May be moving to Reno from Canada, please help. (living in, racism)

[Eli34]

Wow, from Edmonton to Reno, you are in for some change. I am from Edmonton, grew up there and have lived in Reno for a short period (now live in California). What I love about Reno most is daily sunshine, much milder temperatures, proximity to California and mountains, friendly people, cleanliness and easy commutes. The downside is the city itself gets small pretty fast. But that won't be a problem, since Bay Area is 3.5 hrs away and Sacramento is 2 hrs.

By the way, the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle) is slow and lengthy , so be prepared when you go to sort out your drivers license, car registration, etc.

If you have questions, feel free to private message me.

[RFF]

ATT or Verizon for South Reno.


Charter would be the fastest in the south reno area. We used to have 100 mbit speed when I lived south.


My auto insurance is 500 / 6 months for two vehicles.

[Chigu]

Hi all, so it's been a few weeks since we have moved here and give you my thoughts so far. Reno is definitely clean! So it looks like the city does a good job of maintenance. Haven't really ventured downtown after dark so can't really comment on that.


From my regular day to day stuff here are my observations


- I find everyday staples (fruits/veggies/milk/bread) to be cheaper here than in Canada
- Cell phone plans are much cheaper. My wife got Cricket for $45 a month which includes unlimited to US/CAN/Mexico, as well as if we travel to Canada we are not charged. We were paying $85 for a similar plan before.
- My wife has noticed that esthetic services (eyebrows/mani/pedi etc) are much more expensive here
- Because we are new to the U.S. I am paying $750 for 6 months for car insurance on a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country, I'm sure it will get cheaper as I build history here
- Gas is a bit cheaper than Canada but still more than I expected
- Ethnic groceries and food are more expensive (to be expected given supply and demand)
- still in corporate housing so can't comment on utilities/cable/internet
- Golf course prices are really reasonable


Overall, so far so good. Kids have settled in well. Good place for families, but was flying solo for the first 2 weeks and was bored out of my mind for a few days.

[Chigu]

Oh one thing I forgot to mention is that take home pay is not a lot more than Canada. The taxes are cheaper, but in Canada there is a maximum that an employee needs to contribute to social security.


Max to Canada Pension Plan: 2,564 annually
Max to Unemployment insurance: 836.16 annually


I know this is not a Reno thing, but a US thing, but social security/medicare is costing me over $9,000 a year. I'm just glad Nevada has no state income tax.

[Nn2036]

Originally Posted by Chigu

Oh one thing I forgot to mention is that take home pay is not a lot more than Canada. The taxes are cheaper, but in Canada there is a maximum that an employee needs to contribute to social security.


Max to Canada Pension Plan: 2,564 annually
Max to Unemployment insurance: 836.16 annually


I know this is not a Reno thing, but a US thing, but social security/medicare is costing me over $9,000 a year. I'm just glad Nevada has no state income tax.

There is a cap in the US too. You only pay social security on your first $127,200. No cap for Medicare.
So your could be higher if it is not capped.

[Chigu]

Originally Posted by Nn2036

There is a cap in the US too. You only pay social security on your first $127,200. No cap for Medicare.
So your could be higher if it is not capped.

In Canada the caps are
55,300 for pension and 51,300 for unemployment insurance. So the cap in the states is more than double! I used to pay the max in Canada which was the numbers I mentioned above. I am paying over 9k here. Makes me wonder why mat leave and other benefits are so mediocre in the states. In Canada they just put in 18 month maternity leave.

[Nn2036]

Originally Posted by Chigu

In Canada the caps are
55,300 for pension and 51,300 for unemployment insurance. So the cap in the states is more than double! I used to pay the max in Canada which was the numbers I mentioned above. I am paying over 9k here. Makes me wonder why mat leave and other benefits are so mediocre in the states. In Canada they just put in 18 month maternity leave.

Mat leave and unemployment benefits was paid by employer and it is very meager.

It is interesting to see how much you paid in and how much you got back in Canada in pension.

Here in US, the maximum benefit is only $2687/month. You'll get better return if you earn less, somewhat of a wealth distribution.

[Vic Romano]

Originally Posted by Chigu

Hi all, so it's been a few weeks since we have moved here and give you my thoughts so far. Reno is definitely clean! So it looks like the city does a good job of maintenance. Haven't really ventured downtown after dark so can't really comment on that.


From my regular day to day stuff here are my observations


- I find everyday staples (fruits/veggies/milk/bread) to be cheaper here than in Canada
- Cell phone plans are much cheaper. My wife got Cricket for $45 a month which includes unlimited to US/CAN/Mexico, as well as if we travel to Canada we are not charged. We were paying $85 for a similar plan before.
- My wife has noticed that esthetic services (eyebrows/mani/pedi etc) are much more expensive here
- Because we are new to the U.S. I am paying $750 for 6 months for car insurance on a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country, I'm sure it will get cheaper as I build history here
- Gas is a bit cheaper than Canada but still more than I expected
- Ethnic groceries and food are more expensive (to be expected given supply and demand)
- still in corporate housing so can't comment on utilities/cable/internet
- Golf course prices are really reasonable


Overall, so far so good. Kids have settled in well. Good place for families, but was flying solo for the first 2 weeks and was bored out of my mind for a few days.

Glad things are working out. I can't wait to retire and start living up there...

If you can, try to buy gas outside Washoe County. Gas prices in Carson City were 35-40 cents cheaper per gallon when I was up there last.

And I hope the demand for ethnic groceries increases. We're spoiled down here in So. Cal.

Should you attend any Farmer's Markets, let us know how good they are!

[georgste]

I just what to know which town has the best Mexican food restaurants - Reno or Sparkes? Thank you.

[owelles]

Originally Posted by georgste

I just what to know which town has the best Mexican food restaurants - Reno or Sparkes? Thank you.

No need to differentiate - Reno and Sparks are next to each other. It's much simpler if you just consider Reno/Sparks as one area.

We have found Miguel's in the Summit mall to be excellent, and we recently tried and liked Chihuahau's on South Virginia Street. Friends of ours gave good reviews to Pancho and Willie's inside the Western Village Casino in Sparks.