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I have lived in farmington since i was 10 i am now 22. I hate farmington honestly. But as far as outdoor stuff its great lots of people 4-wheeling/moto cross and its about 45 minutes to durango colorado where you can ski and all that winter stuff. The crime is pretty bad. im not saying your gonna get mugged or anything but the gang activity is bad. A few months back one of the very few resturants we have chilis had a shoot out between some mexican gang members. The meth tralior area called crouch mesa is an area you should stay away from. If you have skills to work in the oilfield/natural gas area you will be able to get a good paying job otherwise good luck. There really isn't anything to do at all unless you are into the outdoors you can go out to navajo dam which is really the only lake unless you count farmington lake lol (water supply). If you do move out here i watch out for the apartments. renting is not easy here there are barely any apartments and the main apartment complex here had stabbing and the maintence men where stealing womens underwear and other stuff out of peoples apartments(happened to family friend). I think its the coronado apartments, there are a two other names for the same apartment complex behind the subway on 20th. The rent is pretty high for a small town. 550 for a two bedroom in Aztec which is 20 mins outside town and it was a total dumb. Personally i have nothing good to say about this town. My husband and I are trying to save to get out of here. We will never afford a home here.
I have to agree with Lola. As far as restruants go we have outback, chillis, applebees (hubby and I get sick every time we eat there >.<) red lobster, golden corral, and thats about it aide from fast food. We have an Ihop, but its gross compared to other Ihops i have been to.
We have two theaters, one semi nice swimming pool, a skating rink (pre/teen hang out) a bowling alley, annnnd thats really it as far as 'indoor' activities go. We have a golf couse, people go rock crawling, you can go fishing but your basically elbow to elbow with people.
The college is small and I honestly spent my teen years DREADING the prospect of going there. I guess its as good as any community college? But they only offer associate degrees last I checked, and various certifications. You will want to be careful about your transferable credits (of course you probably know that =p)
The apartments I live in (not the ones mentioned above) were broken into a few months back and garffitied up.
I've lived in FMN all my life. I have deep roots here. My mom was born here. I travel a lot and find myself comparing FMN to other towns in the Southwest. There is good and bad about this place, but in a general way I have to agree with lola and oles. Not that I hate it here, but if I was looking for a place to relocate, FMN wouldn't be that high on my list.
Over 50 years here. People come to Farmington for the money, and even at that it's only when the price of oil and gas are really high that the money flows and makes it worth being here. The community is a cultural train wreck between the rednecks, native americans, gangstas, etc. I suppose in other places it's called "diversity".
Food and dining has been covered above. If ya like chain restaurants, this is the place.
San Juan College is actually a pretty good little institution for what it is. It's really oriented toward locals who, for whatever reason, are not able to attend a 4 year university elsewhere. Some of the specialized training is very good and comparitively inexpensive (if you're a resident). CDL, carpentry, oilfield technology, etc. are the ones I'm thinking of. I understand that the college is cutting back on their budget due to the economy.
Jobs are not as plentiful as they were a year ago. We're an oil and gas economy, and the prices have dropped substantially. Several companies have shut down their divisions here, others have had layoffs.
Outdoor recreation is pretty good. Lots to do, and we're located in an area that's close enough to other recreation to make day and weekend trips easy. There are zero rivers in New Mexico that are "navigable". We put our boats on the lakes, and those lakes are reservoirs in the middle of the desert. The rivers are small and sparse. Here in Farmington there are 3, and 2 of them have a tendency to dry up at the end of the summer. Keep in mind that we get around 8" of precipitation per year. It's a desert. Did I mention that it's a desert?
Housing is expensive, and you really won't be getting much for your money. The college is not large enough to provide dorms.
Medical care is adequate, but we seem to have trouble attracting and keeping doctors here. If you have a problem with your heart, you will be on the plane to Albuquerque as we don't have whatever it takes to do heart procedures here.
I have no idea what the social scene for young folks is these days in Farmington.
Thanks for all the info. I have a relative who lives in Aztec so housing would not be a problem. I guess my next question would be how is Aztec in comparison to Farmington?
I'm not too concerned about the lack of indoor activities because I grew up in a town of 800 and we did not have any of the above mentioned things to do.
I am concerned about meeting a few people. I don't need a million friends but a couple would be nice. I would think that if I'm going to school I might be able to find some?
As far as work I am currently a house painter/handyman and Realtor. Would there be plenty of homes in the area that need work or do most of the homes have vinyl siding or some other type of siding that doesn't need paint? I'm guessing the real estate market is in the tank there as well?
Housing market in Farmington is OK, especially compared to most other cities. There really is little to do in Aztec, pretty much everyone who lives there goes to Durango or Farmington for recreation. I would say there is more to do in Durango, but it is ridiculously expensive to live there.
As for Farmington, motorcycling and dirt biking are excellent in the area. Chokecherry Canyon on the west side of town attracts people from all over the 4 corners area for those activities. Snowmobiling in the winter would be in Durango, which would be about an hour away.
As mentioned, the rivers are small. Navajo Lake is popular though.
Most jobs in the area are oilfield related. Since oil started tanking last fall, their business has gone down and many of the local companies are downsizing.
I think honestly if you are bored with MSP, you will be even more bored with Farmington quickly.
I have lived in farmington since i was 10 i am now 22. I hate farmington honestly. But as far as outdoor stuff its great lots of people 4-wheeling/moto cross and its about 45 minutes to durango colorado where you can ski and all that winter stuff. The crime is pretty bad. im not saying your gonna get mugged or anything but the gang activity is bad. A few months back one of the very few resturants we have chilis had a shoot out between some mexican gang members. The meth tralior area called crouch mesa is an area you should stay away from. If you have skills to work in the oilfield/natural gas area you will be able to get a good paying job otherwise good luck. There really isn't anything to do at all unless you are into the outdoors you can go out to navajo dam which is really the only lake unless you count farmington lake lol (water supply). If you do move out here i watch out for the apartments. renting is not easy here there are barely any apartments and the main apartment complex here had stabbing and the maintence men where stealing womens underwear and other stuff out of peoples apartments(happened to family friend). I think its the coronado apartments, there are a two other names for the same apartment complex behind the subway on 20th. The rent is pretty high for a small town. 550 for a two bedroom in Aztec which is 20 mins outside town and it was a total dumb. Personally i have nothing good to say about this town. My husband and I are trying to save to get out of here. We will never afford a home here.
I lived in the Coronado Apts when someone was stealing womens underwear,they stole some of my girlfriends too and some other valuables, they broke into my apartment twice and also tried to steal my car.
Its a small world.
I am currently going to school at the University of Minnesota and am contemplating transferring to San Juan for a change of pace. I don't mind Mpls but I have been in the area most of my life and I might be bored with it.
I have read a lot of good and bad about Farmington, the bad mainly being crime, but it seems there are lots of things to do in the area. Can anyone tell me how the Farmington area is for motorcycling and dirt biking? I have read other places that I would only have to go about an hour and a half to snowmobile as well. Can any one expand on this? How are the lakes/rivers in the area? How is the economy there? Job availability?
Is there anything I should watch out for if I decide to move? Would this be a good place to move to? Thanks.
I agree with all the other posters,I lived there for 2 years and I hated it,I found the landscape ugly and the town was the most racist town I have seen in NM. Most people stick to their own races. Its kind of a wild town,think gangsters,rednecks and drunk indians.
If I was in your shoes I would try it out, if you dont like it you can always move but atleast you'll get a change of pace and know what it feels like to live in the SW.
If I was in your shoes I would try it out, if you dont like it you can always move but atleast you'll get a change of pace and know what it feels like to live in the SW.
That is kind of what I am thinking. I am definitely going to go out there check out the school, towns, and surrounding area before I decide one way or another.
As far as oil field jobs go what kind of education is required to get one of these jobs?
As far as oil field jobs go what kind of education is required to get one of these jobs?
That would depend on the type of "oil field job" you wanted. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of positions that are related to the oil/gas industry.
There a lot of entry level drilling and construction positions that you can qualify for if you have the ability to set an alarm clock and get to work on time. Due to high turnover rates in these types of jobs, you can usually work your way up to better positions if you have the fortitude and can handle the hard work.
With some technical training/education there a jobs that range from welders, mechanics, and pipefitters to wireline services, electricians, and telemetry technicians.
Petroleum Engineer and Geologist positions would require a specialized degree and, in some cases, real world experience. Operators seem to work their way up with on the job training.
I think that San Juan College is now offering courses for oil-field related positions. When I attended SJC the resident tuition fee was only $180 for 16 credit hours.
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As far as restruants go we have outback, chillis, applebees (hubby and I get sick every time we eat there >.<) red lobster, golden corral, and thats about it aide from fast food. We have an Ihop, but its gross compared to other Ihops i have been to. 
