How are the towns of Questa & Carson? (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: for sale, sex offenders) - City-Data Forum

NM-Bound · 07-11-2007, 02:43 PM

Hello Everone! We live in Florida (for 20 somewhat years) and on a recent trip across the country, we went through New Mexico and absolutely fell in love with its openess and beauty. Some would say how could you fall in love with a place through a window on an RV, but we did. We live in a "little"
(not really) quaint town known for its antiques and craft shows. Well in a nutshell, the town is way over rated!! Its busy and traffic is unreal. You would think we lived in Orlando! So we decided to put our house for sale and finally get out of this nasty humidity state. This is going to be an adventure for us. We have an 11 year old daughter. I'm a Graphic Designer and my husband is in law enforcement.

Went have been on a relentless search for a perfect place in NM since we got back from our trip. We want 5 plus acres with beautiful mountain views. Complete serenity! We have several towns in mind in the Taos area. I would really love to hear from someone that can help with information on Questa & Carson for starts. Would love to hear someone who knows those areas. We want to be pretty much secluded, but close enough to a city. Would love to hear someone who knows those areas. Can't wait to be somewhere this beautiful & peaceful soon!

nm_photojournalist · 07-11-2007, 03:50 PM

Ah, more sane Americans who have experienced the Southwest's dry weather, and then returned to their humid homes where your clothes get soaking wet just by walking to the curbside mail box and back! :-) I came to Albuquerque from South Texas...so been there, done that...but not for the past 23 years!

That is pretty country alright up above Taos. The "circle drive" from Taos to Questa...east to Red River...south to Eagle Nest...and then back west to Taos via Angel Fire, is called the "Enchanted Circle" if you didn't already know. I'm sure you can find quite a bit of info on that area, just by looking up that phrase on the internet.

Questa is a very small town. I'm not sure if there is even a motel there?
As for Carson...I'm afraid you've got this two-decades in NM, and avid traveler stumped. I can't find it in my Rand McNalley, and I've honestly never heard of it. It may be a new "development" community though. Outsiders are grabbing up more and more of New Mexico's most scenic lands.

Questa is probably about a 30-40 minute drive from Taos, the only nearby town of any size for groceries, etc. They've kept Wal-Mart out so far...God bless them.

If you're looking for mountain country to live in...don't overlook the Ruidoso/Cloudcroft area northeast of Alamogordo in South Central New Mexico.

Also, there are some nice acreages just east of the Manzano Mountains (The Sandia Mountains are on the east side of Albuquerque...on the south side of I-40 the name changes to the Manzanos. This would be in an area south of Tijeras & Edgewood (both just east of Albuquerque on I-40. I just drove out through that area last weekend, and although the homes keep springing up, it still has that rural open feeling, with many acres still in virgin pinon, and pines.

If you find out where Carson is...let me know! :-) His house, and grave are in Taos...so it must be around there somewhere. There is also the Carson National Forest up that way.

If you have an 11 year old daughter...you'll probably also be including schools in your decision...there are new elementary, and middle-schools in the Edgewood area. High school is bused either into Albuquerque or east to Moriarty, depending how close to either you are. Hope this helps a little.

P.S. It's the 11th of July, and Albuquerque has only had one 100 degree day...the first here in 5 years. Nada for Santa Fe, and of course Taos. :-)

NM-Bound · 07-11-2007, 10:51 PM

Hi NM_PhotoJournalist!
Thank you so much for replying. I've done so much research on NM, that I feel like I'm already there! I'm so glad that you are familiar with the area. We pretty much picked Taos by pure luck, sight unseen. I have a friend that lived in Las Cruces for all his life and was a lawyer there. He then moved here to Florida (I don't know why) and he told me that Taos was very beautiful. I did some searches online and I have learned a lot.

You were right about "Carson". A property I was looking at has it listed in the city of Carson. I was puzzeld about it after reading you reply, and went online and found out the land is in Ojo Caliente, mystery solved!

So we're taking a HUGE leapt, and we're going to fly over to see property our realtor has found for us so far. I really want to see the ones in Questa. It sounds like a place were you can drive to see city lights then when you've had enough... drive back and sit outside and watch the majestic night sky in absolute serenity. Its going to be interesting to tell our friends and family that we've finally come to our sences and decided to live in peace and authentic beauty.

I can personally tell you that there comes a time in everyones life when your soul knows it has found its true home, that's were mine has found it.

So I do hope everything works out smoothly and unwraps itself the way we invision it. We're going over in mid August and If you want, I can let you know how it went. Thank you so much for all your opinions and insights.
I will keep them to guide us through our newest, grandest adventure.

God Bless You!

_yb · 07-11-2007, 11:00 PM

Questa can be pretty tough for outsiders. Most of the folks in the area have been there for a very long time. You may want to include places like Red River, Angle Fire and Raton in your search.
And I agree with NMPJ that you could also look into Ruidoso/Cloudcroft areas.

Good luck.....

NM-Bound · 07-11-2007, 11:09 PM

I will definetly keep that in mind. Thanks a bunch for your advice.
We will be looking in those places too.

thanks again yb!

dallassprings · 07-17-2007, 12:14 PM

Questa per stats is populated almost entirely by Hispanic Catholics. Most are living below the poverty level. Most have an income median average of $22,000. Highest area of occupation is construction and mining. I only know this because I looked it up since I have a friend who invested in property there. There are approximately 1900 people there, one real bank Centinel, and two registered sex offenders. I agree its beautiful, but for retirement purposes, there is not a really close hospital. Holy Cross is the nearest. I am following this thread because of hopes someone from Questa will respond but,my friend says that there is only one internet dial up number for Questa and thats it. I use phone internet so u may wish to check on TV, DSL, and internet limitations as well. Cloudcroft is awesome, go there twice a year. Very small but most r retired or have retail tourist business. Good luck.

wondering/eye · 07-28-2007, 01:41 PM

Hello! I hope this response helps you. I was born and raised in Questa, and absolutely adore the place. I think it will help to have a response from someone who has actually lived there. I now live in Los Angeles, and crave to go back to Questa whenever I get the chance. My father does work at the mine as a foreman, but also owns his own business. And my mother works at the independent school district. You either work for those two places or have your own small town business. Its small, but lovely as could be. I would say take a chance and move! I hope you like what you see when you visit. I just went two weeks ago camping up in cabresto. The cabresto lake is sooo neat. Any questions on the town, please ask? bye and good luck!

wondering/eye · 07-28-2007, 01:49 PM

Oh and taos is only 22 miles from questa. So half an hour at the most. Red River a half hour east. Colorado forty minutes north.

nm_photojournalist · 07-28-2007, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wondering/eye

Hello! I hope this response helps you. I was born and raised in Questa, and absolutely adore the place. I think it will help to have a response from someone who has actually lived there. I now live in Los Angeles, and crave to go back to Questa whenever I get the chance. My father does work at the mine as a foreman, but also owns his own business. And my mother works at the independent school district. You either work for those two places or have your own small town business. Its small, but lovely as could be. I would say take a chance and move! I hope you like what you see when you visit. I just went two weeks ago camping up in cabresto. The cabresto lake is sooo neat. Any questions on the town, please ask? bye and good luck!

It just goes to prove "WonderingEye," no matter where we grew up, there is still no place like home. Especially once you've moved far away. Cabresto Lake is a great little lake! I love NM's trout fishing too, but mainly get over into the Jemez area. Thanks for your "home-spun" descriptions.

NM-Bound · 07-28-2007, 10:33 PM

Thank you so much for for helpful insight info! I was beginning to lose hope on the area, scratching it off the list. But now I think we will go take a looksee,we did find property to see there. We'll be going over to Taos mid August to look around several areas.

I was afraid no one had any "real info" about Questa. It sounds like a lovely place. I really want a quiet little town, maybe its the winner

Thanks again, and good luck in your new adventure!

Take Care

P.S. If you want to share other facts about the town, please don't hesitate!