Relocating (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe: amusement park, shops, Walmart)

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by Towanda

Cheaper? Yeah.

Better weather? Not for everyone.

If you go south (actually lower which is more important) it gets warmer. Everyone from southern NM will tell you that.

What they don't mention is that it also gets hotter.

So it comes down to a question of taste.

[Devin Bent]

I don't use the public transit in Santa Fe, but my wife does and finds it perfectly adequate. She takes it in from Pojoaque and then to various locations in the city.

Public transit in Santa Fe is buses until the light rail arrives, but traffic congestion is light except on Cerrillos, so the buses make good time.

People will tell you that traffic congestion in Santa Fe is terrible, but census data reveals a very short average commute. In part this is because Santa Fe is small -- you don't really travel that far.

Anyone for whom public transit is essential should come take a look. Nowhere in NM is NYC with its subways.

[WildWestDude]

Las Cruces has a public bus system.
The city is more affordable than Santa Fe.
Rated in top five place to retire and is also a college town.
Though it gets hot, it's not as bad as Arizona. Most of the days can be dealt with.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by WildWestDude

Las Cruces has a public bus system.
The city is more affordable than Santa Fe.

Supply and demand.

[domino]

Originally Posted by Devin Bent

If you go south (actually lower which is more important) it gets warmer. Everyone from southern NM will tell you that.

What they don't mention is that it also gets hotter.

So it comes down to a question of taste.

Dev,
Aren't warmer and hotter similar terms?

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by domino

Dev,
Aren't warmer and hotter similar terms?

Yes. Question is why some (certainly not all, not even a majority of) people from the southern part of the state get on here and start dissing Santa Fe, they always say SF is 'cold' rather than say 'cool' and then say they are 'warmer' and don't say that they are 'hotter'?

Of course, the real question is when somebody gets on here and expresses an interest in Santa Fe, then why does anyone need to start dissing us in the first place -- why not just describe the virtues of their beloved towns? Do people really need to tear us down in order to make themselves look good? When I said 'hotter' rather 'warmer' that was the first, and most negative thing I ever said about points south.

And what have I read about Santa Fe? -- we are all tax-dodging retirees, wealthy Trustafarians who never worked a day in our life, and murderous tattooed Mexican street criminals. We make Aspen look like a slum and yet we ourselves are not at all up-scale and it is too dangerous to walk the streets. If this all seems so contradictory as to be impossible -- then another big "Yes."

Sorry if I am grumpy, but what is the point of all the negativity? I suppose the good thing about being so negative is that we help keep the state uncrowded.

[mortimer]

Towanda, not forceful enough says:

> ... not sure I would consider Los Alamos a "suburb" of Santa Fe.

Suburb: [a smaller community adjacent to a city] - Los Alamos? A nearby town. Not a suburb.

Towanda, again with the heat in parts lower than 6,999 ft:

> ... Better weather? ...

OP is from Chicago.
Nowhere in NM is the weather *not* superior to the weather in Chicago.
(Some locations are just more suitable for Towanda.)

jsc23 writes:

> ... Albuquerque ... only adequate ... public transit system in the state.

I can't speak for Las Cruces public transit, having never tried riding the bus there, but I suspect it is like Santa Fe's in that it is geared for a small town:
http://lcmpoweb.las-cruces.org/trans...2_p24New_a.pdf

In Santa Fe, to use the transit system, you need to live near a route that takes you into the center of town. For that purpose it (the system) is totally adequate.

Actually, to tell you the truth, Albuquerque is the same way. If you plan on going across town, you will spend hours with inefficient transfers and meandering around. At best, you need to live near a line that either feeds into Central avenue or into downtown. If those are not your destination, then you need to live somewhere close to a line that is close to your work.

What Las Cruces has going for it is more days per year that you can supplement your bus ride with either walking or biking. To cross the whole town of Las Cruces is less far than for me just to ride my bike down to I-25.

Finally, Devin Bent predicts:

> ... use the public transit in Santa Fe, ... wife ... finds it perfectly adequate.

See?

> Public transit in Santa Fe is buses until the light rail arrives, ...

The bulk of rides on a transit vehicle will continue to be via the bus. I don't care where you are - unless (maybe) Chicago and New York, most rides are either going to be entirely on the bus or the bus will feed the rail.

In addition, it is likely to be cost-prohibitive to get on the train rather than just to ride the #4 or #6 bus into town.

In Santa Fe, the Railrunner will simply be one more line feeding into the city center. Here is the route (mostly) along St Francis Drive:
Project Plans, Stations Design - New Mexico Rail Runner Express

That's why I say ignoring the bus system and conditions *on* the busses and mechanical condition *of* the busses hurts the whole system.

[LRUA]

I guess I shouldn't have said "better weather" ..I meant to say milder winters ....I'm not dissing Santa Fe ....I like it too ....but it is expensive for some people (I think the average house price around $ 400,000 ?) ...the poster mentioned cheaper housing ....that's why I didn't mention Las Cruces .....LC house prices have increased to the point where it's not the deal it once was ....and LC does have Roadrunner bus service ....as mentioned Albuquerque would be good too ...it has a wide range of house prices ....Santa Fe is very unique and has really nice vibe ...and it's summers are unbeatable ...you don't need AC ...(and how many places can you say that about?) ...and compared to other places Santa Fe winters aren't too bad either (sunnier than most) .....here is a comparison of averages SF with Alamogordo.....

SANTA FE
M JA FE MR AP MA JU JL AU SE OC NO DE
HI 44 49 56 64 73 83 86 83 77 66 52 44
Lo 16 21 26 32 40 49 54 53 46 35 24 16

ALAMOGORDO
M JA FE MR AP MA JU JL AU SE OC NO DE
HI 56 61 68 75 85 94 93 91 86 76 64 56
Lo 29 33 39 46 55 63 66 65 59 48 36 29

[mortimer]

Devin Bent pointed out:

> If you go south (actually lower which is more important) it gets warmer.

Quite true. ... --- ... What are the effects?

From Farmington to Las Cruces is almost exactly 300 miles South.
Farmington is about 5400 ft vs (just under) 4000 ft.

The effect of the latitude difference is (4 deg per 300 mi) x 1 = 4 deg
The effect of the altitude difference is (4 deg per 1,000 ft) x 1.4 = 5.6 deg

Therefore, on any given day at any given time, the temperature in Farmington should be 9.6 degrees cooler.

Farmington average high Jan/Jul 42/91 -- low 18/59
Las Cruces average high Jan/Jul 57/94 -- low 26/68
difference___________________15/3________8/8__
average difference_____________9__________8___

Some of the error is possibly due to valley effects and vegetation, but the average of 15 and 3 is 9, so the calculation gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

[Cathy4017]

From Farmington to Las Cruces is almost exactly 300 miles South.

Uh...try 404.......!