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Are the schools the main reason you've zeroed in on Los Alamos? Have you considered Santa Fe? Los Alamos is nice if you're ok with a generic town, vs. something quaint-looking, like Santa Fe or Taos. I like to go up there for a day, for a change of scenery, to check out the museum and art/craft gallery, and walk around. There's good hiking in the area, too. The Valles Caldera is a great nature reserve for hiking and observing seasonal wildlife migrations.
I'd like to point out that alternatives to the grocery stores in LA, and dining & entertainment options, are closer to LA than Santa Fe and Espanola. At the bottom of the hill is Pojoaque Pueblo, which has a fabulous gym ("Pojoaque Wellness Center"), a casino that brings in top bands for weekend nightlife, a grocery that provides catered dishes to order, and a very nice buffet restaurant with incredible variety of cuisine. The Wellness Ctr. also offers relatively cheap massages, or used to (not sure of its current status). There was a time when it was fairly popular with the scientists on the hill.
Just saying, Pojoaque can be a good resource, if you don't feel like going all the way to SF or Espanola.
Also, are you aware that LA has its own symphony, and other classical music venues? One doesn't have to go into Santa Fe in order to enjoy that. You can google the symphony, and there's also this: http://losalamosconcert.org/schedule.html
Oh, and btw, LA is a great environment for stimulating kids' interest in science. The lab or the local Rotary chapter gives out college scholarship money to high achievers in physics
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 06-21-2017 at 10:22 AM..
I found the housing to be pretty expensive for what you get. The last time I went through there, I was happy with the grocery store, a lot of selection and natural foods.
It does seem a bit like a secret society- like to live there, you probably work at LANL, or your spouse works at LANL. That was just the vibe I got.
Are the schools the main reason you've zeroed in on Los Alamos? Have you considered Santa Fe? Los Alamos is nice if you're ok with a generic town, vs. something quaint-looking, like Santa Fe or Taos. I like to go up there for a day, for a change of scenery, to check out the museum and art/craft gallery, and walk around. There's good hiking in the area, too. The Valles Caldera is a great nature reserve for hiking and observing seasonal wildlife migrations.
I'd like to point out that alternatives to the grocery stores in LA, and dining & entertainment options, are closer to LA than Santa Fe and Espanola. At the bottom of the hill is Pojoaque Pueblo, which has a fabulous gym ("Pojoaque Wellness Center"), a casino that brings in top bands for weekend nightlife, a grocery that provides catered dishes to order, and a very nice buffet restaurant with incredible variety of cuisine. The Wellness Ctr. also offers relatively cheap massages, or used to (not sure of its current status). There was a time when it was fairly popular with the scientists on the hill.
Just saying, Pojoaque can be a good resource, if you don't feel like going all the way to SF or Espanola.
Also, are you aware that LA has its own symphony, and other classical music venues? One doesn't have to go into Santa Fe in order to enjoy that. You can google the symphony, and there's also this: Los Alamos Concert Association - Schedule
Oh, and btw, LA is a great environment for stimulating kids' interest in science. The lab or the local Rotary chapter gives out college scholarship money to high achievers in physics
Thanks for all the info. I was not aware of many of these things, but they are all pluses! I am big on hiking and rafting and LA looks to have plenty of both (access to the Chama and rio grande). I'm staying away from Santa Fe due to price mostly.
I wonder about places like LA that have highly rated schools and large populations of highly educated people (space coast near cape Canaveral in FL is another example). Maybe the schools aren't all that good and the kids are just over achievers? As the father of a decidedly non overachieving child, I sometimes worry that he would be left in the dust in these top ranked schools.
The biggest bummer about LA seems to be (other than impending toxic waste spills) the lack of cool architecture you find elsewhere in NM. For as much money as you spend on a unremarkable 70's-80's house in LA, you could get a kick ass adobe (or faux adobe) or NM ranch house in places like Corrales or placitas. This is in no way a deal breaker for me though.
Like others have said, the "secret society" aspect of LA (i.e. Everyone works at the lab) is concerning. OTOH I would certainly hate to work at the lab and then have to spend all my off time seeing or socializing with my co-workers. Seems like you would have a hard time leading any sort of private life.
The biggest bummer about LA seems to be (other than impending toxic waste spills) the lack of cool architecture you find elsewhere in NM. For as much money as you spend on a unremarkable 70's-80's house in LA, you could get a kick ass adobe (or faux adobe) or NM ranch house in places like Corrales or placitas. This is in no way a deal breaker for me though.
Like others have said, the "secret society" aspect of LA (i.e. Everyone works at the lab) is concerning. OTOH I would certainly hate to work at the lab and then have to spend all my off time seeing or socializing with my co-workers. Seems like you would have a hard time leading any sort of private life.
Well, you could take a look at White Rock, to see if they have adobes (or faux adobes) there.
A lot of the LA scientists and engineers live in Santa Fe and White Rock. A few live in Nambe, at the bottom of the hill and across the freeway, in one of the villages there. The weather is cooler up in LA, though. And not having to commute up and down that hill everyday is also a big advantage. White Rock might be a happy medium.
I suspect that what passes for "top-ranked" in the realm of NM schools is significantly different from "top-ranked" in some other parts of the US. I wouldn't worry. It's not like all the kids are science whizzes, or anything. I only mentioned the scholarship, in case your son was inclined in that direction. The son of a friend of mine in Santa Fe, who went to a private school, just won one of those.
Well, you could take a look at White Rock, to see if they have adobes (or faux adobes) there.
Google Street View covers all of White Rock, including the newer large acreage homes on the south side of town. Most popular style in the original part of town are "ranchers" built with stucco exteriors. There are quite a few faux pueblo style homes (flat roof stucco) in the mix. The newer and larger homes on the south side are all over the map architecturally, but typical of many custom designed residences today.
I live in Los Alamos and absolutely love it. Full disclosure though, my wife and I both work at the Lab and there are other reasons why a small town with a science/engineering flavor appeals to me. I'll try to address some of the positives and negatives but the final decision will depend on your preferences.
Schools: The schools are far and away the best in the state. They rank highly on a national level too but are not at the top of list. I researched all this a few years back but do not have links for you, sorry. It is not all good though. There are plenty of non-overachievers but the overachievers are MEGA-overachievers. Also, underachieving or disabled students will probably not get the attention they need. LA also has a significantly high rate of childhood suicide (four times the national average, https://ibis.health.state.nm.us/comm...eoCnty/28.html)
Social: It is indeed a very small town with an extreme lack of anonymity. The upside to that is I can walk to our local brewery/bar on a Friday or Saturday and be almost guaranteed to see a friend. However, I can't go to Smith's (very nice btw) without seeing AT LEAST five people I recognize from work. There are tons of community events (free summer concerts, lots of parades down main street, etc.). Halloween is a week long event here.
Dining: White Rock is halfway down the hill and I just don't go down there very often. Pig & Fig is there, as well as a few others, but I mostly don't make the trip. There are a couple of decent restaurants in town (Thailand, Blue window, & Pajarito [not a real] Brewpub) and while they don't serve food, I really like The Bathtub Row Brewing Company (The Tub). They actually brew their own beer.
Outdoor recreation: I don't take advantage of all this but there are great hiking opportunities IN TOWN. We are also 5-10 minutes away from a ski hill. There also plenty of parks for less adventurous outdoor activities. The downside to this (breathtaking) natural beauty is wildlife. We have coyote, bear, fox, and even mountain lion sightings on a regular basis.
There are good and bad things about living in LA but I personally love living here. A big part of that is my five minute to work but if you work from home, that isn't a concern.
Politics: I have heard others from around NM talk about the absurdly conservative LA. While LA is certainly more conservative than Santa Fe or Taos, that isn't very hard. LA is a little left of center as opposed to way left of center.
Religion: LA has almost every flavor of religion available. Top scientists from all over the world have moved here and many of them brought their brand of religion with them. Still, not one is supremely dominant over the others and there is a general attitude of acceptance.
Politics: I have heard others from around NM talk about the absurdly conservative LA. While LA is certainly more conservative than Santa Fe or Taos, that isn't very hard. LA is a little left of center as opposed to way left of center.
Religion: LA has almost every flavor of religion available. Top scientists from all over the world have moved here and many of them brought their brand of religion with them. Still, not one is supremely dominant over the others and there is a general attitude of acceptance.
One of the physicists there occasionally teaches meditation at one of the Tibetan Buddhist centers in Santa Fe.
I live in Los Alamos and absolutely love it. Full disclosure though, my wife and I both work at the Lab and there are other reasons why a small town with a science/engineering flavor appeals to me. I'll try to address some of the positives and negatives but the final decision will depend on your preferences.
Schools: The schools are far and away the best in the state. They rank highly on a national level too but are not at the top of list. I researched all this a few years back but do not have links for you, sorry. It is not all good though. There are plenty of non-overachievers but the overachievers are MEGA-overachievers. Also, underachieving or disabled students will probably not get the attention they need. LA also has a significantly high rate of childhood suicide (four times the national average, https://ibis.health.state.nm.us/comm...eoCnty/28.html)
Social: It is indeed a very small town with an extreme lack of anonymity. The upside to that is I can walk to our local brewery/bar on a Friday or Saturday and be almost guaranteed to see a friend. However, I can't go to Smith's (very nice btw) without seeing AT LEAST five people I recognize from work. There are tons of community events (free summer concerts, lots of parades down main street, etc.). Halloween is a week long event here.
Dining: White Rock is halfway down the hill and I just don't go down there very often. Pig & Fig is there, as well as a few others, but I mostly don't make the trip. There are a couple of decent restaurants in town (Thailand, Blue window, & Pajarito [not a real] Brewpub) and while they don't serve food, I really like The Bathtub Row Brewing Company (The Tub). They actually brew their own beer.
Outdoor recreation: I don't take advantage of all this but there are great hiking opportunities IN TOWN. We are also 5-10 minutes away from a ski hill. There also plenty of parks for less adventurous outdoor activities. The downside to this (breathtaking) natural beauty is wildlife. We have coyote, bear, fox, and even mountain lion sightings on a regular basis.
There are good and bad things about living in LA but I personally love living here. A big part of that is my five minute to work but if you work from home, that isn't a concern.
That suicide rate is very alarming. That site is great is though! It looks like LA is sub'lly better than NM as a whole in most other areas of health, including breast/lung cancer, drug ODs/ETOH-related diseases and deaths, and even "feelings of sadness and hopelessness among adolescents" which sure seems inconsistent with a sky high youth suicide rate.
Living there, is this something that occurs on the regular? Every school year like a 3-5 kids killing themselves is just a thing? Maybe there were just a lot of suicides or a group suicide in the years surveyed? Maybe the smart kids are uber-competitive and can't take getting an A-? It sure seems like a weird stat given all the others.
I was google street viewing Los Alamos this weekend. It was very rural, with no lines on the street r anything. Took me 10 minutes to figure out Google went to Los Alamos, CA instead of NM.
Los Alamos, NM looked really nice, with some pretty awesome hiking, burn scars notwithstanding.
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