Carson City, NV

Nevada is underrated. Most people only ever go to Las Vegas (which holds next-to-no appeal for me), but northern Nevada is pretty cool! There’s Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the “Biggest Little City,” Reno, as a hub. We spent a few days in Carson City, the State’s Capital, visiting family and one of my childhood friends from Germany. It wasn’t my initial intention, but I liked the area enough that it’s worth an assessment for the Goldilocks Project. I’ll focus on Carson City, since that’s where we were, but I’d be open to other parts of Northern Nevada.

The Good

• Their area is underrated, so outside of the “big cities” of Reno and Carson City, it’s pretty sparse and affordable.
• The exception to that is Californians. Our relations were saying that Californians are starting to discover it and move in. No surprise because you still have easy access to fun parts of California, but you’re paying $1+ less per gallon of gas and property prices and taxes are way more manageable.
• Carson City has everything we’d want, plus it’s only 45 minutes away from Reno when we need the airport and larger-scale entertainment. 
• Most of the State’s population is in the cities, which means politics tend to lean liberal. 
• Lake Tahoe is only 30 minutes away and it’s gorgeous! I know I’m not the first to say that, but wow! Since it’s a popular tourist destination, I’m happy to see that there is other lakes and rivers nearby that I expect are more locals-only spots.
• The city is bordered by the Carson Range, and then the Sierra Nevadas are not much further west. We enjoyed skiing at Palisade Tahoe one day, and I already know I like hiking in the area since we spent 21 days backpacking the Sierra Nevadas this summer.
• Built in family and friends is always a plus, and it’s in a good middle-ground between both of our immediate families.  

The Bad

• Although it’s not Las Vegas, gambling is omnipresent in Nevada. There are casinos of course, but even gas stations and convenient stores typically have a few slot machines. 
• I’m worried about water conservation and access. The fact that Lake Tahoe is so pristine it’s a good indication that the State is aware that ongoing water access is crucial to living in its dry climate and is taking water conservation seriously. 
• Summer heat is a concern. Average temperatures are pretty manageable, but historic highs are far beyond what I want to put up with.

The Verdict

Yes, but we don’t know much about it. Before it sneaks into the top 5 we need to do a deeper drive. 

Lake Tahoe is amazing and a huge selling point.

Even in the winter, the lake was attracting folks for multiple reasons, including some sort of kite surfing-type thing. 

 

Although technically in California, we enjoyed skiing at Palisade Tahoe. That said, there are some ski areas on the Nevada side. 

The ski area was packed, mostly with tech folks working in San Francisco based on the conversations I overheard in the aerial tram.

Views of the Carson Range from a Carson City neighborhood. 

Nevada State capital building. 

Apologies for the limited and bad photos. I didn’t expect to add Carson City as a blog spot until pretty late into our visit. 

We had good pizza and beer at Great Basin Brewing. 

After auditing casinos I’m less dismissive of them than I used to be, but they still aren’t appealing.