Want To Move To New Mexico, Work For IHS In Mescalero (Los Alamos: rentals, houses)

[Taava]

Is it feasible to consider moving to Cloudcroft and commuting to Mescalero to work for IHS at the clinic? Or is it better to try to get housing in Mescalero? What about the government housing? I don't plan to work on the Res to change things, I just want a beautiful area to live in (I'm very familiar with Cloudcroft and Ruidoso), a decent job with fewer hassles than working for Walgreens in San Antonio! Help! I don't really want to live in Alamo.

How is Cloudcroft or the Res about having pit bull dogs? She is my precious protector and I won't give her up.

I don't want to live in a gated community or one with a neighborhood association. Wouldn't mind having a little land. Do I need to come armed for wild critters that could attack my animals?

Any feedback is welcome. Thanks!

[GregW]

Look at Tularosa or la Luz. Even Alomogordo is not that far way. Buy a copy of the New Mexico Road and Recreation Atlas from Benchmark Maps and visit the State Website. I suggest a visit before you decide to move.

FWIW - Given the economic environment I would think a gov't job would be preferable to Wallgreen's wherever it was.

[songinthewind7]

If you live in Cloudcroft and commute to Mescalaro, I would suggest you have a 4WD because of snow in the winter.
Not sure how dogs are accepted in Cloudcroft but Mescalaro abuses and neglects their pets. There's a shelter in Alamo that goes and picks them up in Mescalaro every once in awhile and adopts them out.
There are still some stupid people in the world that think pits are bad and they freak out about it. In reality, people train pits to be the way they are and the dogs have to suffer for it. Maybe the person to call and ask is the vet in Cloudcroft. Her name is Dr. Green and she can probably give you some answers about dogs. Good Luck to you.

[joqua]

The highway (state road NM-244) between Cloudcroft and Mescalero (US-70) is only two lanes, very curvy, and one of the most dangerous in the area. Especially in winter. But even in summer it has a very high accident/loss-of-life rate compared to other similar roads in the state.

MUCH MUCH better to live in either Tularosa/Bent area or in Ruidoso/Ruidoso Downs. Commute from either direction on US-70 is a 4-lane divided highway. Less ice/snow on the Mescalero/Tularosa leg than going over the Apache Summit on the east leg each day. Even then the snow is only a couple of days before totally melting off the highway. And US-70 gets much quicker/better attention in winter than does NM-244.

I don't know what the chances are for rentals, but there are some nice properties in a very spectacular setting in the Bent area between Tularosa and Mescalero. Be wary of buying houses in Otero county due to the lack of zoning, building codes, and very shoddy construction of even the newest site-built houses. Some have been condemned by the state inspector after completion even before they could be sold.

As for living on the reservation, I don't know what could be worked out with the BIA in that regard, but most of the people I know who work at the assisted living center on the rez live off the rez.

[Taava]

Great input and advice. Thank you all so much for the suggestions.

I had decided that the Tularosa area would probably be better for a commute. I don't know why I had it in my head that Cloudcroft would be a good idea. I'm an "old hippie" and fit right in at Cloudcroft. I spent a week there in October and got to know practically everyone there!

A visit to Tularosa and meeting with a realtor sounds like a good idea. I still think renting or house-sitting would be a good idea for me because I hear the clinic/hospital in Mescalero can be a revolving door for some professions. It would be a mistake to commit then decide to leave after 6 months (standard gov't time for putting in for a transfer).

I have a new job with the county here in San Antonio so that will buy me some time until ski season is over, then I'll have a narrow window before tourist season begins.

Oh, decisions, decisions! Nice to have options, though!

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Taava

I still think renting or house-sitting would be a good idea for me because...

Definitely! Because...no one I know who is a non-tribal member has ever considered jobs there as anything but short term. I do know a couple of people who have been working at the Senior Care Center for a few years now. But they are all renting too.

If you don't find anything in Tularosa to your liking, it's equa-distance to Ruidoso where there is a plethora of rental opportunities. A recent article, copied to one of the threads on this forum, makes the claim that Ruidoso has the highest paid health care positions in the state after Los Alamos. And there is always a shortage of professionals here.