Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are moving to Las Cruces in the next few months, our home in the St. Louis area is currently for sale as well and my husband is continuing to work past his original retirement date until we sell. I was lucky enough to retire a year ago at age 58 from a full-time music faculty position and I have been teaching adjunct since and doing some performing, (piano) freelance. We started going to NM about 10 years ago when we went to Santa Fe on vacation. We fell in love with Santa Fe and NM in general the first day we were there. We have been coming back every year and we have been to most areas of the state as tourists. In 2005 we started seriously looking to build or buy a home. We did our research prior to that and discovered that Santa Fe was too expensive and it got colder than what we wanted in the winters, frigid with some snow of course, it is higher than Denver after all. We wanted to escape the cold, snow, ice, rain that STL gets in the winter and the hot, humid, with the operative word being humid summers. BTW, the temps have been less hot in LC than STL this summer, I check everyday!
We looked in ABQ but that was a much larger area than we wanted to live in. My husband suggested LC and I resisted since I had never heard of it but he said we should just spend a couple of days and check it out. We went there in August in 2004 I think, and after a couple of hours driving around some of the newer areas like Sonoma Ranch and gazing at the Organ Mountains, as well as a stunning thunderstorm complete with cloudburst rain, I told him that I thought I could live there!
We started looking the next trip out and long story short, we built a home with an Organ Mountain view that was completed in spring of 2010. We love being there although it is not full-time yet, it feels right. We are always sad to come back to the Midwest although we enjoy our life here very much. I have been to LC in March, Nov., June, July and August. I stayed out there for two months last summer since I had just retired. I have experienced a couple of dust storms, but they were not really any worse than a snowstorm around here or one of those dreary, rainy days. You just try to stay inside when it happens. When I was there in June, it was the only time I really saw very many bugs and I have been bitten by a mosquito or hardly seen one while there. July and August are wonderful with the monsoon season and I never tire of the Organ Mountains. I have a feeling that the fall is a wonderful time to live there in terms of weather. I love the Farmer’s Market; there is good seasonal produce, organic meats, baked goods, crafts and some great art and jewelry. Mesilla is one of my favorite places to spend the day. There are nice shops, restaurants and sometimes events in the plaza. LC is a very easy take-off point for escaping to the mountains as in Cloudcroft and Ruidoso. It only takes an hour and a half to be at 9000 feet. If you have company, it is a great day trip and you can fit in White Sands on the way to or from. The restaurant scene doesn’t compare to STL but there are enough nice places of differing cuisines that you would not get bored unless you eat out all the time and are a foodie type person. I do love to dine out but a couple times a month is all we usually do anyway since I also love to cook. I do shop at Toucan Market as well as Albertsons depending on what I need. I would be jumping for joy if they ever brought a Trader Joes there since I shop there a lot in STL now. El Paso is very easy to get to for flying in and out of the area and the airport in ELP is one of the easiest to negotiate that I have ever been to. The hiking around the Organ Mountains is wonderful and the Gila Wilderness is stunning. There is no shortage of things to do and you can easily do weekend trips to Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Tucson. The fact that LC does have the university was an important factor for me since I want to have some type of outlet for my musical background whether it be getting involved personally somehow or being able to take in a concert or recital. El Paso does get some of the bigger name acts in as far as concerts and Broadway shows, etc. We actually went to see Michael Buble there at UTEP last August and had a great time.
I hope all of the details and rambling help with your decision, good luck.
My husband and I are moving to Las Cruces in the next few months, our home in the St. Louis area is currently for sale as well and my husband is continuing to work past his original retirement date until we sell. I was lucky enough to retire a year ago at age 58 from a full-time music faculty position and I have been teaching adjunct since and doing some performing, (piano) freelance. We started going to NM about 10 years ago when we went to Santa Fe on vacation. We fell in love with Santa Fe and NM in general the first day we were there. We have been coming back every year and we have been to most areas of the state as tourists. In 2005 we started seriously looking to build or buy a home. We did our research prior to that and discovered that Santa Fe was too expensive and it got colder than what we wanted in the winters, frigid with some snow of course, it is higher than Denver after all. We wanted to escape the cold, snow, ice, rain that STL gets in the winter and the hot, humid, with the operative word being humid summers. BTW, the temps have been less hot in LC than STL this summer, I check everyday!
We looked in ABQ but that was a much larger area than we wanted to live in. My husband suggested LC and I resisted since I had never heard of it but he said we should just spend a couple of days and check it out. We went there in August in 2004 I think, and after a couple of hours driving around some of the newer areas like Sonoma Ranch and gazing at the Organ Mountains, as well as a stunning thunderstorm complete with cloudburst rain, I told him that I thought I could live there!
We started looking the next trip out and long story short, we built a home with an Organ Mountain view that was completed in spring of 2010. We love being there although it is not full-time yet, it feels right. We are always sad to come back to the Midwest although we enjoy our life here very much. I have been to LC in March, Nov., June, July and August. I stayed out there for two months last summer since I had just retired. I have experienced a couple of dust storms, but they were not really any worse than a snowstorm around here or one of those dreary, rainy days. You just try to stay inside when it happens. When I was there in June, it was the only time I really saw very many bugs and I have been bitten by a mosquito or hardly seen one while there. July and August are wonderful with the monsoon season and I never tire of the Organ Mountains. I have a feeling that the fall is a wonderful time to live there in terms of weather. I love the Farmer’s Market; there is good seasonal produce, organic meats, baked goods, crafts and some great art and jewelry. Mesilla is one of my favorite places to spend the day. There are nice shops, restaurants and sometimes events in the plaza. LC is a very easy take-off point for escaping to the mountains as in Cloudcroft and Ruidoso. It only takes an hour and a half to be at 9000 feet. If you have company, it is a great day trip and you can fit in White Sands on the way to or from. The restaurant scene doesn’t compare to STL but there are enough nice places of differing cuisines that you would not get bored unless you eat out all the time and are a foodie type person. I do love to dine out but a couple times a month is all we usually do anyway since I also love to cook. I do shop at Toucan Market as well as Albertsons depending on what I need. I would be jumping for joy if they ever brought a Trader Joes there since I shop there a lot in STL now. El Paso is very easy to get to for flying in and out of the area and the airport in ELP is one of the easiest to negotiate that I have ever been to. The hiking around the Organ Mountains is wonderful and the Gila Wilderness is stunning. There is no shortage of things to do and you can easily do weekend trips to Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Tucson. The fact that LC does have the university was an important factor for me since I want to have some type of outlet for my musical background whether it be getting involved personally somehow or being able to take in a concert or recital. El Paso does get some of the bigger name acts in as far as concerts and Broadway shows, etc. We actually went to see Michael Buble there at UTEP last August and had a great time.
I hope all of the details and rambling help with your decision, good luck.
Looks like we balanced the scales as I moved TO St. Louis recently.
You mention the Gila being stunning, and you mention hiking the Organs. Might I suggest hiking the Gila? I did so a year and a half ago to Hillsboro Peak and it was one of the pleasures of my life.
Perhaps you're unaware, but virtually the entire Gila Wilderness is now like a moonscape following this summer's record setting wildfire - the largest in state history. Look up "Whitewater-Baldy Fire" for more details and maps of the burned over area.
Perhaps you're unaware, but virtually the entire Gila Wilderness is now like a moonscape following this summer's record setting wildfire - the largest in state history. Look up "Whitewater-Baldy Fire" for more details and maps of the burned over area.
Wow, I am really sorry to hear, I thought the big fires were around Ruidoso. That really, really sucks.
Wow, I am really sorry to hear, I thought the big fires were around Ruidoso. That really, really sucks.
The Little Bear Fire near Ruidoso was the largest in terms of private property losses - with the count of lost residences now up to 255. But it was peanuts when comparing it to territory burned in the Gila, where there were few private losses but a HUGE loss of public wilderness lands.
Damages in the Ruidoso area have not yet been fully realized since the heavy rains that are usual this time of year have not occurred - yet! If and when we get downpours this summer, there are going to be further devastating consequences.
Hello, I'm moving to Las Cruces in the fall to teach and I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or insights about the community as I prepare to make the transition. What is the city like? I know there is a large "Hispanic" population, but I was wondering if it was more of a Chicano population, immigrant population, or mixed? What are good places to hang out and get to meet people? I'm moving there with relatively few ties but I am looking to integrate myself into the community so how would you suggest going about that? Also, I know it seems kind of weird to ask, but whats the singles life like for people in their early 20s (I'm 21 haha)? Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!
I'm sorry that you haven't gotten any replies yet. I wish I could help you with your questions, but I am older and retired, so you can see that I just don't have the right experiences. I moved here from back east for retirement, and am enjoying the community, new friends, the weather, the mountains, and the big sky.
Even though no one has given you any answers so far, I hope that you will still feel welcome. This is a lovely city and there is lots to do. Perhaps someone who knows more about life near the university can help you out with your questions re the community for young people.
Las Cruces is a retirement destination because of it's dry and sunny climate. I have been living here for over 30 years, find the city very boring, and not too much to do. Driving through the city you will find it bland to look at, ugly and dumpy are better words, but the nearby Organ Mountains are truly beautiful! The city is not very dog friendly, only 1 off-leash dog park without any grass, and I'll be dead by the time the few dinky trees give off any shade. The Mexican food here is really New Mexican food, because of our locally grown chile peppers. Most of the restaurants serve Mexican food, and the famous question is, "red or green?" Red chile or green chile? I LOVE both! Lots of bars and bar/restaurants have closed, so that contributes to the boring factor. They are very strict on drinking and driving here and sometimes set up road blocks. Las Cruces is a small city with valley farmland to the North and South. It is boiling hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter, warm during the day, and cool at night. Used to have 2 roller skating rinks, both closed. Used to be able to drive to Mexico for the day, not anymore. The Rio Grande River is not very attractive, and it is dammed further North during the winter, which leaves an ugly sand bed to look at. The water is very dirty, very strong current, and you can't swim in it, no inner tubes, no water sports. Las Cruces is a college town, I graduated from it (nursing), and the campus has some beauty. Two Wine Fests at the fairgrounds, one in Spring, one in Fall, with variety live music. Two more Wine Fests South of Las Cruces (La Viña), one in Spring, one in Fall, with live jazz music. Enchilada Fiesta in the Fall. The Southern New Mexico State Fair is a joke compared to my hometown Milwaukee. Hatch Chile Festival is a joke, but they are the chile capitol of the world, and you can buy green chile and have it flame-roasted. Old Mesilla has some charming shops, and it used to be a stagecoach stop. Las Cruces has a couple of haunted areas, some in Mesilla. Lots of hiking in the mountains. Lots of stickers here, beware of the "goathead!" About 7 inches of rain a year means you will have very dry skin, itchy scalp, electricity in your hair, and your heels will crack and bleed. We have high winds in the Spring and the sky is gray with dust. You can dust your furniture in the morning and it will be dusty by afternoon. Sometimes you start your day with long pants and the heater, by noon you are in shorts and have the air conditioner on. Almost everyone will agree, there is not much to do in Las Cruces, especially for young people. I find the only thing to do is eat and drink. I am so bored here I am moving to Florida!
Hello, I'm moving to Las Cruces in the fall to teach and I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or insights about the community as I prepare to make the transition. What is the city like? I know there is a large "Hispanic" population, but I was wondering if it was more of a Chicano population, immigrant population, or mixed? What are good places to hang out and get to meet people? I'm moving there with relatively few ties but I am looking to integrate myself into the community so how would you suggest going about that? Also, I know it seems kind of weird to ask, but whats the singles life like for people in their early 20s (I'm 21 haha)? Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!
It's a college town so you shouldn't have much trouble with the singles life. If you're looking for hispanics to integrate with, you should have no trouble at all -- and yes many immigrants and some Americanized.
Not a resident but have been down there three times this fall and just got back yesterday. LC would be fine for a 21 year old with the university. It's kind of a barren rough looking town but it's big enough to have most things you need and isn't far to El Paso.
To me it's the only town left in the desert southwest of any size that isn't completely ruined by growth. Still pretty much a college town sort of like Tucson was 50 years ago.
If you want a big swanky environment then it's certainly not your place but if you want something a bit toned down but still with a little class and culture to it then it's pretty good.
LC and El Paso have about a million residents between them and if you count Juarez it's about 2 million. Although LC is pretty far removed from the rest of the USA metro areas there are a good number of folks living there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Moving to Las Cruces in the Fall
