Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Retired couple looking at SE New Mexico for retirement. We live in the DFW area of Texas now. Having narrowed the search down to the Las Cruces/Alamgordo area, any advice on making an informed decision. We like the outdoors and photography.
Right off hand I'd say either town should suit you just fine. Las Cruces is 3 times larger than Alamogordo so it's going to have more car traffic and more houses for sale, etc. Generally housing prices are going to be slightly higher in Las Cruces, but, they both have reasonable housing prices in my opinion.
Las Cruces has a real old-school connecting town of Mesilla that is said to be interesting that my wife and son and I want to check out, too. Old agricultural community. Las Cruces has the Mesilla Valley Mall with plenty of stores, which is great ta see. I can't imagine picking out tennis shoes and suits and pants and shirts on the internet. I just won't shop that way. It's extremely dorky to buy clothing on the internet. Amazon is not for everybody - in fact, I can often beat their CD prices on the open internet market. Amazon is not the best thing since sliced bread to me. I utilize Wal*Mart much more - in the tale of the tape, I don't think one can beat Wal*Mart's prices.
Las Cruces has an annual country music fair and it has an animal rescue that is very large on the north side of Highway 70 going up and over the hill to Alamogordo.
I work for Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center so I live and work here in Alamogordo. We have a nice house here and we have a bunch of good friends here. We enjoy being a part of a large Congregation of worshipper's here. Traffic is manageable but getting a bit heavier in the last few months. Must be hiring more people at Holloman Air Force Base 13 miles west of town heading west towards Las Cruces.
I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. Come on over and check us and Cruces out and spend some time in each community and you can go online to Zillow or Trulia and look at houses. We found a darling 3 BD, 2 BA brick home near the hospital for $130,000. It's a really comfortable home in a really nice neighborhood. I recommend Scenic Avenue on the east side of town at the foot of the Sacramento Mts. for good walking on sidewalks. Beautiful views of the town and mountains from there.
Let us all know what questions you have - we're getting a Ross Dress For Less and a Marshall's - more stores are slowly being added here in Alamogordo. But Las Cruces naturally has more shopping for you guys.
Right off hand I'd say either town should suit you just fine. Las Cruces is 3 times larger than Alamogordo so it's going to have more car traffic and more houses for sale, etc. Generally housing prices are going to be slightly higher in Las Cruces, but, they both have reasonable housing prices in my opinion.
Las Cruces has a real old-school connecting town of Mesilla that is said to be interesting that my wife and son and I want to check out, too. Old agricultural community. Las Cruces has the Mesilla Valley Mall with plenty of stores, which is great ta see. I can't imagine picking out tennis shoes and suits and pants and shirts on the internet. I just won't shop that way. It's extremely dorky to buy clothing on the internet. Amazon is not for everybody - in fact, I can often beat their CD prices on the open internet market. Amazon is not the best thing since sliced bread to me. I utilize Wal*Mart much more - in the tale of the tape, I don't think one can beat Wal*Mart's prices.
Las Cruces has an annual country music fair and it has an animal rescue that is very large on the north side of Highway 70 going up and over the hill to Alamogordo.
I work for Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center so I live and work here in Alamogordo. We have a nice house here and we have a bunch of good friends here. We enjoy being a part of a large Congregation of worshipper's here. Traffic is manageable but getting a bit heavier in the last few months. Must be hiring more people at Holloman Air Force Base 13 miles west of town heading west towards Las Cruces.
I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. Come on over and check us and Cruces out and spend some time in each community and you can go online to Zillow or Trulia and look at houses. We found a darling 3 BD, 2 BA brick home near the hospital for $130,000. It's a really comfortable home in a really nice neighborhood. I recommend Scenic Avenue on the east side of town at the foot of the Sacramento Mts. for good walking on sidewalks. Beautiful views of the town and mountains from there.
Let us all know what questions you have - we're getting a Ross Dress For Less and a Marshall's - more stores are slowly being added here in Alamogordo. But Las Cruces naturally has more shopping for you guys.
Thanks for your awesome reply. You are correct about the housing cost, compared to the two other places we were looking (Prescott AZ, Oregon Coast) I would like Alamogordo for being closer to White Sands National Monument. I can see myself going out there a lot for pictures. How many months out of the year is it uncomfortably Hot? Also will camera gear get damaged from the White Sand?
I wouldn't discount Las Cruces just because of Alamogordo's closer proximity to White Sands. While its about a 25 minute drive from Alamogordo, it's an easy just under an hour drive from LC. You'll love it for photography. It can get windy at White Sands so there will be times where you'll want to protect your gear but 95% of the time its not an issue.
I found Alamogordo to be too isolated for my taste but it may suit you fine - the only way to know is to spend some time in each and compare the pros and cons.
As for the heat - it all depends on your definition of uncomfortably hot. June is generally the hottest month but I found that the lack of humidity lessens the impact - it can actually feel hotter in August when the monsoon rains are happening due to the high humidity. It's not like it's over 100 24 hours of the day - even on the hottest days, I enjoy going out for walks in the morning & evening (you can feel the heat radiating off the sides of the houses at night!). During the heat of the day, I just make sure I have things to do in the house or go to the gym where it's nice and cool. I've never felt uncomfortably hot.
Thanks for your informative comment. I think it could come down to being closer to El Paso or White Sands. I see very nice houses listed in both places. Being from the Dallas/Ft. Worth I think I could handle the heat better at a lower humidity.
I wouldn't discount Las Cruces just because of Alamogordo's closer proximity to White Sands. While its about a 25 minute drive from Alamogordo, it's an easy just under an hour drive from LC. You'll love it for photography. It can get windy at White Sands so there will be times where you'll want to protect your gear but 95% of the time its not an issue.
I found Alamogordo to be too isolated for my taste but it may suit you fine - the only way to know is to spend some time in each and compare the pros and cons.
As for the heat - it all depends on your definition of uncomfortably hot. June is generally the hottest month but I found that the lack of humidity lessens the impact - it can actually feel hotter in August when the monsoon rains are happening due to the high humidity. It's not like it's over 100 24 hours of the day - even on the hottest days, I enjoy going out for walks in the morning & evening (you can feel the heat radiating off the sides of the houses at night!). During the heat of the day, I just make sure I have things to do in the house or go to the gym where it's nice and cool. I've never felt uncomfortably hot.
I wouldn't count Las Cruces out. But I personally picked Alamogordo because it's not as big and scattered as LC. I was also more familiar with it having been stationed at Holloman. But on my 4 trips back in the last couple of years I spent a reasonable amount of time in Las Cruces each time, and I don't care for the heavier traffic and longer distances to go anywhere. There may be more there, but I don't use most of the extra stuff enough to make me want to live closer to it. I'll be happy to drive there once a month (or less) to partake of those things.
Maybe it has to do with where I was raised. I've been living in large metro areas for quite awhile. But I was raised in a town of just under 5000 people (closer to 7000 now, about 45 years later). I like the feel of that a lot more. I know others feel differently, and more power to them.
Alamogordo is not only closer to White Sands but also the Lincoln National Forest including Cloudcroft, never been but assuming it is excellent from the internet images. But further away from the Airport and Medical Specialists in El Paso. Just found out El Paso has an Amtrak Depot serviced by the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle. Very nice, since i don't like to drive or fly long distances. Tough decision for me right now.
Thanks for your informative comment. I think it could come down to being closer to El Paso or White Sands. I see very nice houses listed in both places. Being from the Dallas/Ft. Worth I think I could handle the heat better at a lower humidity.
ya the humidity can make a big differnce.The summer nights will be more comfortable in New Mexico than Dallas.Thats for sure.
Alamogordo is not only closer to White Sands but also the Lincoln National Forest including Cloudcroft, never been but assuming it is excellent from the internet images. But further away from the Airport and Medical Specialists in El Paso. Just found out El Paso has an Amtrak Depot serviced by the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle. Very nice, since i don't like to drive or fly long distances. Tough decision for me right now.
The distance is a downside. But until I get older (66 now) I can't imagine needing El Paso for anything except maybe COSTCO if I keep a membership. I could join Sam's because it's closer. But there are a couple of things COSTCO has that Sam's can't touch. I may do both and have COSTCO deliver the items I need and drive to Las Cruces once in awhile for the rest.
Further down the road Medical might become an issue. I've always been in outstanding health overall, so not for me. But the issues wife has can easily be handled with smaller, local offices for now. Hopefully well into the future. I have problems, mostly minor stuff that I can handle pretty much without a doctor. She needs a couple of medications and some monitoring.
If distance and travel are a problem, you may be better off in El Paso. I'm not sure about how similar they are concerning temperature and other weather. But it wouldn't seem to me that it should be that great a difference. Of course, then you have the problem of traveling to places you want to visit anyway.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
