Disappointed With Alamogordo (Las Cruces, Ruidoso, Tularosa: apartment, neighborhood, live)

[luzernecntygent]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

We get alot of low income retirees from the northern and midwestern states who hate the snow and so they move down here for the warmer winters and low cost of living in Alamogordo . Infact we have a large ''sunbird'' population in the winter here

I was not aware that NM had a substantial "snowbird" population during the winter months, thanks for the info. The snowbird transients that I am familiar with on the east coast moved from the Northeast to the Southeast, predominately Georgia and Florida, with some as far north as South Carolina. In my over 25 years in the household goods moving and storage business, I repeatedly moved the same persons north to south and south to north year after year.... These persons would have a semi-furnished residence at both north and south locations, and would move 3 to 5 rooms of furnishings and personal belongings back and forth every year.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by luzernecntygent

I was not aware that NM had a substantial "snowbird" population during the winter months, thanks for the info. The snowbird transients that I am familiar with on the east coast moved from the Northeast to the Southeast, predominately Georgia and Florida, with some as far north as South Carolina. In my over 25 years in the household goods moving and storage business, I repeatedly moved the same persons north to south and south to north year after year.... These persons would have a semi-furnished residence at both north and south locations, and would move 3 to 5 rooms of furnishings and personal belongings back and forth every year.

Firstly i know exactly what your saying about the sunbirds along the east coast as all my relatives lve in South Carolina and North Florida as i've seen them flock down to the ''south'' over the years when i was out there.

As for New Mexico we get them mainly at Deming, T or C, Carlsbad, Las Cruces and here in Alamogordo. Infact i was just at one of the RV Parks today and it is now getting empty as they'll fill up during the winter with Northerners with their RV's escaping the snow and ice.

[luzernecntygent]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

Firstly i know exactly what your saying about the sunbirds along the east coast as all my relatives lve in South Carolina and North Florida as i've seen them flock down to the ''south'' over the years when i was out there.

As for New Mexico we get them mainly at Deming, T or C, Carlsbad, Las Cruces and here in Alamogordo. Infact i was just at one of the RV Parks today and it is now getting empty as they'll fill up during the winter with Northerners with their RV's escaping the snow and ice.

And that's why these transient residents are called snowbirds! And I thank them for a steady part of my revenue stream while I was in the moving and storage business!

[malamute]

Originally Posted by james57

After several years of trying, I finally made a trip to the Alamogordo area to check things out. Overall my reaction was one of disappointment.

My first experience was in Santa Rosa. Local cop gave me a ticket for not having my seat belt fastened. $81 down the drain. My fault, but was still surprised. Could hear the cop say he had gotten an '" out of stater "

Proceeded down rt 54. The towns of Vaughn and Corona struck me as quite depressing. Seems the only viable business in town were gas stations for those traveling thru.

Did go thru Carrizozo. Some attempts there at improving the town. Contrast between nice and shabby places quite stark.

I did like Tularosa. To my eye, there seemed to be a plan for improving the town. Actually the main road thru town is nice.

Then on to my real destination of Alamogordo. Arriving from Tularosa was quite a shock. I was in Alamogordo about 25 years ago and remember it as a nice sleepy town with the Space Museum being excellent. Now it has sprouted every fast food and motel chain on the face of the earth. I was struck also by the contrast between the beautiful mountains in the background with a trashy appearance in the foreground. Not my cup of tea. So will not be living in Alamogordo.

Next drove up into the mountains to see Ruidoso. Actually it is a nice small town in the mountains. The mountains were a treat. Much more impressive than i imagined. It snowed 7 inches at the ski area overnight and my car was froze up in the morning at my motel. Kind of surprised by that. Guess I shouldn't have been.

I did make it to Capitan. Coming in from the south, I was very impressed with a broad valley surrounded by mountains. But the town itself was a disappointment. I am so used to the neat small towns in Illinois, that to see such poverty was a surprise. Once again, guess I shouldn't have been, since I have been told about the poverty in NM.

From Capitan I headed east arriving in Roswell. I had been in this town many years ago and wasn't that impressed. However, this time it was a pleasant surprise. I really like Roswell. It has definitely improved with time.

From there headed thru Portales and Clovis into west Texas. Another downer for me. I was very glad to get home.

I must apologize to any of you that I may have offended with my comments. However, my purpose is to just give my honest opinion of what I saw.

Overall, New Mexico to my eye is truly the land of enchantment. It is magical in its beauty. But the effects of man on the land are sad to see.

This trip was just a quick look by me. Sort of a snapshot. I know that I missed many great things to see and do. Perhaps left for another time.

I guess it's all in the eyes of the beholder. I have the exact opposite reaction when I come in to 54.

I'm more depressed in very large cities where it's miles and miles of people jammed together, I think Vaughn and Corona are refreshing - not too many people.

Ruidoso was nice but it's getting way too built up, very crowded lately.

Illinois is nice and I like the fire flies they have there in the summer but it's flat, no mountains. When you get near Chicago, I think it's bleak and depressing, so much traffic, the poverty seems bleaker there, just run down houses after run down houses.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I like Alamogordo, but all of you are correct about the poverty. It's hard to see, but it is indeed the underbelly of a very poor state.

Alamogordo has a number of Midwesterners who live here year-around, and it has always surprised me that they like it, since it's such a stark contrast from whence they came. The year-around climate is probably wonderful to them, since Midwestern winters can be so miserable.

I can think of far worse places to live (in and out of NM), but it sounds like NM overall just may not be your cup of tea.

The poverty of the Midwest and Northeast is a lot worse I think because while the government handouts might be a lot better, I think the neighborhoods are a lot uglier. Chicago's ghetto is terribly depressing. And look at Detroit, Philadelphia, the Bronx. To me those big inner cities seem to trap the people.

If I had to be poor, I'd rather be poor in New Mexico where you have clear turquoise skies most of the time, and in a city like Alamogordo there is no ghetto, but even from the more run down area of town, it's only a 30 minute drive to some of the most spectacular forests and views.

In NM you don't have to worry that someday they might shut off the heat - you wouldn't freeze to death if they did. The poverty is a more natural kind of poverty - the way people lived 200 years ago, 300 years ago and more.

It would be harder to be poor where you need to come up with $200 a month just for heat for many months out of the year.

[Cathy4017]

Hmmmm....interesting perspective!

[Chilegal1]

I guess I fit in as a snowbird.. but I come back in the summer too. Dh still farms here in IL, so thats where we are in the spring and fall. I know what you are saying about the poverty here vs there. You do not see it that much in IL, but its there - now I am talking about the smaller towns that James and I live in. But give me Alamo any time. It doesn't have the pretty yards - if you like to mow grass(NOT). But it has a great feel for me. I will be down in the SW more each year.
We have been coming down for 13 years now, and love it. It is not flat, we can see so much more than in the midwest. I love getting up and looking towards the west and seeing the Mts.

[luzernecntygent]

Originally Posted by Chilegal1

I guess I fit in as a snowbird.. but I come back in the summer too. Dh still farms here in IL, so thats where we are in the spring and fall. I know what you are saying about the poverty here vs there. You do not see it that much in IL, but its there - now I am talking about the smaller towns that James and I live in. But give me Alamo any time. It doesn't have the pretty yards - if you like to mow grass(NOT). But it has a great feel for me. I will be down in the SW more each year.
We have been coming down for 13 years now, and love it. It is not flat, we can see so much more than in the midwest. I love getting up and looking towards the west and seeing the Mts.

I drove truck for 12 years around the US and Canada, I can tell you from first hand experience that you could do a lot worse than live in Alamo. I've seen the grinding poverty of Appalachia and the deep South. I hauled many military household goods shipments, including numerous shipment to and from Holloman AFB. Although I didn't spend a lot of time in Alamo, I did have pleasant experiences there and I saw few problems with the living conditions in Alamo. Yes, there was poverty and substandard housing, but nothing like the eastern part of the US.

[GregW]

A major problem with the anti poverty programs in eastern cities is rather simple. Before you get a handout you have to prove you are really broke. Not just in a cash crisis but broke. Welfare is not available to anyone owning a house for instance. Given a hypothetical example a couple with a couple of kids has a mortgaged house but the man loses his job and one of the kids gets sick. Before they can get any aid with the mortgage payment, food or medical bills (all of which have already eliminated their savings) they have to sell the house. In some areas where the couple of industries have moved out you can wind up with entire neighborhoods owned by speculators waiting for the next boom and not putting a dime into making the homes look good. Sometimes the family cannot afford to stay and has to go where there is work. Then the home can be effectively abandoned and abandoned real estate is not kept up.

[Joey Saint]

I've just returned from the Alamo area after a visit to NM. I was happy to see the medical community growth with new medical office construction near the hospital. There were also a number of high end homes going up. I had read somewhere (probably here) that some investigation and possible relaxing of liquor licensing costs might attract more competitive grocery shopping. While I'm surprised that is suggested as the core issue of lacking competition I guess anything helps at this point. All in all, I continue to be surprised that the town takes as may knocks as it does. If some historic/entertainment district development could be achieved in the struggling downtown area Alamo might enjoy a more friendly review as a vacation stop. While I don't ever see anything equal to the Las Cruces/Old Mesilla relationship it might be a template to be followed. I feel without doubt Alamo by location offers more in outdoor recreational activities. I hope whatever the grocery investigation reveals trickles into a vision for such development. All the best Alamo!