Tell me about the South West..... (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: fit in, for sale, rent to own)

[StarrPrincess]

I am from Savannah, Ga. I love the photos of New Mexico, but I have never lived in the S.west before. I am sick of all this humidity. The towns in NM seem small, some with 500 -1000 people. We have about 250,000 people in Savannah, I think. Before I make any decisions, I need to know what people are like in towns like this. I don't seem to fit in anywhere. I grew up in New York then came down south. I am in an interracial relationship (black/white) and I need to know how people feel about that sort of thing out west.
I love organic gardening, homesteading, horses, being with my children and reading. My husband does custom paint and body work on cars... kinda like the "pimp my ride" show. But hes a jack of all trades. I'm just wondering if this type of a move would be good for us.
Thanks in advance

[desert sun]

Are you looking to live in a town that small?

judging from the places I have lived in New Mexico(Portales,Farmington,Albuquerque,Rio Rancho) you wouldnt have any problems with the interracial thing, people are more concerned with what you are like as a person rather than skin color. Farmington might be the only city where Im not too sure about, people kind of stick to thier own races in this town(Mexican-Spanish-Navajo-Whites) and it does seem a little racist towards each other.

Im sure your husband could find a job but the economy does suck although NM is not as bad as most other states so I cant really comment on that.I think you would like NM,its really laid back here. What are you looking for in a town?

[6 FOOT 3]

I think about 99% could care less about Interacial marriages as this state has more mixture of races than any other state. New Mexico is totally different than the south as we are from there (jacksonville).

[StarrPrincess]

Well, I'm not looking for a town with only like 500, but I am looking for at least 5-10 acres of land to have some animals on (horses to ride, egg chickens, and maybe some goats for milk). It seems anywhere with that amount of land available is in a very small town. At least from my research so far. Which is what brought me here. I figured someone from the area had better insight on the ins and outs of this sort of thing. Thanks for any help And it makes me glad to know that racism isn't as much of an issue in NM as it is in the south. Because the south can get pretty bad at times.

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by StarrPrincess

Well, I'm not looking for a town with only like 500, but I am looking for at least 5-10 acres of land to have some animals on (horses to ride, egg chickens, and maybe some goats for milk). It seems anywhere with that amount of land available is in a very small town. At least from my research so far. Which is what brought me here. I figured someone from the area had better insight on the ins and outs of this sort of thing. Thanks for any help And it makes me glad to know that racism isn't as much of an issue in NM as it is in the south. Because the south can get pretty bad at times.

StarrPrincess.....there's alot of towns in New Mexico larger than 500 and where you can have 5-10 acres for horses etc.as i'll give you my thoughts about them.

The state's largest city Albuquerque's south valley area south of Rio Bravo ave has many places like that. About 20 miles south of Albuquerque in Bosque Farms has places like that. In the second largest city Las Cruces the north valley of the city and also south of town in Mesilla and Mesilla Park has places like that just south of Las Cruces.

Towns like Alamogordo and Tularosa has places like that as does Clovis and the area south of Roswell along the pecos river etc..are some of the cities or areas that have some of the places that you mentioned that are of interest of you.

Is there a certain part of the state that interests you more as that would help us.

6/3

[desert sun]

There are places with land available outside of the bigger cities in New Mexico,this state is mostly rural so you should be able to find what you are looking for.

Im from Portales in Eastern New Mexico and its a cute little farm town with a university, plenty of land and countryside,Im not sure whats for sale and what aint. Most black couples I have seen in this town are black guys with white or mexican girls,mostly college kids but not too many black families. Nearby Clovis,NM has the highest percentage of blacks in the state and have alot more black families there but most seem pretty poor.

[mrgoodwx]

Here is an example of how things differ between Albuquerque (where I've been 20+ years), and Mississippi, where I lived before. Back in Jackson, MS, when the first family of another race moved into a house on our street, property values took a nosedive. The house ended up selling for about half of what it would have sold for when the neighborhood had only one race. In my Albuquerque neighborhood, property values do not change regardless of the racial make-up of a new family moving in. On my street, we have whites, Hispanics, Native Americans, East Indians, Asians, and African-Americans. One thing we probably all have in common on my street is that none of us want to see any meth-heads move into the neighborhood...and that has nothing to do with race.

Good luck StarrPrincess...I think you and your other half need to come out and look around. You can even come out during the "humid season" of July-August and find the air rarely gets oppressive.

[Pintada Kid]

The East Mountains is Perfect for having Horses and Livestock and Chickens and even for farming and its a half hour to Albuquerque and Santa Fe is a little further but its in the center of New Mexico where you can rent to own or rent and explore the Land of Enchantment and find what you are looking for. The East Mountain Telegraph and the Independent are two newspapers from there. el pintada kid

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by StarrPrincess

Well, I'm not looking for a town with only like 500, but I am looking for at least 5-10 acres of land to have some animals on (horses to ride, egg chickens, and maybe some goats for milk). It seems anywhere with that amount of land available is in a very small town. At least from my research so far. Which is what brought me here. I figured someone from the area had better insight on the ins and outs of this sort of thing. Thanks for any help And it makes me glad to know that racism isn't as much of an issue in NM as it is in the south. Because the south can get pretty bad at times.

You will not need the acreage here for horses that you need back east, as you will be feeding more hay here. Grazing land like we are used to isn't found here. No big fields full of clover, unless you raise it yourself, and that would cost a fortune.

[sjbasin]

If you're looking for a community with even a semblance of a black culture, Farmington probably isn't going to be very comfortable.

Races in Farmington:

• White Non-Hispanic (62.8%)
• American Indian (18.4%)
• Hispanic (17.7%)
• Other race (7.8%)
• Two or more races (3.1%)
• Black (0.8%)