The Sobering Reality Of What Life Is Like In Reno, Nevada

A reader of my site named Heather who has been unemployed since November of
last year recently shared the following with me....

I am living in Reno/Sparks Nevada and I feel like it is ground zero for
collapse. There are a lot of people who are in denial right now and cannot see
the larger picture. I keep also saying we are the canary in the coal mine for
the rest of the country. It is quite depressing driving around seeing empty
office buildings with vacancies and retail areas just empty. Went to the stores
and retail seems pretty slow also. I am volunteering at ProNet locally and it
helps unemployed people finds jobs and skills. It has been depressing there too
with very little jobs out there for many people who need one.

You might think that since Reno is so sunny, so warm and surrounded by such
natural beauty that it would be one of the happiest places in America.

Unfortunately it turns out that the opposite is true.

Reno is actually a very sad place.

In fact, last year Men's
Health ranked Reno as the ninth saddest city in the United States.

In response to this ranking, one resident of Reno wrote the following....

In light of this disheartening list-making, it is, of course, important
for Nevadans to look on the bright side. Rather than allowing these statistics
to depress us further, we can consider them a series of challenges that make
living in places like Reno and Las Vegas all the more impressive. You don’t just
live in Reno. You survive Reno! To dwell in Reno, you must triumph over the odds
that are stacked against you—one of the things we’re supposed to do best
here

If we can withstand all of the emotional curveballs thrown at us because
we have selected such a turbulent location in which to reside, we can probably
survive anything

As a lifelong Renoite, I am inclined to respond to these lists with
defiance. Yeah, things can look pretty grim sometimes when no one can find a
job, and there seems to be no way out.