Las Cruces or Alamogordo opinions (money, cheaper, time) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

songinthewind7 · 05-17-2012, 09:40 AM

I'm with you on the big cities. I like to be near them but I prefer smaller now.

I don't care for Alamogordo all that much but it seems to have what you require. For a small town, I think it has its share of crime. On the positive side, the people are very nice and friendly and the base is close by. If you want to be around Military, Alamogordo is the place to be.

TMG1974 · 05-25-2012, 12:05 AM

ETC143,
I'm a resident of Alamogordo, have basically been since my dad was stationed at Holloman in 1989. Couple of clarifications: the homes in Alamogordo that people have referred to are just as nice as any comparable home in Las Cruces or El Paso. In my opinion, as far as the El Paso homes are considered, they are nicer. Bigger lots on average, and not so "cookie cutter". Most of the new homes in Alamogordo are inside city limits, not outside, though this distinction isn't really as much of a factor in this town. For example, technically my parents live outside the city limits, but are within ten minutes of everything in town.

The drive through the missile range from WSMR headquarters to the Oro Grande gate is about 25-35 miles long, and a two-lane, roughly paved road. It is used to access the various missile launch pads and tellimetry and other sites east of the post. Not really meant to be used as a through road, though I have in the past a couple of times, and I'm sure people use it to commute from the post to the various sites that are just west of Oro Grande. I know that gate used to be closed in the evenings and opened in the mornings. If it were me, I would not want to use that road as a commute to work everyday. But it just depends on the pros and cons of living in Alamo or Las Cruces. It is true that there are occasional road blocks on US 70.

Crime rates in Alamo are very low. No debate. Lower than Las Cruces and El Paso hands down. Las Cruces has a population of around 100,000. And with that population come the associated things: good shopping, good dining, second largest university in the state, but also crime, traffic, etc.
Alamo has a population of around 40,000. Alamo is a military town, Las Cruces is not. And that seems like not an important issue, but for me, the culture and general "feel" of the town and its people is important. To me, Alamo is a way, better place to be than Las Cruces in regard to that. Alamo is also closer to more outdoor type stuff with high mountians only 20 mins away.

I am trying to sell my town, but I truly believe that in your situation, it is probably the better place to live. The only reason I would live in Las Cruces is because of the benefits that come from a higher population. My ideal city size, based on experience, is about the size of Las Cruces. But to me, Alamo is a better place to be. Better people, better location, better commute, and comparable houses and living standards.

At any rate, hope you enjoy your stay in Southern NM!

joqua · 05-25-2012, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMG1974

Couple of clarifications: the homes in Alamogordo that people have referred to are just as nice as any comparable home in Las Cruces or El Paso. In my opinion, as far as the El Paso homes are considered, they are nicer. Bigger lots on average, and not so "cookie cutter".

Ummm...I don't know about the sentence in bold, above. I find the newest neighborhoods on the edge of El Paso - right on the NM/TX state line - to be VERY cookie cutter and set on minimal lot sizes. I captured a couple of aerial views of North Park (El Paso) vs Boles Acres (Alamogordo) for comparison purposes. The former is within the city limits of El Paso while the latter is outside the city limits of Alamogordo (on the south side closest to Orogrande).

North Park has a lot of 2-story homes. Boles Acres has a lot of trailer houses mixed in with some owner-built and contractor-built homes. The newer neighborhoods on the north side of Alamogordo (near La Luz) are a closer comparison to North Park but those are also set on larger lots than in El Paso.

TigerLily24 · 05-25-2012, 08:38 PM

Alamogordo is definitely the smallest of the three.
None of them can be rightly considered "walking cities" as all are very spread out and quite hilly.

I don't know anything about public transportation in Alamo. Las Cruces does have bus service but service stops around 6pm and there is no service on Sundays.

While Las Cruces may not feel as much like a military town as Alamogordo, there are a lot of military families here with a family member who commutes to WSMR. Also a lot of retired military.
Have to travel over the mountains, though, to get to WSMR and the pass is likely to be closed down for high winds in the springtime and icy conditions in the winter in addition to the testing along Highway 70 already noted.
So, from a purely practical commuting standpoint, Alamo is the better choice.

malamute · 05-26-2012, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joqua

Ummm...I don't know about the sentence in bold, above. I find the newest neighborhoods on the edge of El Paso - right on the NM/TX state line - to be VERY cookie cutter and set on minimal lot sizes. I captured a couple of aerial views of North Park (El Paso) vs Boles Acres (Alamogordo) for comparison purposes. The former is within the city limits of El Paso while the latter is outside the city limits of Alamogordo (on the south side closest to Orogrande).

North Park has a lot of 2-story homes. Boles Acres has a lot of trailer houses mixed in with some owner-built and contractor-built homes. The newer neighborhoods on the north side of Alamogordo (near La Luz) are a closer comparison to North Park but those are also set on larger lots than in El Paso.

I think that is what the poster meant to say -- that the El Paso houses are the very cookie-cutter ones as opposed to the Alamogordo. I had to reread it because it would be hard to find houses with smaller lots than in the new subdivisions in El Paso. And a very tiny yard is fine for those who don't like having to do yardwork and many people don't.

If it was my decision, I would go with Alamorgordo. Gas prices have to be considered in a commute, also property taxes, and property taxes in El Paso are quite high. I don't know how the crime rates are in far NE El Paso compared with Alamogordo, but overall there is a high rate of property crime in El Paso but the homicide rate is low especially if you are not running with a gang or cartel.

The main reason I would go with Alamogordo is that it's closer to the forests, closer to Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, plus it's close enough to El Paso which is getting to be a very large city and I don't prefer very large cities and it's close enough to Las Cruces.

joqua · 05-26-2012, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malamute

If it was my decision, I would go with Alamorgordo.

As a life-long resident of the area, I would never choose either place to live now, even though I lived for 35 years in El Paso. But I have never thought of Alamogordo as a place I would ever choose to live. So it all comes down to personal choice.

AlaMommy · 05-28-2012, 05:34 PM

I was in Alamogordo for about a year and a half (and just moved literally this weekend).
It's a small town, but I like the small town feel. I could have lived in Las Cruces, but as I said, prefer the small town.
Alamogordo is a bit on the "run down" sort of "ghetto" kind of feel, but it's not bad. I was happy there with my little girl and one on the way. Someone mentioned it having crime but that it was friendly... I'd say the exact opposite. I didn't notice much crime myself - not that it doesn't exist either. The paper doesn't report ANYTHING. And generally the people were less than friendly - compared to where we came from before and to where we moved to recently. In Alamo, we said Hello in passing to our apartment neighbors and they absolutely ignored us. Then again, neither of us have the military affiliation.
One thing I liked about Alamo (but honestly didn't take as much advantage of as I had expected to when I moved there) is that Cloudcroft is a quick drive and approx 10-20 degrees cooler than Alamo. White Sands is a 15-20 min drive, and I enjoyed taking my little girl there. (Huge sand box!) Las Cruces is 45 minutes away if you need a good mall, or a best buy, etc. And El Paso is 1.5-1.8 hours for an airport for family to visit. Ruidoso was also 1.5 hours or so away and is cool like Cloudcroft, but bigger with a couple of casinos. I felt like Alamo was right in the middle of everything you wanted. If you have a good weekend, you could make the trek to either Elephant Butte Lake or even the Carlsbad caverns. (My family drove to both, however, we saw neither. We didn't have the time for the lake - spur of the moment trip, and with the caverns our girl got sick so we went home instead.)
Alamo has a little tiny zoo, Scenic drive is perfect to exercise/walk on, your basics like McD, BK, Subway, Pizza Hut, Dominos, KFC, Wal-Mart, Lowes (also the name of the local grocer), Home Depot, IHop, Applebees, Chilis. Some local places I personally enjoyed were AlamoDonut/Daylight Donut (pretty sure they were run by the same, and they had the most delicious donuts!), Tia Lupes, La Hacienda (good, but considered a downgrade from Tia Lupes). Espresso Cafe (north scenic) was really nice and good the one time I went. There are plenty of playgrounds if you're looking for them. Nice parks. The hospital is really nice.
I think it's worth taking your chances on Alamogordo of all the places, so long as you can enjoy the fact that it's a small town.

PS - be prepared for hard water. Use a brita filter or something similar, and use Lemi Shine powder as an additive to your dish detergent!

Rocketmedic · 05-29-2012, 07:27 PM

I was underwhelmed- I think it was the smoke from the fires and me wanting green scenery. AMR-Otero seems pretty high-speed though.

ETC143 · 06-05-2012, 12:02 AM

Thank you everyone for all the input!!! My daughter just graduated school Saturday, so I have fallen behind reading in the prep for her graduation and party following!! So finally catching up!! Lots of great advice that I will keep in mind! My husband still hasn't gotten the job.... drives me nuts when companies "need" employees, pay and post ads..... yet take forever for first call.... and even longer for a second!?!?! Yet, still advertise job! Seems to be extra waste of money and time to me! But hey.... I am not in HR..... so oh well!! I do appreciate all the advice though!!

songinthewind7 · 06-05-2012, 11:34 AM

Call them! I don't know if it's a NM thing or not, but people seem to put things off. I noticed I have to call and practically stay on top of things in order to get a response.