My husband and I are searching for a town to move to for retirement within the next few years, likely in about 2 years. I thought I had found a nice place called Prescott Valley, AZ but the crime statistics concern me. My husband has been to NM and he really liked it, so wanted me to check into areas there. Of course I was not impressed with ALB crime stats either, but then ran across a mention of Rio Rancho, and their crime stats look like the kind of area I am accustomed to...
I have a LOT of questions about this area, and if I leave anything important out, please do let me know.
First of all, I see Rio Rancho is a very large town. Are there areas close to there with lower populations that folks would recommend as a good place(s) to look at?
We will be looking for a one story home, with approx 2500 sq ft and prefer to spend about 300K if possible.
Is that doable in that area? Or what other SAFE areas would folks recommend?
While we could go a bit higher, I am really trying to save our cash for our "old age" especially in these tumultuous economic times. We are both 58, so we have a long way to go and I just don't want all our money tied up in a house.
We prefer to have some space between us and our neighbors, and really don't care for neighborhoods with postage stamp lots and all the houses looking the same.
Are there areas with a more rural feel to them? Suggestions as to which areas would be best to look for affordable housing? We don't need anything fancy, but I am inclined towards a larger kitchen and larger bedrooms. We don't need to worry about employment as hubby can work anyplace he can have a computer. (We are SO lucky about that)
We need to be reasonably close to decent medical care, as I have some medical issues that require monitoring, but I am accustomed to driving 30 min or so to a doctors office. What us the availability of hospitals close by?
One thing that concerns me is that I need to have a doctor who accepts medicare (and tricare) as I am a disabled vet. In these times it is getting more difficult to find docs who will accept new patients who have medicare. Is that an issue there? (I know it is in Prescott, AZ)
Pests: What types of critters can I expect to run into there? I'm not worried about the good ones
...I wonder about the ones that can kill you OR destroy your house. Do you have scorpions and if so what types? I am currently fighting AZ bark scorpions in our winter home south of Phoenix, and they are really hard to get rid of, and those particular scorpions are pretty dangerous...
How about dangerous snakes, spiders, tarantulas etc etc...while I would not let these guys prevent me from moving to a place, I would like to know where I would encounter them...would it be likely in a town setting or only in untamed areas? How about big wild cats (which can be a problem in Prescott, AZ as it is in the mountains)...THOSE I'd rather stay away from LOL ...not much you can do if you run into one face to face
It appears from the pictures I have been able to find that the terrain is basically flat, with few mountains nearby? Is that correct? Is there any significant fire danger in the area? Are earthquakes a hazard in that area of NM? If so, can anyone tell me the names of the fault lines so I can research them? Any other "mother nature" issues to be concerned about such as tornados etc?
Are there any other areas in NM that are particularly pretty to live? I would be amenable to any area in NM that had moderate summer/winter temps and a low crime rate, so if you have suggestions of other areas where the cost of living is reasonable, please let me know...
Vegetable gardening: I like to garden, but see that night time temps are quite cool. Can people share their experiences with growing their own food? Can you easily grow warm season crops such as Tomatoes, corn, cukes etc or do you have to jump through a lot of hoops...Can you grow cool season crops such as broccoli, greens etc in the early spring or do the nights get too cold?
How is the freshness of produce in grocery stores in the area? Is locally grown produce available through farmers markets or road side stands?
Is dust a major problem? Do you have dust storms? Do you have monsoons ? I know in AZ they USED to have monsoons, but in many areas that has become a thing of the past...
I have already done some digging into water issues, and it looks like they are trying to get a handle on that.
Any areas to be avoided due to water availability issues?
Are there good restaurants in the area? Our favorite past time is finding new and different cuisines..we love good food and are inclined to stay away from chain restaurants...
ah one BIG thing is how is the economy doing in NM? I ask this as in AZ a neighbor told me her parents income tax return was for 1/2 the amount due them, and AZ sent her an IOU for the rest...what IS the state income tax rate there?
It feels like I have asked tons of questions, but I am sure there are many things I have not covered, so feel free to chime in about anything important that a potential resident should know ahead of time.
Thanks in advance for your help in learning more about this area so I can decide if it is a place we might want to live.
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