Las Cruces Info (Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Silver City: relocate, trip , rent)

[jdvalle]

I'll be moving to Las Cruces this summer. I would really appreciate any impressions that people have of living in Las Cruces in terms of safety, quality of life, etc. How does it compare to similar towns in NM (and the US for that matter). I'm especially interested in hearing from people who might know of nice parts of town to live in... near NMSU, Mesilla, way out in the boonies? I know it's not that big, but I've heard that different areas have very different feelings to them.
Thanks in advance.

[Streaker]

I lived in Las Cruces 20 some years ago and thinking of returning. Lot of good areas but have to tell you, the price of housing has skyrocketed and not sure I can afford LC now. Checked out new homes in Feb and was told by two builders would take a year to get one built, and overpriced at that. Suggest you visit and spend a few days there and see what you like. Maybe check out Chaparral in SE part of the county north of ELP. Also Santa Teresa south of LC.

[green956]

I lived in Las Cruces while attending college there and I can honestly say it is one of the nicest places to live in the entire state. There are plenty of places to live, whether you chose to rent or buy. I lived near NMSU during my first years of school and also near the mall and north of the mall where there is really nice and new development. Mesilla is also nice, older but really nice. If you like pecan orchards and dirt roads that is the place to be. I lived in a guest house in the middle of a pecan orchard and it was the cutest place.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Streaker

... the price of housing has skyrocketed and ...

Very true.

It's definitely harder to afford a home in LC now, but if you can manage it, the good news is that your house will very likely appreciate in value rather quickly.

[bqtchef]

I've been here in Las Cruces since March 06, and my Wife will be here on June 12 ( finally) We moved from Nothern Cali. and it's actually hotter their then here. ( go figure) We paid 345k for a 2006 4b 2b 2200sq. home granite countertops, tile thru out, hugh sec. Bathroom. The city is growing but still consider it being a small town. People are very friendly here, housing market is kind of stail right now. I've seen alot of houses on the market for over 4 months now. If you are looking for land forget about it unless you want to drop 500k down. I will tell you this, this is the land of mañana so you Big city folks be prepared.

[DesertCats]

We've been in Las Cruces since the end of March. We purchased our home in January 2006. We paid around $290. 2300 sq ft, 3 bedroom + large tiled office, 2.5 bath, granite, tile throughout, southwest style, etc.). We love it here! The town has everything we need. My husband and I are recently retired. We live in town in the Elk's Club area. We chose this area because it was close to everything and house prices were less than the High Range or Picacho areas. We have a new house (with mountain views) in a new development but there are nice older houses a few blocks away. I'm new to the area so I can't tell you which areas to avoid. I have not seen too many places that I would not want to live. We wanted a stick build house though so we didn't look at mobile home parks. We've driven around new and old neighborhoods and it looks like most people take care of their houses. Some of the older houses have been fixed up and are very nice. Of course you'll still see a few houses that have been neglected...

We have been enjoying riding our mountain bikes on the multi-use paths in the morning. There are many retirees in our neighborhood and everyone is new here so we have a lot in common. We're also enjoying the beautiful sunny days (and we've had some HOT ones! ), sunrise and sunsets, and once in awhile we get a good dust storm blowing through. So far most nights cool off but there is little breeze at night. The people here have lots of "Aloha" and take the time to make small-talk. We moved here from Hawaii (tired of being damp and eaten by mosquitoes) so we've had some culture shock and have had to adjust to the lack of humidity but we love it! We enjoy sitting on the lanai anytime of the day or night without mosquitoes. We've had ants at the cat food and we've seen roaches on the lanai at night (they are attracted to the lights) but we have not seen too many other bugs yet.

I'm writing this because I wished I would have had more information about Las Cruces while we were looking into moving. I guess we took a chance and lucked out! We know Summer is going to be hot but that's why we have air-conditioning right?

[Crackerjack]

Las Cruces is a nice desert city. It is a well kept city. The people are nicer too. If I were to retire in Southern NM, I'd pick Las Cruces. In the Southwest, I'd pick Silver City; the Southeast, Carlsbad. Silver City and Las Cruces are I think the best areas to live in the Southern part.

[kkappleby]

Hey, aloha.

I just happened across this page, DesertCat, and realized who you were. I'm hoping to move to Las Cruces in the near future.

Your Waikoloa Friend!!

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Crackerjack

Las Cruces is a nice desert city. It is a well kept city. The people are nicer too. If I were to retire in Southern NM, I'd pick Las Cruces. In the Southwest, I'd pick Silver City; the Southeast, Carlsbad. Silver City and Las Cruces are I think the best areas to live in the Southern part.

Yup. I concur entirely. I can't stand intense heat, so I will likely never move back to the Southwest. But if I had to do so, those would be the cities in New Mexico I'd choose.

[pinusconus]

Stumbled upon this site searching Google for Las Cruces retirement info. I'd like to relocate to New Mexico from Massachusetts I'm planning on visiting early 2007 to checkout neighborhoods. Wondering about affordable active-over-55 communities . $250K range. I fell in love with New Mexico on recent trip in April 2006 to Santa Fe and Taos.