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I had expected it to be kind of like a mini Durango .
Now that's funny!
Silver City isn't as poor and rundown (or small!) as other isolated NM towns. There is *some* tourism for sure, and they would be in really bad shape without it. Else when the mines slow down, they'd have nothing at all.
But it isn't a tourist hub by any means. Santa Fe and Taos are the only places in NM that can claim that. Maybe Ruidoso if you are from Texas.
What Silver City has going for it is a great year round climate... arguably the best in the country outside of the S CA coast... plus pleasing terrain, the awesome Gila Forest, and enough services and things to do for some people... not all.
One thing I wanted to mention is that IME, you really need to let most towns in NM grow on you. First impressions are often not very good, especially if you just came from a place that was green and prosperous. Dry, dusty, obvious poverty, etc. can be a turn off. But in every case I've learned to like it and feel very comfortable after awhile.
Oh you clearly don't know how to wander then...there is nothing less fun for me than to have an itinerary.
No, I guess not, but then I am not from Indiana ether. Those folks truly were experts in the field of wandering. For some reason a few years ago it was removed from their license plates.
Silver City isn't as poor and rundown (or small!) as other isolated NM towns. There is *some* tourism for sure, and they would be in really bad shape without it. Else when the mines slow down, they'd have nothing at all.
But it isn't a tourist hub by any means. Santa Fe and Taos are the only places in NM that can claim that. Maybe Ruidoso if you are from Texas.
What Silver City has going for it is a great year round climate... arguably the best in the country outside of the S CA coast... plus pleasing terrain, the awesome Gila Forest, and enough services and things to do for some people... not all.
One thing I wanted to mention is that IME, you really need to let most towns in NM grow on you. First impressions are often not very good, especially if you just came from a place that was green and prosperous. Dry, dusty, obvious poverty, etc. can be a turn off. But in every case I've learned to like it and feel very comfortable after awhile.
The word I am struggling for is " destination city" every up and coming place at the end of the road wishes they could attain that status. From what I can tell only Santa Fe fits that Bill. No one likes to use the word " tourist" anymore , maybe it's memories of the old Route 66 era where every town along the way was competing for a reason to be there., and it showed. Even Las Cruces is considered a watering hole on the way to somewhere. I heard that statement in the office at the KOA camp ground the other day.l.........and, I read those words again in a book on local history I bought. As far back as 1854 or earlier Melissa ( the original old town) was the largest stop over between El Paso and CALIF. ITS claim to fame after the Gasdan Purchase being signed here, was the first attempt of the famous " Pony Express". No all that's changed in New Mexico being a " drive thru place is now in there modern times you can do it much,much faster !!
Silver City isn't as poor and rundown (or small!) as other isolated NM towns. There is *some* tourism for sure, and they would be in really bad shape without it. Else when the mines slow down, they'd have nothing at all.
But it isn't a tourist hub by any means. Santa Fe and Taos are the only places in NM that can claim that. Maybe Ruidoso if you are from Texas.
What Silver City has going for it is a great year round climate... arguably the best in the country outside of the S CA coast... plus pleasing terrain, the awesome Gila Forest, and enough services and things to do for some people... not all.
One thing I wanted to mention is that IME, you really need to let most towns in NM grow on you. First impressions are often not very good, especially if you just came from a place that was green and prosperous. Dry, dusty, obvious poverty, etc. can be a turn off. But in every case I've learned to like it and feel very comfortable after awhile.
I have been struggling with love/wonder-about-it-somethings relationship with NM and wanting to move there. I know I love the outdoors in NM, the fact that you can go on a trail and not meet anyone for days sometimes. I know I have been wondering whether it is smart to move to a place with obvious poverty and obviously bad crime stats. Thank you for the balanced post and esp. the last paragraph.
I have been struggling with love/wonder-about-it-somethings relationship with NM and wanting to move there. I know I love the outdoors in NM, the fact that you can go on a trail and not meet anyone for days sometimes. I know I have been wondering whether it is smart to move to a place with obvious poverty and obviously bad crime stats. Thank you for the balanced post and esp. the last paragraph.
For a comparison I wonder how the "other state" ( AZ) stacks up on the " bad crime" ? Everything is in perspective.Could be that Silver City is high in crime for its size', and what kinda crime..shoplifting ? So far, even here in NM second city I have found the most polite friendly people everywhere I go'
No all that's changed in New Mexico being a " drive thru place is now in there modern times you can do it much,much faster !!
It comes up on this forum occasionally, why NM isn't attracting many tourists. It isn't that surprising. It's got a lot of great mountains and features, but nothing like the CO Rockies, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and Escalante, Yosemite, the Tetons and Yellowstone. Those are the places where people want to go to see natural beauty out west. They are unique. And they are done up right to attract people who want to spend money.
NM just doesn't have any of those things. Many nice features, but nothing outstanding that many would go out of their way for. And it is has always been poor and sparsely populated. I'm actually amazed that Santa Fe and Taos are so popular... not too fond of either myself.
If you are wanting to get away from it all, NM is great for that. Slow pace, a place to relax. And that's fine with me. One of our favorite vacation spots is to go to TorC in the winter. Found a motel room that has a big fancy private outdoor tub... pure luxury...
I love Silver City... I would have moved there, but Ruidoso was better for my wife. I wonder about the high crime stats, which BTW are similar to Taos and Santa Fe. I suppose there is something going on, but I've never felt it was dangerous to walk around town at night. Trouble is often easy to avoid if you don't go looking for it.
Silver City isn't as poor and rundown (or small!) as other isolated NM towns. There is *some* tourism for sure, and they would be in really bad shape without it. Else when the mines slow down, they'd have nothing at all.
But it isn't a tourist hub by any means. Santa Fe and Taos are the only places in NM that can claim that. Maybe Ruidoso if you are from Texas.
What Silver City has going for it is a great year round climate... arguably the best in the country outside of the S CA coast... plus pleasing terrain, the awesome Gila Forest, and enough services and things to do for some people... not all.
One thing I wanted to mention is that IME, you really need to let most towns in NM grow on you. First impressions are often not very good, especially if you just came from a place that was green and prosperous. Dry, dusty, obvious poverty, etc. can be a turn off. But in every case I've learned to like it and feel very comfortable after awhile.
I was kind of grabbing at a mini comparison in my hindsight. LOL . I agree that many NM do "grow" on oneself and may "look" pretty questionable on the surface. I reside in Santa Fe County, where trailers and old tires and arroyos block road access at times. $500,000 homes and the next acre 50 year old patched up trailers. It does grow on one. I had read a few articles about Silver City's becoming a trendy little place, this was all years ago(9-10 yrs. ago)....and IMO it was a long ways from such. I did find getting there quite the journey and thought the area might feel slightly "land locked" for me....
I don't know, but I wonder if mining activity increased around then? Guys getting into fights? Drug turf battles?
One thing to consider is that any town that has a significant amount of tourist traffic will see higher crime rates because of it. Also, reported and recorded crime (which is what the statistics show) may not follow actual crime rates very well.
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