Ruidoso's Economy... Should I Move There?? (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: real estate, home, employment)

[Darth Buttercup]

Thinking of moving to either Rapid City South Dakota or Ruidoso NM. Was thinking of ABQ but not any more.

So what does anyone know or think about Ruidoso? I'm originally from Los Angeles and moved to Ruidoso when i was 16 years old back in 1984, what a culture shock that was back then. Now i'm wondering if i can make a living there 24 years later. i know it's grown just by looking at satelite photos of it.

i'm in Minnesota now which is a beautiful state, but i'm sick of the loooooong periods of cold and the ever increasing amounts of taxes this state keeps piling on. Been here for 15 years.

i drive straight truck or bus here locally and cook part time. Are there driving jobs in Ruidoso??

THANKS FOR ANY INPUT.

[6 FOOT 3]

Ruidoso is 80% tourism economy so that's really your only choice unless you happen to meet someone at the right place at the right time as far as the other types of employment go there.

[mortimer]

For driving jobs, Rapid City is right on I-90 so there are likely to be much better chances for employment than in Ruidoso.

[lamitchell]

I live in Ruidoso and all I can say is that it's a great place to visit. It is beautiful, but there are a lot of tourists and it is tough to find a decent job. We are a young family just starting out and it is difficult, there aren't many good opportunities.

[hogfarmer]

Hi Darth,

Your description is very close to my own situation! I live in Stacy (north of Forest Lake) and am trying to find a way to make the move to Alto/Ruidoso myself. If you look at the discussion thread "Is Ruidoso the place" it should give you some good info. Lots of helpful ideas from good people in the area. Trouble is, there are just not a lot of good jobs in the area that we found. Too far from a decent sized airport to allow for the commuters and not much manufacturing or other wealth-generating opportunities in the area. Maybe that's why its so beautiful and so desirable. We came to the conclusion that one has to be pretty much independently wealthy (or extremely lucky) to afford to live in the area. Anyway, good luck.

[rruff]

Originally Posted by hogfarmer

We came to the conclusion that one has to be pretty much independently wealthy (or extremely lucky) to afford to live in the area. Anyway, good luck.

My wife and I moved here 2 years ago. She does massage therapy, and I have a home based business that deals everywhere, so it doesn't matter where I live. It is a great place for massage due to the number of wealthy people here, and the lack of hippies (who tend to get massage degrees and create a glut). Our first choice was Silver City, but they *really* don't have an economy and there are a lot more hippies there... and surprisingly the cost of real estate was at least as high as Ruidoso, since it had already been invaded by Californians.

IMO Ruidoso has the best combination in the entire country of climate, setting, cost of living, decent size (variety of services) and economy. I've watched every single town I've liked in the western US get priced out of reach in the last 20 years. Ruidoso is comparatively still affordable, but I don't expect this to last long.

The economy here seems quite good to me, but the trend as in most of the country, is that basic jobs pay very little (near minimum wage). If you wish to work in the tourist oriented businesses, things like massage and waitering are your best bets... or anything else where you get tips. Obviously with construction still going strong you can make a decent living at that. But whatever you do, the best option is to go into business for yourself.

[Darth Buttercup]

Hey folks, thanks for all the info. Here it is 7 months later and i'm just now looking at my old post. Back in July we changed our minds and moved to Rio Rancho New Mexico just out of Albuquerque. Everything is going perfect!! Our cost of living is down around $2,200 & our quality of life is up about 50%. If you're thinking of moving in the ABQ area, don't listen to those negative posts. Then again i understand why there are negative post for the fact that those posting them want this state to stay relatively small. In Minnesota the population of Minneapolis/St. Paul and their surrounding suburbs is more people than all of New Mexico. And the tax comparison... there isn't one. Thanks City-Data.