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Oh, and getting back to the subject of this forum. I spoke to my 401 K rep to let her know of my move, my options and to see if I could roll it to my new employer in Las Cruces, NM.
>>>But dear, I don't think we can roll $$$ to an account in Mexico, will you be working for an American Company?
I'm sure that people in Las Cruces do go to El Paso from time to time to shop.
I was just comparing Alamogordo, NM to Midland, TX, where I lived for 30 years. I'm sure there are many places more expensive than NM.....but Texas isn't one of them, except for property taxes and homeowner's insurance.
I'm sure that people in Las Cruces do go to El Paso from time to time to shop.
I was just comparing Alamogordo, NM to Midland, TX, where I lived for 30 years. I'm sure there are many places more expensive than NM.....but Texas isn't one of them, except for property taxes and homeowner's insurance.
You are right. If I would have gotten a job from the City of El Paso, I was going to live in Santa Teresa (Sunland Park), NM.
Here in Las Vegas everything costs $$$$$$$$$ but you also get decent paying jobs. In Las Cruces I am starting at the bottom, I mean.... BOTTOM. Oh well...
I have been looking at properties in Santa Teresa, too.....but the restrictions on animals got me there for now (no more than 2). You would get all of the benefits of EP without their high property taxes!
And yes......pay is often relative to COL in an area. But for NM RE is overpriced relative to salaries. I don't know what rents are (I haven't rented in over 30 years), but buying is high.
You are right. If I would have gotten a job from the City of El Paso, I was going to live in Santa Teresa (Sunland Park), NM.
Of course...you'd need to consider the cost of paying state income tax in NM and see if it would work out better for you. When my wife and I were considering a move to Texas, I made a spreadsheet that had property tax, state income tax (zero in TX, as you know), homeowner insurance, auto insurance, utilities, sales tax, and a few other items. One thing we found (for our particular situation) was that the cost of property tax for the area we were researching TX was approximately equal to the cost of our property tax + state income tax in New Mexico. When I put all the figures together, we figured it would be a little cheaper to be in Albuquerque than the town in the TX Hill Country we were looking at. Not that a spreadsheet is the only tool we would use to make a decision about moving...but people really need to figure out the cost of everything when comparing places.
It can be very very cheap - it just depends on what one requires or wants.
I think the reason people think the housing is so cheap is if you look at median house costs or average, it could be very low. All you have to do is look around at the outskirts of town and you can see people living in old trailers from the 50's and 60's, homes that might have cost $2000. You can also rent those things for very cheap.
Coming from Texas, I found both the property taxes and homeowner's insurance in NM cheaper....but everything else is far more expensive. Groceries, services (electrical, plumbing, miniblinds, small contractor projects, eye exams, etc) all cost a lot more. A standard yearly eye exam (opthamologist) that cost me $90 in Midland was $200 here.
I've never seen veterinary services so high, either. They charge $16 for a nail trim, which is why I now take them to the groomer's for $5/pop. My vet in Midland trimmed them for nothing during other procedures and general checkups. You have to have major surgery done here (spay, etc.) for them not to tack on an extra charge.
I'm glad I don't have to use a groomer for other than a nail trim. I can just imagine how high they are for standard grooming services/trims, etc.
Haircuts are more expensive, too. I can't think of anything in NM other than homeowner's insurance and property taxes that is cheaper than from whence I came. My car insurance went up (same company/vehicle), and car tags/registration is more expensive.
Cost of housing is high relative to average income for sure. So no, NM is not a cheap place to live, and the worst part is that most of the services aren't really worth what you have to pay for them.
I have been looking in NM for a few years for a few acres that are close to forest. My conclusion is that if the land is worth anything or has been improved, expect to pay a lot (much more than comparable or better acreages in TN, KY, AR, MO, NC etc.). If it is just red dirt, yeah, sure, you can get it for nothing but it is also worth nothing. What tipped me over to where I am not longer looking in NM is the vast amount of mobile homes sitting around next to regular or nicer houses. It seems to me that either you are barely making ends meet in NM (the majority) or you are ultra rich (minority) or you are a 2nd or 3rd or 4th generation farmer who already owns his/her land and is scraping by. The ones that are rich are most likely from California or wherever else, have most likely sold their overpriced 3/2s, 4/3s or whatever in CA for a lot of dough and have come to splurge in NM, to "live off the grid" in their 3000+ sqft mansions overlooking town.
Small town, big town, the whole place is just creepy somehow, even Silver City which has 10-15,000 people has a downtown drag with people driving around with windows down, loud music, staring at you. I can see this in a bad LA neighborhood, not in a small town. Other places we were in like Chimayo, Espanola were equally creepy, to the point that I was a bit uncomfortable stopping at a stop light. You drive next to a nice house and then there is a run down trailer down the road with two guys driving out of its rundown yard full of old cars and junk, driving some beater and wearing bandanas, tattooed, shaved heads, looking at you funny. Just doesn't jive. Parts of Los Alamos felt the same, so did Albuquerque (which I understand more since it is a large city). So did Santa Fe, definitely has weird parts.
I know people will tell me how they have lived in Espanola or here or there all their lives and they never had trouble and that's fine. I am sure there will also be people who will tell me that trouble is only attracted to people who walk funny or look like victims. That's BS. If I have to look a certain way in a place to stay safe then the place sucks, not me.
Anyways, this is just an outsider's look at what's inside on the surface.
Small town, big town, the whole place is just creepy somehow, even Silver City which has 10-15,000 people has a downtown drag with people driving around with windows down, loud music, staring at you. I can see this in a bad LA neighborhood, not in a small town. Other places we were in like Chimayo, Espanola were equally creepy, to the point that I was a bit uncomfortable stopping at a stop light. You drive next to a nice house and then there is a run down trailer down the road with two guys driving out of its rundown yard full of old cars and junk, driving some beater and wearing bandanas, tattooed, shaved heads, looking at you funny. Just doesn't jive. Parts of Los Alamos felt the same, so did Albuquerque (which I understand more since it is a large city). So did Santa Fe, definitely has weird parts.
I know people will tell me how they have lived in Espanola or here or there all their lives and they never had trouble and that's fine. I am sure there will also be people who will tell me that trouble is only attracted to people who walk funny or look like victims. That's BS. If I have to look a certain way in a place to stay safe then the place sucks, not me.
Anyways, this is just an outsider's look at what's inside on the surface.
I'm not denying what you say is somewhat true. I have also been all over the south, and the junk cars and trailers exist there, exponentially moreso, they are just very well hidden in the overgrowth of woods, vines, and swamps. Give me a dusty, sun-beaten, dented manufactured home in the West, over a moldy, leaky, moss-covered manufactured home in the South, anyday of the week.
I have been looking in NM for a few years for a few acres that are close to forest. My conclusion is that if the land is worth anything or has been improved, expect to pay a lot (much more than comparable or better acreages in TN, KY, AR, MO, NC etc.). If it is just red dirt, yeah, sure, you can get it for nothing but it is also worth nothing. What tipped me over to where I am not longer looking in NM is the vast amount of mobile homes sitting around next to regular or nicer houses. It seems to me that either you are barely making ends meet in NM (the majority) or you are ultra rich (minority) or you are a 2nd or 3rd or 4th generation farmer who already owns his/her land and is scraping by. The ones that are rich are most likely from California or wherever else, have most likely sold their overpriced 3/2s, 4/3s or whatever in CA for a lot of dough and have come to splurge in NM, to "live off the grid" in their 3000+ sqft mansions overlooking town.
Small town, big town, the whole place is just creepy somehow, even Silver City which has 10-15,000 people has a downtown drag with people driving around with windows down, loud music, staring at you. I can see this in a bad LA neighborhood, not in a small town. Other places we were in like Chimayo, Espanola were equally creepy, to the point that I was a bit uncomfortable stopping at a stop light. You drive next to a nice house and then there is a run down trailer down the road with two guys driving out of its rundown yard full of old cars and junk, driving some beater and wearing bandanas, tattooed, shaved heads, looking at you funny. Just doesn't jive. Parts of Los Alamos felt the same, so did Albuquerque (which I understand more since it is a large city). So did Santa Fe, definitely has weird parts.
I know people will tell me how they have lived in Espanola or here or there all their lives and they never had trouble and that's fine. I am sure there will also be people who will tell me that trouble is only attracted to people who walk funny or look like victims. That's BS. If I have to look a certain way in a place to stay safe then the place sucks, not me.
Anyways, this is just an outsider's look at what's inside on the surface.
What tipped me over to where I am not longer looking in NM is the vast amount of mobile homes sitting around next to regular or nicer houses.
It depends on what the zoning/restrictions are in a given area/subdivision/neighborhood. I checked all of that out before I made an offer where I now live.
There are no mobile homes allowed in mine...all site-built brick or stucco ranchers with garages, fences, etc.
But there are other towns where someone can buy a lot right next to a $250K+ home, and put whatever they want...and there is nothing you can do about it.
But having said that, I agree with Domino. I wouldn't even consider buying anything in any of the states you mentioned....give me the dry Southwest/Mountain West any day.
Last edited by Cathy4017; 09-28-2010 at 04:44 PM..
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will you be working for an American Company? 
