Caliente and Indian Springs (job market, schools, live in)

[greatbasinguide]

Indian Springs is handy to Mt. Charleston and Death Valley, which means it has a great location, the town isn't much. Caliente isn't much either, but it is in fine country. Meadow Valley Wash runs into a great canyon south of town, North of town are acreage parcels that are inexpensive. Pioche is an undiscovered Gem, and a number of Nevada State Parks are nearby and well worth spending time at.

[olecapt]

Cold Creek is a keeper. But it is reasonably expensive.

[GypsyLee]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

I've never been to either of these towns. What are they like? Why can't I find anything for sale there?

CALIENTE: IMO. It is nothing like any of the wonderful descriptions they give it. Underdeveloped not taken care of area. A lot of drunks running around at night at the local bars. We've heard of the bad meth problems there too. One gas station, one small burger-type joint, two restaurants(watch out for their grease!), post office, one small strip with local merchants-grocery store, furniture store, hair salon, true value, and gifts-n-such. Some newer homes have come up in the area. But finding a 'good' job that pays is hard. Not much available. Different churches. A lot of Mormons. Can be a very suspicious town of newcomers. Not as friendly as others towns I've been too. Don't know anything about the schools. Has a hospital, Dr. office, pharmacy. The Caliente Youth Center for Youth Offenders is located there. I personally don't think it's a great place to live. But it depends on what you're looking for in your new town. A trip there would absolutely be helpful.

About 14 miles away from Caliente is Panaca. Small primarily Mormon town. One small store, one small video store, one gas station about 1 mile away, fire station, schools, post office, etc. It's about 1,000 people full. Crowded living. A few newer homes came in but finding a place to live is limited. If you don't have a job or are just starting a job I don't suggest buying here until you know you are staying for sure. They can be hard to sell here.

About 24 miles from Caliente is Pioche. Old-timey cowboy and mining town. More homes here. An older community like Caliente. Job are hard to come by here too. Has similar stores as Caliente.

I hope this answers some of your questions. If you have any others please post them and I'll help you out.

*GypsyLee*

[NiteMan]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Probably because they're very small towns, and therefore have very little available for sale. When something does go up for sale, it's usually snapped up immediately, as there are tons of people who want to live there for the easy (relatively) commute to Vegas.

Bob

I'm always interested in learning about other places so I checked realtor.com for Caliente. Prices seem a bargain compared to Vegas.

However, I don't understand the relative easy commute when I located Caliente on mapquest - its like 150 miles away! That would be a 2 hour plus drive to and another 2 plus hour trip going back - too much for an every day commute for me.

Yellowsnow - if you're driving over there to take a look, be prepared to use up most of half a day getting there

[PinkString]

I heard that some people that live in Caliente commute to St.George,Utah for work. And they go there for shopping since it's closer to them than Vegas.
Right over the border from Caliente is Santa Clara,UT, then Gunlock and whatever other small towns i've since forgotten. Then St.George.

[GypsyLee]

Originally Posted by NiteMan

I'm always interested in learning about other places so I checked realtor.com for Caliente. Prices seem a bargain compared to Vegas.

However, I don't understand the relative easy commute when I located Caliente on mapquest - its like 150 miles away! That would be a 2 hour plus drive to and another 2 plus hour trip going back - too much for an every day commute for me.

Yellowsnow - if you're driving over there to take a look, be prepared to use up most of half a day getting there

Here's how it is:
There are some Mom/Pop stores in Caliente and Panaca, maybe Pioche. But for major shopping most will travel out-of-town.

90 Miles from Caliente, NV to Cedar City, UT
150+ Miles from Caliente, NV to St. George, UT
2.5 almost 3 hour drive from Caliente, NV to Las Vegas, NV
2 hours from Caliente to Ely, NV
3+ hours from Caliente to Elko, NV

These are the major cities to do your major shopping. Doing this trip about once a month and getting all your supplies. In town, you can get your milk, bread, etc. as needed. The local stores though have sales regularly so it's not too bad. It's the driving to the other towns that gets costly with gas prices.

[GypsyLee]

Oh, and I don't know of anyone from Caliente, Panaca, or Pioche that commute to St. George or even Cedar City. Because of the snow during winter and the passes that you have to drive over. It would be a very dangerous drive. However, that doesn't mean someone isn't doing that. However, St. George would be a very long drive.

[greatbasinguide]

Panaca is pretty Mormon, not sure if a non Mormon would be happy there.
A Caliente story; A friend's husband was to do his residency at the local hospital, she being a teacher figured she would take a teaching job there, she called and talked to the Principal, the phone interview went well, then she asked if there was a Catholic Church in Caliente, dead silence on the other end.... Then finally, "You aren't Mormon?"

I don't know if people from out of the area understand just how Mormon much of Eastern Nevada and Utah can be. Living there is not as bad as being Protestant in Ireland is, but it is different than most other places.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by greatbasinguide

Panaca is pretty Mormon, not sure if a non Mormon would be happy there.
A Caliente story; A friend's husband was to do his residency at the local hospital, she being a teacher figured she would take a teaching job there, she called and talked to the Principal, the phone interview went well, then she asked if there was a Catholic Church in Caliente, dead silence on the other end.... Then finally, "You aren't Mormon?"

I don't know if people from out of the area understand just how Mormon much of Eastern Nevada and Utah can be. Living there is not as bad as being Protestant in Ireland is, but it is different than most other places.

I was surprised my thread had been resurrected! Had to laugh at this one. I lived in Utah from 83 to 95 so I know exactly what you are talking about. If I'm not mistaken, some of these little border towns were, at one time, populated by polygamists.

Once I applied for a promotion at work. I was interviewed by the hiring manager and he just flat told me I was "sitting in the wrong pew". And that was with a nationwide Fortune 500 company!

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by GypsyLee

Oh, and I don't know of anyone from Caliente, Panaca, or Pioche that commute to St. George or even Cedar City. Because of the snow during winter and the passes that you have to drive over. It would be a very dangerous drive. However, that doesn't mean someone isn't doing that. However, St. George would be a very long drive.

They may be talking about taking the dirt roads out of Caliente that lead over to St. George. If I remember right, it is about 60 miles, maybe less, of mostly powdery dirt that would be hard to do in the winter. Hard to do anytime without a high clearance vehicle.

I wouldn't think anybody would seriously think about buying in Caliente, Pioche, or Panaca. For one thing they may still be somewhat polluted with radioactive fallout from the above ground testing in the 50's and 60s (I can just hear the groan from olecapt). As far as it being a relatively easy commute, I think they were talking about Indian Springs. I doubt if there's much available around there either that isn't under the control of the Air Force or the BLM. Why would anyone want to live there anyway unless they were stuck at the base?

Cold Creek is a nice area but they shouldn't allow any more construction there.

Remember, 87% of Nevada is controlled by the Federal government and that's why there isn't a lot for sale out there in the outback. And thank goodness for that.

“We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it.
We need a refuge even though we may never need to go there....
We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.”

- Edward Abbey