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I'll be retiring in a few years and conducting research on many different areas to relocate to. I'm in the Kansas City area now and am looking forward to leaving the icy winters behind me.
I have heard that New Mexico is a wonderful place to live and would like input on what areas are not too hot in the summer, and not cold in the winter. Also...no ice please (but then maybe NM never gets ice in the winter).
I prefer a mid-sized city, mountainous, and affordable housing (am I daydreaming?).
Wow, that is a tall order! I will try to help. Mountain medium size cities are limited in NM. Most are small isolated towns but the closest one I know to fit the bill is Silver City. Mild winters, in the mountains and the largest of the mountain cities even though it is small by comparison to other cities in NM. Red River, Ruidoso and Cloudcroft are quite small and pretty but they get more snow which sounds like you want more of a milder area, again Silver City fits the bill. It is getting more expensive there as more people discover it and want to live there but still is affordable for a mountain city. I have never been to Raton but it is another city up in elevation but since I have never been there, I cannot say. I plan to visit it soon just to see for myself. It gets snow though and a good amount from what I have read, so probably not what you are looking for either. If you are looking for a medium sized city that is near mountains, not in the mountains, Alamogordo might fit but it gets hot in the summer. It isn't far from the mountains, is an affordable place to live and is mild in the winter. Taos is too expensive so I don't recommend it.
Last edited by Crackerjack; 07-22-2006 at 04:58 AM..
I'm thinking Alamogordo will fit your needs. While it does get hot in the summer there is not that much humidity so it is bearable. Alamogordo is still affordable.
Thanks for your input! What about Los Alamos? Is that an affordable area? I love the mountains and realize that any area I choose close to the mountains means I have to accept snow in the winter. I want to make sure there is no ice though.
Los Alamos is a pretty small city but more on the expensive side. Scientists and such live there with the atomic nuclear stuff, which is a personal concern for me; it might be a target in a terror attack. Also I am concerned about a horrible fire that could rage through the whole city and destroy it like it almost did a few year back ,so that is why I personally don't recommend it, but it is a nice small city.
I have a few options you may consider kansaslady. Silver City is beautiful as is Toas, but I don't know that they really fit what you are looking for. I really recommend that you look into Alamogordo, Las Cruces, and possibly Los Lunas. All three of these markets aren't too expensive with Las Cruces and Alamogordo probably being the most affordable. You should be nicely pleased with the moderate climates in all three. If you are willing to look at even smaller towns, you may consider Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte if you like to golf and fish year-round.
Cloudcroft, Ruidoso, Taos - in that order of preference.
Also, Alamogordo is in the valley but the views of the mountains are just wonderful.
Skiing, watersports, awesome fishing, boating on elephant butte lake or on the lake on the Inn of the Mountain Gods, wineries, pistachio groves, hiking, scenic driving etc....are all within your reach living in NM. We lived there for four wonderful years and sometimes while I am stuck here in PA I feel like it was all a dream..I do miss it terribly.
Read the Frommer's guide to NM to get a feel of the culture- plan a trip out there - NM gets 320 days a year of sunshine on average and in southern NM there are brief bouts of winter, but the next day might very well be a 70 degree day! I find that to be very pleasant. Cloudcroft and Ruidoso do get snow - but not an arctic freeze.
Taos gets snow but even there the winters are much more bearable than they are up here in the N.E.
It is another way of life down there and if you enjoy peace and beauty, then NM will take your breath away. I could live happily in White Sands NM and never ever leave. So long as I could have a mexican breakfast served in bed from Ramona's!
Send me a PM if you decide to head out there. We traveled the whole state when we were stationed out there and I am more than happy to talk about the area.
That picture looks like a road in New Hampshire before this last storm.
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Thanks!
So long as I could have a mexican breakfast served in bed from Ramona's!
