Silver City (Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Jal: how much, custom home, neighborhood)

[mortimer]

SHYGURL520, obviously upset let us all have it:

> ... asking home many mexicans live in Silver City. .... Grow up
> and quit being racist in a forum...........
> ... you see us on the street YOU KISS OUR AS* and eat or food.

Who are you mad at? I don't understand the point of this post.
It is so rife with typos that I can't get the gist. I'm so confused.

[Towanda]

SHYGURL520:

Wow....how did you ever get that posting name? You don't seem a bit shy to me.

[silversurfer]

Just to clarify a misunderstanding: I didn't mean to suggest one had to speak Spanish to get by in Silver City. Most, not all, speak English too, but Spanish is the first language of the local, native population. I mentioned this aspect of life here because if a person feels that "this is American and everyone should be speaking English" they might want to know that. Where I work most of my coworkers speak Spanish most of the time, and speaking English is an exception for people they know, like me, who don't speak Spanish. And they don't switch to English in the staff lounge when I walk in. They're proud of their Spanish heritage, and I accept that it is I who must adjust. (This may be something one only experiences after living here for a while, and not on a visit.)
If you go to the city-data page and read the particulars of Silver City you'll see that the pop. is 52% Hispanic and 44% white. Whites are a minorty here.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Silver...ew-Mexico.html

[ArizonaBear]

For the record:

'Hispanic' is a political label only.........most North American Hispanics are actually of at least partial Native American heritage (Aztec, Mayan, Yaqui, etc).

On the other side of the coin; being a brunette Latino living in Spain can be hell according to some Mexican-Americans who visited there.

Spain apparently is very White supremacist and they loooove blond hair/blue eyed people. Brown eyes and tan skin are drawbacks over there.

[mortimer]

silversurfer related:

> ... Spanish is the first language of the local, native population.
> ... a person feels that "this is American and everyone should
> be speaking English" ... Where I work most of my coworkers
> speak Spanish most of the time, ...

Such situations or arrangements are common in many parts of
the world. One of the places I was exposed to such is in Taiwan.
Most people speak a local language such as Taiwanese or Hakka.
They speak this language among themselves and only use Mandarin
(standard Chinese) when talking to strangers.

I lived with a Taiwanese family for three months and had to work
to keep them speaking Mandarin so I could understand.
They always wanted to teach me Taiwanese words, however.

You'll also find that in international companies, English is the language
that everyone can communicate in, but when 'locals' start grouping
together they will revert to their native tongue be that German,
Portugese, etc.

Since this is such an unusual situation in the US for most people, they
have a tendency to feel threatened. If you profess some interest in
the others' language, that really helps to open things up.

[Username123]

Well how about it AZloafer....it's been over a year since your June 2006 post. Have you relocated ? Tell us about it.

[mortimer]

Username123 broadcasted:

> Well how about it AZloafer....it's been over a year since your
> June 2006 post.

What are you talking about? This thread started on 07-19-2006,
10:35 AM with one of those annoying "tell me everything" posts.

OTOH, AZloafer has been posting all over the place since June,
2006 and, yes, it has been over a year since June, 2006.

[Silver Retiree]

Originally Posted by aguamarina4u

Hi Everyone,

Could you please tell me what you like and dislike about Silver City. Hubby and I want to buy some land for retirement. We are looking at the Reno, NV area as well.

Thanks so much! :-)

I have been living here for 3 years and I love the clean air, no traffic and great weather. There are definitely 4 seasons here, but they are mild. Those are the reasons that I stay. I retired early and can afford to live where ever I want. My background is in economics as a city planner so I know a lot about what makes cities work.

The prices are higher than anywhere else, for items such as food and gas, etc. The only place for a break is in rents. They are relatively cheap. The housing market has been overblown due to high real estate prices in other areas and people wanting to get second homes or build a dream house. Real estate prices seem to be higher than the rest of the country and have not taken the same dip that other larger areas have.

The infrasctructure of the city is poor. Services are terrible whether it be to get a local service person to do minor construction and the like. There is no casual labor here mainly due to the high pay at the mines. Later when people are laid off they can get more from unemplowment than from working.

The quality of fruits and veggies is below anything found in California so be ready. The biggest problem with shopping is selection. It is very small. There is Walmart, an Albertson's and a Market Basket. The downtown area continues attempts at reviving itself into a historic main street, but it isn't really making it because it is mainly supported by tourists.

I can live with all of that like most of my transplanted friends by just making a trip to Tucson every couple of months and stocking up.

There is one cinema. The area is beautiful for afternoon drives. I think it has the greatest hiking in the world. People complain fiercely about the lack of restaurants. There is a KFC, Taco Bell, Papa John pizza at a gas station outlet. There are a few restaurants in the historic area that while ok are extremely over prices. Such is life.

It seems like people move in for a couple of years then they move out. Hence the active real estate market. My biggest grip is that when I need something my main choices are going to be at Walmart and that is not much. We just got a new Ace Hardware store which is my favorite place because I enjoy doing home projects.

If you are a person that is used to dashing off to an entertainment venue forget it. That just is not available. The university is small and has very little in the way of continuing education for adults. There are still parts of town that can not get DSL.

For me it is perfect. I wanted a slow place with good air and good weather and that is what I got. When you first get here make sure that you hide you California license plate, since it makes some unscrupulous people take advantage by jacking up prices. You are a hostage to local services when you can get them. Do I sound unhappy? I hope not. I love it here but it is what it is ! Hope this helps.

[WildWestDude]

What does the future of Silver City look like?

[GregW]

We visited Silver City and were very impressed with the weather and general ambiance. We thought it would be too expensive but with the apparent need for people that can fix things or do handyman type work. We will have to reconsider Silver.