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My observation of Placitas is that it is clearly for the wealthy. Dh and I are retired military and federal government. I went in to visit with the local Placitas real estate office and he sniffed, "Our houses begin at $500,000" as he looked me up and down. Placitas is indeed "special" in their own little way. At the convenience store, you'll find newspapers from New York City and other large eastern cities. New Mexicans living there? I don't think so.
Not sure who you talked to but they, and you, are wrong.
I just did a quick review of MLS listings, and 44/111 of the listings were over $500K and the lowest price was $182K. I expect the $500K+ homes may sit a long while on the market, but there are a number of sales of homes priced lower than that.
As for New Mexicans living here, everyone who lives here is a New Mexican. In fact, many folks living here trace their New Mexican roots, if not their Placitas roots, back 300-400 years.
Funny to see my thread resurrected. We ended up not moving to Placitas b/c the realtor told me there were a lot of snakes. That's all I needed to hear and we wiped to whole town out of consideration.
We drove through AZ last month and they have signs at rest stops warning visitors that there are poisonous snakes and insects. I "held it" for 600 miles.
There was something on craigs list I was interested in. The name of the road they lived on was Bullsnake something. I asked why it was named that and she said b/c they have a ton of them. I didn't go look at her item.
We have snakes throughout New Mexico. But not really that many. Placitas is pretty much desert-like. Not a lot of water, not a lot of vegetation.
I do not live in Placitas, have lived in the general area 12 years and have walked the areas pretty much every day. Have not seen many snakes.
Rich
My golfing buddy lives in Placitas. Near the new Library. He has lived there for 4 years and encountered two rattlers since then. They are around but just like most animals they are more afraid of you then you are of them. Placitas does not have any more snakes than any other rural similar part of NM.
My golfing buddy lives in Placitas. Near the new Library. He has lived there for 4 years and encountered two rattlers since then. They are around but just like most animals they are more afraid of you then you are of them. Placitas does not have any more snakes than any other rural similar part of NM.
They like Golfers....
Golfers create lush grass and nice ponds which attract Bunny Rabbits.... Rattlesnakes like rabbit meat.
Of the several people I have known who live/lived in Placitas, there was one couple who did have a problem with not only snakes getting into the house, but also scorpions and other unwanted guests, and pack rats on their land. They spent a lot of money on exterminators and sealing possible points of entry but finally decided to move back to ABQ after a year of renting in Placitas. The exterminator believed that the snakes had been living inside the house for a long time which freaked them out especially since they have a cat. Others I've known in Placitas did not have this problem that I know of. I would be careful with houses that have been sitting vacant for some time.
Most folks move to Placitas because of its natural setting. That means you'll see rabbits, coyotes, bobcats, squirrels, mice, rats, chipmunks, owls, hawks, crows, roadrunners, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, lizards, etc. The birds, coyotes, and bobcats feast on the smaller animals, which keeps the population in check.
Once I realized that the animals and critters were here long before me and that they weren't going away any time soon, I adapted and don't freak out any more. Below, is a pic of a visitor who stopped by our courtyard last week.
Last edited by nmguy; 12-01-2011 at 03:23 PM..
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