Moving to Portales (Roswell, Clovis: low crime, how much, home)

[fatherof3]

I haven't committed yet, but may be moving to Portales, NM due to a job transfer in the next 3 to 6 months.
My only concern? I have 3 kids ages 8, 13 and 15. We presently live in a small town atmosphere with good (not great) schools and lots of youth activities. All 3 kids are very kind and considerate....not perfect but very good natured.
I would appreciate info regarding the Portales schools. How hard would it be for a transplanted kid to acclamate to life in Portales? What obstacles? Drugs? Violence?
Please advise......

[newmex]

I've been here since Jan 2007. My wife teaches at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. Inexpensive college for your kids if you wish to keep them around, a few of your kidders are closing in on college time. Having a college here provides a better culture element, there's free seminars, theatre, college level sport events.
Where you came from pretty much describes Portales I suppose. I have no kids, but it seems that everything evolves around children here. I haven't seen any problems, I hope that a local with kids chimes in here.

Kids can be bored anywhere...it's up to you to keep them interested...you know that better than I would. Lots of activities for the kids. There is a skatepark, with ballparks across the street, and a nice public pool. Small town life, things are kept in check. There's drugs, crime in every town. Portales in my opinion keeps it to a minimum. Nearby cities of note: Clovis 18 mi... has more shopping options than Portales and a ZOO!, Lubbock 110 mi, Roswell 92 mi, ditto on the shopping

[fatherof3]

Thanks for the info.

I was raised in a small south plains tx town similar in many ways to Portales. It was a great place to be in the 70's / 80's. Things change.
It's no longer a place I would raise my kids. Lots of violence in the schools, lots of drugs, terrible school performance indicators.

The move would provide better income and closer proximity to our extended families....but I can't pull the trigger on this one without providing a soft landing for the kids. They don't need entertainment, but I don't want them returning from school with bloody noses either.....

My first / only impression of Portales was very positive.....but it was about 12 years ago.

Thanks again for the reply.

[newmex]

City of Portales website
City of Portales

A site that rates schools...these are sort of helpful
Portales Schools

Portales News Tribune online
Portales News-Tribune : Homepage

Clovis News Journal online
Clovis News Journal : Homepage

Clovis has active gang activity (punks, wannabe toughs) which accounts for more of the general idiocy in a town of 35,000 should have. Boredom and access to chemical refreshment fuels this. If you stay above 14th street in Clovis its okay. There are good points to Clovis, but their schools are a little rough there.

Portales is way safer

[pilotsim]

Clovis also has a large Airforce base near by Cannon Airforce Base so there are lots of airmen in and around clovis. As mentioned earlier Portales is home of ENMU. The university has a positive effect on the local community. On of my friends lives and works in portales and she loves it there.

[New West 2020]

We have really enjoyed Portales so far, except for missing the big shopping. Lubbock is only 90 minutes away. Clovis is 20 minutes away for the mall, but there's not much else there that would make me call it "home".

[New West 2020]

Originally Posted by fatherof3

Thanks for the info.

I was raised in a small south plains tx town similar in many ways to Portales. It was a great place to be in the 70's / 80's. Things change.
It's no longer a place I would raise my kids. Lots of violence in the schools, lots of drugs, terrible school performance indicators.

The move would provide better income and closer proximity to our extended families....but I can't pull the trigger on this one without providing a soft landing for the kids. They don't need entertainment, but I don't want them returning from school with bloody noses either.....

My first / only impression of Portales was very positive.....but it was about 12 years ago.

Thanks again for the reply.

We are happy to say that Portales seems to have escaped a lot of the "rural decay" you speak of. There is a large university in town, many active churches and social clubs, and the service and agricultural businesses seem to be booming, so we don't see the issues you speak of. There is almost no crime in Portales compared to neighboring cities, and the Portales Public Schools schools are very well-rated. Great Schools.com has a good summary of all the schools in the area.

One thing to note about Portales Public Schools, Portales is a fully integrated school district, so there are no "rich" and "poor" schools. Every kid in the same grade goes to the same school. One result of this is that almost all the Portales schools are new, and the people seem to get along well, whatever their background. This adds to the general unity of the community and low crime rate. The cops seem to be doing a great job.

Take a closer look at other small cities with separated "rich" and "poor" areas and school districts you will see a quite different picture...

[nmlonestar]

Just saw your post and wondered if you moved to NM. If so, what do you think of it?I too was raised in a small west Texas town. I have been here almost 12 years.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by fatherof3

I haven't committed yet, but may be moving to Portales, NM due to a job transfer in the next 3 to 6 months.
My only concern? I have 3 kids ages 8, 13 and 15. We presently live in a small town atmosphere with good (not great) schools and lots of youth activities. All 3 kids are very kind and considerate....not perfect but very good natured.
I would appreciate info regarding the Portales schools. How hard would it be for a transplanted kid to acclamate to life in Portales? What obstacles? Drugs? Violence?
Please advise......

I grew up in Portales. Went there K-12 and then to ENMU.

Good (not great) is how I would describe Portales public schools.

Kids should have no problem acclimating. Because Portales is both home to ENMU and near Cannon Air Force Base, there are new kids in school all the time. Yeah, there are jerks, but most folks are very welcoming.

Gangs? Hard to say. There are definitely gangbanger wanna-bes, but unless things have changed a lot since I was in school, there is no hardcore gang problem. Clovis definitely has a growing gang problem, but I don't know how much it has infiltrated Portales yet.

Drugs? Yep. They're there, and they are a problem. Alcohol abuse especially can be a big problem. But if you are involved in your kids' lives, no one will be able to force drugs on them. Will they be offered drugs or alcohol? Yep. You bet they will.

The area (Clovis especially) has a HUGE teen pregnancy problem. Why? I wish I knew. There aren't a whole lot of things for teens to do to keep them entertained, but I'm not sure that explains it. I went to school with girls who were pregnant by 16. And they weren't the "school skanks." They were good kids from good families. And I have to say, they became good parents. But teen pregnancy is still a big problem in area public schools.

If you find you don't like the area public schools, there are a few private schools in the area, mostly run by local churches.

[soundbreeze]

I'm liking the demographics of my age group.. mid 20's to 30's. Girl to guy ratio is 100 females for every 80 something guys. ;-) Considering the median local income vs. what they're luring us in from the outside with, if I can't find something fun to do locally, I'll make my own entertainment options!