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Originally Posted by marionette912
I'm interested in buying property with Ponderosa pines. I would like 20 acres + or a few lots next to each other. I would like to be with in an hour of a town for shopping. I've been looking in Pie a Town and Ramah. Would like to stay in the northern part of NM, but will consider other areas if the price is cheap.
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There are two subdivisions in New Mexico called Ponderosa Pines that I'm aware of. One is near Cloudcroft and one is near Ramah. From your post I'm going to assume you're looking at the one near Ramah. That one I know, so let me give you a little insight. I grew up in, and am familiar with, that part of McKinley/Cibola Counties.
They are cheap lots and for a reason. That part of NM is remote. Water is scarce and if you plan on drilling a well it will cost you the price of the lot up to ten-fold. IF you can hit water. If not, you still pay for drilling and can keep trying until you're broke. Plan to get a cistern and having water hauled into your lot. Access to the lots can be tricky, to say the least. There may be a road but there may only be a two-wheel track. Due your due diligence. Even if it's a "road" it is likely to be a mud pit when it rains and an ungraded, washboard nightmare when it's dry. Look at the lot before you buy.
If you plan to live there year round you better have a source of income that doesn't rely on the local economy or getting a job. Ramah is a very insular Mormon community that sticks to its own. It's a very friendly and hospitable town but it doesn't have jobs. Need a job? It's an hour commute to Gallup or Grants. Gallup has low wage service industry jobs that cater to the influx of shoppers coming in from the reservations. Grants is a busted uranium mining town that has few jobs and many people there commute to Albuquerque, another hour away.
Pie Town? Even more remote. Don't plan on getting a job any closer than Socorro or Springerville/Eager, AZ, both pushing two hours one-way.
You have chosen to look at some of the most remote places in NW NM. Any services will be a trip. However, if you're not needing to make a living or be close to any hospitals, stores, gas stations or anything else, it is one of the most beautiful places on earth with some of the most salt-of-the-earth, friendly and neighborly people you will ever meet. I'm incredibly lucky to have lived in that area and being a rural boy, I'd return in heartbeat if I didn't have to make a living. If you're REALLY looking to get remote, check out Fence Lake.
I'm not Mormon but I went to the church in Ramah and had many friends in the town. I'm white but loved living in Zuni and had many friends there. That's that area. It's a cultural mishmash that either you love or hate. It takes a special person to live, love and miss that part of the world. :-)