Reviews & Comments
Gardnerville, NV
Small town close to great outdoor recreation areas -
6/27/2021Retired a few years, moved here from California after 2+ years of visiting the area during all 4 seasons. I live right in town.
Some observations.
Weather- it’s true 4-season climate but fair to said each season is pretty moderate. Winter has pretty frigid mornings, afternoons are cold but not too bad; snow in general is minimal – no heavy shoveling here. Summer is HOT, daytime in the low/mid 90’s – it does cool overnight quite a bit. In fact this area is known for VERY WIDE diurnal temp swings, very prevalent in winter and summer.
Town: it’s small, Gardnerville & Minden = 7,000 people. Shopping for the basics are here, beyond that drive up the road 9 miles towards Carson City and you find the big box stores, etc. In town restaurants are pretty few and far between, not a lot to offer. Nice parks and GREAT modern community center. Downtown is basically a sting of local business spaced along Hwy 395 – ‘Main Street’ – which runs thru both towns and is major North/South route – it sees a good deal of traffic, including 18 wheelers during morning and afternoon hours – not exactly a nice quiet walkable area.
People- Generally quite friendly, small town feel. There is some ‘anti-California’ sentiment from the locals but there are a LOT of Californians living here. Politically speaking Douglas County is one of the most conservative (i.e. RED) counties in the State, something to be aware of.
Employment / Housing- many retired folks here; if you need to work it’s not much of an overstatement to ‘bring your own job’; there is not much right in town in terms of businesses beyond local retail and of course the city services, healthcare and the like. Housing is more costly and difficult to locate than one might realize, be prepared for that – be it buying or renting.
Healthcare: be prepared for less options in terms of providers if you come from a major metro area – Gardnerville does have small local hospital.
Not a lot to do right in town but Tahoe is a 30 minute drive, and of course all of the Eastern Sierra is very close by – so lot’s of outdoor opportunities for recreation. 40 minute drive to Reno; 3 ½ hour drive to San Francisco –a small town area that is not too far from a couple of pretty large metro areas.
San Diego, CA
re: advice on wildfires - 3/21/2015 -
11/1/2015I live in Oceanside, 30 miles North of SD; been here 4 years (came from SF Bay area). It's dry here, 10 in. or so of rain in a 'normal' year, fires are not a big issue tho if you watch the TV news it seems that way. On thing to also think about, pollent allergies/asthma - I know from first hand experience that pollen allergies abound as I am worse off here than up in NorCal according to my allergist - problem is mild year-round climate means ANYTHING will grow here and it will grow ALL year long, so not a great place for people like me. Aside from that, the air is pretty decent if you're within a few miles of the coastline.
Medford, OR
re: Quality Of Life - 2/6/2014 -
3/31/2014Thanks for the good overview and details too. I'm semi-retired, currently lived in the SF East Bay for 30 yrs. and last 2 in N. San Diego County. Visited Medford/Ashland/Grants Pass are twice last 6 months and likely another trip shortly.
After your 6 years, what has caused you to become disillusioned with Medford?
Thanks/Bill
Oceanside, CA
1 Year in O'side...like all places, plusses and mi -
7/21/2012Background: I grew up/lived for over 30 years in the burbs 30 miles east of L.A.; lived the past 26 years in the burbs of SF East Bay. Relocated to O’side a year ago due to aging family member.
O’side and SD County is a significant change in many many respects compared to the more populous SF Bay area and Los Angeles. I’m a college educated professional worker and when I lived in NorCal I resided in a pretty upscale area – O’side and actually most all of SD County is different scene. North County in particular is the land of ‘flip-flops’ and shorts, not a lot of ‘professional’ types here, but for good reason: with the large Pendleton Marine base in town and a good proportion of Hispanic’s this is really ‘working class’ type of town. As you head South things change a bit..more corporate biz near San Diego.
Plusses:
Climate: if you like sunshine and MILD weather, well, this is the place. But you already know that. If you miss the change of seasons you may find the weather as I do, tends to be on the boring side.
People: interesting ‘mix’ in O’side of military, many young Marines and families, many retired military too. Lots of Hispanics too. People are people and what you make of them, I’ve found them friendly here but have everywhere I’ve lived. Politics are conservative through SD County – lot’s of military, it’s very ‘Red’ here.
Culture: The locals say they make up for the lack thereof with the sunshine, true, enough said – this is NOT San Francisco by means. Less of a base of highly educated people, makes sense as there is only one large University (UCSD) and it’s near 30 miles to the South.
Things to do: Great if you like to surf (but beaches get crowded, Carlsbad and South of here is nicer beaches), you can get to the desert, mountains nearby, but IMO they don’t compare to what one finds up North (Sierras).
Overall Impression: cheapest SoCal ‘coastal’ city for housing in SD County, but not dirt cheap – all things are relative. Probably pretty suitable for families with kids, though I’m not knowledgeable of the school scene. If you want nightlife and the arts/entertainment you need to head to downtown SD and still slim pickings compared to a major metro area like SF or LA.
Will I say here? Unlikely. I need to work for another few years and the professional jobs are down in SD, it’s heavy traffic on I-5 for 30+ miles. Due to the relatively large amount of military (Navy, Marines, etc.) in the country a lot of work/employment is defense related (niche), some biotech but even that is not huge….there is simply not a lot of diversity in ‘businesses’ here aside from the vacation/resort/spa related stuff. Wages are a LOT less than up North, this surprised me – overall I’d say SD county wages compared to SF Bay area are 20% lower, maybe even a tad bit more. I want to experience some change of seasons, personally the weather is a bit too ‘bland’ for me.