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LOL ... Mike your not actually living at the Picacho Hills Country Club Golf Course by any chance .
Anyway Las Cruces is definitely not a ''rich'' city as the per capital is just over $15,000 per year although Mike is correct that there are a few high income areas around town as that's basically for the rich who don't want to retire in south florida but the average Las Crucean would be on cloud nine making $45,000 a year there.
As for schools well i agree with Mike that there are some new modern schools (east mesa) and older schools in the town proper however i've never use that as an excuse for a child not to learn as long as you take an active stance in his or her life they should be fine.
Me and my younger sister both attended schools in Mesilla and Mesilla Park in south Las Cruces and we are Anglo and the schools were about 85% Mexican/American students and yet we had lots of friends and played sports on the city leagues at Maag fields/park on Solano Drive and our parents made sure we studied and they also participated in our school functions and we did fine in school.
And I agree with you as well, 6 FOOT 3, about the bolded sentence, especially. My wife and I go back and forth on this matter. We know of several families (mostly Hispanic) who are successful and have raised their children to be good adults, or are in the process of doing that. And you have to have faith in yourselves as parents, foremost, that you will be the guiding influence over your children, when it comes to schools. The other side of the coin is the one that says that in order to situate your children to give them the best education possible, it's important to do so in an environment where there are as many like-minded parents in one school district as possible. And that usually manifests itself in the form of high test scores. The teachers and/or staff are the secondary factor. In the poorer schools they are usually overburdened with discipline problems and teaching is something that comes afterwards. Therefore, you, as a parent, if you are going to move into one of these lesser areas/schools, must commit even more time and resources to your children after school, than you ordinarily would, in Fort Collins/Windsor. Not so much on the elementary school level as in middle or high school.
As far as incomes go, 45k a year is, as you have said, well above the LC median, however, it won't get you, for the most part, into one of the more desirable areas unless you are coming with a lot of equity from the house you've sold. Then, if the mother plans on staying home (which I admire) then the pressure is on that one salary. And it's most likely going to make living very tight, unless you are in one of the poorer neighborhoods and you've bought into a 100k house. But where the good COL is, what the OP stated, that's in those few neighborhoods we are both talking about. The areas where there aren't homeless people walking the streets, little or no graffiti, etc.
Interesting how cost of living calculators can vary:
Enter $50k into the "Sperling best places" calculator for Fort Collins, and it tells you you only need $47k to have the same standard of living.
Enter $50k into the "bankrate" calculator for Fort Collins, and it tells you you need more than $54.7k to keep the same standard of living.
Of course, these calculators are just more tools to be used in conjunction with so many other factors when planning a move. If I were moving from Fort Collins to Las Cruces, one thing I would most definitely do is consider the following: How much does it cost in Las Cruces to duplicate my comfort level (quality of house, similar neighborhood, same quality of schools...if possible, crime levels, etc.).
I think this is all related to one of the main points Mike is making. I think it takes an integration of monetary and non-monetary factors for an individual to make a good decision they will be comfortable with.
Something else to consider, which I didn't have the benefit of 5 years ago, is Google Street View. I use it very often. It's not a 'tell all' barometer of an entire town, for sure, you'd have to visit. But, to get an inkling of what a town is comprised of, I use it frequently. Here is an example, for instance, of what an area of LC comparable to a bedroom neighborhood in Fort Collins would look like:
The dispersion of heavier crime also occurs in the neighborhoods where the homes are cheaper. What I am saying is that if you overlay all of these factors with Fort Collins, and consider the overall quality of life, then it is my suggestion that you make sure you move into a neighborhood that is comparable with what you are used to living in. If you were coming from another area, I wouldn't be able to provide you with as much feedback. However, I do happen to know Fort Collins very well. All I am trying to do is steer you to a comparable neighborhood.
Finally, check the crime map of Las Cruces, which represents property crimes over the past 30 days:
Mike I kind of agree with you on everything you said except the property crimes over the past 30 days. I do not consider a 30 day period a good indicator. Also, I would be concerned about other crimes as well. Plus, that map is not working for me...
Mike I kind of agree with you on everything you said except the property crimes over the past 30 days. I do not consider a 30 day period a good indicator. Also, I would be concerned about other crimes as well. Plus, that map is not working for me...
Rich
Yes, and there is a reason for it, after doing more research I've discovered LCPD hasn't updated it since April of 2008. If you want to use that as a snapshot in time, I would say feel free, but it needs to be updated for it to be accurate. I apologize for posting that link.
The OP didn't mention whether he and his wife would be buying or renting, however, I can tell you from a recent Sunday drive around my general neighborhood (High Range, Sagecrest, The Missions) there are a lot of very nice houses selling for less than $200K and that would put them in the Desert Hills school district.
I can only speak to what my daughter who currently lives in Aurora, CO tells me, but, she says that cost of living here, food and gas included, is a lot lower than where she is. I know I never see chicken breasts at $7.99 per pound here like I do in the supermarkets by her. At the very least, they would love to have my heating bill Their winter gas bill generally runs three times as much as mine.
I have no idea how that compares to Ft. Collins - just saying.
I should have specified in my original post, but we will be looking to rent a house. Our budget will be from $800 - $1,000 a month. From what we have seen on craigslist it looks like we can probably find something pretty nice for that. We are headed down there this weekend to look at houses. Thanks for everyones information so far. It's much appreciated
Interesting how cost of living calculators can vary:
Enter $50k into the "Sperling best places" calculator for Fort Collins, and it tells you you only need $47k to have the same standard of living.
Enter $50k into the "bankrate" calculator for Fort Collins, and it tells you you need more than $54.7k to keep the same standard of living.
The bankrate calculator assumes a Las Cruces home price of $337,925. Now, I don't know where they got that number, but it's considerably higher than the median home price. There are many houses available in nice neighborhoods and good schools for less than $338k.
Quote:
Originally Posted by santafeventana
I should have specified in my original post, but we will be looking to rent a house. Our budget will be from $800 - $1,000 a month. From what we have seen on craigslist it looks like we can probably find something pretty nice for that. We are headed down there this weekend to look at houses. Thanks for everyones information so far. It's much appreciated
I'm pretty sure you can rent a place in a decent school district for that, especially a 2 bedroom.
Well we ended up renting a really nice 1100 sq ft 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a garage in the Settlers pass area for $800.00 a month. The neighborhood seems really nice. Is this considered a good area to live?
Well we ended up renting a really nice 1100 sq ft 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a garage in the Settlers pass area for $800.00 a month. The neighborhood seems really nice. Is this considered a good area to live?
It's a fine area I would have no problem living there.
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Their winter gas bill generally runs three times as much as mine.
