Had to say it - no income tax, low all other taxes. National forests and parks, Reno, Vegas, Lake Tahoe, next to California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado which all have even more parks, forests, lakes, etc.
There's some lakeside property along the California/Nevada border I was looking into earlier this year. 3 hrs from Vegas (airport), 5 hrs from San Jose or LA (cultural areas)
ERE State - Nevada!
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Night Runner
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 10:20 pm
I live in Reno, Nevada. It's okay, but you might not want to spend the rest of your life here - not unless you're content with spending it hiding in your basement/bunker and venturing out only to replenish your supplies.
Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Henderson) is hot as hell in the summer: expect sky-high utility bills. It's also rather expensive.
Northern Nevada (Reno, rural towns) is cheap to live in, but the weather is insane: snowstorms and icy highways in the winter, triple-digit heat in the summer. Not as hot as Vegas, mind you, but at least Vegas doesn't have cold winters... Legions of junkies, homeless people and tweakers (meth addicts) roam the streets - downtown Reno is constantly overrun by them. It's impossible to walk a block without encountering at least one panhandler.
Then there's South Lake Tahoe - one of the richest parts of the country, right on the border with California. Nice weather, but huge property prices/taxes.
If you choose to live in southern Nevada, it's only a matter of time (just a few years, really) before water shortages become a reality: Arizona is going dry, and since Vegas has no natural water supply of its own, it's got to mooch off all the neighboring states (as well as from northern Nevada, and farmers are *not* happy about that). If you pick northern Nevada, your choice is between Reno and rural towns. Reno is only 10 miles away from California, and almost every summer the air is polluted by all the ash from California's wildfires.
Then there's the option of living in one of the small rural towns in northern Nevada. Their drug problem isn't as bad as in big cities (still bad, though), there's no state income tax, the property is relatively cheap, etc - but you'll still be stuck with bad climate and, well, living in a tiny town. They're really conservative and kind of racist, depending on where you live. If you value progressive values and/or diversity, you might want to stay far, far away from them.
Ah, yes, almost forgot: Nevada is going broke. Really, *really* broke. The state gets almost all of its revenue from casinos and property taxes. Over the past decade, Nevada got a whole lot of competition from Indian casinos all around the country, so that stream of income started to dry up. And as for the property taxes... Well, let me just remind you that Nevada was the ground zero for the real estate bubble. The state budget had a $1 billion (that's billion with a "b") deficit for 2010, and we barely managed to cover it by slashing the already tiny state government and stealing money from schools and colleges, among other "nonessential" things. The projected deficit for 2011 is $3 billion... Personally, I'm getting ready to pack up and move.
On the plus side, there's a lot of sun, so you can jury-rig solar panels and kiss utility bills goodbye. Also, casinos always have great promotions and specials - I stopped buying groceries and switched to having a buffet breakfast for just $7 at my local casino. With my giant stomach, I eat enough to last me for almost two days.
Almost every casino sends out coupons for free play: as long as you don't develop a gambling addiction, it's free money - you just walk in, play with the money they give you, take what you made and walk away. 
If you have any questions on living in Nevada, feel free to post them here.
Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Henderson) is hot as hell in the summer: expect sky-high utility bills. It's also rather expensive.
Northern Nevada (Reno, rural towns) is cheap to live in, but the weather is insane: snowstorms and icy highways in the winter, triple-digit heat in the summer. Not as hot as Vegas, mind you, but at least Vegas doesn't have cold winters... Legions of junkies, homeless people and tweakers (meth addicts) roam the streets - downtown Reno is constantly overrun by them. It's impossible to walk a block without encountering at least one panhandler.
Then there's South Lake Tahoe - one of the richest parts of the country, right on the border with California. Nice weather, but huge property prices/taxes.
If you choose to live in southern Nevada, it's only a matter of time (just a few years, really) before water shortages become a reality: Arizona is going dry, and since Vegas has no natural water supply of its own, it's got to mooch off all the neighboring states (as well as from northern Nevada, and farmers are *not* happy about that). If you pick northern Nevada, your choice is between Reno and rural towns. Reno is only 10 miles away from California, and almost every summer the air is polluted by all the ash from California's wildfires.
Then there's the option of living in one of the small rural towns in northern Nevada. Their drug problem isn't as bad as in big cities (still bad, though), there's no state income tax, the property is relatively cheap, etc - but you'll still be stuck with bad climate and, well, living in a tiny town. They're really conservative and kind of racist, depending on where you live. If you value progressive values and/or diversity, you might want to stay far, far away from them.
Ah, yes, almost forgot: Nevada is going broke. Really, *really* broke. The state gets almost all of its revenue from casinos and property taxes. Over the past decade, Nevada got a whole lot of competition from Indian casinos all around the country, so that stream of income started to dry up. And as for the property taxes... Well, let me just remind you that Nevada was the ground zero for the real estate bubble. The state budget had a $1 billion (that's billion with a "b") deficit for 2010, and we barely managed to cover it by slashing the already tiny state government and stealing money from schools and colleges, among other "nonessential" things. The projected deficit for 2011 is $3 billion... Personally, I'm getting ready to pack up and move.
On the plus side, there's a lot of sun, so you can jury-rig solar panels and kiss utility bills goodbye. Also, casinos always have great promotions and specials - I stopped buying groceries and switched to having a buffet breakfast for just $7 at my local casino. With my giant stomach, I eat enough to last me for almost two days.
Almost every casino sends out coupons for free play: as long as you don't develop a gambling addiction, it's free money - you just walk in, play with the money they give you, take what you made and walk away. If you have any questions on living in Nevada, feel free to post them here.