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I'm in ABQ now. Not much to do down there and it is the ugliest part of NM. Lubbock has good music and barbeque. Highlights in Clovis- A soul food restaurant, a biker bar called Riley's Switch, proximity to a great biker bar in Amarillo, lots of big Bull snakes on the road, burrowing owls in the park, golden eagles on the road to Tucumcari. Portales - Peanuts and speed traps.
Don't forget the infamous Big Texan Restaurant over in Amarillo, too(haha, the same restaurant The Simpsons once parodied many seasons back).
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER. Invest in a good water filter, buy bottled water, do whatever you have to do. But do not drink the water.
Things to do locally:
Umm, not much.
Yeah, Daylight has great donuts. Back when Daylight was partnered with Pizza Mill, they also had great salads, but those days are gone alas.
Oasis State Park is about 10 miles from town. Lots of sand dunes. A pond. Drunks on the weekends. Watch out for snakes.
ENMU Special Collections Library. If you read at all, go check this out. They have some real gems. Especially if you like science fiction.
Taco Box. At one time had great burritos. Still does as far as I know. Also the best iced tea in town.
Things to do in the larger NM area:
You have to go see Carlsbad Caverns. It is a long drive, yes, but you won't regret it. Everyone should see it before they die. If you have the time, swing over to Sitting Bull Falls on the way back. Neat place. Watch out for snakes though.
White Sands is cool. Again, quite a drive, but neat to see. Might as well check out the lava fields while you’re in the area.
For shopping, nightlife, etc., your best bet is Lubbock or Amarillo, TX or the 4 hour drive to Albuquerque. There are lots of bars in the Clovis/Portales area, but most of them cater to a contingent --- red neck, bikers, Hispanics, or the college crowd. Most of the base people tend to mingle with the college crowd.
If you are a history buff at all, there’s lots of Billy the Kidd stuff in Ft. Sumner, about an hour away.
Yep, we got that down already. Bottled water. once we get a house, it's Reverse Osmosis, brother! Seeing whats coming off the feed lots and fertilizer from the peanut fields, it all collects somewhere. Thanks for the heads up!
Yep, we got that down already. Bottled water. once we get a house, it's Reverse Osmosis, brother! Seeing whats coming off the feed lots and fertilizer from the peanut fields, it all collects somewhere. Thanks for the heads up!
Local water is also heavily fluoridated. Check out some of the locals. If they still have their real teeth, they're brown. Any local over 40 with straight, white teeth...they are false teeth. Growing up, I knew lots of folks who were having to have all their teeth removed for false ones by age 30. It was actually pretty common.
Local water is also heavily fluoridated. Check out some of the locals. If they still have their real teeth, they're brown. Any local over 40 with straight, white teeth...they are false teeth. Growing up, I knew lots of folks who were having to have all their teeth removed for false ones by age 30. It was actually pretty common.
It must be a problem in many parts of New Mexico. I saw the same effect on teeth in the Southwest corner.
We went through Portales a few weeks ago, and it seems like a little gem out there compared to most towns in the area. It has a pretty little campus, Eastern New Mexico University, a decent old town area, and a nice original downtown square with actual businesses around it and a huge Art Deco court house. We ate at the original "Cattle Baron" restaurant and had a great steak and decent salad bar. We saw some clean industry in town, mostly agricultural-related. There is a nice newer-looking hospital at the edge of town. The football stadium north of town was pretty impressive. Someone told us they have a 2% unemployment rate! Clovis, on the other hand, seemed kind of trashy and spread out in a strip mall fashion. As soon as we crossed into Texas, it looked even worse.
Portales is really not that bad. I've established work in Clovis, I've enrolled in both ENMU and Clovis community college.
I've stated my favor of Portales in another thread "Clovis Night Life".
Give Clovis this...It has more storied rock and roll history between itself and Lubbock than most cities ten times their size (i.e. Norman Petty Studios, Buddy Holley, Roy Orbison, The Fireballs) . History is one thing, what is it now?
The discussions about Portales water in my past posts here were based on other peoples opinions.
The truth...
There is a lot of flouride in the water, and according to what a Clovis dentist told my wife this only a concern for children who have yet to get their secondary teeth. Give them distilled water until their secondary teeth come in. Otherwise they get what you call Portales brown. Brown teeth thats strong enough to bite through towing chain. It's ok as an adult to drink the water, the flouride will only strengthen your teeth, YET I do not drink it without filtration...which is what we do...that goes for anywhere.
I haven't committed yet, but may be moving to Portales, NM due to a job transfer in the next 3 to 6 months.
My only concern? I have 3 kids ages 8, 13 and 15. We presently live in a small town atmosphere with good (not great) schools and lots of youth activities. All 3 kids are very kind and considerate....not perfect but very good natured.
I would appreciate info regarding the Portales schools. How hard would it be for a transplanted kid to acclamate to life in Portales? What obstacles? Drugs? Violence?
Please advise......
I've been here since Jan 2007. My wife teaches at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. Inexpensive college for your kids if you wish to keep them around, a few of your kidders are closing in on college time. Having a college here provides a better culture element, there's free seminars, theatre, college level sport events.
Where you came from pretty much describes Portales I suppose. I have no kids, but it seems that everything evolves around children here. I haven't seen any problems, I hope that a local with kids chimes in here.
Kids can be bored anywhere...it's up to you to keep them interested...you know that better than I would. Lots of activities for the kids. There is a skatepark, with ballparks across the street, and a nice public pool. Small town life, things are kept in check. There's drugs, crime in every town. Portales in my opinion keeps it to a minimum. Nearby cities of note: Clovis 18 mi... has more shopping options than Portales and a ZOO!, Lubbock 110 mi, Roswell 92 mi, ditto on the shopping
Last edited by newmex; 09-25-2007 at 08:29 PM..
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No wonder the choice is alcohol
