Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here is a picture of the Sierra Mountains behind Indian Hills taken from North Carson City:
(Click to enlarge)
Indian Hills seems a little warmer and less harsh of winter weather than much of Carson City to me. Maybe it's the foothills blocking the wind a bit.
There are some really cute and nice newer homes in Sunridge on the east side of highway 395 and then another new home area on the west side behind the shopping area up there. The floor plans are really nice and it seems quiet up there if you stay away from the homes backing up to the freeway.
There is a section of manufactured homes and older ranch homes in there as well. Some of the manufactured homes are on nice sized lots. There are trails out into the BLM open space from many of the neighborhoods so you can hike or bike or horseback ride from your home up into the hills.
Would anyone on this thread be able to update (2021) livability in this area? What about the Indian Hills neighborhood near Jacks Valley Rd.?
thank you in advance
What does "livability" mean to you?
__________________ ____________________________________________
My posts as a Mod will always be in red.
Be sure to review Terms of Service: TOS
And check this out: FAQ
Moderator: Relationships Forum / Hawaii Forum / Dogs / Pets / Current Events
I work just north of the Indian Hills/Topsy area. Some parts of Indian Hills have experienced a decline as can be seen in the increase of sheriffs office calls there, and the appearance of some of the homes. Other parts remain quite nice, and the new housing around Jacks Valley is quite pricey. As ChrisMT mentions, both Jacks Valley and Pinon Hills elementary schools are top notch. Proximity to Topsy businesses is handy if that is important to you, as is the proximity to Carson City or Reno if commuting.
Despite being in Douglas County, you are closer to Carson for most things, so though you rely on Douglas County services for fire, police, education etc. I've found that many people consider themselves Carson City residents, in other words they drive north for most things, not down to Minden/Gardnerville.
Minden/Gardnerville - HOAs and any major concerns?
We visited a couple months ago and are considering buying a home around Minden. What I notice is that there are a lot of HOAs for many homes and new builds in the area. Why is that?
Is the drought a thing in NV? It was fairly hot and dry around April so wondering how most people think about Summers in the area. We do like the fact that it's about 30-40min from various points of Lake Tahoe.
I want to look at places with low crime, decent schools, and lots of out door activity for us and the kids. What are the biggest problems you see if you live in the Minden area?
There's a previous thread about this that ended in late fall/early winter that you may want to peruse too.
I currently live another valley over, but own property in Minden and Gardnerville, and much of my wife's family is there, do most of my shopping there and up in the Topsy area, etc. I help our family ranch south of Minden when I'm not working in Carson City. I've lived in every region of the United States except for New England. Well, and Hawaii I guess.
Low crime. Check.
Decent schools, check. You can look at the Great Schools ratings, but really all of them are nice. Ratings are dragged down by a bit higher percentage of ESL families at Minden Elementary and CC Meneley, but they are also fine.
Lots of outdoor activities, check. Nice swim center, good safe parks, and as you noted there's world class recreation just "up the hill."
Is the drought a thing? Yes, worst drought in over 20 years the scientists say, and along with the current weather in California, we will expect a lot of smoke and fire up in the foothills and mountains. One problem with living in a valley is smoke from nearby wildfires here and over in your neck of the woods tends to settle in for a while. Last summer was terrible for a period of weeks. Expect more of the same this year.
It's cooler here than Pleasanton (used to live a little north of you in Contra Costa btw), much cooler in the winter. Like, it actually snows on the valley floor, but these days only one or three or so significant storms each winter leaving more than a couple inches - most of the snow is at higher elevations.
Most all shopping you can find without venturing any further north of south Carson City, but if needed south and central Reno isn't really that far away, and traffic is nothing compared to where you are - not even close. Downtown Minden to Reno International Airport is 45-60 minutes' drive.
You are in Pleasanton, which is fairly conservative. Here too, is very conservative. You couldn't swing a cat last summer without knocking down twenty Trump signs (to borrow an old and somewhat rude expression.) It is a very white, very conservative, fairly affluent, somewhat provincial community, which attracts a lot of people for those very reasons. We had a near-race-riot last summer when a few black teenagers dared to march down the sidewalk.
Can't speak to the HOA question, other than developers are required to build greenspace and other amenities in new neighborhoods, and then need to hand them over to someone and have the upkeep and landscaping funded, and the county and townships ain't buying them.
Our resident realty and tourism boosters will be along shortly to tell you more wonderful things.
Last edited by alaskaflyer; 05-18-2021 at 02:42 PM..
There's a previous thread about this that ended in late fall/early winter that you may want to peruse too.
I currently live another valley over, but own property in Minden and Gardnerville, and much of my wife's family is there, do most of my shopping there and up in the Topsy area, etc. I help our family ranch south of Minden when I'm not working in Carson City. I've lived in every region of the United States except for New England. Well, and Hawaii I guess.
Low crime. Check.
Decent schools, check. You can look at the Great Schools ratings, but really all of them are nice. Ratings are dragged down by a bit higher percentage of ESL families at Minden Elementary and CC Meneley, but they are also fine.
Lots of outdoor activities, check. Nice swim center, good safe parks, and as you noted there's world class recreation just "up the hill."
Is the drought a thing? Yes, worst drought in over 20 years the scientists say, and along with the current weather in California, we will expect a lot of smoke and fire up in the foothills and mountains. One problem with living in a valley is smoke from nearby wildfires here and over in your neck of the woods tends to settle in for a while. Last summer was terrible for a period of weeks. Expect more of the same this year.
It's cooler here than Pleasanton (used to live a little north of you in Contra Costa btw), much cooler in the winter. Like, it actually snows on the valley floor, but these days only one or three or so significant storms each winter leaving more than a couple inches - most of the snow is at higher elevations.
Most all shopping you can find without venturing any further north of south Carson City, but if needed south and central Reno isn't really that far away, and traffic is nothing compared to where you are - not even close. Downtown Minden to Reno International Airport is 45-60 minutes' drive.
You are in Pleasanton, which is fairly conservative. Here too, is very conservative. You couldn't swing a cat last summer without knocking down twenty Trump signs (to borrow an old and somewhat rude expression.) It is a very white, very conservative, fairly affluent, somewhat provincial community, which attracts a lot of people for those very reasons. We had a near-race-riot last summer when a few black teenagers dared to march down the sidewalk.
Can't speak to the HOA question, other than developers are required to build greenspace and other amenities in new neighborhoods, and then need to hand them over to someone and have the upkeep and landscaping funded, and the county and townships ain't buying them.
Our resident realty and tourism boosters will be along shortly to tell you more wonderful things.
Thank you for all your insights. I also used to live in Contra Costa! Although I'll say it's interesting you mention the "near-race-riot" as our family is Asian. We lived in VA a while back where our last residence had similar demographics to Minden and I found our neighbors to be quite lovely and more friendly than many of our California neighbors. I'm personally trying to move away from the extensive liberal ideology/education the schools seem to adopting here. I don't mind being the "minority" in numbers, but would be concerning if my young children might be negatively treated/impacted.
In my humble opinion your kids would be fine, if treated with a little curiosity? My perception is that there aren't many Asian families in the valley, any more than there are African American or other black families. This changes as you move towards Carson City, and then Reno is fairly diverse. I don't want to rehash 2020 which is best left permanently in everyone's rearview mirror, but the animosity here seems to be centered around blacks, "socialists", and Native Americans who don't "know their place." Not any different than any other traditional farming community experiencing growth and change.
You would love Minden, it's the nicest community in Northern Nevada. Great schools, very safe and yes, conservative politically, but not at all socially lol... It is more upscale in many ways that most Nevada towns, the property values are very high there. There definitely is a great deal of outdoor activity opportunities in Northern Nevada. If your a big dog person like I am, you might like Carson City even more for all of the dog parks and open space trails that are leash optional. Douglas County does not have as many trail systems in town like Carson City, but they do have alot of BLM managed open lands to the east full of dirt roads and pinion forest where you can do pretty much whatever you want, not many restrictive rules or regulations from the BLM.
I personally do not care for HOA's, but they can be beneficial for some people. There have been issues with predatory HOA boards in the past, particularly in Clark County and somewhat in Washoe County, new laws were passed to help counteract those issues and I have not heard of the same problems since the new laws were put in place. I do believe that if you were to try and qualify for first-time home-buyer programs, HOA's can be a hurdle in that instance..I do remember that, but it could be in the past now.
We can have drought cycles in Nevada. We go through 'boom and bust' cycles here, so some years can have flash floods and abundant water and some years are drier. I am not sure about Minden...but in Carson City the only water restrictions are for outdoor watering in the summer months. You must water lawns every other day and not in the heat of the day or let water run into the gutters, etc...no blatant wasting of water. You can hand water anytime.
I have Washoe Indian and Hispanic family members that live in the Minden/Gardnerville area and race is not an issue at all and never was for us. There isn't much to say negative about Minden, it is a beautiful town in a beautiful valley with beautiful mountains all around. It is a pretty safe community as well.
Not sure why the need for potshots about 'tourism boosters' from the other poster here. I think the antagonism towards a positive outlook and appreciation of this area is strange. I just love this area and I have worked in the distant past for business and economic development agencies where I spoke with people all day about moving their businesses and families here and participated in the process...so it's just an area I have some experience in. I also was in contact for quite some time after the moves so got lots of feedback from folks. If you live in Northern Nevada most of your life, you talk with and work with people who move here from all over the country and even from all over the world...on a regular basis.
Douglas County and Carson City have some nice resources for tourism and everyday activities if you live in the area and here are some links:
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Minden/Gardnerville - HOAs and any major concerns?
