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Well I just went to an apartment website for Las Cruces and just in a quick overview I'm seeing some prices starting at as low as $475 and some at $665. I don't know about any of the quality at Las Cruces, as I don't live there. It's not far from me, though, and it seems like a pretty nice place. As far as a city goes, it isn't all that huge. I haven't been around Phoenix much, and I'm sure Cruces is smaller. Don't know about the job situations there. I imagine the people would be decent. Coming from the very Northeast, the people down here are not as friendly, but they are also less confrontational and just keep to themselves. I made 2 good friends after being here for just a few months, and I'm not good at meeting people.
I'm in Alamogordo (45 min from Las Cruces). Depending on the quality of the apartment you want, the cheapest I know is $475 for over 800 sq ft. Alamo Apartments. The place itself doesn't look bad, but I don't know what the apartments themselves are like. A place I have lived, Hunters Ridge, has 600 sq ft for $610, and the place is okay. They don't have a workout room like the other place does though. But the apartment itself is probably quite a bit nicer. They had their pipes freeze last February and it caused quite a few problems with the washer driers because they are off your porch rather than in the apartment. But One bedrooms don't have w/d hookup anyways.
Las Ventanas is a nice apartment complex, probably one of the nicest. A bit pricer. They apparently redid their website and no longer list prices. I think the one bedrooms (3 different plans) range from about 600 to 700. Just a guess. I remember that one of their two bedrooms is in the 800s.
Those 3 are the only ones with websites. There are quite a few more apartments, and plenty of homes for rent too. I know of a few homes that were renting for less than 700, but they are a bit harder to find. Apparently most homes are overpriced because of the German population. They get money for their home cost in amounts up to 1200/month or even more, so people overprice because they can get it. I'm not sure about the job situation. This town is quite small compared to Las Cruces. But if you're just driving around, it's worth a look.
I did move myself by vehicle across the country twice about 10 years ago. 2 dogs & I moved from Texas to Colorado & then 2 years later to Washington state. But I made sure I had a couple things in place.
1. A relatively new, paid for vehicle, inspected & up-to-date for any forseeable road problems.
2. A job waiting for me in the new location. I sent out resumes & interviewed on-line. It doesn't have to be the job you spend the rest of your life at, but you do need employment before you just show up in a new town.
3. A place to live. Once again, on-line. I ended up renting a really cool apartment over someones barn on 4 acres for a relatively low amount.
Don't set yourself up for failure. No one else will be responsible for your problems & do not rely on perfect strangers to make your life easier. For anyone who wants to take off, start over & move to their ideal new place, I have the following suggestions:
1. Get a marketable skill. Just being a nice person is not enough, there are thousands of people like that out of work right now. You may need to stay where you are & get some education or training to achieve that marketable skill.
2. Minimize your financial burden. Pay off what debt you can & save a minimum of 6 months of living expenses before you move.
3. Do your due diligence. I am amazed at the number of people that think that "looking" at a place on the internet will give them an accurate picture of what it is like to live there.
I know this is a bit wordy, but you have a better chance of suceeding if you write down your goals in a 1-5 year timeline. Good luck.
Job quantity: There is usually a large amount of turnover and thus jobs available at call centers such as Citibank, Verizon, etc. It's perhaps a stage above collections but it's nonetheless not for most people. HP may still be hiring at their new center. No idea on the other industries. Albuquerque's unemployment level is not significantly better than Phoenix's. I'd strongly suspect that the unemployed here (with exceptions, of course) tend to have less work ethic than in Phoenix, though. Just my experience hiring and firing people.
Add: T-Mobile. That one has an easier application and only requires the last FIVE YEARS' worth of your work experience accounted for. I've talked to people in Grants at the laundromat and they say that T-Mobile "hires anybody" because it's high turnover. Like, MORE than Verizon or Sprint.
I did move myself by vehicle across the country twice about 10 years ago. 2 dogs & I moved from Texas to Colorado & then 2 years later to Washington state. But I made sure I had a couple things in place.
1. A relatively new, paid for vehicle, inspected & up-to-date for any forseeable road problems.
2. A job waiting for me in the new location. I sent out resumes & interviewed on-line. It doesn't have to be the job you spend the rest of your life at, but you do need employment before you just show up in a new town.
3. A place to live. Once again, on-line. I ended up renting a really cool apartment over someones barn on 4 acres for a relatively low amount.
Don't set yourself up for failure. No one else will be responsible for your problems & do not rely on perfect strangers to make your life easier. For anyone who wants to take off, start over & move to their ideal new place, I have the following suggestions:
1. Get a marketable skill. Just being a nice person is not enough, there are thousands of people like that out of work right now. You may need to stay where you are & get some education or training to achieve that marketable skill.
2. Minimize your financial burden. Pay off what debt you can & save a minimum of 6 months of living expenses before you move.
3. Do your due diligence. I am amazed at the number of people that think that "looking" at a place on the internet will give them an accurate picture of what it is like to live there.
I know this is a bit wordy, but you have a better chance of suceeding if you write down your goals in a 1-5 year timeline. Good luck.
TEN years ago all of this was much easier to do from afar. That many years ago I moved from the Bay Area to New York for the New York Teaching Fellows, too. There was no way in hell I was getting a teaching license in California because they didn't even have subject matter competency TESTS at the time. All that mattered were references and not whether or not you KNEW Math or Physics.
and food for your trip. then double it. trust me on this one.
What I do is stock up on what's hopefully going to be enough: canned tuna (or chicken depending on what the Dollar Store had), can opener, plastic or real utensils, (forks and spoons), soft-granola bars, Top Ramen and a washable plastic bowl; a water-boiling kettle, instant double espresso and powdered creamer type supplies (you can use all that at the roadside "rest stop" type places, trust me they have electric outlets to plug in that electric water-boiling kettle) and bathrooms where you can wash up that washable-plastic stuff....hell I always need to lose weight anyway
All it takes is extra money and a good sense for spending as little of it as possible and things should work out.
Employment might be a little difficult, especially if you are not bilingual and want a position where you will be talking with a large number of customers or clients. ( I wished my school stressed Spanish rather than presenting French as how we were to learn culture, but no one ever thought decades ago that knowing Spanish would be of value.) Yes there are entry level customer service jobs in the larger towns, but I found you need to fit their "profile" of the ideal employee to really have a chance. Look at a company's current staff to get an impression of their "typical employee".
I would also look for an apartment where utilities are included. It may not be your dream home, but will give you a local address for job applications and let you have a fixed level of living expenses. A cheap burn-phone with a New Mexico number would help too.
Good Luck on your move...I did a similar thing many years ago when I moved out to New Mexico the first time!
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