Please help me with some info about relocating to NM (Albuquerque: ski resorts, real estate)

[tlw]

I have really gotten some great information on reading the posts on this site, but could someone please give me some insight or suggestions for my relocating to NM?

To start with, I'm a recently divorced guy, and I have small midwestern town real estate bucks in which to buy a house. I probably need to stay at 100 grand or less for a place. That most certainly knocks me out of Santa Fe. I also don't have much interest in Albuquerque............too big! My work has been in food & beverage including owning my own restaurant. Looking at some of the smaller towns in NM that I would probably really enjoy, I'm afraid there might only be entry level...." do you want fries with that " type of jobs available.

Soooooooooooo, here's what I would really like to have for pre-Christmas.
House under 100 grand, I like the water, I like the mountains, low humidity though after midwest yours probably doesn't compare, arts/music/culture would be nice. Some snow won't kill me, but being hot and humid in my house and trying to sleep in it will. Looking at the real estate listings in the state, air conditioning doesn't seem to be a staple everywhere. Can't quite figure out all the pros and cons between the areas in the northern part of the state and the southern part. Big time nightlife is not a huge factor for me, as I am pretty entertained by water and mountains and the artsy stuff.

Any imput or comments on this would really be appreciated. You folks are very informative and kind, and this site is quite refreshing.

Thank you all so very much........................................tlw

[Informer]

Greetings,

I'll be quite frank with you - I doubt if you could find anything in the state of NM for under $100,000 that you would want to call home (for that matter it would be difficult to find any kind of decent housing with good paying jobs locally for under $100,000 anywhere in the USA). I'm sure there might be some places with housing uder $100,000 (older used homes ) but I'am keeping your criteria in mind.

If jobs are plentiful it's usually reflected in the price of real estate - if areas are more economical places to live there are usually reasons as to why. Usually places that don't have a thriving economy - places in west Texas come to mind where you can still get a 3 bed 2 bath brick home for under $60,000 but you are going to be living in BFE (pardon my french) and the economy is not that robust in West Texas.

West Texas might be a place to start in lieu of looking in New Mexico - but I honestly can't recomend any cities that would fit your bill that have a decent local economy.

It is going to boil down to the sacrifices which you are willing to make.

Sorry about your recent divorce.

Best of luck in your search.

Cheers

[Crackerjack]

Informer is right. A good home under $100,000 would be tough. You might look in Raton, NM. I noticed when I visited there how cheap on prices their houses were, but know that the houses you would get would probably need some fixing up. Aztec is fairly reasonable and you might look there. Doublewide modulars, you could probably get one of those on an acreage there for that. Tucumcari is cheap but the population there is dwindling. It does get lots of people coming off the interstate to stop for gas, motels and to eat. Can't think of any place else that would uphold having a dinner or cafe too, that is cheap to live as well. Good luck on your search!

[tlw]

Thanks so much for both of your's info. I did take a look at Raton real estate and there actually are some "real" houses that don't appear to be crap for under 100,000. There is even a fairly new restaurant building near rt. 25 that is 4700 sq ft for $79,000!!!!!!! What's up with that??

Can you tell me what the main differences are between living in the northern part of the state and the southern? Alot of the folks posting here really seem to be sold on one or the other and I'm getting them a bit confused.

Also, would any of these smaller towns, where it looks like I could buy something livable for under 125............................I've now gone up 25............would any stand out being better to make a living in because of proximity to anything, climate, traffic, military, or whatever? Are the towns in the 30-50,000 population range totally out of my money? Really hate to do the renting route.

Thanks again for taking the time.............................tlw

[Crackerjack]

First about north verses south. The south in general is hotter in the summer except in high altitudes and milder in winter then the north. Silver City, Ruidoso and Cloudcroft are the mountain cities and are cooler. Deming, Carlsbad and Las Cruces will be hotter being in the desert. The city that would be the largest in the south would be Las Cruces. A nice, modern city. In the north, Farmington would be the largest modern city. It has some swanky rich areas and also has poorer areas but is a modern city too. Desert cities in the north would be again Farmington, Bloomfield and Aztec (although in the town and by the river it has quite a lot of trees) among other towns. The mountain towns and cities in the north would be Taos, Angel Fire, Eagle Nest and Los Alamos. Santa Fe is right between central NM where ABQ is and the mountains. It is in more hill country. Cities that are primarily "interstate" towns would be Santa Rosa, Tucumcari and Lordsburg, among others, which probably wouldn't exist without the interstates. Raton is a transitional city where it will be in the high desert in some areas but other areas will be forests and mountains. Yes I know that Raton has cheap costs for housing. I was there recently and couldn't believe it was so cheap! You could probably make a business out of the restaurant there, since Texans come up that way to go to CS, Denver and to the ski resorts. Locals would probably be your customers as well. I look for that area to grow too.

Secondly, For 30-50,000 pop. range for the price, hmmm... Carlsbad has over 25,000 and the cavern tourists. Lot of meat eaters down that way with all the cattle from Texas so you will see quite a few steakhouses. You might be able to squeak by on something for 125k if you look. It is becoming a popular retirement city so the costs are going up there but you would have tourists, locals and retirees. I can't think of any other in the 30-50,000 pop. range that have cheap homes or businesses to buy. NM in general is pretty inexpensive except Taos, Santa Fe and certain chic towns like that.
The cities that I would look at and why:
1. Raton
Pro - cheap housing, Texans coming to Colorado. Locals, not a lot of restaurants.
Con - not a big town.
2. Aztec
Pro - cheap place to live. Crossroads to Durango and Farmington with lots of oilfield workers in the area. Not a lot of restaurants in Aztec. Tourists coming up to Durango. Make sure though the restaurant would be where tourists are going to Durango and not toward Farmington.
Con - small town but is near large cities.
3. Carlsbad
Pro - retirees, cavern tourists, locals. Not an expensive place, but still not sure about a place that is under 125k, but maybe if you look.
Con - Very hot in the summer! I think the name should be Sun City because it feels like the sun!
4. Tucumcari
Pro - tourists and truckers coming off the interstate. Locals, not many restaurants. Cheap place to live.
Con - small local population. Far off to go shopping or anything for yourself.
Hope that helps.

[catman]

tlw: I'm in about the same situation you are, except that I'm a professional musician and I'd probably have to live near Albuquerque-Santa Fe to make a living. Raton seems like a really nice place to me.

[Mattie Jo]

i have been looking on realtor.com for homes under 80,000 in new mexico. i have found some but they look like fixer uppers, which i can deal with. i have checked out truth or consequences, but it seems like that area is all desert, but I am not sure, and the houses look like they have no yards and that you cannot grow anything worth while, like fruit trees and a vegetable garden. Am I correct?

I have also checked out Mountainair which looks like a great area, and then Estancia which may be okay. Homes are cheaper there and with acreage. I really like what I see on the net about Ruidoso, but it looks like it may be hard finding a home in our price range. other thoughts are cloudcroft and alamogordo as I have found homes to be cheap there too. My husband and I have considered ne Texas too because homes are even cheaper there but I have the feeling that it is very humid there. Anyone with any ideas?

[tlw]

Hey Crackerjack..............you are an absolute wealth of information here! Thank you again for taking the time to answer.
I have seen a few properties in Taos, mainly small condos though one was almost 1000 sq ft that I could probably do. There are some houses there too but they appear to require too much of my crappy handyman talents. I'm really kinda partial to some of the smaller towns in or near the mountains and water,(like Ruidoso!!!), but for me to make a living in food and beverage in that small of a town would be a stretch unless I really luck into one.

Concerning Taos--would I be a complete moron to consider it when I don't ski? It's not just a ski party town is it? There appears to be more to the town than just that with all the artsy events and other outdoor activities. Though they are small, I think that town would have enough bussle to where I could make a buck as compared to most of the other small towns. That area looks gorgeous................maybe a bit long wintered and nippy but gorgeous. How close is any water to Taos? Is the town plastic resort like, or does it still have some hominess and character to it?

Thanks for your insight Crackerjack. I've enjoyed reading your other posts too. Thanks also Informer!

Catman.................nice to hear there's someone else in my boat.

[Crackerjack]

Thank you Tlw, you are welcome! About Taos, it is a nice city with the ski resort area being beautiful. Up at the resort it gets a lot of snow, sometimes incredible amounts. It is a great ski resort for pro skiers. I went up there years ago to ski with some friends and found it very challenging on the expert slopes but rewarding. I am more of the "I just like to ski down a mountain just to be skiing type of skier" and Taos is more of the "ski for a challenge" type of resort. It does have excellent instructors for beginners so would be a great place to learn on the bunny slopes. The town has a lot of restaurants for the size of the town which means it relies on tourists quite a bit. I like to fly fish and Red River is one of the best around for that. Cimarron River about 60 miles east is good too. There are many small lakes around there that I am not familiar with but they do have them. The larger lakes I know are Lake Eagle Nest to the east and it is a nice good size lake. Lake Abiquiu is to the west and it another good size lake.

There are so many restaurants in Taos, I don't think another would be a good idea to open. As far as working at one, there should be enough of them to find a job but remember, it is mainly a winter city with tourists coming to ski. There are tourists in the summer with all the artists and galleries. It is a city that is hard for ordinary people to live there. Mostly the jobs are minimum wage.

As far as I know Taos ski resort wont allow snowboarders, (chime in here if Taos has changed on that) and the snowboarders tend to be the younger crowd geared toward snowboarding. Not all are, but I would say most are the younger set. It is a city where people go to relax and have fun especially expert skiers. There are slopes though for the not so great skiers too. The snow at Taos is some of the best powder for skiing in for sure! If you can afford to live there and you don't mind winter snow, Taos might be for you. Here are links for more information too.

taosguide.com
skitaos.org

[Crackerjack]

Jessaka, Mountainair is a nice small little town south of ABQ. If you like the laid-back lifestyle and slow pace of living, Mountainair is good for that. There is a thread about Mountainair too on this forum so check it out if you haven't yet. Ruidoso is a pretty area but it can be prone to droughts. T&C is a desert town.

Northeast Texas is very humid. I have some relatives back there and it is hot. If you want a less hot and humid area, the Texas Panhandle is not as hot because the humidity is less and it is higher in altitude. Canyon, Texas is a nice small city south of Amarillo and is near Palo Duro Canyon. It is pretty inexpensive to live there and only 15 minutes to Amarillo. If you hate heat and humidity, you wouldn't like NE Texas.

Alamogordo is a nice desert city but near the mountains. It is larger then the others you are looking into but a low on crime and such. Are you looking for a mountain type town or desert? Silver City is a great small city up in the mountains. Las Cruces is a nice larger desert city if you like the bigger cities.