Moving to Minden from Florida and have questions about the topography..........

[jamies]

Florida = flat and hot.

Minden = flat surrounded by gorgeous mountains, with streams and snow (at least before global warming...)

[Kathlyn47]

That was good..............I like the layout on your comparisons.

Is central air conditioning necessary in homes in the Carson Valley during the hotter months July, Aug. and Sept.? Is central air a standard in homes there like in Florida.

[mingna]

I think Minden is a wonderful place in which to retire. There are numerous medical facilities in town, including at the edge of the Winhaven development. In fact, I recommend you check that area out as it's an ideal location for all your needs, many retirees reside there.

The drive up Kingsbury to SF is very doable (even for a chicken like me) and spectacular. Given the current drought conditions, you can probably do it without chains in the winter, but will probably need a 4WD just in case.

I would live to the east of 395. It seems the west side receives more snow and gets colder in the winter due to shading by the Sierra Nevadas. It can get very hot in the summer, esp. with the brilliant sunshine, so AC will be needed. But the nice thing about living in the high desert is that the temp drops dramatically at night--to cool 60's-50's. Nice enough to even sleep with the windows open since the humidity is so low. When I lived there, I would keep the house cool by closing all the blinds during the day and opening them in the early evening. By doing this, our house stayed cool, and the AC was needed only for a few hours before the evening cool-off. An interesting phenomenon is it gets strong late afternoon winds daily in the summer, which is somewhat annoying if you're trying to enjoy the coolness on the patio.

Minden is a nice, small town with a few decent restaurants -- Mexican and Basque comes to mind. They even have a fairly new wine tasting restaurant serving local wines.


ETA: The recent completion of the bypass fwy through Carson City now makes driving to Reno from Minden much quicker.