Move to mountain town (Albuquerque, Los Alamos: apartments, rent, homes)

[kjtouchet]

Im looking to move from La to NM. I have been to cloudcroft before. I like hiking and biking and cool mnt air. But...cant afford the pricy mnt homes. Would like to be close to a town w some shopping and variety of jobs. Im a Massage Therapist. Any suggestions please?

[GregW]

I suggest looking around the Albuquerque to Espanola corridor. Lots of space but enough people to provide a client base for your trade.

[JDTH]

You could also think about the Ruidoso/Alto area. There are a few day spas and resorts that offer massages.

[Gearhound]

Almost half the population of New Mexico, lives within an hours drive of Albuquerque.
THAT'S where the majority of your clients would come from.
You could try looking east of Albuquerque, along state route 14?
But whether you could afford a small home, kinda depends on your budget?

Steve

[mrgoodwx]

According to City Data, the median price for a home in your zip code in Louisiana is ~$85k. I think there may be a disconnect between finding homes in that price range and clients who would be seeking a massage therapist. Perhaps people here could have some ideas if you gave us the price range you are seeking.

[rruff]

If you think Cloudcroft is expensive, then I think you are out of luck in NM.

To make it in massage it's best to pick an area with fairly good number of rich people and a shortage of "newage" types. Ruidoso fits that pretty well... and it's in the mountains and pretty nice. Not that cheap though...

[GregW]

You might consider Silver City. It has a relatively high retired population and reasonable, by NM standards and really cheap by NH standards, housing prices. Lots of outdoor recreation is available in the nearby mountains as well.

[rruff]

Silver City is already saturated for massage, though...

[kjtouchet]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I loved Cloudcroft, but homes cost more than jobs allowed. Not enough work up there or below. I have my scope on Ruidoso, and I have thought about Silver City.

[cloudcroft]

I agree with rruff.

Southern NM (actually, MOST of NM) is as cheap as it's going to get in the state of NM. Try Northern NM (meaning a line North of ABQ) such as Los Alamos/White Rock -- Cloudcroft and Ruidoso's Northern "counterparts" if you will re: geography and weather -- but it's definitely more expensive in the North. Cloudcroft and Ruidoso are VERY affordable...and they have been for a very long time. The Lodge in Cloudcroft charging $100/couple for Chateaubriand is another story, but still, the rest of Cloudcroft is not at all pricey...

Jobs are another issue of course, and I am just talking about the Cost of Living index...Cloudcroft/Ruidoso are good choices as they are definitely BELOW the national index average of 100. Naturally, you have to like "mountain living" and the cold weather that brings being 8668' above sea level. And the occasional forest fire (which both Los Alamos and Cloudcroft have experienced not too long ago) that destroys everything you own (here it's hurricanes).

I can't speak for the economy/jobs situation in any of those places (I'm retired so that doesn't apply to me anymore) but I certainly understand that JOBS has to be THE prime consideration for people thinking about living in a city/town/village ANYwhere, let alone in in the high country of NM.

But for retired people who bring their own income with them, it doesn't matter how the local economy in NM is doing...and their retirement income would go a long way in MOST of the state, let alone Cloudcroft and Ruidoso.

One more thing: Cloudcroft, being a typical "bedroom community" (like Cedar Crest, NM, as I discovered a while back), doesn't really have apartments like most of us see all over in the big cities, it just has homes. So unless you rent a home or buy one, you will have one heck of a time finding "alternative lodging" that's so easy to come by in cities.