City’s livability touted on retirement list

Carson City is the fifth best place in the nation to retire, Livability.com said Monday.

The website cited the city’s 300 days of sunshine on average each year, low humidity, mild temperatures and area amenities for outdoor recreation.

“Nearly a quarter of Carson City’s population is age 60 or older,” according to Livability.com, which also noted seniors are able “to take advantage of the city’s high quality medical centers, low crime rates and affordable housing options.” Livability.com explores what makes small to mid-sized cities great places to live, work and visit.

The website in its Top 10 Best Places to Retire, 2015, put Nevada’s capital behind just Santa Barbara, Calif., Sarasota, Fla., Plano, Texas, and Tacoma, Wash. Carson City beat out Hillsboro, Ore., Lincoln, Neb., Charlottesville, Virginia, Rapid City. S.D., and Scottsdale, Ariz., the five places rounding out the top 10 list.

Mayor Robert Crowell took that and news of a Nevada small business sentiment rebound from another website as good signs.

“That’s good news,” he said. “It’s starting to happen; you can just feel good things are happening.”

Crowell said such a feeling of things on the move was pervasive, in his view, during Nevada Day in the state’s capital community last Saturday.

The other news to which the mayor was reacting came from Thumbtack, a website that provides a connection with professionals for consumers. It said Monday that it would release a survey Tuesday showing a rebound in Nevada small business sentiment.

“Nevada’s economic sentiment recovered in October from a September dip,” Thumbtack reported, “moving back up to 64.33 from 59.8 on a 100 point scale.”

Crowell said it’s just another indication of what he is seeing in business movement in various interactions with city government. He said during and after the recession, until recently, there was little going on regarding the planning division and the Community Development Department. Now there are some examples of action, he said.

Among them is a 90-unit apartment complex proposal that went before the Planning Commission and since has been appealed. The appeal goes to the Board of Supervisors, which will have to tackle issues involving conflict between development interests and neighbors. “That’s bad because they’re contentious issues,” he said, “but it shows something’s happening.”