Mora, NM? (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Vegas: homes, find a job, to buy)
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Not sure what you mean you haven't looked into Las Vegas "in several years". You have made several posts in the Las Vegas threads in recent months extolling the virtues of the town, but finally concluding it wouldn't be right for your family.
According to the city-data page for Las Vegas, unemployment (age 25+) is at 11.6% Poverty rate (2009) is 27%. Mora is 31 miles away. Winter travel can be dicey.
I was told by a Las Vegas resident that about half the faculty of NMHU do not live in Las Vegas, they commute in from Santa Fe. I had no way to verify this, but the implication was that many people who work in LV choose not to live there. You can draw your own conclusions.
I like how all your posts wrt to small towns in NM always have the "I was told by a" friend/Resident/Brothers-Cousins-SisterInLaw.
Its not easy to find a place to rent in Las Vegas N.M. or it wasnt years ago when i lived there. But i agree with you Hacker people that are afraid of Las Vegas N.M. take the word of other people that its a bad place or Assume that its a Bad place because of someone who might have at one time had a bad experience there and to get even with the whole town they speak bad about it. The best way to find out is to spend a few days there and find out for yourself. When i go to the Flea Market on nice days on the weekend its people everywhere and i still havent met a Bad person yet, no drunks, no drug addicts, no trouble makers.
I see Anglos and Spanish people everywhere or they look like Anglos but of course lots of the Spanish people from up there are Green Eyes and light colored hair so its hard to tell the difference. Everyone should check out the Rialto at the Plaza they have some Great Mexican food dishes but be prepared to stand in line for awhile especially at lunch time and that other Restaurant across the street from the McDonalds has some very good food. I havent tried the food anywhere else because these two places are very good with friendly people but i do need to try the other Cafes in town.
I like how all your posts wrt to small towns in NM always have the "I was told by a" friend/Resident/Brothers-Cousins-SisterInLaw.
Twenty-two years living and working and socializing in Albuquerque and traveling around the state have put me in contact with lots of people. Folks who currently live in Las Vegas seem not to participate much in the forums. I have known and talked to several people who were originally from Las Vegas, people with relatives in Las Vegas, and a couple of people who were living there at the time I spoke with them. My realtor is a graduate of NMHU and I have met social workers who studied there. I knew a Japanese student at UNM who lived there and commuted to school in ABQ. They have all shared their opinions with me because I asked. So put it all together and I'm not an "expert" but I have a certain perspective that I think is worth sharing. If your opinions are different please continue to share those as well. Yes, all the people I met from there have been great (they all happen to be professionals and grad students, a very limited slice of the population). I figured someone who has not lived in the state for 22 years might find it useful to hear from someone who has, or they wouldn't have asked. But I often feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. I also "like" how people will often ask for opinions and then resist them, going on nurturing their own fantasies and believing what they want to believe anyway. Human nature.
Ah, this is the Mora thread... I have known only one person from there, but several others from similarly small towns: Cimarron, Vallecitos, Villanueva, Chimayo... I seriously doubt anyone in Mora will be replying. I hope I'm wrong.
Twenty-two years living and working and socializing in Albuquerque and traveling around the state have put me in contact with lots of people. Folks who currently live in Las Vegas seem not to participate much in the forums. I have known and talked to several people who were originally from Las Vegas, people with relatives in Las Vegas, and a couple of people who were living there at the time I spoke with them. My realtor is a graduate of NMHU and I have met social workers who studied there. I knew a Japanese student at UNM who lived there and commuted to school in ABQ. They have all shared their opinions with me because I asked. So put it all together and I'm not an "expert" but I have a certain perspective that I think is worth sharing. If your opinions are different please continue to share those as well. Yes, all the people I met from there have been great (they all happen to be professionals and grad students, a very limited slice of the population). I figured someone who has not lived in the state for 22 years might find it useful to hear from someone who has, or they wouldn't have asked. But I often feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. I also "like" how people will often ask for opinions and then resist them, going on nurturing their own fantasies and believing what they want to believe anyway. Human nature.
Ah, this is the Mora thread... I have known only one person from there, but several others from similarly small towns: Cimarron, Vallecitos, Villanueva, Chimayo... I seriously doubt anyone in Mora will be replying. I hope I'm wrong.
Yep, this is a challenge with online boards. The people who post here post their opinions, which seem entirely valid to me, but they are obviously not a complete sample of all the populations in any state. I sure would be interested in hearing from someone, or several people, from Mora about Mora.
That area seems very unique and special, but it is hard to say how an outsider would fit into communities that are almost defined by their old fashioned ways and relatively low levels of immigration. There are not too many such places like that left in the US.
Maybe I should apply to that job I've got in mind and if invited, take a road trip out there to see for myself.
Maybe I should apply to that job I've got in mind and if invited, take a road trip out there to see for myself.
That's the only way to get a firsthand impression. I think that part of the state is gorgeous, having ridden through Mora and Guadalupita on my motorcycle, but I have no idea how it would be to live there.
Not sure what you mean you haven't looked into Las Vegas "in several years". You have made several posts in the Las Vegas threads in recent months extolling the virtues of the town, but finally concluding it wouldn't be right for your family.
According to the city-data page for Las Vegas, unemployment (age 25+) is at 11.6% Poverty rate (2009) is 27%. Mora is 31 miles away. Winter travel can be dicey.
I was told by a Las Vegas resident that about half the faculty of NMHU do not live in Las Vegas, they commute in from Santa Fe. I had no way to verify this, but the implication was that many people who work in LV choose not to live there. You can draw your own conclusions.
I am not sure of the question here. You seem to defend your right to make statements about Las Vegas (and I agree with your right), but you seem to question why I would want to learn more about Las Vegas or Mora. I interviewed for a job at NMHU in 2008. I studied the area intensively. I did not get an offer. I am not sure if I was under or overqualified. And although I am well aware of the issues there, and the pay at NMHU was poor, I must say I found that area fascinating and the people charming and authentic. It strikes me as one of the more unique areas of the USA, and it is amazingly undiscovered in comparison to Santa Fe or Taos. Virtually noone who would move to Durango, CO for instance, would move to Las Vegas. That is intriguing to me, as the exurban, coastal, wealthy white immigrants change the complexion of a place considerably, especially the real estate cost to earning ratio. I find the high plains scenery splendid and the hispanic culture warm. I keep checking back in on Las Vegas because I am curious about how it is developing. I got the feeling when I visited that it was on the cusp of change. I certainly did not claim LV was great, but simply communicated my impressions, which were genuine, and not completely uninformed.
I also have a memory of traveling through the Sangre de Cristo to Cimmaron and environs 20+ years ago. Seeing the high plains and pronghorn running along the road. It left a fine impression that has never left.
Vis a vis Mora, there is another opportunity, and the only really feasible way to do that one, I think, would be to commute from the Las Vegas area or somewhere in between.
I did meet several faculty that commuted from Santa Fe area too, but not all. I will agree that Las Vegas/Mora is not for everyone, but it might just be the ticket for others. I find it an extremely interesting part of the world.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 12-15-2011 at 03:10 PM..
Yet, you have stated that your wife is not interested, there are doubts about her ability to find a job in the area, and you have serious reservations about moving your son to a place like Las Vegas (not to offend, but it sounds like your wife is the sensible one!). So how would going for another visit really change that? Do pronghorns really make a difference?
Unlike others who see these places with rose-colored glasses, I just can't advise a family from Ashland, Oregon, to leave their jobs and uproot their child and move to Las Vegas or Mora, and claim it would be a smart move. So I feel like I have a moral obligation as someone who lives in NM reading your posts, to tell you it would not be a smart move. I think it would be a huge mistake. I mean, you both have jobs now, right? And your son is doing well where he is? And you are upside down on your house?
Note that NMHacker has a boss from Mora, but he lives in Albuquerque. I wonder how he would feel if he got transferred to Mora.
Note that NMHacker has a boss from Mora, but he lives in Albuquerque. I wonder how he would feel if he got transferred to Mora.
My boss would be ecstatic if he got transferred to Mora. He still maintains a house there. He ran a department for our company in Las Vegas for many years which included the Mora area. While he ran that department in Las Vegas he commuted from Mora. His plans are that when he retires in a couple of years is to move back to Mora and to help the community that he was raised in. He does that now as he is on the board of a Non-Profit organization up in Las Vegas. He was educated at Luna and Highlands as well as St John's in Santa Fe.
I myself would love to be able to live in that area. I have land near Villanueva and may one day be able to work and live up there. I am in the IT industry and have worked from home for extended periods of time. I could do the same up there. My wife is what is holding us up at this time. She is currently the President of her fathers company and would not be able to run it from there. My best friend is also currently looking at moving back to the Las Vegas area also. His family is from near San Geronimo. Matter of fact he is taking a 4 month sabbatical this summer to build the house they will be living in.
Yes, there are a couple restaurants in Mora. We went through Mora yesterday after making a loop from the high road to Taos, then to Angel Fire to ski. We came back thru Mora & ended up eating in a sub shop where we had a sub that I would not rave about. While waiting for our order I looked at their buffet with the most disgusting crusty food that had been sitting too long. When we got to Cleveland, we noticed a tamale shop & wished we had eaten there.
Looked like more alpacas in Mora than humans.
I would be concerned about your wife being able to get a job, since jobs will go to locals first.
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I mean, you both have jobs now, right? And your son is doing well where he is? And you are upside down on your house?
