PA Slammer

Anyone have any insight about living in the Tahoe area? My wife and I are new hires, I'll be finished up with probation next month, she has until Feb. We're considering making the move to the west coast. SFO seems to have a lot of potential right now. We're looking to move to mountains. DEN is our first choice, but getting in there seems a bit slow, and moving up even slower. Maybe TK, but not sure of those chances either.

Anyway, anyone on here ever lived near Tahoe? Pros/cons?

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Dave Fitzgerald

I've never lived in Tahoe area, but it is spectacular. I have lived in the bay area most of my life. There are some issues getting to work.

1. Flights to and from RNO can be very problematic. RJ's. Need I say more?
2. Drive, 4 or more hours. Winter weather, the highway patrol regularly closes hwy 80 for snow and weather. Not really conducive to getting to work. Farther down towards the bay, the drive from hwy 4 and in, Richmond area and Golden Gate fields can be nightmarish on a good day. If there is any kind of problem on the Bay Bridge or accident anywhere along the way, it doubles your drive time. There are other ways around but they take even longer.
3. If you can get on an RJ to SFO, weather delays and flow times seem to be worse for the closer in airports. A little fog in the morning can give you an hour or more wheels up times.
4. You can't sit short call from Tahoe.

Bottom line is, there are people who do it. The people who do, keep a very close eye on weather and traffic. I can tell whenever the economy is doing well in the bay, drive times and traffic get a lot worse. Right now, it's as bad as the height of the .com era.

Welcome aboard, and good luck with your decision. I don't want to scare you away from Tahoe, but it's not an easy commute. It is a wonderful place to live if you can hack the commute.

Winston

Lots of guys live in the Reno area, and if you're going to live on the lake I'd go for the Nevada side (and instant 10% raise due to CA taxes). Incline Village on the north shore is prime, though expensive. Lots of commuters out of RNO with not too many flights, so getting the j/s may be an issue.

The problem with Tahoe is that you're going to have to commit to either flying or driving since RNO is one way and SFO is the other. Either way you're kind of in a bowl and you've got to go up over Donner if heading west, or Mt. Rose to the east which shut down regularly in the winter. I'd plan on a 3 hour drive, but give yourself 4 in case of traffic. Getting to the bay is usually a breeze (unless it's Sunday and you're fighting everyone driving home), but things grind to a halt in the Richmond/Berkeley area for much of the day.

Reno guys drive to the airport and stop if the flight look good, and keep on driving if bad. Ron Kent should chime in here with more info.

PA Slammer

I'm driving 3hrs and 45mins now to DCA and my wife is commuting on RJs to EWR. Sounds like we deal with the same issues now... but we don't get to live in Tahoe!

I appreciate the insight.

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ron kent

If you want the mountain town life, Truckee would be just what you are looking for. 3hr drive to SFO, 30 min drive to RNO if you want to fly in. You should be a line holder in SFO with about 2 months of seniority. Welcome aboard!

NVPilot

I don't work for UA but do the RNO-SFO commute. It is a very heavily commuted route. 8-10 OO Pilots with about the same number UA. Many UA flight attendants as well. This week it starts getting easier as swa is adding back OAK. Horizon also does SJC in the morning and there is a relatively cheap shuttle between the area. UA has been flirting with mainline coming back on the route and when they do loads are generally favorable for commuting. Overnight airplane these days is a E175, but equipment and flight times can shift with the wind month to month. 1000-1200 bank of departures to Sfo inside a 400 mile radius get hit worst with flow and the closer you are the worse it is. First flight of the day generally goes out on time. I can't help but recommend living in the Reno Tahoe area. Been there since I was 10 and it's the perfect blend of mountain life with city access. Any other questions feel free to pm me.

PA Slammer

Stayed in Truckee a few years back when I was there for a race. Awesome place. 3hrs pretty firm for the commute? Weather still an issue in the winter right? Where do they usually close 80 down, i.e. how close to Sacramento would I have to be to be safe?

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PA Slammer

How many thumbs up for Sacramento? May be a lot closers and convenient, but is it really any comparison to Tahoe or Truckee?

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cadetdrivr

SMF is ZERO comparison to either, other than its closer to the mountains than SFO.

Beaver Hunter

I have been doing the Reno commute to both LAX and SFO. Hands down LAX is the way to go. Three airlines and 8-9 flights a day. When I commuted to SFO. Seems like I drive half the time.
Also a good 4x4 will solve most of your I80 issues.