Moving To Tahoe

Thinking of moving to Tahoe? There are few things in life more exciting! Most Tahoe locals were not born here. Most came for the beauty, the recreation, the mountain lifestyle. Today’s local is a former visitor who took one too many vacations to the Big Lake In The Sky, and they got the strong desire to try life where you live in a spectacular environment year ‘round, rather than merely coming to that environment on vacation.

Of course, there are a hundred major questions to answer before making the jump. This post will attempt to answer some of them.

I’ll begin with some information about various areas in Tahoe and then talk a bit about jobs and housing.

BEST AREAS IN TAHOE?

Tahoe has many different neighborhoods and several towns, and which is best depends on your needs. Here is a quick rundown of the various areas of Tahoe.

West Shore

View of Tahoe from Homewood ski resort on the West Shore

West Shore residents love to say the West Shore is the Best Shore, a sentiment that parallels the pride that all of Tahoe’s neighborhoods share to some degree. The West Shore may have the longest average family history for any given home, with many cabins and estates remaining in the same families for multiple generations.

The West Shore is laid-back,  quiet, and has little traffic as long as you stay off Highway 89 during July and August.

In the winter, Emerald Bay is often closed due to avalanche hazard, eliminating north-south drive-through traffic for days and even weeks at a time.

The West Shore has some fine restaurants, marinas, good hiking, and decent public access to lake front. Proximity to Emerald Bay and its spectacular hiking is one attraction of the West Shore, although it should be noted that even more people access it from the South Shore.

If there is a downside to life on the West Shore, it would be its lack of accessibility. Don’t expect to find easy jobs, or hot night spots on the West Shore. Look at the community of Tahoma and its cute general store to see if this is what you’d love or not. The coming Homewood development will bring some controversial modernity and some related service-industry jobs, but that still won’t be enough to allow one to move to the West Shore and expect to find work.

You might think you can live on the West Shore and drive elsewhere to work, but in reality, that is difficult. Highway 89 is the only significant traffic artery, and it is clogged during tourist season (July and August and Christmas week), and as previously mentioned, the highway is often closed to the south during heavy snowloads above Emerald Bay. This matters, because the South Shore has the most jobs, but if you can't get there, you're out of luck.

The West Shore also has the most snow on average of all of Tahoe’s areas, a blessing for those who love quiet, romantic, snowed-in evenings by the fire. But there are areas with steep roads - such as above Rubicon Bay - where the residents avoid ever coming in the winter because if it is snowing, they can’t get to their homes! Or if they are there when it begins snowing, they can’t leave until the roads have melted.

For skiers, The West Shore also has Homewood ski area, perhaps the best deal in all of Tahoe. It doesn’t look like much from the highway, but don’t let that fool you. It is a large area, and its slopes are closer to the lake than any other area, giving it astonishing lake views from the ski runs.

If you ask West Shore people what they like best about their area, they will commonly talk about the cozy neighborhood, bike trails, the summer-cabin-yesteryear feel, the feeling that they can let their kids explore during the day without worrying that they will get into trouble.

North Shore

The beach in Kings Beach

Like all of Tahoe, the North Shore is a collection of communities with a mix of old cabins and modern mansions. Much of the North Shore is quite ritzy, with housing prices to match (whether you want to rent or purchase). Unlike the West Shore, the North Shore has several small towns stretching from Tahoe City to Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach, Crystal Bay and Incline Village. Of those, Incline Village is more of a real town in terms of more numerous housing stock, many more businesses, and Sierra Nevada College, a four-year school with some graduate programs.

Jobs are more plentiful than on the West and East Shores, and the number of full-time residents on the North Shore is several times greater. The North Shore is accessed by three highways coming into the Tahoe Basin, so getting in and out is easier, and it is somewhat more reasonable to commute to jobs outside of the Tahoe Basin. Some people commute as far as Reno, but they usually end up moving out of the basin or finding a different source of income so they don’t have to deal with tourist traffic in the summer and snowstorms in the winter.

Like the West Shore, the North Shore has a two-lane highway that can become quite crowded during tourist season, so a little planning is necessary if you head out during the busy times.

If you ask North Shore people what they like best about their area, they often mention the wide range of restaurants, beaches and walkable neighborhoods, accessibility to Truckee as well as the north Tahoe ski areas of Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, Sugar Bowl, Northstar, Diamond Peak, and Mt. Rose.

People in the Incline Village area also appreciate the cultural advantages of having Sierra Nevada College in their town.

Further, Incline residents appreciate how quickly they can get to Reno for the Reno/Tahoe airport, shopping, doctors, etc. (Although this doesn’t apply when it is snowing!)

East Shore

From the East Shore, looking west at the Sierra Crest

Think West Shore with 1/3rd the snow and few of the neighborhoods full of small, old cabins. The northern portion of the East Shore (40,000+ acres of land from Sand Harbor to just north of Glenbrook) was once owned by George Whittell, who built the Thunderbird Mansion in the '30s. That land is now owned by the Nevada State Park system.

The people who live on the East Shore are in communities on the south portion of the East Shore from Glenbrook to Cave Rock to Hidden Woods to Skyland to Zephyr Cove/Zephyr Heights to Round Hill.

The East Shore is pretty much residential only. The closest shopping is the Round Hill neighborhood where there is a Safeway supermarket. For more than that, you’ll have to drive to the South Shore or head off the mountain and go down to Carson City. If housing costs are a major concern, you won’t find much in the way of inexpensive cabins on the East Shore.

People who live on the East Shore cite as advantages the world’s greatest view (The Sierra Crest across the lake), proximity to Carson CIty and Reno (accessed by freeway most of the way), and the least snow in Tahoe. (Locals call the East Shore the Banana Belt for its sunnier, less-snowy winters.)

South Shore

Telephoto view of the big South Shore hotels with Mt. Tallac in the background

The South Shore is Tahoe’s only small city, and that brings a range of advantages and disadvantages. South Lake Tahoe (on the California side) and Stateline (on the Nevada side) have a combined year-’round population close to 35,000, which is about 70% of all the people who live in the Basin. If you want those things that come with population (jobs, shopping, more housing choices) then the South Shore is for you. If you want those things that population eliminates (quiet, few people, more exclusive neighborhoods) then the South Shore is not for you. Although it is worth noting that people on the South Shore would say that compared to life in any big city, the South Shore is quiet and has few people. The South Shore does have more vehicles than the rest of the basin, but the main artery through town is four lanes. South Shore residents often notice that the two-lane highway through Tahoe City is slower than the four-lane traffic on the South Shore.

Whether you are renting or buying, the South Shore has the most affordable housing in Tahoe, although there are plenty of opportunities to spend millions if you want to go upscale.

Whether you are looking for a job or planning to start a business, the South Shore has the most opportunities.

People who live on the South Shore say that they like the wider choices of housing, the fact that they can often obtain items and services locally that other Tahoe residents have to drive out of the Tahoe Basin to acquire, more plentiful jobs, a large number of restaurants, and quick access to Sacramento and points west. (North Tahoe residents have to first drive to Truckee and then take I-80 to Sacramento.) (Remember that when it is snowing, there is no quick access anywhere in Tahoe.) Unlike the rest of the basin, the South Shore also has some night spots. (One gentleman who used to own a vacation home in Alpine Meadows on the North Shore told me that his kids call the North Shore the “Dead Shore” because they didn’t think there was anything to do there at night. So he sold his vacation home and got a place on the South Shore because his kids think it is the “Alive Shore.”)

For some South Shore residents, simply being able to drive down the street to get a particular bit of home hardware or computer device or specialized car repair service or having a lumber yard or hospital emergency room close by makes living on the South Shore easier than in other parts of Tahoe.

Like Incline Village with Sierra Nevada College, the South Shore also has the Lake Tahoe Community College, and it serves as a cultural center of the South Shore.

“Tahoe” Areas Outside of the Tahoe Basin

You don’t have to actually live in Tahoe to enjoy its life style. Many people identify with Tahoe even though they live or work outside of the basin.

Residents of Truckee and Squaw Valley and Northstar and the new Martis Valley developments often think of themselves as living in Tahoe, and they are close enough to enjoy all of the advantages that Tahoe offers.

Truckee is a cool, old railroad town just 12 miles north of Tahoe

I once met a group of women from Truckee (a dozen miles downstream from the Tahoe Basin) who said, with good reason, that they lived in the Tahoe area. And when our conversation turned to other Tahoe neighborhoods, they said that it was their opinion that South Lake Tahoe (which is right on the lake) wasn’t really a “Tahoe” area. I’m not sure, but I think their perception was codespeak for feeling that the South Shore wasn’t sufficiently upper-crust enough to qualify as “Tahoe.”

When you open the beautiful, glossy Tahoe Quarterly magazine, you often see advertisements for beautiful “Tahoe” housing developments that are actually in Truckee or the Martis Valley to the north or even down near Montreux Country Club real estate just out of Reno, none of which are within the Tahoe Basin.

Nice property at Martis Camp, just north of Tahoe

Carson Valley below and to the east of the South Shore is a rapidly-gentrifying ranching area with the towns of Minden and Gardnerville. Like Carson City to the north, many aspects of their location are described regarding their proximity to Tahoe. There are a large number of people who live in Carson Valley and commute up Kingsbury Grade to jobs on the South Shore. There are also many former Tahoe residents who’ve moved to Carson Valley in order to be close to what they love but without having to shovel much snow.

Carson Valley is east of Tahoe. This picture shows how the lake sits above the valley.

Kirkwood ski area (recently purchased by Vail Resorts to join their Northstar and Heavenly portfolio) is about 40 minutes by car from the South Shore, and it is another “Tahoe” area with full-time residents. 
(For those who are interested, Kirkwood is a small, exclusive, ski resort community, and it is generally more expensive than Tahoe. It is also snowed in as often as Emerald Bay. Don’t move to Kirkwood if you want to be able to commute out.)

Kirkwood is a classic little ski town just 40 minutes south of Tahoe

Reno and Sparks are twin cities in the same valley, and you can’t tell where one stops and the other begins. The Reno Sparks metropolitan area has approximately 400,000 people, so it has the same advantages of most big cities. 

Years ago, Reno changed the name of their airport to the Reno/Tahoe International Airport, leading to some confusion for travelers who deplane on the desert and look around for a huge lake that is out of sight 30 miles away and 2000 feet up into the mountains to the southwest. Many people who would like the Tahoe experience might want to live and work in the Reno area and drive up the mountain for their recreation. In fact, the last time I was at Sand Harbor on the East Shore, all the people I heard nearby had driven up from Reno. Some of our famous “Tahoe” Olympians actually live in Reno. When the roads are dry, Reno is only an hour away from several ski resorts.

Housing is substantially less to rent or buy in Carson City or Reno than it is in Tahoe. (But housing is not less expensive in Truckee.)

Reno with its backdrop of mountains to the southwest. Mt. Rose Ski Resort is on the left. Mt. Rose is on the right. On the other side of those is the Tahoe Basin.

JOBS IN TAHOE

For most people, the first question they have when thinking about moving to Tahoe is how to earn a living. “Sure, Tahoe is a great place to hang, but are there any jobs?” I’ve dealt with that in some depth in an earlier post here.

To briefly summarize, there are many entry-level jobs clustered in the hospitality industry, and they are easy to get. In addition, those jobs often allow for promotion, i.e., there are executives working for Vail Resorts who started out as liftees. There are fewer jobs that allow you to earn a middle class income, but those too can be had if you have the appropriate skills and education. If you have a nursing degree, or are a certified teacher, or a skilled carpenter, Tahoe is the same as any other community. With persistence and patience, you can often land a good job.

And of course, professionals are always in demand. Every community needs doctors, dentists, attorneys, architects. It is common knowledge that professionals in Tahoe may not command the same fees as in San Francisco, but for those who live in Tahoe, that seems a reasonable compromise to live in such a spectacular place.

Tahoe is also a fantastic place to start your own business. If you have the knowledge, ambition, and some capital, Tahoe can be a great place to start a restaurant, a tour guide service, a clothing boutique, a construction company, or a B & B.

Last, if you have skills that are non-location-specific, then Tahoe beckons. Tahoe has more than its share of writers, artists, designers, recording artists, and software engineers.

TAHOE HOUSING

To rent or buy is one question. Where to do it is the next question.

In the Tahoe Basin, there are no “really bad” neighborhoods, and there are dozens of good neighborhoods. If you want to rank neighborhoods by their relative merits, the simplest way is to choose a given type of housing - let’s say, a typical 3-2-2 house (three bed, two bath, and two-car garage) - and compare prices from one neighborhood to the next. Many realtor websites group listings by neighborhoods, which makes it easy. Where prices are higher for a given type of property, the neighborhood likely has more to offer. Of course, just because people are paying higher prices in a neighborhood doesn’t mean that you’ll like it better, but you get the idea.

In general, housing is least expensive on the South Shore. Although the South Shore also has its share of very expensive homes.

Purchasing

Tahoe real estate is like that in many resort communities. When general real estate is on an upswing, Tahoe booms even more. When general real estate falls, Tahoe falls even harder.

As with any area, if you buy and plan to hold for the long term, you will likely do very well. If you buy hoping to flip a property in a year or two, you might lose a great deal.

Pricing ebbs and flows with the time, but you can usually expect Tahoe/Truckee property to be less expensive than comparable property in the Bay Area and more expensive than in Sacramento, Reno, and Carson City. Here is a previous post with some real estate info.

Renting

Often, people intending to eventually buy will start out by renting in order to get a feel for the various areas. But for many younger people, renting is the only reasonable option.

Finding a rental apartment (Tahoe has very few apartments - most housing is houses) or house is the same as in any community. Get online and plan to spend plenty of time on Craigslist and rental management sites. Take notes. Read reviews. Study blogs and the comments that people post on them. Cross reference interesting housing locations with your most promising job locations.

Consider a trial move for a few months to try out an area before you sign a year-long lease.

Get on social media to find friends and connections in the Tahoe/Truckee/Reno/Carson City area.

If you plan to take a vacation to Tahoe before you move, do some advance homework so you have a plan of where and how you’re going to check out employment and housing opportunities.

You can also check out “roommate-wanted” ads. Sharing lodgings provides the additional advantage in that you also benefit from the local expertise of your roommates.

Note that you can do all of this very cheaply if you plan ahead. If you come in the summer, you can also stay at one of the many campgrounds around the lake. You need not buy any food outside of grocery stores and thus can sample Tahoe very cheaply, and begin to put down roots.

A few caveats: As always, it is difficult to find rental housing if you have pets. It is also very difficult to find rental housing if you don’t have a job. Any job, even an entry-level job as a liftee on the chairlifts, will make a huge difference. Present yourself professionally in your email presentation as well as in your personal presentation.

Summary

Moving to Tahoe is very much like moving most places. Be thorough in your planning and you will have a great experience. Come on up the mountain! We'd love to have you join us!