So I'm writing this to give insight to people who are looking to move here. This probably applys to the younger population, since it's from a younger perspective. But all you beautifully aged can take heed too. ;D
I've lived in Cruces for 6955 long days, mostly on the southeast and sw sides.
To me, the scenery is mediocre at best. I think of the Organs as faux moutains, becuase they are really just rock in the middle of a big basin. I'll admit, some people like our desert landscape, the thorny fuana, and the lack of moisture. The only time this town has some green is late spring thru late summer. Other than that it's brown. The city itsself is typically clean, but they're pockets I wouldn't recommend to raise a family.
I wouldn't call this area diverse. A typical minority, Hispanics, has become the majority here. Now I'm not saying I dislike Hispanics, (my entire paternal side of the family is hispanic) but a large portion of them that I attend school with seem to have a very discriminitory attitude towards anyone different than them: whites, blacks, asians, etc.
Well one thing about this area's culture is the super Mexican food. I mean if you're going to visit Cruces for one thing, it's some huevos rancheros from Andeles. I mean I get mild withdrawal from good salsa when I leave the Mesilla Valley.
As for stuff to do around here, I think you'll find that after a couple of years, youll have exhuasted all the historical, cultural, old mesilla-esque activities. Now my friends and family find the only 'nightlife' going on is the new movie theator in the mall. Oh yeah, the mall: full of 13yr olds, but alright for the shoppers I guess. Most everyone I've met in town has multiple hobbies or play multiple sports to pass the time.
My dad is a professor at NMSU and I have a bunch of freinds over there, and I've taken dual credit classes on campus. I've found that most of it's students live off campus with the friends they had in high school. I'm not sure about how good certain programs are or what the instructors are like, but the campus is mostly old/ugly buildings with weird smells in alot of the halls. NMSU does give alot to this town, but mainly it's a free ride/ fallback school for the locals.
The weather. Mild winters and super hot and dry summers. Actually it's dry all the time. I'm not sure that we have any days that stay overcast all day. Usually if it's cloudy it's only like that for 12 hours or so. Rain is a blessing when it does come. All in all, it's a heck of alot of hot sun. I know fairskinned people that apply sunscreen as part of their morning routine. Some people like this climate, but I've found that it really only tolerable when there is ocean nearby.
The closest lake (and practically the only good-sized lake in NM) is an hour away at Elephant Butte/Caballo. It's fine for the majority of watersports and has a sizable amount of beach, but it's not anything to get excited over. The closest ski resort is Ski Apache, about 2-2.5 hours away, depending on traffic, ice conditions, etc. I've found myself going 3mph up the moutain to it becuase of drivers inexperienced with ice. But anyway, the resort isn't the greatest in the world. This past season they never opened 100 percent of it due to lack of snow. But I have gone during blizzardy weather, when no one is near the top of the mountain, and found some awesome powder. Hiking in the Organs is actually somewhat good, and despite the barren landscape can provide some nice views. We have a somewhat developed 4x4 culture, not on big scale, but there are annual competions. I've been to challenging rock climbing trails like 15mins out of town. Suprisingly, there is ok deer/quail hunting 30mins out near the corrolitoes ranch and good elk/deer/turkey hunting a few hours to the northeast or northwest of cruces.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend Las Cruces as a place to just up and move to. But you can make the best of it if you have to move here. However I hear it has a good retirement commnity, but I don't know much about that. Well, whatever it is, I warned you.
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Info from 17 years of experience on Cruces
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