Shopping in Alamogordo (Las Cruces, Tularosa, White Sands: Home Depot, purchases, income)

[designer]

I was in Alamogordo a few days ago and didn't notice many name brand
grocery stores with the exception of Walmart. I did notice a home depot and lowes which would be conveinent for home repair purchases. I now live in
a smaller southern NM town and am getting tired of making so many trips
to Las Cruces. Also I would guess that the medical in Alamogordo might be
lacking compared to Las Cruces as well. I'm sure Alamo has doctors but how
many top rated specialists do they have. I really like how Alamo is situated
so close to the mountains but if I move I want to be sure that I won't
be making so many drives to the larger town.

[NMNan]

Besides WalMart, there is a Lowe's Grocery store on 10th street off of White Sands Blvd. They have a real butcher and better produce than WalMart.

I don't know about top rated specialists, maybe someone else will come along who does.

[Cathy4017]

Of course Alamogordo is going to be lacking next to Las Cruces. What do you expect? Alamo has less than half the population of LC, and does not have LC's proximity to El Paso.

Why bother with another small town if you spend all of your time on the road to larger places for medical care?

You live in T or C, correct?

Compared to T or C, Alamo is an oasis. Here again, you're looking at a much larger town.

There was NOTHING in T or C that made me even want to get out of the car, let alone stop and explore. I detoured once, and that was enough!

[bigsandyb]

I do a lot of shopping online, so the stores in Alamo should be ok. Lowe's is a very nice store for groceries, and if there is a good produce stand or farmers market, that would be great.
I hear the hospital in Alamo is good, but don't know about specialties. We live in a town of 25,000 here, so have to go to larger town nearby for specialists.

[designer]

You are right about the shopping in T or C. It flat sucks IMHO. I have
seen many retailers come and go in the six years I have lived here
and that is due partly on the very high level of poverty here.
I wouldn't expect Alamogordo to have the level of shopping of LC but
I have recently been in similar size cities that really surprised me with
the quality of the retail shopping and medical they offered, but they
were not in NM and I really like living in NM or at least the southwest.
The quality of shopping, restaurants and medical depends on not just
the population of a area but also the income level and hopefully a burgeoning economy. I have considered moving to Las Cruces but since I like
spending a lot of time hiking in the mountains Alamogordo might
be a lot better fit than T or C and still reduce the amount of driving
I now do to the larger cities here in NM. Just have to spend more time
over there.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by designer

I have considered moving to Las Cruces but since I like spending a lot of time hiking in the mountains Alamogordo might
be a lot better fit than T or C

I can't think of a more challenging mountain range to hike in than the Organs and San Andres ranges adjacent to Las Cruces. There are two state parks - Aguirre Spring Campground

on the west side, easily accessible from US-70, and Dripping Springs Natural Area

on the east side, less accessible but providing equally good trailheads. Las Cruces also has several lesser mountains nearby, and El Paso's Franklin State Park is not to be sneezed at for challenging mountain hiking.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by designer

....
I wouldn't expect Alamogordo to have the level of shopping of LC but
I have recently been in similar size cities that really surprised me with
the quality of the retail shopping and medical they offered, but they
were not in NM and I really like living in NM or at least the southwest.
The quality of shopping, restaurants and medical depends on not just
the population of a area but also the income level and hopefully a burgeoning economy. I have considered moving to Las Cruces but since I like spending a lot of time hiking in the mountains Alamogordo might
be a lot better fit than T or C and still reduce the amount of driving
I now do to the larger cities here in NM. Just have to spend more time
over there.

Oh, lordy. The restaurants.....now if you want to talk about LACKING, Alamogordo lacks decent restaurants in SPADES. I have never seen a town of this size (37-40K) whose restaurants are lousy almost all across the board. They can be good one day--and then you go back, and they are not fit to eat.

Even my very favorite, Casa de Sueños (which is actually down the road in Tularosa) has been flatout lousy the last two times I've eaten there.

The food is just generally very, very bland and tasteless.

Surprisingly enough, I had a good pizza at Pizza Hut recently, one of the best I've ever had. The chains here are like their counterparts in other places, for the most part.

[songinthewind7]

We usually eat at Pizza Hut when we're there. They have decent pizza. Stella Vita's and Pepper's grill are some other good places.

I've gone through cancer this year, had surgery and did the chemo thing. I liked my surgeon and oncologist. In fact, the oncologist in Alamo is supposed to be the best in the country.

[Bauerrocks]

From what I hear, EMT service in Alamo is terrible. I know of one situation where the EMT were called and it took them over an hour to arrive and when they did, they circled the block twice not knowing where they were supposed to go.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by songinthewind7

We usually eat at Pizza Hut when we're there. They have decent pizza. Stella Vita's and Pepper's grill are some other good places.

I've gone through cancer this year, had surgery and did the chemo thing. I liked my surgeon and oncologist. In fact, the oncologist in Alamo is supposed to be the best in the country.

Forgot about Pepper's Grill. It's been very good every time I've been there.