Healthy and peaceful in Las Cruces (or...?) (Albuquerque, Silver City: job, home)

[jonesy]

Serene,
First, I don't think I'd like LC because I get a closed in feeling in the city. LC seems to be condensed. Its not spread out like the other areas. I also prefer a smalltown atmosphere. My personal favorite in the area is Lordsburg. However, most people want more urbanization than I prefer. I live in a town of around 30,000 (Morristown, TN.). My wife and I have good jobs, a good apartment, but we don't fit in. We enjoy being able to go to a restaurant and know who everyone is. So, we are quitting our jobs to move back to either Silver City or Lordsburg in May. We are going to finish our Master's degrees at WNMU. WNMU is mostly a commuter school. It gives you the feel of a private college town. The town is very artsy, yet has still kept a local feel. The surrounding area is absolutely amazing. There are miles and miles of forest to the north (lookup Gila National Forest) and to the south is the Chihuahuan desert. My family spent numerous hours just exploring. My kids developed a great appreciation of nature from our adventures. My favorite was the time we caught a lizard in the Chiricahua mountains. My kids were afraid at first, but soon learned to enjoy the animal. My timid son even let the lizard crawl down his shirt and come out of his sleeve. We safely returned our friend to his home after our visit! Oh well, thats enough of my memories! The weather in Silver is a bit wetter that the surrounding area. It's higher elevation and mountainous terrain may account for this, but it is still generally warmer than most other parts of the country. As far as rentals go, you may have to visit SC to find an apartment. Some homes will lease out rooms, but you won't find these in the online edition of the newspaper.

[Cali-girl]

Originally Posted by serene

Hey tomcat, jonesy, Cali-girl,
Cali - Thanks for all of the specifics about LC - just what I wanted to know. Glad to know that health food options exist and there are places to ride/hike. How spread out is LC - when you are out doing things, does it take a while to get from place to place (not sure if this makes sense?)? I guess its all relative - if you are from Calif. it may seem small, but to me it may seem big - any opinions welcome.

It sounds like I should pursue info on Deming & Silver City as well as LC. Thank you all very much once again - any and all further information would be appreciated. Best wishes!

Not sure about Silver City since I've never been there. LC is (imo) spread out. It is an old city and reflects that sort of evolution. It is not a planned community, but reflects growth according to travel patterns that have changed over the decades. There are 4 commercial areas of the city:

1. The old inner part which encompasses the courts, city hall and an old outdoor arcade/mall. Also included in this is Old Mesilla which is on the other side of the 10 fwy. (See, its spread out, imo)

2. Commercial businesses along Hwy 70.

3. Newer businesses and motels along the 10 frwy (which have supplanted old Motel Blvd). The cheapest place for gasoline in town is the Pilot gas station off of the 10 and Motel Blvd.

4. Newest businesses are along the 25 fwy (such as those near the Mesilla Valley Mall and Best Buy/Staples/Old Navy/BedBathBeyond off Lohman).

The air here is dry and would be one of the better places to recover from several breathing/lung conditions. Nevertheless, Tucson has less expensive apts. There was an article about it recently. May want to google the list. Educational opportunities would be better in AZ, imo.

PS: Mountain View Market has added more organic cotton clothing and handmade and designed women's clothing. They have also improved their produce section.

~Cali-girl

[desert rat1950]

Originally Posted by serene

Hi

I am presently in southern Colo. and, because of some temporary health issues, I am hoping to find a warmer & drier place to rent for the next 6 mos. or so. I would like to know about Las Cruces in particular, but am certainly open to any and all other ideas and info. (Silver City?)

I don't push myself on others, but personally, I am "environmentally conscious" - what is pollution in LC like? Are there health food stores carrying organic produce? Is it possible/realistic to commute around the town on bicycle or even foot? Any ideas about stores selling organic clothing and bedding? Does LC have a "fast-paced" or more slow and laid-back feeling in general? Am I likely to find more people with similar healthy, peaceful mindsets? Any "alternative" health opportunities (acupuncture, yoga, etc.). Any hiking/biking trails in nearby mtns. or bike paths in the city?Are there certain parts of town where I should be looking for housing? Finally, I am young and single, but not really a partier - I've heard from friends that LC is a "party-town". What do you think?

Again, I would be grateful for any info or suggestions that anyone out there might have (doesn't have to be in NM). Thanks in advance!

I live in Las Cruces and most times it is not too bad. The weather is what you are looking for. There are many people here who are health concious and have many ways of living that life. We have bike trails, walking paths, hiking areas, health clubs, private work out groups etc. As for health food stores, yes we have 3 that I am aware of. Many holistic places, vitamin stores,etc.
Our climate is dry, and quite nice this time of year, we get extremely hot starting in May.
People are friendly once they get to know you. Hispanics are very welcome. yes Las Cruces young party but there are many places to live where you do not need to be involved in the parties. Our crime rate is high per capita and violent, but if you live with that in mind and be careful, a person can be fine. I would not live too close to the nmsu campus if you don't want the party life. Always check with the management as to the number of partiers in the complex you wish to be in.
Depending on your likes and dislikes, you will probably find Las Cruces to your liking. The history is rich and thick here.
Best wishes in finding the right place
Desert Rat1950

[english_teacher]

Originally Posted by serene

Hi

I am presently in southern Colo. and, because of some temporary health issues, I am hoping to find a warmer & drier place to rent for the next 6 mos. or so. I would like to know about Las Cruces in particular, but am certainly open to any and all other ideas and info. (Silver City?)

I don't push myself on others, but personally, I am "environmentally conscious" - what is pollution in LC like? Are there health food stores carrying organic produce? Is it possible/realistic to commute around the town on bicycle or even foot? Any ideas about stores selling organic clothing and bedding? Does LC have a "fast-paced" or more slow and laid-back feeling in general? Am I likely to find more people with similar healthy, peaceful mindsets? Any "alternative" health opportunities (acupuncture, yoga, etc.). Any hiking/biking trails in nearby mtns. or bike paths in the city?Are there certain parts of town where I should be looking for housing? Finally, I am young and single, but not really a partier - I've heard from friends that LC is a "party-town". What do you think?

Again, I would be grateful for any info or suggestions that anyone out there might have (doesn't have to be in NM). Thanks in advance!

I went to graduate school in Las Cruces (NMSU) and it is definately NOT a party town. Very progressive, environmentally-conscious, and a great laid-back place to live. I routinely biked around the town though it is spread out. The Organ Mountains are fantastic; there is horseback riding and hiking. The air is clean. I'd like to mention Mesilla, on the outskirts of town which is a small Santa-Fe like old town, lots of tourists visit but the locals enjoy live music without the pretentiousness of say Taos or SF.

Whilst Las Cruces is a fairly small city, Deming and Silver City are even smaller, more isolated, and offer much less in the way of recreation and education etc. Las Cruces is only a stone's throw from El Paso, about 40 miles, so if the smallness of LC becomes too much, a huge metroplis is within distance.

[MichTex]

I have heard that Las Crusas is a nice city to retire. Does anyone know if this is true? If not, what city has good medical, low property taxes, and nice weather? We plan on taking a trip there in maybe Feb or March.
Thanks for any input.

[Cali-girl]

Hope you are doing well! I went to Silver City yesterday and am prepared now to give you my views on the town:

1.) It is definitely greener than LC with juniper bushes, scrub oaks, and pinon pines. Very pretty area. Looks like they get more rain than LC as there is taller, denser grass that grows in the cattle country leading to the foothills which is Silver City. This grass is now dried.

2.) imo, Silver city is an old mining town. The downtown has old buildings (doors that are smaller and whose base is the ground level, for example) that represent the riches that the town once possessed (probably at the turn of the 20th century, I am guessing). Love this architecture. In California, there is some of this sort of architecture left, that is, the buildings that haven't come down in an earthquakes(s). So, for you Californians, I can't really compare the downtown here to another place. Maybe San Luis Obispo. However, SLO has several streets that comprise the downtown, so its not quite the same. In fact, outside of town there is an active strip-mine. Not sure if they are mining copper or silver as there are references in Silver City to both metals. (The name of one of the businesses we went to was named, "Copper Country."

3.) We saw a building for Western NM State Univ on the main drag in to Silver City.

4.) There is a creek running thru Silver City between Hudson and Bullard Streets. Along the way, there are small bridges for people to walk from one side to another. It is a natural creek. When we were there yesterday, there was a bit of snow on the ground/trees and I walked up to the creek to take a look at it. Not a lot to say since it was cold, 39 degrees, outside.

5.) Bullard is the downtown street and the best place for Mexican food there is Jalisco's Cafe. Very clean inside and a bit upscale.

6.) Bullard has a number of small businesses, with just a couple of small art galleries. What I mostly saw was small restaurants, a wireless store, kitchen ware store (Note to the store owners: When I travel to a right-on American town like Silver City, I am not interested in buying stuff Made in China. Rant over.) There was also a thrift store, antique stores, and a couple of bars. There are more stores but I cannot recall them all. Sorry.

7.) The local paper's name is the "Silver City Daily Press & Independent." (Also has: "Gateway to the Gila Wilderness" as a side title.) Its online site is: www.scdailypress.com There are three real estate ads in this paper: 6 For Sales and one For Rent. Example of the rental ad: "1 bed, 1 bath apt, max 2 persons, no pets, no smoking. Includes all utilities except elec. $440/mo., $440/dep. No HUD." Land For Sale ad. One ad for foreclosures. Another for HUD homes for sale. Prices are from the 165k for the 3 br to 75k for land with well & septic.

8.) I wish we could live here as opposed to LC but LC is about 110 miles away and we just cannot commute that far. (Some do, though.)

9.) Employment: there is a major call-center on the outskirts of town next to WalMart. There is a Motel 6, a Holiday Inn Express, and the usual junk food establishment drive-thru's.

10.) There are 2 local grocery stores. One is on Hudson street, the other is on the main drag coming into town (180???, Can't remember.) I saw one vitamin store called, Messiah's. Across the way from the market on Hudson.

11.) The weather was cold (for me) - 38 degrees coming into town, 39 in town. If you are from Alaska, Montana, Minnesota, etc., you could walk around in a tee-shirt and be OK I would think its cooler than LC in the summertime.

Note to Californians: The climate/terrain is a lot like Gorman, Lake of the Woods, Tehachapi, Pinon Hills (outside of Hesperia). Put Bishop in there too. HTH!

~Cali-girl

[Towanda]

MichTex:

I have a friend who retired to Las Cruces last summer from the Seattle area.

He and his wife are in their 80's. His reason for choosing LC was that he wanted a warm climate, good medical care, and he has a son in Albuquerque.

Although the change from Washington State to the desert was huge for him, he is loving it in NM and is glad he made the move.

LC would be way too hot for me, but my friend seems to like it just fine.

[nenav]

Hi Serene,

I've been in Las Cruces for 2 1/2 years now for grad school and there are some wonderful things about the city. The co-op is warm and friendly with excellent selection (though it's not Whole Foods!) I've met many interesting people through the co-op, the Las Cruces gateway to the healthy-living culture. Also, there are wonderful hikes/mountain bike trails out here in the Organ Mountains. Oftentimes I'm the only one on the trail and that's hard to find.

When I need to shop for clothing/bedding etc I do so online b/c I haven't found much in the way of organic items here, but I haven't looked very hard. Las Cruces is a hard town to bike in unless you're close to campus and cars aren't overly friendly, although there are some biking groups around town who organize group rides.

For someone who enjoys a similar lifestyle as you describe, I like living here but I don't love it. Silver City, on the other hand, is a fascinating place. My boyfriend lives there so I've spent a great deal of time in Silver and surrounding areas and feel more at home there than I do in Cruces. The co-op is small but friendly and relatively efficient and a new vegetarian deli just opened. The old-timey main street has great shops and restaurants with funky clothing and good healthy food.

I've found a small but close-knit community of people in Silver City who are open to new people. As for alternative health practices, Silver has a great deal. Check out the newspaper "Desert Exposure" online; that may give you a feel for what Silver City offers in the way of community and healthy living.

The weather is drier in Las Cruces than Silver City, but I find it dry to the point of pain sometimes (I grew up in Louisiana, though!) The summers in Cruces are often really hot (108 in June) while Silver City is usually 10-15 degrees cooler.

Best,

Nena

Best,

Nena

[Ryan Antionette]

You could try Rio Rancho, just north of Abq, it has miles of walking and biking trails all over the city and the bosque for wildlife. Like I said, Albuquerque is near by so it has a variety of healthfood and alternative medicine stores. For pollution, the city sits on a mesa above albuquerque and usually escapes the pollution. The pace of life is very fast, with commuters, construction, and general growth everywhere. If that bothers you, I would like in a neighboring community called Corrales, or Placitas, both are very slow paced, and have escaped the growth of Rio Rancho.

[30apples]

Actually there IS air pollution in Las Cruces. According to the EPA, the air quality in Las Cruces is around 20 out of 100 --100 being the best. Sante Fe has 100 and is one of the only places in America w/ that rating. I'm not sure about Ruidosa- it may also have good stats. you can find air quality ratings at CNNMoney.com under city ratings. good luck