From Austin to Ruidoso? (Roswell, Silver City: vacation home, buy, construction)

[txroughneck]

Hey everyone. My wife and I have been considering relocating from our home in Austin, TX to Ruidoso, NM. We almost never left when we were married at Inn of the Mountain Gods. It was just so amazing. I have been going to the Ruidoso area since I was a kid. I think we used to camp up around Bonita Lake but I'm not sure...that was quite a few years ago. We came back to Austin and had our little boy. He is now 18 months old. We love Austin but we are now realizing that it is not where we really want to raise our family. We really like the small town atmosphere considering that's how I was raised. I think that the atmosphere would be better for our son. I would really like to meet people from the area that can educate me on life in Ruidoso outside of the tourism. We have been looking at houses in the area and we have found quite a few that we like. My wife is just scared that it all may be too good to be true. We have both dreamed of a nice little cabin in a small mountain town since we were young and now we think we may have a chance to live our dreams. I just feel like "Land of Enchantment" must have been describing Ruidoso. I would appreciate any help, advice, or just a good conversation about Ruidoso. Thanks

Justun

[rruff]

Originally Posted by txroughneck

My wife is just scared that it all may be too good to be true.

Just remember... wherever you go, there you are...

I moved here 3 years ago and I like it... but then I didn't expect to be moving to paradise either. The climate is near perfect for me... from May to Nov it so nice every day that hardly anyone could complain, and in the winter it is a little cold (sunny, high of 50 usually) and in the spring it gets windy. The mountains are beautiful and the air is clear.

Frankly a tourist town isn't the best place to raise a kid either, but it is clean and fairly safe here. You will miss the entertainment variety and conveniences you have in Austin.

You have a job?

[txroughneck]

The entertainment variety gets kinda old. You eventually get stuck going to the same places and seeing the same people...just like everywhere else. I do have a job. I work on an oil rig usually in West Texas. The rig is usually around the Midland area, which is about half way between Austin and Ruidoso. The travel time to and from work would be about the same. Do you work in Ruidoso? Where did you move from?

[songinthewind7]

I think that since you and your wife feel so strongly about it, you should just do it. Make the move, take the chance or you'll never know. If it doesn't work out for whatever reason, you can always move again.
In my opinion, when someone feels so strongly about something, it's not going to be the wrong decision.
I like Ruidoso and our plan was to move there from Texas but we found Timberon (in the mountains) instead.
I cannot tell you anything past the touristy part because that doesn't bother me. I just happen to think it's a nice town and a beautiful town to be in.

[rruff]

Originally Posted by txroughneck

Do you work in Ruidoso? Where did you move from?

I grew up on a farm in IL and I've been all over the West during the last 30 years. I got married and my wife and I decided to settle somewhere... mountains, good climate, not too expensive (can buy land), good place to do massage (her profession). I deal via the internet so I can live anywhere. We lived on Kauai before here... which can be very nice if you are rich, but isn't so nice if you aren't.

I've seen most of the nice western towns get californicated out of my price range. The areas that still aren't too bad (yet) are Sierra Vista/ Bisbee, Silver City, and Ruidoso. Ruidoso seemed the nicest, and it is also the best place to do massage. Land is cheaper here than in Silver City even though it is prettier and more upscale... and also less isolated. We bought a very nice 16 acre parcel ~25 minutes from downtown for $79k.

I'm sort of a hermit, so entertainment isn't important to me. There are plenty of people here to make it easy to find a few that you like to spend time with. One nice thing about a tourist town is that people who come to visit are usually in a good mood. People also tend to stay out of other's business too, since the population is always in flux and growing.

One thing you might want to consider is that our economy has been pretty dependant on the west Texas economy... which means oil. Since that is your work, you could suffer a double wammy if the oil price dropped down again... loss of work, and no local prospects.

But... I think Ruidoso is getting less dependant on west Texas, and will likely become a "hot" place for Californians and people from all over the country to move to or buy vacation homes. Right now it is still a little too small to be considered viable to most people, but when the population in the area grows to 15-20k and we get more stores and other services, it will probably explode in both population and price.

[txroughneck]

I just want to thank everyone for your input. We have decided to make a trip up there next month and stay for a week or two. We have a few homes in mind but who knows what will be available when we actually move though. We are looking to move in 4-6 months from now so all sorts of things can change.

rruff...I have considered the current and possible future of the New Mexico economy and feel quite comfortable that I would be fine if the oil market dropped again. I worked in a custom cabinet shop for over six years so I know quite a bit about general construction. Not to mention the fact that working on a drilling rig can kinda make you a "jack of all trades". Is there any drilling around the area? I too see that the area has not "exploded" in growth but I think that that is exactly what we are looking for. I think we are kinda turning into "hermits" too but we really want to be involved in a small community and have our friends and stuff. We don't have the small community or the comfortable social group here like we did in the past. We used to have all of that but we have matured considerably since we got married. I am up for the excitement and beauty of living in the mountains as well. I want to spend time on the slopes in the winter and hike in the summer. We have tried to make a list of pro's and con's but it always turns out more than a little one sided if you know what i mean. I think we'll be there soon.

[Zoidberg]

There is very little in the way of drilling in Lincoln county; pretty much all southern NM drilling will take place east of Roswell.

If you can find any tolerable places to live in the area in question, a 2-ish hour commute to your oil rig would beat the commute from Austin or Ruidoso.. why not just move to Midland and then make the drive up to Ruidoso twice as often, or build a second home/cabin there?

[jaxart]

I lived in Austin for 12 years before fully retiring and moving to Ruidoso. But since Ruidoso had always been "second home" to me (I was born in El Paso), it was like "coming home." There is a lot to consider when moving from any large metropolis to a small town - and Ruidoso is not just another small town - it is a small TOURIST town, with all that implies for year-around residents.

Health care is iffy - very few specialists live here and that means traveling to one of the distant (80-120 miles) cities for proper health care. Once you've lived here awhile, having to drive down to the desert becomes a dreaded venture - at least I hate doing so, especially this time of the year. People with health problems - heart, lung etc. - affected by high altitude should think twice before relocating here.

The advantages of fine year-around weather, NO traffic jams, NO bugs (well, maybe spiders), super-friendly full-time people, all make for good reasons to be here.

Me - I'm just happy I live here!

[txroughneck]

Originally Posted by Zoidberg

There is very little in the way of drilling in Lincoln county; pretty much all southern NM drilling will take place east of Roswell.

If you can find any tolerable places to live in the area in question, a 2-ish hour commute to your oil rig would beat the commute from Austin or Ruidoso.. why not just move to Midland and then make the drive up to Ruidoso twice as often, or build a second home/cabin there?

I feel that you may be missing the true reason for the move. We moved to Midland for a little while when I started out in the oil field. We could not stand it there. Why would I not just skip all of the hassle of having two mortages and just buy in the mountains where we really want to be? The commute to work is the last thing on our mind. I roughneck for a living. Travel is included in my job description. I only work seven day rotations so I stay on the drilling location for seven straight days and then I go home for seven straight days. I want to enjoy my seven days off.

[rruff]

Originally Posted by jaxart

NO bugs (well, maybe spiders)

And any spiders that venture into the house (very few) either leave or starve to death due to lack of bugs to eat...