Dogs, kids, schools and snakes

[charofsaginaw]

Hello:

I currently live in Saginaw, Michigan and thinking about moving in a year and a half to either N. Mexico or Arizona. I have never been to N. Mexico and have only been near the Nevada/Arizona border. My co-worker suggested I move to Phoenix area for teaching jobs but am not sure I want to continue teaching after I retire this spring from Michigan schools. Am thinking more about doing the medical coding/billing thing as I have a background in that, also. My concern/question for anyone in those two states is that I have allergies here to ragweed, pollen, dust, mold and have asthma to a limited degree (under control). I also have problems now with joints (age 55) and have psoriasis. Would these ailments ease a bit in one of these two states? My allergist always told me to move to the Southwest states and avoid Florida, etc. Too damp.

Any advice from anyone would be much appreciated. I am constantly doing research and hope to visit these two states in the fall.

Char from Saginaw

[6/3]

Originally Posted by alaskamom1

Steve-O & 6/3 thanks for the calmming words. So now that I think the dogs will be ok, I just need to find a place to live!

Cloudcroft looks beautiful, but the setting will be too rural...so where else should I look? I don't mind being 20-30-40 minutes out of Santa Fe or possibly ABQ, but need: 1-good schools, 2-tourism, 3-a few acres with the house.

anyone...?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry no one answered your question about where to live Alaskamom....I got to thinking (scary) that since you want a cabin/tourism business and a larger town than Cloudcroft have you looked into Ruidoso in the Sacramento mountains ?? Sorry i wish others would advise about Northern NM as they are better suited than me but i do know Southern NM like the back of my hand so since your coming from Alaska and need room to roam and cabins and good schools and need shopping amenities then Ruidoso in Southern NM is my thought.

6/3

[6/3]

Originally Posted by charofsaginaw

Hello:

I currently live in Saginaw, Michigan and thinking about moving in a year and a half to either N. Mexico or Arizona. I have never been to N. Mexico and have only been near the Nevada/Arizona border. My co-worker suggested I move to Phoenix area for teaching jobs but am not sure I want to continue teaching after I retire this spring from Michigan schools. Am thinking more about doing the medical coding/billing thing as I have a background in that, also. My concern/question for anyone in those two states is that I have allergies here to ragweed, pollen, dust, mold and have asthma to a limited degree (under control). I also have problems now with joints (age 55) and have psoriasis. Would these ailments ease a bit in one of these two states? My allergist always told me to move to the Southwest states and avoid Florida, etc. Too damp.

Any advice from anyone would be much appreciated. I am constantly doing research and hope to visit these two states in the fall.

Char from Saginaw

Hi Char......Well i'm not sure about the allergy question as i've never had them but it is very dry out here in New Mexico as we definately do not have the Humidity that Florida and other states back east or in the south do.

Maybe come on out and visit Arizona and/or New Mexico and see what your gut feeling is as i think as that's always the best.

6/3

[trappedinNM]

AlaskaMom:

What is your budget? This is crucial. For example, if you are RichAlaskaMom, I would suggest a couple acres in Corrales, or along the Rio Grande in Albquerque. If you are MedianIncomeAlaskaMom, the East Mountain area, or even further up North 14 would be nice. UpperMiddleClassAlaskaMom might choose an area outside of Santa Fe. Southward, there is Bosque Farms or even Tome where one can still find small 2- 5 acre sites for $250K to $400k. Alas, if you are PoorAlaskaMom, you are going to have to move out further, or perhaps move outside of Las Cruces. There are areas where one can still find property for $10k an acre all over NM, but there are caveats.

The biggest issues in my opinion are water, roads, and schools. Do your due diligence. For example, many areas in the East Mountains are experiencing water shortages. Other people I know have spent thousands on gravel and blade work fighting the caliche. And at $4 a gallon, your kids will need to take the bus unless you are RichAlaskaMom. The bus rides can be long.

Peace.

[Devin Bent]

I haven't answered, Alaska Mom, because the question is too hard. Santa Fe tourism has very much become an urban tourism -- people go to the Plaza area. So you get 20-30-40 minutes out, you don't have that many tourists.

Maybe Madrid -- it gets a lot of day visitors from Santa Fe. I don't think there is much of anyplace to stay out there. I'd check the schools though. You are not too far from either ABQ or SF. Closer to SF

Then maybe up near Embudo, if you can get a place visible from 68 -- that is the low road between Taos and Santa Fe and gets some traffic. Again, check the schools. That is maybe 40 minutes from Santa Fe.

The enchanted circle around Taos, gets some tourist traffic, but that is more than 40 minutes from Santa Fe. Check schools.

"Originally Posted by alaskamom1
Steve-O & 6/3 thanks for the calmming words. So now that I think the dogs will be ok, I just need to find a place to live!

Cloudcroft looks beautiful, but the setting will be too rural...so where else should I look? I don't mind being 20-30-40 minutes out of Santa Fe or possibly ABQ, but need: 1-good schools, 2-tourism, 3-a few acres with the house.

anyone...?

Thanks in advance!"

[mortimer]

Devin Bent, always helpful, defends my lameness:

> Mortimer is quite correct to speak of snakes as poisonous ...

I only meant that *some* snakes were venomous.

I looked up venom and poison and concluded that they are, in fact, totally different things (and thanked Mr. o for making me look it up).

My comment about "toxic" meant that both venom and poison are subsets of toxin, but totally separate.

I'm not saying that the definitions, where you know them, are not synonymous, but where I looked it up, they were only similar items.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by mortimer

Devin Bent, always helpful, defends my lameness:

I did my best, Mortimer. Now I am calling it a day.

[crazyme4878]

I just wanted to say thanks to those who mentioned Cloudcroft's schools as being one of the best. My husband might get a job there (and then we could finally stop moving!), so it's good to know the schools are great.

To AlaskaMom: if you do move down to the area, stop in at the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, if in the area. It is a beautiful (mostly outdoor) nature museum with lots of info, including live rattlesnakes, scorpians, and centipedes (behind glass), so you (and your kids) can get a good look (as well as seeing non-venemous snakes, such as the gopher snake). I don't know much about NM yet, either, but I was wondering how Taos would work out?

To CharofSaginaw: I just moved to southern AZ from the UP! Anyhow, I have very little experience with Phoenix (I drove through it during morning rush once--forever since then I've referred to it as the dirtysock city), but everyone that I have talked to that has had a bad experience in AZ (I'm talking Northerns here), they have only been in the Phoenix area. Saginaw is slightly smaller, right? (20,000?) I definately would not suggest Phoenix. Look for some smaller communities, closer to Saginaw size, with some openess. Well, unless you have always hated Saginaw and never been happy there!