Carson City NV compared to the Front Range

[jaada]

how is the unemployment rate in co? carson city area is at about 12%

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by jaada

how is the unemployment rate in co? carson city area is at about 12%

Reno-Carson City-Sparks is horrible right now. Colorado is much better. Check out the latest Economic report from the Brookings Institution / UNLV for the Intermountain West. This is a web page, there is also a pdf document with statistics and maps:

Mountain Monitor: Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in the Intermountain West’s Metropolitan Areas - Brookings Institution

And, the Bureau of Labor statistics releases November's regional unemployment on Wed. Jan 5th Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living, crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more

[vegaspilgrim]

Very interesting post. I'm from Denver, lived in a couple places since and moved to Reno a few months ago. There are definitely a lot of parallels between the eastern Sierra/ Truckee Meadows region of CA/NV and the Front Range of CO. You really would have to explore both to really know which region you prefer the best. Assuming you're not retired or independently wealthy, it all comes down to where you can find a job. The Front Range has a much larger, more diverse economy, many more job opportunities. Yet ironically, as things turned out, the job I landed turned out to be in a state with a higher unemployment rate, so as they say, YMMV.

Carson City doesn't really compare to any front range city, IMO. If you had to compare it to something... Grand Junction, perhaps?

[jaada]

I always assumed that if you cant get a job you can always get one in a casino in nevada so I thought, maybe things have changed. One thing I hated about carson city was the wind constantly blowing, comes right off the sierra nevada mountains down into carson and minden. Is it like that in colorado springs and other colorado towns?

[xeric]

Originally Posted by Idunn

Compared to Carson City, NV most Front Range communities in Colorado will seem very fecund. The general aura in Carson City, especially towards the east, is dry, near desert. The Front Range is far more lush, watered, with trees and grass.

Don't confuse artificially irrigated landscapes with the natural stuff. Trees can't grow in the "low elevations" of eastern Colorado (ie. Denver, Fort Collins and other Front Range cities) without supplemental water and the natural grasslands are only green for 2 months of the year.

[jaada]

Originally Posted by jaada

I always assumed that if you cant get a job you can always get one in a casino in nevada so I thought, maybe things have changed. One thing I hated about carson city was the wind constantly blowing, comes right off the sierra nevada mountains down into carson and minden. Is it like that in colorado springs and other colorado towns?

bump

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by jaada

I always assumed that if you cant get a job you can always get one in a casino in nevada so I thought, maybe things have changed. One thing I hated about carson city was the wind constantly blowing, comes right off the sierra nevada mountains down into carson and minden. Is it like that in colorado springs and other colorado towns?

These days there's simply no assuming anything... About the wind, I haven't lived here long enough to make a true comparison, but I think Denver/ the front Range is way more windy than northern Nevada-- and way more turbulent weather in general, way more thunderstorms in the summer, snow in the winter, unpredictable changes in the weather, etc. So if you find Carson City to be uncomfortably windy, the Front Range of Colorado might not be a good idea. It's not unheard of to have 100+ mph hurricane force winds right off the foothills near Golden, etc, blowing out windows out of cars and buildings. If getting away from wind is a major concern, perhaps you should look at California?

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

These days there's simply no assuming anything... About the wind, I haven't lived here long enough to make a true comparison, but I think Denver/ the front Range is way more windy than northern Nevada-- and way more turbulent weather in general, way more thunderstorms in the summer, snow in the winter, unpredictable changes in the weather, etc. So if you find Carson City to be uncomfortably windy, the Front Range of Colorado might not be a good idea. It's not unheard of to have 100+ mph hurricane force winds right off the foothills near Golden, etc, blowing out windows out of cars and buildings. If getting away from wind is a major concern, perhaps you should look at California?

The downslope winds / positive ions in places like Boulder are exactly why I would never, ever consider living along the front range. There are more summer thunderstorms along the front range compared to near Tahoe / Carson City / Reno because of the Monsoons coming north from Mexico.

Areas of Western Colorado, such as Durango, have summer thunderstorms from monsoons, however, not as much wind unless one is near a gap in the terrain.

[crmor]

My husband is considering taking a job in carson city, and we currently live in fort collins, co. we just got back from visiting there and did not get a good feeling. I know it can be hard to get a handle on an area after only being there for a short time, but I am concerned it is not a great place for young families, everyone seemed to be on the older side and somewhat inactive. It also feels quite run down and desolate there. It is a beautiful setting as it is surrounded by mountains but I get the feeling there is not much community or culture there. I am a stay at home mom and I have a 1 and a 3 year old and we are used to being very involved in the community. Can anyone speak to the activity level of the community?

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by crmor

My husband is considering taking a job in carson city, and we currently live in fort collins, co. we just got back from visiting there and did not get a good feeling. I know it can be hard to get a handle on an area after only being there for a short time, but I am concerned it is not a great place for young families, everyone seemed to be on the older side and somewhat inactive. It also feels quite run down and desolate there. It is a beautiful setting as it is surrounded by mountains but I get the feeling there is not much community or culture there. I am a stay at home mom and I have a 1 and a 3 year old and we are used to being very involved in the community. Can anyone speak to the activity level of the community?

This question should be asked on the Nevada forum rather than the Colorado forum.

Carson City is more comparable to Grand Junction than Fort Collins.