Considering new job in Clovis (Roswell, Hobbs: crime rates, day care, house)

[Mike McGillicuddy]

I think tac made a good point. Las Vegas has recently been called the most dangerous city in the US, but check out this address to see the per capita crime statistics
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed
Unlike Las Vegas or any other large city big enough to have "dangerous areas" that you can stay out of, Clovis isn't big enough to truly remove yourself (for a town of 30K these per capita statistics are unprecedented!).

[Mike McGillicuddy]

It's a real dump kids! Yaaaaaay!!

[cramalama ding dong]

There is a real reason why the crime is so high - it's because Clovis sits on the drug superhighway between Dallas and Phoenix. The drug Tzars don't want to move their product on the interstate, it's too high vis. They move it on the backroads, and the Clov' is a major waypoint. Nobody deserves to live there.

[CelticLady1]

Originally Posted by winnie

I can't help you with a current resident's view, but I can help you with a mental image of Clovis's landscape.
To give you an idea about the Topography...Clovis sits on the edge of the Llano Estacado (staked plains)- which is the flattest area in the USA. The sky is blue about 320 days a year, which makes it one of the sunniest locations in the US. Winters are kind of short, but brutally windy at times. The majority of the "poorer" houses in town are adobe/stucco. The more recent, more expensive homes north of the city tend to be brick. The city itself is fairly compact and easy to navigate, most streets are set up in a grid pattern.

There are no real hills untill you get south towards Portales, no forested areas, and there is a lot of farmland. The only lake you are going to see is the one off the back way to Portales from the base, unless there has been a flash flood then there is usually a lake near the entrance to Walmart LOL!

Thank you for the info. I noticed in one of your past postings that you said something to the effect that you would pick somewhere else in NM to live before Clovis. What, in your opinion, are the major drawbacks to the Clovis/Portales area? There is the possibility of a job for my husband there, (we are waiting for word on that), but, even if it doesn't come through, we are still ready to head west somewhere. in which case, everyone's opinions and experiences in that area count for alot!

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by cramalama ding dong

There is a real reason why the crime is so high - it's because Clovis sits on the drug superhighway between Dallas and Phoenix. The drug Tzars don't want to move their product on the interstate, it's too high vis. They move it on the backroads, and the Clov' is a major waypoint. Nobody deserves to live there.

If that's true, things have changed. Back when I was there, most of the drugs were coming out of Juarez and El Paso.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by CelticLady1

What, in your opinion, are the major drawbacks to the Clovis/Portales area? There is the possibility of a job for my husband there, (we are waiting for word on that), but, even if it doesn't come through, we are still ready to head west somewhere. in which case, everyone's opinions and experiences in that area count for alot!

I grew up in Portales and spent many weekends in Clovis. My parents still live in the area. Just off the top of my head, here are the major drawbacks:

-- Bad schools. The quality of education is pretty poor. NM is a poor state, so schools are not very well funded, and in smaller communities like Clovis/Portales, the lion's share of the funding seems to go to new uniforms and facilities for the sports team, while the textbooks are outdated, computers are 10 years old (if they have them at all) and teachers are living on a poverty-level income. Also, there are serious safety issues. There are a few real gangmembers circulating in Clovis/Portales schools, and a whole lot of gangbanger wannabes. Local private schools (most run by churches) are certainly much safer, but I don't know that the quality of education is all that much better.

-- Public safety. You have to be VERY careful where you live and very aware of your surroundings at all times. Use some common sense and be very vigilant, and you're probably okay, but don't let your guard down.

-- General quality of life. Locals consider Wal-Mart good shopping. Not much in the way of health food stores. I am by no means a health food nut, but I do like to buy things like milk and meat that aren't pumped full of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, and you just can't find them in Clovis/Portales. (Not unless things have changed since I was last there 3 years ago.)

-- Weather. At least 6 months of summer. Sometimes 8. And in high summer, temperatures can easily top 100 degrees for weeks. Rain either comes in buckets or (more usually) not at all.

-- Water. Intense farming and dairy production in an area never meant to support it is draining the aquefer. Factor in global warming, and you've got this area becoming a dust bowl within the next several decades. My grandparents say that the area used to be lush and green. The big curve in the highway between Clovis and Portales is there because that was the shallowest place to cross the river. River????? There hasn't been anything more than a dry wash in the area for 30 years or more. Even in my own lifetime (I am 34), I can see how the area has dried up.

-- Flies. Flies like you wouldn't imagine. Local dairies are a breeding ground. In spring and summer, you really can't eat outside without constantly swiping flies off your food.

-- Government corruption. Ask residents about the Committee of Forty. Local lore has it that the reason crime and drugs are so bad is that local officials have both hands in it, deep. Also, the "good ol' boy" system is alive and well in the area.

-- No comic book store! Ok, that's just a detriment to me, but still....

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by CelticLady1

...we are still ready to head west somewhere. in which case, everyone's opinions and experiences in that area count for alot!

I'd really urge you to check out Colorado.

[CelticLady1]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

I'd really urge you to check out Colorado.

On the Colorado forum, as I was asking about the Trinidad area, it was suggested to me to look into Cortez. Can you tell me anything about those two areas? And, what about cost of living? Southern Colorado seems as though it might be a little cheaper to live than northern CO, (not to mention that it appears to be a bit warmer. I don't mind some snow, but, I don't particularly want it up to my backside for six months of the year. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt! I was raised in Wyoming, so I have been to CO, but I'm not particularly familar with it. It is beautiful in most parts that I can recall. Of course, it also goes with the territory, that the more beautiful an area is, the more costly it usually is, because everyone wants to live there...

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by CelticLady1

On the Colorado forum, as I was asking about the Trinidad area, it was suggested to me to look into Cortez. Can you tell me anything about those two areas? And, what about cost of living? Southern Colorado seems as though it might be a little cheaper to live than northern CO, (not to mention that it appears to be a bit warmer. I don't mind some snow, but, I don't particularly want it up to my backside for six months of the year. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt! I was raised in Wyoming, so I have been to CO, but I'm not particularly familar with it. It is beautiful in most parts that I can recall. Of course, it also goes with the territory, that the more beautiful an area is, the more costly it usually is, because everyone wants to live there...

I've only passed through Trinidad, and I don't know that I've ever been to Cortez at all. Trinidad is certainly pretty, but I don't know much about it otherwise.

City Data's report is here: http://www.city-data.com/city/Trinidad-Colorado.html

Looks promising.

Nowhere in Colorado that I know of gets snow for six months. Three tops, and even that is unusual except way up in the mountains. I spent quite a bit of time in Ft. Collins (northern border of CO) as a kid. You'd usually have snow by December and through much of the winter. You'd still get the occasional spring flurry, but most of it was gone by spring. Summers can be downright hot.

Cost of living in Colorado is definitely higher than New Mexico. No doubt. But the quality of life is higher, too. The really expensive parts are along the interstate corridor (Colorado Springs, Denver, Ft. Collins) and of course the resort areas like Aspen. Once you leave those areas, Colorado is affordable. Not cheap, surely, but you can make a living there.

[CelticLady1]

Thank you for the info, Mark S. Of course, I was being a bit facetious about snow six months of the year, ( even in Wyoming), but, it can certainly feel like it before spring finally arrives! Which is one reason for considering both southern CO and NM. I am getting alot of food for thought from everyone on the forums I've been on, and I appreciate it all.