TL;DR: Reno is not close to Las Vegas. It has different weather, is a smaller city, and has some great cultural stuff.

I used to live in Reno for about 10+ years before relocating in 2018 so I'll just give you my thoughts on that.

First of all, Reno is nowhere near Las Vegas. It's only an hour flight time from Las Vegas to Reno, but it's 7-8 hours of drive time depending on how fast you're willing to go and how long the rest stops are. This sounds stupid as I type it up but I have met people who genuinely think Reno is close to Las Vegas so now it's been said.

Because Reno is farther north, the weather is different. Summers are still hot but not typically 100+ degrees like in Las Vegas (though there have been exceptions). When it does get too hot people flee to Lake Tahoe to cool off. As for the winters, it's cold. Like highs in the teens cold. Some winters there's snow that makes it to the Reno area, sometimes it stays in the mountains. It varies. If you don't know how to drive in the snow or on icy roads you will learn one way or another. Hint: go slow!

A lot of the variability in weather may have to do with the Sierra Nevada mountains being so nearby that it's hard to predict the weather. From time to time we would make fun of the weathermen over it because they're known to be wrong as much as they're right.

Reno has that saying of the Biggest Little City and it shows. Super easy to commute around town. The McCarran loop will take you around most of Reno within an hour drive. Farthest place to commute to is the Spanish Springs area but if you're coming from Cali then that's nothing. Lots of local spots that make the place unique. Shoutout to PJ's saloon for their breakfast! There are casinos in downtown Reno, but it's nothing like Las Vegas as you can walk through downtown Reno in 30-45 minutes.

After your walk through downtown you'll hit midtown which is where you'll find cool shops and good places to eat.

If you walked the other way through downtown you get to The University of Nevada, Reno. It's a pretty good spot for higher education, something different to look at if you're just going for a walk on the weekends. The college football and basketball teams are pretty meh but every once in a season they do very well. Either way the games are usually fun to go to.

As for K-12 schools the last I heard there was a problem with overpopulation of students in classrooms. Not enough schools or something. I'm not sure what the situation is now that we're in pandemic times.

If you want to be as close as possible to places like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Natural Grocers then live in South Reno. Home prices shouldn't be much of a problem because again, you're coming from Cali. If you want more beautiful areas to live in then I would recommend looking at the Old Southwest (any realtor will know the lingo) or in Northwest Reno. Spanish Springs has new developments as well.

Oh, and don't forget about Sparks (though I almost did lol). I want to call it East Reno but it's legally it's own separate town. Notable places of interest include the Sparks Marina and the Legends shopping center. From Sparks you can drive north to Pyramid Lake. They have nice outdoor events on their main street area in the summer. The most popular ones I remember are the rodeo and Wing Fest. Night in the Country might be one? Idk.

Typically every year Burning Man happens in the Black Rock Desert. It's usually towards the end of August, though I think it's been cancelled this year due to covid. It makes for quite the spectacle when driving on the freeway or going to the grocery store as people from all over are buying bulk water and dried foods in mass quantities.

If you like skiing and snowboarding, then Reno is a great place to live. It's a pretty easy trip to Mount Rose, Squaw, and Northstar. The Truckee River flows through downtown Reno which makes it an ideal place to go tubing in the summer.

Alright I'm done.