Author Topic: Any far west Texas or New Mexico residents here? (Read 4049 times)

dm1333 · « **on:** February 07, 2015, 08:36:37 PM »

I'm thinking about places to retire to after retiring from the Coast Guard. I love the west but after 16 years of the west coast I can't hack gray, rainy weather at all. I'm also growing less and less fond of snow so WI, MN and MI are out. Not sure why I have never considered it but why not live around El Paso, Las Cruces, Silver City, NM, etc. I spent a little time in New Mexico back in 2007, driving through on my way from CA to MI. The weather and mountain biking were great. I was in t shirts and shorts in late April, by the time I got to the UP I was back in pants and a heavy jacket.

Andiron · « **Reply #1 on:** February 07, 2015, 10:01:59 PM »

Art Eatman could tell you about all that, but I haven't seen him around here in a coons age.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #2 on:** February 08, 2015, 12:59:51 AM »

Lubbock, TX. We're almost to the NM border in the Texas panhandle. El P is a neat town, just a bit too desert-y for my tastes. I also like Lubbock's more central location. If your're into camping and biking El P definitely has you some close options... Big Bend NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, White Sands, Lincoln Natl Forest, etc.. Might want to keep a close eye on police stats for your neighborhood of choice. Some areas have experienced a significant swing in crime rates/types.

Brad

KD5NRH · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2015, 02:42:56 AM »

Midland/Odessa area looks interesting, and they say you get used to the constant smell of crude oil. Not sure how long it would take for me to get bored with it. If you don't mind being far from everything, (they do have a small IGA-style grocery store, a couple of gas stations and at least one really great breakfast cafe) Fort Davis is gorgeous most of the year, and the star parties at the McDonald Observatory are amazing on a clear night.

bedlamite · « **Reply #4 on:** February 08, 2015, 03:19:26 AM »

I hear it gets warm in the summer.

dm1333 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 08, 2015, 07:23:33 AM »

Quote from: bedlamite on February 08, 2015, 03:19:26 AM

I hear it gets warm in the summer.

Yeah, bring it on!

I did actually think about that. Phoenix is at 1000 ft, Tucson is around 2000 ft, El Paso/Las Cruces are at 3800 or so and the other places I'm thinking of are even higher. At 2.5 - 5 degrees cooler for every thousand feet in elevation you end up with hot summers instead of thinking you live on the sun.

roo_ster · « **Reply #6 on:** February 08, 2015, 08:32:00 AM »

Cloudcroft or ruidoso for the win.

roo_ster · « **Reply #7 on:** February 08, 2015, 08:32:56 AM »

Or the davis mountains if you want to stay in texas.

dm1333 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2015, 09:47:31 AM »

Quote from: roo_ster on February 08, 2015, 08:32:00 AM

Cloudcroft or ruidoso for the win.

Thanks for that! I had this image in my mind that everything east of Las Cruces looked like the White Sands. Plus there is an AFB near Alomogordo. Might be nice to have access to an exchange/commissary for once in my life. Doctors familiar with Tri Care is also a plus.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #9 on:** February 09, 2015, 11:50:44 AM »

Nothing wrong with the Ruidoso/Cloudcroft. It's a short 3.5 hrs away so is a popular weekend getaway for us. However, looking a little further north would exponentially increase your travel and outdoor options. The Albuquerque/Sante Fe/Las Vegas corridor has you in the southern Rockies and puts you within a few hours of most of the Northern NM/Southern CO area. Outdoor and travel pursuits there are virtually endless and the scenery is stunning. Also puts you right on I-40 so you have more East/West travel options. I am very aquainted with the area and would he happy to give you all the info you can stand. Tallpine is also a wealth of info for those environs. We also have a resident APS Los Alamosian in grislyatoms, though I haven't seen him active on the board in a while.

Brad

MechAg94 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 09, 2015, 04:10:49 PM »

You might try looking East just a little at the hill country West of San Antonio and South from there down to Concan. The Frio River is generally nice. All that area is on the dry side.

I know a guy who moved up to the Anacortes, WA area. He ended up changing jobs to the San Antonio area and loves the change of scenery. I heard when they moved to Washington, they researched which subdivisions gots the most average days of sunlight. If that is an issue, I am not sure I want to live there.

dm1333 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 09, 2015, 06:36:44 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on February 09, 2015, 11:50:44 AM

Nothing wrong with the Ruidoso/Cloudcroft. It's a short 3.5 hrs away so is a popular weekend getaway for us. However, looking a little further north would exponentially increase your travel and outdoor options. The Albuquerque/Sante Fe/Las Vegas corridor has you in the southern Rockies and puts you within a few hours of most of the Northern NM/Southern CO area. Outdoor and travel pursuits there are virtually endless and the scenery is stunning. Also puts you right on I-40 so you have more East/West travel options. I am very aquainted with the area and would he happy to give you all the info you can stand. Tallpine is also a wealth of info for those environs. We also have a resident APS Los Alamosian in grislyatoms, though I haven't seen him active on the board in a while.

Brad

Brad,

Feel free to give me any info you want, good or bad! ABQ is way too big for me but I wouldn't mind living somewhere around there especially to the west. Do you live in New Mexico? I know next to nothing about the state. One thing that I've been looking at is where the state will probably be going in politics.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #12 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:22:05 PM »

Lubbock, TX. About an hour east of the TX/NM border. I go to NM and southern CO all the time.

Brad

dm1333 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:31:19 PM »

I was pretty set on Canon City, CO. Then I realized CO was getting to be as crazy as CA. Have you spent time in Santa Fe? What kind of outdoorsy stuff do you do? I hike, bike, backpack, hunt and fish. I'm also a bit of a prepper and back to the land type. I want to build a small off grid home, garden, etc. And hopefully never have to pack up my junk and move again.

tokugawa · « **Reply #14 on:** February 09, 2015, 09:58:44 PM »

Santa Fe was pretty cool 40 years ago. Spent a few days there a year ago and it has become saturated with wealthy libs and the desert surroundings are essentially suburbs now.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2015, 10:21:26 PM »

Look at land in north-central CO. Just west of Great Sand Dunes (San Juan Valley) there is land for sale cheap because it's mostly desert. I think they have aquifer water. 60 miles east or west and you're in the mountains.

FYI... NM hase a state income tax.

Brad

Pharmacology · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2015, 11:46:04 PM »

Quote from: KD5NRH on February 08, 2015, 02:42:56 AM

Midland/Odessa area looks interesting, and they say you get used to the constant smell of crude oil. Not sure how long it would take for me to get bored with it. If you don't mind being far from everything, (they do have a small IGA-style grocery store, a couple of gas stations and at least one really great breakfast cafe) Fort Davis is gorgeous most of the year, and the star parties at the McDonald Observatory are amazing on a clear night.

I grew up in Odessa, and it used to be a really nice town.

With the recent Shale booms, it's turned into a dogshit cesspool.
Violent crime has skyrocketed, and with the oil market crashing, (trash from all over the country that suddenly made 6 figures for 2 years are suddenly back to their norm are let loose) it's only going to get worse.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #17 on:** February 10, 2015, 08:46:16 AM »

Quote from: Pharmacology on February 09, 2015, 11:46:04 PM

I grew up in Odessa, and it used to be a really nice town.

With the recent Shale booms, it's turned into a dogshit cesspool.
Violent crime has skyrocketed, and with the oil market crashing, (trash from all over the country that suddenly made 6 figures for 2 years are suddenly back to their norm are let loose) it's only going to get worse.

The layoffs have begun in earnest. Lubbock, being the closest large-ish city, is seeing a daily influx of job seekers from M/O area.

Brad

Pharmacology · « **Reply #18 on:** February 10, 2015, 11:08:17 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on February 10, 2015, 08:46:16 AM

The layoffs have begun in earnest. Lubbock, being the closest large-ish city, is seeing a daily influx of job seekers from M/O area.
Brad

Yup, and all of the apartments and stuff that got built in a hurry is going to be a problem too.

KD5NRH · « **Reply #19 on:** February 11, 2015, 09:43:23 AM »

Quote from: Pharmacology on February 09, 2015, 11:46:04 PM

I grew up in Odessa, and it used to be a really nice town.

With the recent Shale booms, it's turned into a dogshit cesspool.
Violent crime has skyrocketed, and with the oil market crashing, (trash from all over the country that suddenly made 6 figures for 2 years are suddenly back to their norm are let loose) it's only going to get worse.

It's just an opportunity in the making for someone ready to buy up all the soon-to-be-dirt-cheap real estate and come up with a new way to drag people in.

Maybe you could start a terrorist training camp there or something. It worked for Dearborn.

MillCreek · « **Reply #20 on:** February 11, 2015, 09:46:55 AM »

Quote from: MechAg94 on February 09, 2015, 04:10:49 PM

I know a guy who moved up to the Anacortes, WA area. He ended up changing jobs to the San Antonio area and loves the change of scenery. I heard when they moved to Washington, they researched which subdivisions gots the most average days of sunlight. If that is an issue, I am not sure I want to live there.

As a lifelong Seattle-area resident, this is absolutely true.

dm1333 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 11, 2015, 06:02:33 PM »

Which is why I want to live somewhere without gray rainy winters or gray foggy summers.

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Author Topic: Any far west Texas or New Mexico residents here? (Read 4049 times)