market in Reno has been a little chaotic the last few years. Prices went from ridiculously high to above average. Still, things are settling out to where people can actually afford to live here.
And again, the prices are a little high but you'll make more money, so it kind of evens out. In Provo, where I go to school, housing prices aren't much lower and jobs pay half as much.
HEALTH
Reno has a fine quality of care. Emergency room waits can be a little long--up to four hours depending upon your injury--but I think that can be expected at any emergency room.
Family doctors are quite easy to find, although some members of the Democratic party (like John Edwards) have made some pretty outrageous malpractice lawsuits which caused a lot of doctors close their practices and leave, either as a direct punishment or simply out of fear that they, too, would be sued for no reason.
Still, Reno has some of the best medicine in the area.
The water quality is fair. A little chlorinated, but a filter helps the taste.
The air quality is quite fair. Smog and pollution are pushed by Pacific winds down the Sierras to the west and across the desert plains to the east. Not like Provo, where the inversion layer of smog and pollution is trapped by the huge mountains to the east.
CRIME
Okay. Here is where it gets interesting. Yes, the numbers look high crime-wise, but you have to remember that Reno is still a small city. Every crime gets reported. It's not like Los Angeles or Phoenix where no one knows half the stuff that goes on.
According to a report I saw on the news, Reno has the highest gang population per capita than any other city in the country. Again, that is PER CAPITA. It's not like the city is overrun with gang bangers. Additionally, a lot of "gang bangers" that I know of are just immigrants that have been rejected by mainstream society and have been forced to create their own little society with members of their own race, much like the Italian mafias of New York and the Irish gangs before them. It's all just a way of feeling accepted, like you're a part of something bigger than yourself.
Anyway, the crime in Reno is nothing to fear, really. Generally it's a good idea to exercise common sense. Don't give anyone any trouble and you won't get any. Lock your doors. Keep an eye on your kids. Don't leave your stuff lying around. Just don't be an idiot and you'll stay out of trouble.
CLIMATE
Reno is a high desert. That means it's dry, but not always hot. It starts cooling down toward the end of September. It usually starts snowing in mid-November. It starts warming up at the end of March. It gets hot around the end of May and stays that way for about six months.
Again, it's a dry climate. There's no moisture to regulate the temperature, so temperatures can jump from one extreme to the other in just one day, although usually it will stay within the season's norm.
The Truckee river flows through the middle of town. There are the beautiful Sierra mountains running all along the west and southwest side of town. The mountains to the north and east are mostly barren, but still beautiful in a way.
Lake Tahoe is a mere forty minute drive from pretty much any angle. You can go through Carson City up to South Shore, up Mount Rose Highway to King's Beach, or take I-80 through Truckee.
Pessimists can complain all they want, I think there is a lot of natural beauty in and around Reno.
EDUCATION
Reno High and McQueen have some of the best academic records in the nation. The University of Nevada, Reno is also highly rated and even has its own medical school.
The state of Nevada also offers the Mellenium Scholarship, which is money from tobacco lawsuits given to qualifying students up to ten thousand dollars to use at any post-secondary school in Nevada.
Not bad.
TRANSPORTATION
If you live in town, you can take the bus, bike, or walk. If you live in any of the suburbs or on the outskirts of town, you're driving yourself.
COST OF LIVING
It is above the national average, but Reno is actually pretty affordable. As I have previously mentioned you'll be making more money, so it doesn't really matter.
I will say that for a touristy kind of town, Reno is actually quite cheap. I mean, compare the prices of Reno to Lake Tahoe or Las Vegas and you'll understand.
RELIGION
Honestly, I couldn't say much about this department.
VOTING
The average person in Reno is a moderate, I would say. There are a few loud-mouth extremists on both sides, but most people have pretty well-rounded views on politics.
So there it is. My opinion of Reno. Take it or leave it.
P.S.
Too those fools who said that Reno was the armpit of America: you are very much incorrect. Battle Mountain was actually voted the official Armpit of America.
Ben | Washoe Valley, NV