Truth or Consequences (Socorro, Belen: to rent, buying, taxes)

[KimK]

I wouldn't suggest moving to T or C with kids. Kids would have little to do and no resources to speak of for them to include adequate schools.

[mekitcat]

Originally Posted by KimK

I wouldn't suggest moving to T or C with kids. Kids would have little to do and no resources to speak of for them to include adequate schools.

Are you from T or C? I wanted to move there and I have 4 kids 13 and under.
Your the first reply I seen as far as moving there with kids.

I keep getting mixed reviews one day I'm all for T or C and than I see something negative like this. I want to move somewhere warm that I can afford and this town appealed to me. And I can transfer to the Wal-mart that is going up.

Are you personally familiar with the schools? The schools didn't get that good of ratings on Truth Or Consequences Schools - Truth Or Consequences Public Schools - Truth Or Consequences School Ratings - Best Truth Or Consequences Schools But Home schooling is an option.

Were from a semi small town now (13,000+) and my kids are use to the simple way of life, country type living. I seen that they had the skate board park which would be just fine and I'm sure they have parks right? It's the safety in the town that I'm concerned with.

Is there anyone out there that lives in T or C, do you feel it is a "SAFE" place for young kids to grow up in?? Please someone any advice??

I unfortunately can't travel there first to check the place out so it really is a leap of faith for me and my family...

[dracul]

If your kids are fairly typical early 21st century "younguns", they will probably find TorC quite boring and unattractive. Summer brings water related activities that may perk them up somewhat! This region is generally more suitable to adult interests...mature adults at that!

[anomoly]

Well, I don't have kids, so my advice is probably not as vauable as those who do, but I'll comment anyway.
I think Dracul is right, the town is really geared for 'retirement', and they don't seem to encourage any new industry, etc, because they want to keep it that way.
If I were you, and going through all the trouble of relocating with kids, I would definitely not choose a place that has so little to offer. You don't want to be moving your kids all over the place, so I suggest you consider places that support the growth and development of youth. TrC has alot of teen pregnancy and drug use, as parents are often involved in drug or alcohol abuse, and there is very little support available for leading a healthy lifestyle.
If you were to stay until they graduate, they will not find any opportunity or encouragement here. They will have to move elsewhere. I think it just makes it a little more difficult for kids to succeed here. The town is somewhat apathetic, and school programs often are neglected, or done at a bare minimum. I know this from a brief involvement in Health Council activities. SHAC (School Health Advisory Council) is "state mandated", that means it's required, and yet it went for 2 years without meeting, and just recently had their 2nd meeting since restarting this year. But, these groups are more lip service than accomplishment, and they move at a snail's pace, often with arbitrary resistance. Unfortunately, that means most things here are pretty stagnant.

Hopefully someone with kids here can respond to your issues better than me.
Good luck.

[KimK]

I go to Elephant Butte Lake in summers. That is why I know something about that area. I live in Dona Ana County area 11 miles southeast of Las Cruces. I have a grade school child who does not attend any school in NM. She attends private school in El Paso (17 miles from us).

My 10 year old does not find anything about T or C compelling except the lake and as someone already reported that is a good summer activity.

T or C is very geared to retirees who fish. Here is another problem with it. It is very spread out so it would be difficult for your child say to hop on a bike and ride over to a friend's house. That isn't likely there. So, you would be doing a lot of driving as well,especially for three kids.

You have to understand that NM is a poor state and our schools are not really comparable to schools say in rural Arizona. Our population of about 2 million is spread out except for places like Alb., SF and around Socorro and Las Cruces.

Personally, I am not a home school person. I am very well educated but my profession is not that of a teacher. I believe teaching is a profession. Don't get me wrong and I am certainly not intending to offend anyone. Its just my humble opinion. I just have never given it any thought.

Also, there are little or no home school standards in NM so you as the teacher don't get a lot of structure or guidance from the state. Now, you may think that is worthless but here is a consideration. Because of that, not a lot of people home school so you don't have a lot of contact with other home schoolers and therefore you cannot arrange group events as easily as in some communities I have heard about. That type of thing would be beneficial in a place like T or C so that it would increase your children's odds of meeting other children.

Now, there are exceptions to this. If you go up to Amistad and the area south of Clayton you will find a large Amish community I think. They definitely group home school.
There is also a cult above Clayton near the Oklahoma border. They home school. The cult group actually told me personally that they moved to NM as there were no standards and they could teach their kids anything they wanted to....and, I might add, it showed!

Yes, I digress here and am giving you extremes but its just observations. I work all over the state of NM and so I have come to observe these communities over time even though I do not live in them.

I wish you luck in your search. NM is a beautiful state but the school thing is pretty much a statewide dilemna.

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by mekitcat

Were from a semi small town now (13,000+) and my kids are use to the simple way of life, country type living. I seen that they had the skate board park which would be just fine and I'm sure they have parks right? It's the safety in the town that I'm concerned with.
.

Mekitcat....i've lived in big cities and have seen kids bored and in gangs so in my opinion the parents can make or break how kids feel about a place.

There are parks there as i know of the large park on the southside by williamsburg. It has the largest and 3rd largest body of reserviors in NM to teach them to swim and take them to the lakes alot. Take them camping and trout fishing in the Black Range thats about 30 miles to the west. See if they can play in city leagues like Little league baseball, football and soccer etc....

[calmheart]

Hi,
Just thought I'd pass along a post about T or C I ran across on Las Cruces Craig's List.
Apparently one woman had a less than stellar experience there trying to check into a motel. I don't think she came away with a great impression of the town.
Here's her post:

"I stopped in Truth or Consequences on Sat evening Feb 9th looking for a hotel to stay in after driving all day. I pulled into the Comfort Inn,walked into the lobby and was greeted by a very large hairy dirty looking young man. I asked about the $59.95 room they were advertising down the highway,he told me those were all gone, so I asked him how did they decide they had no more rooms at that price,I was curious, he looked at me and started screaming at me and calling me a cheap *****,he also put his hands together and bowed to me and started laughing hysterically,like he was mentally ill. I was very scared since I was traveling alone and he just kept yelling and acting very unstable so I backed out of the lobby to my car, I was afraid if I turned my back he'd shoot me. I went up the road to the super 8 and they were very nice there and I didn't feel threatened at all! I couldn't get this experience off my mind all night and had decided before I left town in the morning I would stop in and ask for a manager and make a complaint....well guess what.....the fat unstable man was working again and he started screaming at me again like a crazy person,the police were called and of course he denied everything to them. The police told me not to even bother the manager because they wouldn't care,they said if I thought this guy was crazy the owners were crazier!!! The police were very nice men and they sure have their hands full in that town, I commend them....DO NOT STAY AT THE COMFORT INN IF YOU WANT TO BE SAFE AND HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE. I WILL NEVER STOP IN THAT TOWN AGAIN AND WILL TELL EVERYONE I KNOW ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE. BY THE WAY THE CRAZY MANS NAME IS EARNEST."

[nnewbauer84]

TorC is really NASTY with nothing to do. I moved to NM last fall and I hate it. The people here are really stupid and you don't see too many attractive people here either. NM is also super boring and doesn't have too many great places to eat. Oh! And green chili is gross!!! I moved here only b-cuz of the film industry only to find out it's not as big as the people here wish it was. Few films only use it as a location so they can save 20% on taxes. All major casting is done in CA and they are brought here. All you can do is extra work or lower crew work.

[GregW]

Earnest sounds like a real jem. Maybe I'll meet him some day. I would base my oponion of TorC on the Super 8 bunch or the police and not dear ol' Earnest. I suggest to nnewbauer84 to just go to LA and join all the rest of the moviedom wannabes. That is one tough business because the rewards are so large and the real talents so scarce.

[domino]

It's hard for me to take seriously the opinion of anyone whot thinks green chile is gross.