Retirement Town??? (Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Silver City: real estate, renting, houses)

[azloafer]

We notice that many of the posts asking about a particular state leave out facts that show where the writer is “coming from” and the answers are then not specific enough to help them. We’ll attempt to be specific and hope for the best and the answers MAY HELP OTHERS AS WELL AS US. We think this is a great place to learn about the “rest” of the country. We are posting in the NEW MEXICO section because of an article in the Money Magazine. It named New Mexico in general and Las Cruces specifically as the BEST RETIREMENT place in the United States. The article is specific about defining “best retirement” place as compared to “best place to live.” It said that many retirees are finding everything that they liked in Arizona, [in N.M.] but less expensive. Las Cruces, according to the posts is a little to hot for us. The relatively low cost of living in New Mexico [at least according to Money Magazine] brings us to this forum.

So, here goes: We originally lived in Milwaukee, WI for most of our lives. It was a great place to work and raise a family. We eventually moved to Arizona to get away from the cold and snowy winters and humid summers filled with mosquitoes. We have lived in Green Valley [25 miles south of Tucson] for twenty years! While Green Valley has many good points for retirement, most of the summer is just plain HOT. Anything above 90 is hot to us. July and August are HOT and HUMID with many 100+ days! Its elevation is 3,000 FT.

I have searched around the State of Arizona and looked at all of the usual places with higher altitudes like Prescott, Payson, Flagstaff, Sedona, Show low, Lakeside, Pinetop, etc. I even owned land outside of Payson for a few years. Most of these places, especially Payson, are viewed by the “valley people” [Phoenix Metro area] as great places for second homes. Payson is especially attractive to them because it is a 2 hour trip up a nicely paved, beautiful mountain road called the B Line. Anyway, although the altitude controls the weather, we found that the weather at our land site
[6000 FT] was strange, in that, it had many 100 degree days and sometimes deep snows. Payson, a short drive away, [5,000 FT] was just as warm during the middle of summer with a lot of “black ice” in the winter. We sold our land after an especially bad winter. The snow plows made a path to our land but refused to plow most of the forest that it was in, due to too much snow. We found the housing prices pushed way up, in Payson and all the Arizona areas previously mentioned, by the valley people and people from California. A nice house in Green Valley is almost half price of what a nice house in Payson costs. So cost is a factor.

By now you are probably saying, what do these people want? We want a house, cottage or cabin that is moderately priced in New Mexico. We want the weather during the winter to be “light jacket weather.” We want the summers to be about 85. We want the home to be just high enough to be in the “Pines.” Even a cottage or cabin would be nice. A little dusting of snow is OK. Cooler weather is better than hot. We can always put a jacket on but are limited by what we can take off! We are both between 60 and 70 years of age living on S.S. and a modest pension. AS LONG AS THERE IS A SUPER WAL-MART, A HOME DEPOT AND A DOCTOR WITHIN 40 MILES OR SO, WE WOULD BE HAPPY!

Well that is our retirement wish list. Are there any towns in New Mexico that fit these wishes? I hope to hear from you. azloafer@cox.net

[_yb]

Originally Posted by azloafer

We notice that many of the posts asking about a particular state leave out facts that show where the writer is “coming from” and the answers are then not specific enough to help them. We’ll attempt to be specific and hope for the best and the answers MAY HELP OTHERS AS WELL AS US. We think this is a great place to learn about the “rest” of the country. We are posting in the NEW MEXICO section because of an article in the Money Magazine. It named New Mexico in general and Las Cruces specifically as the BEST RETIREMENT place in the United States. The article is specific about defining “best retirement” place as compared to “best place to live.” It said that many retirees are finding everything that they liked in Arizona, [in N.M.] but less expensive. Las Cruces, according to the posts is a little to hot for us. The relatively low cost of living in New Mexico [at least according to Money Magazine] brings us to this forum.
Las Cruces has quite a few days over 100 degrees. It gets real hot down there. Lots of retirees like it though.


So, here goes: We originally lived in Milwaukee, WI for most of our lives. It was a great place to work and raise a family. We eventually moved to Arizona to get away from the cold and snowy winters and humid summers filled with mosquitoes. We have lived in Green Valley [25 miles south of Tucson] for twenty years! While Green Valley has many good points for retirement, most of the summer is just plain HOT. Anything above 90 is hot to us. July and August are HOT and HUMID with many 100+ days! Its elevation is 3,000 FT.

I have searched around the State of Arizona and looked at all of the usual places with higher altitudes like Prescott, Payson, Flagstaff, Sedona, Show low, Lakeside, Pinetop, etc. I even owned land outside of Payson for a few years. Most of these places, especially Payson, are viewed by the “valley people” [Phoenix Metro area] as great places for second homes. Payson is especially attractive to them because it is a 2 hour trip up a nicely paved, beautiful mountain road called the B Line. Anyway, although the altitude controls the weather, we found that the weather at our land site
[6000 FT] was strange, in that, it had many 100 degree days and sometimes deep snows. Payson, a short drive away, [5,000 FT] was just as warm during the middle of summer with a lot of “black ice” in the winter. We sold our land after an especially bad winter. The snow plows made a path to our land but refused to plow most of the forest that it was in, due to too much snow. We found the housing prices pushed way up, in Payson and all the Arizona areas previously mentioned, by the valley people and people from California. A nice house in Green Valley is almost half price of what a nice house in Payson costs. So cost is a factor.

By now you are probably saying, what do these people want? We want a house, cottage or cabin that is moderately priced in New Mexico. We want the weather during the winter to be “light jacket weather.” We want the summers to be about 85. We want the home to be just high enough to be in the “Pines.” Even a cottage or cabin would be nice. A little dusting of snow is OK. Cooler weather is better than hot. We can always put a jacket on but are limited by what we can take off! We are both between 60 and 70 years of age living on S.S. and a modest pension. AS LONG AS THERE IS A SUPER WAL-MART, A HOME DEPOT AND A DOCTOR WITHIN 40 MILES OR SO, WE WOULD BE HAPPY!

Well that is our retirement wish list. Are there any towns in New Mexico that fit these wishes? I hope to hear from you. azloafer@cox.net

I wanna say a place like Ruidoso or Silver city would fit your needs. Both may be overpriced for your situation but it still may be possible for you to find a small place for around 150k. The light jacket winter may be hard to have in these places. Most places that have pines in NM get pretty cold in the winter.

[Crackerjack]

Of everything you said you wanted, Silver City is the best fit for it all. It is getting more costly though since people are discovering it, but you can still get a bargain if you search. It has light snow in the winter that melts super quick. It isn't cold in the winter either like the rest of the pine areas of NM. It gets in the 80s in the summer. It has pines, in the north area. Ruidoso can get quite a bit of snow and is colder. It is also on the costly side since many Texans target that area for houses. It is pretty though. I think for what you asked for, Silver City is your target area.

[NMFORME]

We presently live in Wyoming & are moving to TorC, New Mexico the end of October, which is about 1 hour away from Las Cruces.

When we researched in May we stayed 3 days at the KOA in Silver City, which we liked, temperatures there are perfect. The cost of housing was not, but if you look on the outside of Silver City, at a place called Hurley the housing prices are not too bad. It is about 20-25 minutes away from Silver City, very quiet & some seniors are moving into the area. Some one is buying the older houses & fixing them up. The properties have large lots. The real estate gentleman from Silver City was raised in Hurley, he gave us lots of information, very friendly. He just opened his own real estate business.

We found the perfect place for our retirement budget in TorC, plus it is close to the bigger cities when we need them.


Hope this helps. NMFORME

Well that is our retirement wish list. Are there any towns in New Mexico that fit these wishes? I hope to hear from you. azloafer@cox.net[/quote]

[gretchenpaints]

Originally Posted by NMFORME

We presently live in Wyoming & are moving to TorC, New Mexico the end of October, which is about 1 hour away from Las Cruces.

When we researched in May we stayed 3 days at the KOA in Silver City, which we liked, temperatures there are perfect. The cost of housing was not, but if you look on the outside of Silver City, at a place called Hurley the housing prices are not too bad. It is about 20-25 minutes away from Silver City, very quiet & some seniors are moving into the area. Some one is buying the older houses & fixing them up. The properties have large lots. The real estate gentleman from Silver City was raised in Hurley, he gave us lots of information, very friendly. He just opened his own real estate business.

We found the perfect place for our retirement budget in TorC, plus it is close to the bigger cities when we need them.


Hope this helps. NMFORME

Well that is our retirement wish list. Are there any towns in New Mexico that fit these wishes? I hope to hear from you. azloafer@cox.net

[/quote]
Hi, We looked at "Silver"and it was great but prices were too high. Bought a place in Williamsburg [part of T or C] because of easy access to I 25 and a short 72 mile trip down to Las Cruses or points north. We lived 15 yrs. in Prescott Az, and the last 9 yrs. in north San Diego but need to cut expenses a lot to retire, and found T or C had a lot to offer at MUCH LOWER prices. It is a motly town but interesting mix.Very friendly people and many changes on the way...space port, nascar,golf course and upscale housing at Elephant Butte [will remind you of a smaller Lake Powell , good fishing they say] Good luck in your search!

[lemonade]

The last post mentioned how there is cheaper real estate available in Hurley, outside Silver City. I like this idea BUT I recall reading on this forum that some people were concerned about air quality, etc in the mining areas around Silver City. Can you tell me more? Would you not advise buying there? And are some areas better than others. For example, is, say, Hurley better than Santa Clara?

[Crackerjack]

Look in Mimbres, Arenas Valley, San Lorenzo, Fierro or San Juan. Small areas east of Silver City. They should be cheaper on housing. The mines are down near Hurley and Tyrone.

[ontheroad]

If you've carefully examined your "wish list" of three vital items you could elect to check out more remote parts of NM or places that are not generally mentioned: Ojo Caliente area (north of); Espanola (central to Santa Fe and Taos); Questa (north of Taos), others.

However, some have little or no town center, are sparsely populated, have off the grid issues (little or no water) etc.

NM is as expensive as NY when you compare cost of living and wages earned. Much of NM is tourist-targeted and expensive. A coffee pot in Taos is $25.00 more expensive, same item, than Santa Fe. Sunday brunch is more expensive in El Prado than Carroll Gardens (NY). Go figure!

Many issues arise when actually living in an area, not just Wal-mart and a good doctor. I'd suggest you lengthen your list of priorities before accepting a yes to the three you listed. JMO, and a retiree, too!

[azloafer]

A friend of mine is also considering New Mexico for retirement. He gave me a list of places and what he liked or didn't like about them. He listed Ojo Caliente as a tourist area with very cold winters. He listed Questa as having very cold winters also. He doesn't have Espanola on his list. That is a town that I will check out. He did spend a week in the Silver City area and said that he checked all costs of living versus Green Valley, AZ, where we now live. He claims that we spend 1/3 more living here in Green Valley. I will do my own research once my wife and I visit Silver City. I know that everything is relative and that I'll have to see the SC area for myself. Here in Green Valley we live about a mile from the mine tailings. Our water is polluted and two of the community wells have been closed. Seems like water is a problem all over the West.

Thanks for the help. This forum is a great place to gather information. "Onthe road", where do you live now and are you happy with your choice?

[ontheroad]

Hello again, I live on the tail of Taos. I am renting,and not really committed to staying here. It is over-rated, and very expensive. I came from NYC and thought I'd love it here.

Ojo Caliente and Questa may be reputed to be cold, but with global warming or just changes in temperature, it hasn't been cold here at all.

And, yes, there is nothing like seeing a place yourself. I

Good luck with whatever decision you make

Originally Posted by azloafer

A friend of mine is also considering New Mexico for retirement. He gave me a list of places and what he liked or didn't like about them. He listed Ojo Caliente as a tourist area with very cold winters. He listed Questa as having very cold winters also. He doesn't have Espanola on his list. That is a town that I will check out. He did spend a week in the Silver City area and said that he checked all costs of living versus Green Valley, AZ, where we now live. He claims that we spend 1/3 more living here in Green Valley. I will do my own research once my wife and I visit Silver City. I know that everything is relative and that I'll have to see the SC area for myself. Here in Green Valley we live about a mile from the mine tailings. Our water is polluted and two of the community wells have been closed. Seems like water is a problem all over the West.

Thanks for the help. This forum is a great place to gather information. "Onthe road", where do you live now and are you happy with your choice?