Douglas County Economy??? (Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City: power lines, crime rate, hotels)

[Troy13]

Does anyone know how the economy in Douglas County is doing? I believe I read that tourism is slowing down in that area. How do you think Douglas County will do if things continue to slow down? Is unemployment high there? How is the crime rate there? I am thinking about moving there. I heard it is a beautiful place.

[garth]

I live in Douglas County. On our county cable channel, Channel 16, government officals (i.e., County Manager) are often interviewed and they have discussed County revenues on some of the recent interviews. The bottom line is that revenues are down from last year.

Remember, Douglas County doesn't just consist of Gardnerville, Minden, and Genoa. It also consists of Stateline on Lake Tahoe, which has the big hotels. According to the County Manager, bed tax revenues have declined. That should mean other tourist-related revenues are also down.

With that said, things still appear healty in the towns. New hotels are being planned and built, like the Beverly Hillbilly themed casino/hotel up on Topsy Lane. There's also a new shopping center and hotel complx being built at the intersection of Hwy 395 and Hwy 88.

New stores are also coming in, like a Wild Oats in the referenced shopping center. A new upscale Italian restaurant is also coming into town. It's in the old Fiona's Restaurant building.

The town of Minden is also continuing with capital improvements. For example, they're burying the old telephone and power lines in town and removing the posts. They're also beautifying the town entries and putting old fashioned-type street lights in town.

So, in my mind it's just the way things go. It's not terminal. Instead, some years things are up. In other years things go down. The County just needs to be able to weather the lean years, which they seem to be able to do. They've been rather conservative in that regard and I don't see it changing.

In the meantime, a Slow Growth Initiative and resulting County ordinance has been passed in the County. Part of all the hulla-ba-lou surrounding the initiative was a study of the future growth in the County. Apparently significant growth is expected over the next decades, which they want to get some handle on.

Growth, whether someone finds it desirable or undesirable, means to me that there's at least some reason people want to move here. If the economy was in permanent decline and the area was becoming an economic wasteland (i.e., rust-belt type situation), then people wouldn't be moving here. That's not the case.

There's also a reason why the housing is generally more expensive than comperable places in nearby counties. Please remember I said "comperable" because some very desirable and expensive homes can be found elsewhere in the region. Again, that means there are reasons why some people find an equivalent house more expensive in Douglas County than in Carson City or Washoe County (Reno).

So, IMO Douglas County has a lot going for it and will continue to have a lot going for it. It has its small challenges right now, as any place has from time to time, but nothing is terminal and nothing will last forever.

Welcome to the area if you choose to live here. BTW, what part of the County are you considering? I've been working on my house recently and have answered more than a few questions from people driving by and looking at houses. Maybe you were one of them.

[garth]

Oh, I forgot about crime rate. Take a look at this site and others and you will find that it is low. On a personal level, I can confirm the stats. I would not hesitate taking the dog for a walk in the evening in my nieghborhood and adjacent neighborhoods. I feel very comfortable.

As for unemployment rates, I don't have any information about that. I do see help wanted signs in the windows of some retail stores, but for more substantial jobs I have no information. Perhaps someone else has an insight into that issue.

As for being a beautiful place, I found it that way. Take a look at some of my past posts about the area and you'll find some pictures of Minden. I've uploaded them to the Minden page on this site, but they have not posted them yet.

[olecapt]

Ahh..You sold me Garth..now as soon as you get rid of winter I will be right up there to buy a place...

It is fun to watch you take the apologist role I work on Las Vegas.

And it is truly a lovely place. I particularly like the areas to the east and south.

My key life rule though will likely prevent me from living there..."Never be more than 20 minutes from a Radio Shack and a good hardware store"

[garth]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Ahh..You sold me Garth..now as soon as you get rid of winter I will be right up there to buy a place...

Ah heck, the winter is nothing, at least in the Carson Valley. Now up in Tahoe, that's a different story, but at least the heavy stuff stays up there. I'm sure you could deal with any transitory little thing in the valley, so when you decide to settle up here we'll be happy to take you and the wife out for a nice Basque dinner and a cold one over at JT's.

Originally Posted by olecapt

My key life rule though will likely prevent me from living there..."Never be more than 20 minutes from a Radio Shack and a good hardware store"

Hey, it sounds like we almost fit the bill for you. Let's see, either north or south I'm about 7-10 minutes from Meeks, Ace Hardware, and Home Depot. Add another 5 minutes and I can get to Lowes.

As for Radio Shack, there's one in Gardnerville. It's also about 7 minutes or less away from me, and would be about 10 mintues away from most anywhere in the valley.

So, it sounds like you might be moving to town since we meet your criteria. We do have a Coldwell Banker, Re/Max, Century21, and a couple of independant places in town for you. I'm sure any of them would be glad to make another desk available for a good Realtor.

Of course, you'll need to get your boots on when showing ranchland. You know those cows can leave some real messes in the fields. Otherwise, just scrape off those boots, before you come into the house. My wife doesn't like cleaning up after those darn Realtors.

Hope to see you soon!

[garth]

Troy13,

Here's a link that speaks directly to your question. It's the Douglas County Sate of the County Report for 2007. Just click here (http://douglascountynv.gov/sites/main/pdf/sotc07.pdf - broken link).

It goes into greater detail than was outlined in my post and discusses issues I didn't bring up. I think you'll find it will answer most of your questions.

Here's another link for you. It's to the latest Annual Report. Click here (http://www.douglascountynv.gov/sites/main/05-06AnnualReport.pdf - broken link). You might find it useful, too.