Moving from Wisconsin - Need advice for place to live near Bandolier National Monument area (Albuquerque: foreclosures, mortgages)

[GregW]

I suggest looking for a place to rent in Espanola or some other small town along the Rio Grande (it ain't Old Man River, but it is a river) until you learn the area. Then decide if you like it or not. I'm betting that NM will work its magic and you will get to love it.

PS - I live in New Hampshire and work next to the Alantic Ocean in Boston so I am somewhat used to water. Actually I am looking foward to some warm and dry.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by GregW

I suggest looking for a place to rent in Espanola or some other small town along the Rio Grande (it ain't Old Man River, but it is a river) until you learn the area. Then decide if you like it or not. I'm betting that NM will work its magic and you will get to love it.

PS - I live in New Hampshire and work next to the Alantic Ocean in Boston so I am somewhat used to water. Actually I am looking foward to some warm and dry.

I don't know, Greg. I am an advocate of Espanola on this forum, but even I will admit that there is a serious heroin problem in Espanola and Rio Arriba County. There was a recent update on this in the New York Times. I go up there a lot, but have never lived there. There are people on this forum who have lived there and definitely would not recommend it.

I personally could see it for some people -- experienced New Mexicans who don't have small children to send to the schools -- but I have trouble imagining it for a midwesterner who is nervous about moving here. The small towns above Espanola on the Rio Grande are not much better until you get a ways up. I'm certainly not an expert enough to say exactly where it gets better -- but Embudo up should be okay. That would be a considerable commute but manageable.

Also I am familiar with both the Rio Grande in this area and the Mississippi where it borders Wisconsin. Yes, they are both rivers and they both have water in them -- other than that they don't have much in common. I love water and frequently drove from Madison, WI, to spend a weekend near the Mississippi. Now I rarely go to the nearby Rio Grande and that is to a single restaurant on the river at Embudo.

When I need my water fix I go Nambe Falls and Lake.

[ThatTNGuy]

Originally Posted by amrobin

In reply to all - first of all I had read that the Los Alamos area was very expensive and the people there not all that friendly.

Los Alamos is certainly one of the more expensive areas in New Mexico (it's not impossible to find a decently-priced house, however), but I'm not at all sure why anybody told you that people there aren't friendly. You simply can't paint a town of 20,000 people (including White Rock) with such a broad brush. Every town in America has a combination of both nice and unwelcoming inhabitants, so for someone to imply that Los Alamos somehow has a majority of "unfriendly" people is both remarkable (do they really know everybody there?) and sad (everybody knows an entire town can't be unfriendly).

So if you do cross Los Alamos off of your list--it's definitely not for everybody--please don't do it because somebody who may or may not have lived there said the people aren't nice. It's simply not true, in any form or fashion.

[GregW]

I interviewed for a job at the Lab about 25 yrs ago but the project was canceled. Too bad, I would have loved working on Geothermal energy with the best. I would have loved living in NM even more.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by Devin Bent

I'm certainly not an expert enough to say exactly where it gets better -- but Embudo up should be okay. That would be a considerable commute but manageable.

Please excuse me for quoting myself, but I rethought this and checked the commute out on Yahoo -- and got an insane more than 2 hours and a half hours. I tried it on Google and got a more reasonable 1 hour 7 minutes.

The Google estimate is probably a little optimistic -- not allowing for rush hour traffic in Espanola.

It is a rough commute on SR 30 particularly -- a two lane road -- you've got the Los Alamos workers -- gigantic white pickups so close behind you that all you can see in your rear view mirror is the grillwork -- if you drive a smaller vehicle and have to stop, then you are a grease spot on the asphalt. And that is a long commute for NM. It will get old.

I hate to be a broken record, but think of this order of preference -- 1. White Rock; 2. Los Alamos; 3. Jaconita; 4. Jacona; 5. Pojoaque; 6. Nambe and stay off SR 30 in the rush hour.

[amrobin]

Ok - I have had some days to think about all the suggestions and I think I would like more info on the Jemez Springs area - scenery, housing, costs, safety? I agree that I would not like Espanola from all I have read. Somewhere here I read that you have to be careful even going out in the rural areas and leaving your vehicle. I have always liked to go with my husband for drives and check out new things so safety is a real big concern. Thanks for everyone's input!

[Towanda]

My suggestion would be White Rock. I was through there in February and it has (in my opinion) somewhat of a Midwestern feel to it, and might be good for someone who is still unsure about living in New Mexico.

I have no idea about the availability of homes there, or the prices. But for location, it seems to be the best, and it is probably a very safe area.

Here is the information about White Rock at City Data.com

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by amrobin

Ok - I have had some days to think about all the suggestions and I think I would like more info on the Jemez Springs area - scenery, housing, costs, safety? I agree that I would not like Espanola from all I have read. Somewhere here I read that you have to be careful even going out in the rural areas and leaving your vehicle. I have always liked to go with my husband for drives and check out new things so safety is a real big concern. Thanks for everyone's input!

The first thing I would check out is the commute that your husband would be making if you live in Jemez Springs -- that might be your first safety concern. As I remember that is a steep winding road going up fairly high before it descends. I don't know how high, but Los Alamos is 7500 feet and I am fairly sure that pass is higher. Altitude drives climate in New Mexico. It will get snow. And that area gets hail.

On the other hand, I suspect that some people do make the commute. And there are a couple of threads about the area on this forum.

[Tim Rankin]

amrobin - I would also suggest checking into White Rock.

We were in Santa Fe this weekend with out-of-town friends, and upon their request, we took a spontaneous drive and somehow ended up there.

It has a small-town feel, with some nice residential areas. We picked up a flyer and one of the homes looked really cute - asking $225K. There is an elementary school, Chamisa Elementary, close to the residential area, along with some really nice public parks & sports fields.

At the end of the road is an overlook, looking west towards Tesuque Peak. Even in NM, it ranks as one of the most spectacular overlooks I have witnessed. Views of the snowbound peaks above Santa Fe, valleys, canyons...the Rio Grande below...and even a vista towards the NE that comes close to rivaling Monument Valley [keep in mind I said close ]

On top of all that, your husband's commute would be very do-able.

I can't vouch for the quality of the schools, and I don't have much other first-hand knowledge about the town. But, I do trust my gut, and my impression of White Rock was a good one.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by Tim Rankin

amrobin - I would also suggest checking into White Rock.

At the end of the road is an overlook, looking west towards Tesuque Peak.

Tim, do you mean east? A nice 12 K peak -- but isn't it in the Sangres? Santa Fe Baldy is higher and snow capped -- you didn't see it?

One of us is confused, and -- of course -- it could be me. It's likely that it is me. I make this sort of mistake more often than not.

If you look the other way, there is a nice view of the falls. It is unexpected and easy to miss.