Texas or New Mexico (Dallas, El Paso: ski resorts, sales, how much)

[scrapbookgrl]

Hi everyone
I am looking for someone who may have lived in New Mexico (Las Cruces) and moved to Texas (Fort Worth area) or vise versa. My husband has an opportunity to transfer to either location for a management position. The pay will be the same in either city. We were thinking of las cruces because of the smaller city size, the cost of living, weather and recreation. But now after reading some of the posts regarding employment I am unsure the pay difference in the 2 cities is almost 50% lower in NM. I also have a 6th grader with special education needs and the school reports and programs do not seem so good for sp education. We are coming from a mid size No Cal city so either way its going to be an adjustment. I have only been to the Dallas airport and drove thru Albq when I was a child. Any feedback, comments or info would be appreciated.

[SeaToby]

While I am not a big fan of the Ft Worth Independent School District, the northeast suburbs of Ft Worth, the Birdville ISD is considered a very good school district. Just how close to Ft Worth are you moving to? Granbury and Weatherford to the west have good school districts as well.

[professorac]

I agree Weatherford & Granbury have very good school districts & I have heard a lot about Birdville
I know Mineral Wells 50 miles west of Fort Worth is great for Special Education. Also Aledo & Decature. I don't know really anything about NM though but that it has Ski Resorts which we do not have Sorry

[scrapbookgrl]

I have been looking in the area of Hurst, Bedford and Keller, I just found info on Weatherford yesterday. Seems like a nice area with affordable homes. I think with the responses I have had from NM I am choosing TX thanks for the info.

[davbetcoo]

My wife and I have lived in both Las Cruces (college) and Ft Worth (well close - Grapevine). They are both nice places to live, but because of the huge size difference they are very different.

LC is a small city (~80,000). FW is a big city (~400,000) in a huge metropolitan area (~6 million). You may live in FW, but you are a part of the entire Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex. So you can start by contrasting small city life with large metropolitan living, with the expected differences. More traffic, pollution and conjestion in FW, but more neighborhoods, schools, entertainment and shopping to choose from in FW.

As far as other comparisions:
LC, in my opinion, has better weather (less humid and summers are not nearly as uncomfortable, though winters bring some cold weather and occaisional snow). LC is much sunnier than FW. It also has better scenery - think California high desert (mountains, valleys) as compared to FW's prairie surroundings. FW has a number of lakes however that LC lacks. LC has a more outdoor style of life than Ft Worth (bike trails, hiking in the mountains). LC, being in the desert, is not very green - though the irrigated parts of the Mesilla Valley are. Being a college town, LC has plenty of things to do, many centered around NMSU, but not nearly as much as FW. Shopping in LC is not an entertainment option as it is in FW. El Paso, 50 miles away from LC, offers a few more entertainment options to LC.

From what I understand LC schools are OK, but not super. The town has just one public school system, so it has fewer choices in schools (especially HS - it has 3, soon to be 4) than FW. Don't know about special education programs however. I don't think FW proper schools are very good, but there are many FW suburbs with excellent schools. Lots of choices, depending upon where work is (commutes can be a killer). The suburb schools tend to be fairly homogenous, whereas in LC there is greater diversity in the schools (could be good or bad I suppose depending on one's perspective).

Cost of housing is slightly higher in LC I think, but other costs (less commuting for example) probably make the two comparable. Taxes will vary depending on your income. Texas has no income tax, but very high property taxes and high sales tax. Property taxes in NM are very low, but there is a 5% income tax. As a result, high income families in Texas will have less tax burden than in NM. Middle and lower income families will have less tax burden in NM.

Both communities are conservative politically, though overall FW is probably more conservative. LC tends to be more socially liberal than FW, but religiously about the same. I would say LC is closer to California culturally than FW (having also lived in No CA).

For me, IF the job situation was equal (and it's not - in comparing the two, overall jobs are much better paying and more plentiful in FW) I would choose Las Cruces, as the lifestyle is just much easier. More time for relaxing with friends and family, and more outdoor living to enjoy. Jobs make a big difference however.

Either is a good choice though, in my opinion.
Good luck!

[kindred07]

OMG My aunt lives in Alb NM and I used to live in Jal NM (don't ask, really really small) I now live in Weatherford Texas just 28 miles from Fort Worth. I cannot tell you how much I love this area and how much I cannot stand New Mexico. Now mind you my father in law loves it. I have lived in a lot of places....Mississippi, Utah lots of places in Texas (I have moved a total of about 30 times and I am 31 next month) and I have lived here in Weatherford since July 2nd of this year and LOVE IT!! We are sending our girls to Millsap school and it is fantastic. Finally a place where teachers love what they do and are fantastic at it. You can find really nice places around FW that are close but have a more small town feel. As far as weather is concerned I don't mind the humidity because it isn't that bad here and I got tired of the New Mexico wind blowing 90 miles an hour making the cold that much colder and the heat like a blow dryer. You can at least stand in the shade in the humidity and cool off here. Plus I am a woodsy tree lover and shade trees on the edge of Possum Kingdom Lake are fantastic. I like things that look alive. Now mind you I like the sunset and those colors but I like things that have vibrant greens and flowers. I am not much on the southwest desert look. So it really depends. Just My Opinion

[Exult.Q36]

Alot of people complain about the school districts of Fort Worth and Dallas but I thought that was what private school were for. You avoid the city all together because of the school district that dosen't make much since.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Having one foot currently in New Mexico (Albuquerque) and one foot in Texas (west Texas), if I was younger, I would choose New Mexico because of its natural rugged beauty. By a foot in the States, I simply mean I have income and property in both States. In respect to Fort Worth and Las Cruces, over the past forty years, I've only driven through Fort Worth numerous times and visited Las Cruces occasionally so my comments may not count for much.

In general, what you will find is that taxes (property and income) are less in New Mexico, even though property prices in New Mexico are higher. I was amused to hear someone mention Jal, New Mexico in an earlier post. Having worked in several states, I've always substituted "Jal" for "Timbuktoo" in a conversation when describing a place at the very end of the earth. Surprisingly however, you will find home prices in Jal, New Mexico comparable to, and possibly even higher, than those around Fort Worth and Dallas. And where you may be paying $200 a year in property taxes in southeastern New Mexico, in many counties in Texas you may be paying 10X that amount for a comparable property.

In short, I love both States. I love Texas because it is my native state and New Mexico because it is my adopted state. Love however, overshadows money nowadays and my wife (another native Texan) and I are now seeking to return to our beloved Texas. We do, however, plan not to return to this particular broken west Texas county. When considering Texas as a home, always look at the tax structure where you plan to move. Texas has 254 counties and the property taxes between them can vary more than you can imagine.