Pros and Cons of Silver City

[silversurfer]

Hello. I have lived in Silver City for 10 years. I have never used the hospital except for mammograms. The staff is courteous and professional. I don't know if I would have open heart surgery or a major thing like that- but if you're in good health it's not a problem. I worked with a woman who shattered her elbow, had the surgery at Gila Regional Medical Center (our only hospital) and had to have it redone at a major hospital after months of pain and trauma. There is also a major dr. shortage here at the moment.
Cons first: As in many rural settings meth is a problem. You should know that.
WNMU is a bit of a joke. It is mostly a teaching college. I've worked with more than a few Western alums who probably couldn't make change for a dollar. I'm only slightly kidding. It does have a very fine library however. If you have children in school I'd rethink living here. For older adults there's the Western Institute of Life Long Learning program Western Institute of Lifelong Learning - Silver City, New Mexico
We have no decent newspaper. Advertisement passes as news. Obits and yard sales are the only reason it doesn't go out of business. There's no Fourth Estate keeping tabs on anything or anyone- such as the police (they're corrupt) or housing prices, not even births are listed for goodness sake or crime stats for that matter.
The pros are it's a very friendly, small, easy to navigate town.
The air is so clear and clean it will take your breath away. Stargazing is amazing too. Wildlife abounds, and birding is fabulous, as is hiking.
Regarding food we have a great Co-Op, one gourmet shop Curious Kumquat (much needed and appreciated), Albertson, Food Basket, and Super Wal-Mart. Not much in the way of clothing stores (1 western wear, 2 for teens) or that kind of thing. We have 4 Chinese, about 9 Mexican, 1 Italian and 2 sort of fancy restaurants Diane's and Shevek and Mi. Fancy is a subjective term and for SC it doesn't go very far. And for lunch only we have Vickie's and Un Mundo. It's a laid back place as someone said. We have 1 movie theatre with 2 screens.
Grant Co. has a small airport- regional carrier- Great Lakes. El Paso or Tucson are the closest major airports. Most people go to Las Cruces or Tucson to shop and "get off the rock." Tucson is a must for food shopping at Trader Joe's beloved by most locals...
Life is pretty quiet here, but there's a thriving arts and music scene and usually something going on each weekend. You can also check out the Chambers website at silvercity.org
I think you'll like it here if you have the ability to get away every so often and don't need to earn much money. "How do you make a million dollars in Silver City? Bring 2 million with you..."

[RichCapeCod]

On Sunday we headed over to Silver City (from Las Cruces), a little over 100 miles away. We traveled Route 10 through Deming, then turned north on to Route 180, which took us all the way in to the small town. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, and as in Las Cruces, the hotel, while perfectly nice, was situated some miles from the town center, so it restricted our getting to know the area. Once settled in to the motel we went into Silver City (referred to as “Silver” by the locals) and made our way to the Silver City Museum, which I’d recommend to any first time visitor. You’ll get a good feel for the place from the information presented there and in addition we found one of the museum’s staff most helpful in showing us where to go for interesting sites in the area.

Silver is a much less expensive place to purchase a home than Las Cruces. It’s the home to a large collage. The winter weather was just great (do keep in mind that the town is at a higher elevation than Las Cruces, so is a bit cooler during the day and quite cool in the evening) and the town’s center is attractive. Keep in mind that you’ll need a car to get to anyplace you’d want to go (this was true of any of the places we stayed in NM this trip).

We tried to find a place to eat in Silver that first night but, owing to the fact that it was Sunday, everything was closed (even the one place that advertised it was open!). We eventually went out to Caballero’s (several miles out of town on Route 180) and had a nice Mexican style dinner.

On Monday, after breakfast at the hotel (yogurt, eggs, cereal, fruits, the usual. Perfectly okay) we decided to see the Gila (pronounced “hiya”) Cliff Dwellings National Monument. A word of caution here. The trip to the monument is a twisting, narrow, un-separated road with thousands of feet of nothing between you and the earth should you lose it. I found the road too much for me and although my GPS told me I had six miles to go to get there, when I found a place to turn around, I did! Talk about white knuckle time.

We then headed to the City of Rocks, a state park. There is a nominal fee for entering the park (it’s on the honor system off season) of $5 dollars per car. Once there the museum has a full explanation as to how the rock formations came about and after checking that out we drove around the site.

Interesting and worth a visit.

During the day we wound up in a tiny town named Pinos Altos. There was an old fort, which appears to be some sort of museum but wasn’t open to the public when we were there. There were some old buildings which were interesting. A good place for photo taking.

We then took a ride along the Mimbres River. The area was pretty desolate, with occasional ranches along the river. You can drive for miles and miles and not run into another vehicle. A word to the wise. Any traveling in this part of the country and you’d best have some food, water and a car in good mechanical condition.

Eventually we came back into Silver. My wife and I drove up and down the streets of the town, just checking the place out. Lots of single family homes (naturally). The impression of the town was that there were some nice homes there, and in that part of the town at the higher elevations, some great views of the surrounding mountains (lots of mountains in NM!). The town center was a pleasant mix of restaurants and businesses. The area is pretty much away from everything, but, once off of Route 180 (the main road and business center) we had the impression it was a nice quiet town.

[RichCapeCod]

Some pictures of the Main Street area:










This is at the entrance to the City of Rocks (a natural formation). Note the warning on rattlesnakes. Got my wife's attention....



Rich

[silversurfer]

Quick correction Rich, Gila is pronounced heel-a. It's confusing I know as many local names are pronounced in Spanish not English.

[U-rocks]

Nice thread.

I am moving to Silver city, next month. I have no idea about the city. But seems good to me after read few post in this forum. One thing I could not find is 'how to search for an apartment'. any suggestion would be appreciated.
between, I am 25 M and would be moving alone. I may bring my mom some time later. So would like to live in the city, if possible near downtown ( I am really not interested in living in Hurley, Bayard).

Thanking you in advance

[SilverCity]

Start calling all the real estate companies now. Rentals are hard to find in our area. I have an executive fully furnished rental if you are in a crunch. My real estate company does not manage rentals but I have many friends and clients that do. Just don't put it off.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by plantlover

What are the pros and cons of living in Silver City? How are the health care facilities? What about the university....do they offer classes for the community? What about medical care in the area....local hospitals?

Silver City is a nice town and you cannot beat the scenery -- but it's a smallish town and isolated from other cities -- which of course could be considered a big plus by some but a minus by others.

It depends on what someone is looking for.