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A couple of empty nesters here, retired military family. Seeking some advice on a possible move to Alamogordo or another nearby town from the East Coast. We've been studying the whole state weighing the pros and cons. Sante Fe area looks too pricey. Wife says ALB is too big. Las Cruces looks a little to close to the border and it's problems for our taste.
Feel free to hit us up on your thoughts about everything that comes to mind, but we could really use some advice on Tricare and health care options in the area. What's the base like, shopping/commissary etc? Real estate issues we should be aware of. Buying versus renting. Did you have a real estate boom and bust? Good/bad neighborhoods. Crime situation? Air quality (severe asthma and allergy sufferer here). Employment situation in retail, wife still feels a need to work, boredom gets to her.
Many thanks in advance for anyone that wants to pitch in some advice. I'm sure we'll probably think of more to add to the list.
Welcome, The question of relocation to Alamogordo seems to be coming up frequently. I don't really know that much about the area. I live further North, Rio Rancho adjacent to ABQ. These threads may help and answer a lot of questions:
We're thinking the attractiveness of this area is the proximity to the military facilities.
Coming from the D.C region.
We're pretty easy to please. Really, the only thing we do is go out to eat a few times a week. Enjoy long walks, bike riding, and an occasional trip to a casino to play slots.
A couple of empty nesters here, retired military family. Seeking some advice on a possible move to Alamogordo or another nearby town from the East Coast. We've been studying the whole state weighing the pros and cons. Sante Fe area looks too pricey. Wife says ALB is too big. Las Cruces looks a little to close to the border and it's problems for our taste.
Feel free to hit us up on your thoughts about everything that comes to mind, but we could really use some advice on Tricare and health care options in the area. What's the base like, shopping/commissary etc? Real estate issues we should be aware of. Buying versus renting. Did you have a real estate boom and bust? Good/bad neighborhoods. Crime situation? Air quality (severe asthma and allergy sufferer here). Employment situation in retail, wife still feels a need to work, boredom gets to her.
Many thanks in advance for anyone that wants to pitch in some advice. I'm sure we'll probably think of more to add to the list.
Hey NM64
I live in Alamogordo and so i'll try to answer your questions the best i can.
Firstly Hollaman AFB has all the amenities that most bases have and the Commissary is nice and the base gym is very new and modern as well as there's been alot of new construction of base housing and also for the transition from the F-117 to the F-22 fighter jets that are currently moving onto the base new hangars, depots, dorms etc. also most of the base uses the hospital in Alamogordo (Gerald Chanpion memorial) for medical needs as it itself is an fairly newish 10 year old hospital that has expanded several times and will be expanding again over the next several years according to their master plan.
Real estate in Alamogordo took a double beating over the last 2 to 3 years as when the F-117's pulled out it quasi emptied the base as that hurt the local economy along with the national recession and now things are booming again in Alamogordo as there's new construction all over the city for housing, roads and businesses.
Crime is mostly property crime as Alamogordo has a very well trained police force and you see them all over the place day and nite as i believe they are doing a good job. I think we average 1 murder a year.
I've never had any allergies however that doesn't mean the air quality is great because of the proximity to the base but i've never noticed any air problems for myself.
As for retail well you have what a town of 35,000 would have as it has most of the basics (box stores, fast food etc.) however it's lacking much needed grocery stores (only one) and restaurants but the chamber has indicated there are many who want to come to Alamogordo but they are balking at the high cost of obtaining a liquor license so stay tuned to see if the state will help out as the LT Gov (Denish) was down here a month ago promising to help out on this problem.
As for good/bad neighborhoods i'd say the oldest area in town i.e. 1st street through 10th street is so-so and also stay away from most mobile home parks with the exception of White Sands community, Amber Skies and Evergreen as these three are nice. Almost all the new housing is in the extreme north (across from the mall) and extreme south (golf course area) in the city proper.
Lastly if you enjoy the mountains well then your only 20 minutes from Cloudcroft and 40 minutes to Ruidoso mountain communities as there are tons of camping, hiking, mountain streams and lakes, casinos (mescalero/ruidoso), cabins etc. as the mountain range is about 100 miles long and about 40 miles wide with the highest peak at around 12,000 ft Mount Sierra Blanca.
By the way i really do like Las Cruces as i don't believe it suffers from any of the border violence but if you have anything else you'd like to know then just ask away and someone will help you out or if you want more info about Ruidoso and/or Cloudcroft there are others on here who live in those communities that can help you out.
Last edited by Six Foot Three; 03-07-2010 at 03:38 PM..
Reason: Spell check - 6/3
Las Cruces looks a little to close to the border and it's problems for our taste.
If this were my choice to make - between Alamo and Las Cruces, the latter wins HANDS DOWN for me! You should be advised that the violence and crime in OLD Mexico would affect the city of El Paso before it would Las Cruces, and El Paso is reputed to be one of the safest cities in the USA - 2nd safest for a city of comparable size. Las Cruces is the fastest growing city in New Mexico recently, now the second largest city in the state.
Now if I were retiring 'yet again' (I've been retired 13 years now), I'd still live where I do now! I'm only about an hour from Alamogordo if I need what is there, and two hours from Las Cruces or El Paso for major problems of either health or a shopping nature. I usually opt for El Paso for health issues because of its much larger medical facilities.
Alright, I warned the little group that I'd be back with more questions.
Can anyone share their critter and insect knowledge? I'm curious is there any difference of what you're going to see and deal with at the different elevations? Snakes, spiders, scorpions etc?
What would you typically encounter living in a Alamogordo subdivision versus living on 2 acres in Cloudcroft, La Luz, or Timberon?
Yes, they have termites in New Mexico. It does not appear to be as bad as some places I have lived, for example FL, MD, PA.... So routine termite inspections should probably be considered. I am sure it varies by geographical areas....
Rich
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I don't like spiders and snakes...
