Alamogordo; Need the push. (Ruidoso, White Sands: trip , work, housing)

[slash8789]

Hello to all. This is my first posting. My wife and I have been reading postings in the city-data forums for a little over a year now. We've researched various places but particularly Alamagordo. We are set in moving early next year and we are ALMOST set on moving to Alamogordo. We were there last year for the holidays but spent most of our time in Cloudcroft. We loved Cloudcroft but would not like to live there. We didn't get to see too much of Alamogordo but, we are planning a trip there this December to check it out again. Pretty much everything we have read about Alomogordo sounds good but, my wife and I need a final decisive factor in getting us to finally settle on Alamogordo and, I am hoping that the people who actually live there or have lived there and who post on these forums will provide us that final factor. I don't want to make you guys write too much so I am going to ask if maybe you could answer my questions on a rating scale from 1 to 10 and then perhaps comment afterwards if you wish? That would be nice. Ok here we go. from 1 to 10, ten being the best rating and one the worst.

Crime: (I come from Miami, FL-- Newark, NJ and Tucson, AZ so I know there has to be less crime in Alamogordo.
Housing cost: (could I find a house for around $100,000 in a nicer neighborhood?)
Racism: (I am Cuban/Spanish so I can't be the middle of hickville or inside Aryan Nation if you know what I mean)
Traffic: (again, I lived 23 years in Miami so It can't be too bad in Alamordo with 40,000 people no?)
Parks: (we have 2 children and we like to go to nice, big parks with green grass and plenty of trees. Any in Alamogordo? Safe to go there?)
Churches: (my wife and I are christians so we go to church and would like to be in place that tends to lean towards our beliefs)
Weather: (does Alamogordo have the 4 seasons? We love snow in the winter time but enjoy summer, spring and fall as well)
Holiday activities: (anything to do or any place to go for the holidays that a family can enjoy without having to worry about the hoodlums or gansters who are packing heat?)

My final comments: As you can see we are not looking to move someplace with a nightlife or a city for singles. We are a simple family that enjoys to do simple things. We really want to be someplace where we can go walking around our block without me having to take my gun in fear that some hoodlum is wanting to try to make trouble with people just walking or some pitbull just decides to attack us, which is the case here in Tucson. Thank you all for reading my post.

Fernando

[chilegal]

Originally Posted by slash8789

Hello to all. This is my first posting. My wife and I have been reading postings in the city-data forums for a little over a year now. We've researched various places but particularly Alamagordo. We are set in moving early next year and we are ALMOST set on moving to Alamogordo. We were there last year for the holidays but spent most of our time in Cloudcroft. We loved Cloudcroft but would not like to live there. We didn't get to see too much of Alamogordo but, we are planning a trip there this December to check it out again. Pretty much everything we have read about Alomogordo sounds good but, my wife and I need a final decisive factor in getting us to finally settle on Alamogordo and, I am hoping that the people who actually live there or have lived there and who post on these forums will provide us that final factor. I don't want to make you guys write too much so I am going to ask if maybe you could answer my questions on a rating scale from 1 to 10 and then perhaps comment afterwards if you wish? That would be nice. Ok here we go. from 1 to 10, ten being the best rating and one the worst.

Crime: (I come from Miami, FL-- Newark, NJ and Tucson, AZ so I know there has to be less crime in Alamogordo.
Housing cost: (could I find a house for around $100,000 in a nicer neighborhood?)
Racism: (I am Cuban/Spanish so I can't be the middle of hickville or inside Aryan Nation if you know what I mean)
Traffic: (again, I lived 23 years in Miami so It can't be too bad in Alamordo with 40,000 people no?)
Parks: (we have 2 children and we like to go to nice, big parks with green grass and plenty of trees. Any in Alamogordo? Safe to go there?)
Churches: (my wife and I are christians so we go to church and would like to be in place that tends to lean towards our beliefs)
Weather: (does Alamogordo have the 4 seasons? We love snow in the winter time but enjoy summer, spring and fall as well)
Holiday activities: (anything to do or any place to go for the holidays that a family can enjoy without having to worry about the hoodlums or gansters who are packing heat?)

My final comments: As you can see we are not looking to move someplace with a nightlife or a city for singles. We are a simple family that enjoys to do simple things. We really want to be someplace where we can go walking around our block without me having to take my gun in fear that some hoodlum is wanting to try to make trouble with people just walking or some pitbull just decides to attack us, which is the case here in Tucson. Thank you all for reading my post.

Fernando

Welcome to Alamogordo!

I think you would enjoy the city and area.
As for Crime maybe a 2 I am really not sure sign up for Alamogordo Daily News - Home and read the police logs.

Housing costs. I am sure you could find a home for that price or near it. You will just have to look and hopefully not be in a rush.

Racism I have not seen any problem with this in Alamo.

Traffic, this will be a breeze for you after living in the places you have had to drive.

Parks, yes there are many around the city and area. If you like to hike, go up the Mt and go to the Natl Forest.

Churches, I am sure you will find one that you will enjoy.

If you want much snow you can always go visit it up the Mountain. Alamo does not get much that sticks. Which is fine with me..

I don't think you will have to worry about anyone packing heat to interfear with activities.
When you come out in Dec, you will find a very different type of town. The first Friday night of Dec is the Christmas parade. Its great to see the town come out for this. All in all this is a quiet town that many enjoy.
Jane

[30apples]

Fernando-- parks--4--Alamogordo is a nice , basically quiet town w/ a fair amt. of family/kids' activities. There are I think, 3 long, but not particularly wide parks w/ large trees --very safe. The park which is down town is the narrowest 9I think) but has a nice little zoo and playground. Freight trains run pretty regularly along one side of the park, actually pretty close to some of the animal cages.
Weather-7--I would strongly advise that you and the family visit in the summer, which starts in May and goes pretty much until Oct. In May it's often in the 90's. June-end of Aug. is the hottest time, sometimes over 100. The "wind season" used to start in Apr., but has been starting as early as Feb and goes until maybe Aug. Varies, but is often with a lot of blowing dust. You should experience these conditions to see if they suit you, rather than have a BIG surprise....
So the "seasons" aren't the usual as in N.C., Colo., Ohio, or DC, or in other places like that. There are the "monsoons" which sometimes come in July and/or Aug., sometimes in the "fall" and sometimes they don't come at all. The winter is mild 50s/60s sometimes 70s and colder at night due the elevation. Snow- MAYBE once a yr about an inch which melts in a day or less.
traffic--2, maybe 3--not much of it usually
racism--2, if that
housing for $100000 or less--don't know your definition of nice. Prices are pretty resonable in many areas. Check on Realtor.com or Coldwell banker.com
There are some holiday activities that kids might like. Good luck.

[worktolive]

I don't live in Alamo, but my parents lived there and in Cloudcroft for the last 25 years so I've spent alot of time there.

Crime - well, there's not much of it that I ever heard about. Certainly you'd have no problem taking a walk in your neighborhood at night.
Can't comment on housing costs but I would imagine they are very reasonable.
Racism shouldn't be an issue. Alamo is actually less Hispanic than many other towns in NM, but still a good mix of people, who get along with minimal problems, plus with the base nearby, you get service people of all cultures/races.
Traffic - none that I ever noticed other than the 5PM rush hour along Hwy 54 from the base to town.
Churches - there are lots. I'm sure you'll find one that suits you. Actually, my parents were not churchgoers and found that this was a bit of a problem for them in terms of fitting in so if you are, you should do just fine.
Weather - IMHO it really is some of the best in the country. Not too cold in the winter, but if you want to play in the snow, Cloudcroft and Ruidoso are within an hour's drive. Nowhere near as hot as most places in the SW in the summer. There are very few days above 100, it's usually in the low to mid 90s and if it does get too hot in Alamo, relief in the form of Cloudcroft is just 30 minutes away. Also 95 in Alamo is significantly more comfy than 90 in Miami due to the dryness. And, your utility costs in the summer should be much lower because you can use a swamp cooler rather than AC to cool your house and these use alot less electricity than an AC unit. As for the winds in the spring, well, they are there, but it's not continuous, some days are just beautiful and others, you can't see the Organs because of the sand being whipped up at White Sands.

[catman]

Originally Posted by worktolive

Churches - there are lots. I'm sure you'll find one that suits you. Actually, my parents were not churchgoers and found that this was a bit of a problem for them in terms of fitting in so if you are, you should do just fine.

I'm not a churchgoer either. Would I be hassled because of it?

[6/3]

Originally Posted by catman

I'm not a churchgoer either. Would I be hassled because of it?

I've answered this question in different threads iin the past and again it doesn't matter if you go to church or not in Alamo. No one has ever bothered me there in that aspect.

[worktolive]

Originally Posted by catman

I'm not a churchgoer either. Would I be hassled because of it?

No, no, I didn't mean that you'd be hassled - there's no hassling going on in Alamo, it's a pretty friendly place - it's just that the various churches are an important social aspect of town so it was harder for my parents to make those connections. Truthfully, my parents weren't all that social anyway and worked at their business six days a week so they didn't try all that hard. I think Alamo is like any town - you need to find a way to connect with people there, whether it is through hobbies, church, school, work, or whatever. It just makes it easier if you already have a church connection.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by catman

I'm not a churchgoer either. Would I be hassled because of it?

So far, nobody has shown up at my door to try to convert me....

I think it's just really a non-issue, Catman.

[catman]

Ah, OK. I guess I'm not really all that social either, worktolive. I'd rather have a few close friends that a lot of acquaintances. I meet people through being a professional musician and through my hobbies.