Is the Reno/Sparks area for us? (Las Vegas, Spanish Springs: for sale, real estate)

[norm]

I am retired and my wife will be retiring in the next few years at which time we plan on moving away from the NYC area. I would like to know if Reno/Sparks is an area that meets our requirements or at least most of them.

Liveable humidity level (very important for health reasons).
Mild winters.
Green enough to have a garden.
Near a city with a college (for cultural events).
Good medical facilities nearby.
Not too conservative.
Religious diversity. We are non practicing Jews but obviously would not want to live where Jews are discriminated against.
Within easy driving distance of an airport.
Good shopping i.e. Lowes or Home Depot, Dept. Stores, Target, etc.
Decent restaurants.
Houses below $250,000.
Reasonable taxes.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Norm

[humboldtrat]

Reno and Sparks have all those things you are looking for except for the "houses under $250K". They are a little more expensive than that. Sorry, but you won't be able to find anything in the Reno for $250K except maybe a condo. A decent house starts around $400K to $500K.

[norby413]

"Liveable humidity level (very important for health reasons)."

Humidity doesn't GET much lower than here!

"Mild winters"

It get's a bit cold, but very little snow or rain. Cold isn't that bad because of humidity.

"Green enough to have a garden."

You can grow a good garden if you pay lots of attention. If your retired, you should be OK.

"Near a city with a college (for cultural events)."

UNR is a beautiful campus. Around since the 1800's.

"Good medical facilities nearby."

This has improved a lot lately. I'll give us a B+

"Not too conservative."

Thank God!! Were getting bluer every year. But really, it's a very tolerant place. Live and let live attitude.

"Religious diversity. We are non practicing Jews but obviously would not want to live where Jews are discriminated against."

Never heard of any incidents. Again, very tolerant.

"Within easy driving distance of an airport."

You can leave for the airport 30min before flight and have no problems!

"Good shopping i.e. Lowes or Home Depot, Dept. Stores, Target, etc."

Lots of that. Shopping has improved a lot lately as well.

"Decent restaurants."

Casinos bless us with lots of eating choices at very reasonable prices.

"Houses below $250,000."

There are areas where you can get a decent house for this number, but it's gone up a lot in the last 5 years. You can get a nice place in a good neighborhood in the mid 300's.

"Reasonable taxes."

No state income tax. Sales tax at 7.375.

Welcome!

[greatadventurer]

Dear Norm:
My husband and I are moving to Reno this August from NY - we live in Westchester - the taxes . We looked in Arizona and even considered New Mexico, but we fell in love with the Reno/Tahoe area. We like the changes in season and didn't want to go south. We are going out Memorial Day weekend to hopefully buy a house. Most of the things you wrote were things we considered. We figured the east coast will always be there if and when we want to come back east.

[norm]

humboldtrat & norby,

Thanks for the replies.


greatadventurer,

Good luck with your house hunt. Please post about it when you get back. NM is also on our list.

Norm

[DogLover66]

I currently live in Sparks, but actually I have my house up for sale due to some personal changes in my life. Reno/Sparks is beautiful and I love it here, but I will be returning to Las Vegas to be closer to family and friends. I think that Reno/Sparks has everything you are looking for, and truthfully housing prices really have come down a lot over the past year. I know that my house was appraised at over $420,000 less than a year ago, but I am selling it for $350,000. And there are many homes for less than this, you just have to keep your eyes out. That being said, there are also homes for far more than this, so again it all depends what you need and where you want to live. Personally I love the Spanish Springs area of Sparks, as it is growing but it is still some what "rural", with views of the mountains, larger lot sizes, close to Pyramid Lake, parks, etc. But I think anywhere in Reno/Sparks is good to live.

If there is anything you need answered around neighborhoods, areas of town, things to do, etc., just let me know as I would be happy to help out!

[bailey2227]

Housing costs are not $400-$500,000 on average. That guy is smoking crack. yeah maybe if you want to live in a castle in a few areas. you can by a VERY VERY nice house for $300,000. Housing costs are going down there. And they are going to keep coming down. Now is a buyers time for Northern Nevada. Contractors got way ahead of themselves and over built. There was alot of talk about california taking over. Well not as many people as they thought are moving to the area. If you need any help with some of the areas I can be of help.

Have you looked at Gardnerville/Minden? That is about 45 minutes from Reno. Small town living. Closer to South Tahoe.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by bailey2227

Housing costs are not $400-$500,000 on average. That guy is smoking crack. yeah maybe if you want to live in a castle in a few areas. you can by a VERY VERY nice house for $300,000. Housing costs are going down there. And they are going to keep coming down. Now is a buyers time for Northern Nevada. Contractors got way ahead of themselves and over built. There was alot of talk about california taking over. Well not as many people as they thought are moving to the area. If you need any help with some of the areas I can be of help.

Have you looked at Gardnerville/Minden? That is about 45 minutes from Reno. Small town living. Closer to South Tahoe.

You might want to check around a bit. Last time I looked the median price in Reno Sparks was around 410K. The average was a good bit higher.

Minden Gardnerville are similar. It is far and away the most expensive area of Nevada. Tahoe is much worse...but it is not a metro area .

Sorry about that...

[bailey2227]

I"m not going to argue with you. Here is what you can do.

Go to REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale (http://www.realtor.com - broken link), type in what area you want to live in. Then search houses. IF the average is $410,000 I can show you homes on Golf Courses for less then that!!!!

Again, and I will not repost this again. These people are going off of estimates 2 yrs ago. Yes, they were suppose to hike up and be around $410,000. They are going down, down, down.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by bailey2227

I"m not going to argue with you. Here is what you can do.

Go to REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale (http://www.realtor.com - broken link), type in what area you want to live in. Then search houses. IF the average is $410,000 I can show you homes on Golf Courses for less then that!!!!

Again, and I will not repost this again. These people are going off of estimates 2 yrs ago. Yes, they were suppose to hike up and be around $410,000. They are going down, down, down.

OK Checked current numbers. They are down a lot. More like 310 than 410...still however the highest in the state of Nevada...