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My husband has an awesome job offer and we are seriously considering moving to Socorro for a couple years. I've read every thread on here mentioning Socorro and I've searched all the "vast" resources on the internet. I'm not too concerned about it being boring, small, or isolated (we are mostly a hang out kind of family- we don't needs gobs of structured "activities" just a playground, backyard, outdoorsy stuff is fine for us.) I am concerned about the elementary schools (my oldest will be in Kindergarten next year) and crime/safety. Anyone know anything about this? Thanks so much!
Boring for sure unless you embrace a rural lifestyle.. I grew up with 4-H (rabbits/chickens/geese/sheep/gardening/working on equipment etc) and was never bored as we always had plenty of chores to do in small town NM.
Socorro doesn't really have the 4H vibe that was mentioned. It consists of NM Tech ("the tech" to townies), related businesses, and tourism mostly from I-25 thru-traffic and the occasional to-do (state Science Fair, festival of the cranes). The little amount of agriculture going on within a 30mi radius tends to be out of the town's consciousness and exists solely within 1mi of the Rio Grande. Most of the stores, etc. catering to this need will be in Belen, 40mi north, or beyond.
Judging by your posting location, you're coming from and going to academia (and likely astrophysics). I really did like the on-campus and trans-campus culture in Socorro. I advise you to stay near it and get involved in it. It has a lot to offer, and it's very family friendly, all things considered.
Socorro the town can be a bit scuzzy (it's actually far improved from what it was 20 or even 10 years ago) but aside from a slightly higher burglary and auto burglary rate, you shouldn't fear for your safety. Violent crime is uncommon there.
Most amenities can be found in town (Wal-mart plus), but fancy movie theaters are 50mi away for the nearest (there's a cute quaint one in the middle of town though), and real shopping malls about 75mi away in Albuquerque.
I never had first-hand experience with the schools (highly encourage you to live north of the plaza as far as that goes), but I can say that I'd feel somewhat guilty sending my kids to high school there (elementary and middle appeared just fine, with newer buildings). Socorro, like so many other NM communities, has a cohort of broken homes/cycle of poverty people, and when their kids hit high school they have a reputation for preying on the other high schoolers.
I thought the family housing on campus was very reasonable, as long as you didn't mind hearing the families on the other side of the walls.
As far as weather, expect it to be depressingly similar to Virginia- less rain, less humidity, more sunshine, but very similar temperature ranges from hot to cold. All in all though, you could do worse than Socorro.
Thanks that really helps! Nice to know I probably won't get killed by a gang or something Yeah, our plan would be to go to Socorro for a few years then keep moving west closer to our extended family (we are originally from CA and moved to Virginia when my husband finished grad school.) Hopefully, the low cost of living would help us save money before attempting to move back to uber-expensive CA. Like I said, it being boring isn't too much of a problem. The small city we live in now has lots of 'stuff' but we don't really do much since we have little kids. We could always head up to ABQ to get a city fix. The climate sounds perfect for me- I have always loved the desert. I used to spend summers with my Dad's family outside of Vegas which sounds more extreme than Socorro. Looks like I've got some serious thinking to do!
Whoops- Nevada! I've never been to Las Vegas, NM but I imagine it to be much different- ha!
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Yeah, our plan would be to go to Socorro for a few years then keep moving west closer to our extended family (we are originally from CA and moved to Virginia when my husband finished grad school.) Hopefully, the low cost of living would help us save money before attempting to move back to uber-expensive CA. Like I said, it being boring isn't too much of a problem. The small city we live in now has lots of 'stuff' but we don't really do much since we have little kids. We could always head up to ABQ to get a city fix. The climate sounds perfect for me- I have always loved the desert. I used to spend summers with my Dad's family outside of Vegas which sounds more extreme than Socorro. Looks like I've got some serious thinking to do!
