Reviews & Comments
Santa Clarita, CA
Love It, Love It, love It -
1/6/2007We love Santa Clarita. We previously lived in San Diego (loved it there, too), Ventura (grew up there...nice town), and the Carson Valley in Northern Nevada (sleepy, slow town). This community is very family-oriented, and very well laid-out. Actually, if you like master-planned communities you'll want to live in the Valencia/Stevenson Ranch/Newhall side of town. Saugus and greater Santa Clarita and Canyon Country are certainly not as nice. There are fewer restaurants, more traffic, more sage brush and dirt for your scenery...although you'll get more house for your money. We love the Valencia part of this valley because it is central and has older, established trees, and the Paseos (trails) that interconnect the town, and it's close to the freeway for commuters. People are friendly here (although I hear it's not like the South). It's clean, the climate is tolerable (gets pretty hot in the summer), but if you have a community pool in your neighborhood it's fantastic. Our home owner's association competes with neighboring HOAs on a swim team every summer for the kids. Those are very big here. A little Stepford-ish in Stevenson Ranch/Valencia, but if you head towards Newhall you'll find plenty of friendly Hispanic families and great authentic Mexican food, and more homey, quiet communities. Great church: Faith Community. We love this town.
Gardnerville, NV
Sleepy town, good for families -
1/6/2007We lived in Gardnerville for 9 years. Quiet town. Plenty of families. Great if you like the outdoors. Dry climate. You get all four seasons, but mild. The wind in the afternoon can be irritating. Kind of rural, but there is one excellent shopping area with restaurants, etc., about 20 minutes from Gardnerville. It takes 20 minutes to get to the nearest beach at Lake Tahoe, but the best beach for kids, Sand Harbor, is about 45 minutes. Not a good community for singles. And the people are not all that warm. But if you attend a church, (we went to Hilltop Community), you'll find warm, friendly people and plenty of activities for the family. There is also a fun swim center with water slides for the kids. We are now in Southern California and enjoy being in all the action. Won't get as much variety in Gardnerville, but nice town none-the-less.