Europe to Las Cruces to retire ? (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: real estate, property taxes, tornadoes)

[SamburuChief]

Thinking about moving to the SW (main reasons: climate, sunshine and we adore the four state area, though only as visitors so far). Read a lot about LC, including the “best place to live” stories from AARP, Forbes, etc and all the “don’t even think of coming anywhere near here” warnings on the forums. It's a long story (that I will not bore anybody with), but we'd be returning from a low crime, high political volatility, bad winter type country in Europe to retire in a good year or so. We are longing for a place with no winter, earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes and a fairly laid back life style. This seems to point to the Southern parts of AZ and NM. However, the Phoenix / Tucson area (while it was the top of our dreams 20 years ago) seems to be very high in crime, crowds, pollution and prices by now and the LC temps seem a bit more moderate. Our daughter (21) will graduate by the time we move (or so I pray) with Communication, PR and Marketing but does not want to fly out of the nest just yet. She is not at all "street smart", but will obviously need to find a job.

My main concerns are:
- Is there reliable public transport (my daughter does not drive)
- While the crime rate in general seems to be reasonable in LC, the rate of rapes is exceptionally high (2005 data) – is there any particular reason for this? My wife and daughter are obviously concerned.
- Is there good quality medical care available (I have serious heart problems and cancer) and likely be on medicare.
- What are the better and safest areas of town, thinking patio home, condo, town house market. I looked at real estate sites, but without knowing what area is good it’s useless to just look at prices.
- What would be the typical cost for utilities, real estate taxes (let’s say a 1300 sq. ft. condo) and car insurance for a average family car or a basic few years old SUV?

Sorry for the many questions, but hope for some good advice. Am I looking at the right town?

[mortimer]

SamburuChief wishes:

> We are longing for a place with no winter ...

Las Cruces has winter if you call having it snow in town
to be winter. To someone from Minnesota, Vermont, or
Germany it wouldn't count as winter - maybe late Autumn.

The average low temperature in Las Cruces is below 30
from Dec 6th to January 29 with a lowest average
temperature of 26 on January 9th.

It has been as low as 5 degrees in 1987 and as low as
11 degrees in 1996 and 16 in 2005. (In proper Centigrade
temperatures as are used in Europe that's -15, -12, -9)

There hasn't been much snow since the 60's/70's, but I
think it snowed a few inches there this winter one day.

> Phoenix / Tucson area (while it was the top of our dreams
> 20 years ago) seems to be very high in crime, crowds, pollution ...

Phoenix is about 40 times bigger than Las Cruces and Tucson is
about 7 times bigger. If you turn on the news and see a murder
once every 40 days in Las Cruces that's the same as having one
every day in Phoenix from a personal risk standpoint.

From the ground level in your neighborhood, you won't find the
living there any different unless you need to drive all the way
across town.

If you really hate winter PHX/TUC are the places to be. If your
daughter is dependent on a bus, the public transit network is
much better in parts of Phoenix. She would be able to attend
ASU from a much greater distance than NMSU.

You'll also find your options for medical care to be better in the
bigger cities. NM has a medical caregiver shortage.

[BrianH]

If youre coming from Hungary bring some beer for me.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by SamburuChief

My main concerns are:
- Is there reliable public transport (my daughter does not drive)

Depends on your definition of "reliable" I guess, but compared to places like Chicago, New York, Boston, Philly, etc., I would say definitely no. I'm sure you could call a cab in Cruces, and they might even have a bus line going now (I'm honestly not sure), but 99.9999% of people drive their own cars.

Originally Posted by SamburuChief

- While the crime rate in general seems to be reasonable in LC, the rate of rapes is exceptionally high (2005 data) – is there any particular reason for this? My wife and daughter are obviously concerned.

I'm not sure, though if I had to hazard a guess, I would say it is due to Cruces being a college town and being within spitting distance of El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico.

Originally Posted by SamburuChief

- Is there good quality medical care available (I have serious heart problems and cancer) and likely be on medicare.

Definitely good hospitals in Cruces and Albuquerque both, not to mention El Paso, Dallas, etc. But again, "good" is relative. Depends on what you mean.


I don't know many specifics on Las Cruces. But my father recently moved back there (from Phoenix), and he LOVES it. I could never live there myself. Too dang hot. But if you're looking to live in a mid-sized desert community, you'll have a hard time finding better than Las Cruces. Although you might consider Silver City. Myself, I've never been there, but I have friends and family who have, and they absolutely love it.

[ibarrio]

- Is there reliable public transport (my daughter does not drive)

Yes. Las Cruces has a bus system. It is called the roadrunner and it is reliable.

- While the crime rate in general seems to be reasonable in LC, the rate of rapes is exceptionally high (2005 data) – is there any particular reason for this? My wife and daughter are obviously concerned.

Las Cruces is a safe place. The high rapes might have to do with date rapes and the college campus.

- Is there good quality medical care available (I have serious heart problems and cancer) and likely be on medicare.

Yes. There are many doctors in Cruces. El Paso is also very close.

- What are the better and safest areas of town, thinking patio home, condo, town house market. I looked at real estate sites, but without knowing what area is good it’s useless to just look at prices.

I'm not to sure where the Condos are going up. I see mostly homes. I know there are some condos though. I mother wants to buy one in Mesilla. Stay away from the college unless keg parties are your thing.

- What would be the typical cost for utilities, real estate taxes (let’s say a 1300 sq. ft. condo) and car insurance for a average family car or a basic few years old SUV?

Dont have an answer other then it varies for everyone.

[30apples]

The health care situation in phoenix is not as good as one would think. They have one of the lowest pay rates for doctors and nurses, consequently there is an extreme shortage of both. health care costs are higher than in Las Cruces. Also, hospital emergengy rooms, for walk in emergency care, are very long, not so at Mt. View Regional Hospital in Las Cruces. The level of medical care in Las Cruces is also excellent and The even larger medical centers in El Paso,Tx and Albuquerque,NM are an Hour and 3 and a half hours away.
The Roadrunner bus system in Las Cruces is inexpensive, esp for students, and runs often and to most places. On the campus of NMSU, for students, there is a free university bus system.
If you like 4 to 5 months of often very HOT weather, Las Cruces might be your spot. Be warned however, that there is no autumn,spring or winter seasons, if those are important to you. Over time, some people really crave the different seasons.
Las Cruces has very reasonable housing costs and not much crime. Mountains w/ snow in the winter are less than 2 hrs . away. good luck in your search and hope you can find your best place.

[nm_photojournalist]

Never appologize for asking questions...it's the only way we mere mortals can avoid being terminally ignorant! LOL!
Las Cruces is a nice, smallish New Mexico city. But even it has "some winter." If you want "no winter," you might also consider the San Antonio, TX area.
Especially with your health needs, I'd recommend larger Albuquerque, or booming Rio Rancho (to the northwest of "downtown" Albuquerque about 15 miles), now New Mexico's 4th largest city, passing Roswell.
We do have "winter" here, but compared to what?
January temps here can be around 45/20...but with our abundant sunshine, and thin atmosphere at a mile high, it feels much warmer in the sun than that! I mean like 70! Summers are much milder than in the LC/El Paso areas (I lived in both.) They are "often" well over 100, ditto Tucson, and Phoenix. Well, Phoenix can be over 115! Now that's obscene!
Albuquerque has some of the Southwest's best Heart and Cancer facilities, among them the UNM Hospital. (Medical school here after all.)
We have a much more developed transit system than other NM cities, and for your daughter, buses also run about the UNM campus, providing transportation from one area to another. This is the Southwest however, and everything is spread out. Living in Albuquerque without a car would be a major disadvantage, but certainly possible. My neighbor doesn't have a car, but she (68) travels by bus just about everywhere she needs to go.
The year round climate is why most Albuquerqueans love it so. Unlike elsewhere in this region, we had a 100 degree day, the first week in July,07' That was our first in five years in triple numbers!
Everywhere has its pluses and minuses of course.
Albuquerque only average about 7" of snow in the course of the average winter...but east of the mountains here...they can get 75 inches! Matter of fact, our Ski Area on the east slope of the adjacent Sandia Mountains, can approach 100 inches, while we here on the west side remain snow free. This is a very interesting city in so many diverse ways. For real estate, I'd recommend Rio Rancho, or in Albuquerque, the Northeastern 1/3.
Good luck in your search.

[dallas3740]

Poster was right, there are not 4 seasons in LC. There are however, 4 gentle seasons in Silver City! Isn't housing prices in LC still going up??

[domino]

I doubt that anyone who thinks LC does not have four seasons has ever spent a year there. No one will argue that there is a summer. During the winter you can count on freezing weather at night even though the days may be temperate. Spring and autumn fall somewhere in between with warm days and cool nights. Trees lose their leaves in the fall, and trees and flowers bloom in the spring. What am I missing?

[TKO]

Property taxes in Dona Ana County are about 1% of value per year as a rule of thumb. My townhouse is on the books for 75K since we've got a residential cap limiting increases in value to 3% per year. The market has done about 10% for the last couple years so that worked out well for me! I paid $700 more or less for taxes this year.