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Amrobin, you see like a nice enough person. I am also a Wisconsinite (although a Milwaukeean) born/raised/lived, etc., for much of my life. I did New Mexico (Albuquerque area) for 4+ years from 2003-2007. Recently, we moved back to the Milwaukee area (had some kids in ABQ and my wife and I decided it was best to move back near WI family).
I am the opposite of you. I don't hate WI by any means...after all, I did come back...however, I far prefer New Mexico.
New Mexico - like Wisconsin believe it or not - is a very polarizing place. Some folks really like it, and some folks...not so much so. New Mexico is a very opposite place than to Wisconsin in many ways.
Let me add some comments here that may or may not be applicable (but I suspect they are):
1a. I am really detecting from your posts a set up for failure here on your relocation. I have been reading some posts in the Wisconsin forums of late (kind of a reverse situation from yours) and there have been posters who recently relocated to Wisconsin (often a wife for the husband's job) and really seem to despise it and their existence there.
However, when reading further, one can tell that they really liked / loved where they were before moving to WI, and thus - even if unintentionally or even if they did not have this motive - they ended up closing their mind to the possibility of enjoying what WI has to offer, and they have told themselves prior to stepping foot in WI "I really am going to miss my home...I really am quite sure that I will NOT like WI." Thus, that is their prophecy, and then the preordain the fulfillment to their prophecy. They end up not liking WI one bit and being miserable. Well is that because they really hate WI? Probably partially in instances. But also, it probably is part of that they absolutely never gave WI a chance in their own head.
This is like when I was in high school and played basketball. There were certain teams that had a huge amount of athleticism (looked so good in warm ups) or maybe had an incredibly good Won-Loss record. Even though analytically we should've known that if we played hard and smart, we might have every chance in the world of winning the game, we psyched ourselves out, and moreover, told ourselves internally (no way we win this game...we'll lose / get killed). And sure enough, before the first play even occurred, we were a beaten team. No way we could win the game because we didn't give ourselves a chance...even though outwardly we would never have said those things.
Now, I am not beating you up and grilling you and saying "just give NM a chance and you'll love it." Hey, look...I am sure that some people LOVE living in Alaska. Some LOVE living in Louisiana. Some LOVE living in Minnesota. I am sure to them, that is their little slice of a great place to be. However, to me, I just KNOW I likely wouldn't like living in them personally - even though admittedly I have never lived in any of these places - so frankly, I would take a pass on even trying them. I don't think there is anything wrong with that.
I guess what I am trying to tell you is this: you sound a lot like those folks in the Wisconsin forums that I am describing (who regret moving from their homes in other regions TO Wisconny).
That is okay - certainly if you love WI and have negative perceptions of leaving it and moving to NM - those are just your opinions / likes. That is great. However, I would really, really, REALLY urge you to contemplate if you REALLY want to move, and to really discuss this with your husband. The absolute last thing in the world you want to do is move to NM for your husband's sake...internally or unintentionally close off your mind to even liking living elsewhere (esp. somewhere so different from WI), and then end up being bitter / begrudging the time / being miserable.
Every region / place in this mortal world is flawed in some ways. I believe the best place / way to live is the place in where you are very content. It sounds like you strongly feel that you have that in WI and feel fairly strongly you won't in NM. I just don't feel even a great job is worth giving that up.
1b. So many of us in Wisconsin have extensive family roots in WI. You know how it is in so much of WI...people are born/raised/live their lives/bring up their families/die all in WI. Extended families all kind of stay in the state (this applies to much of the upper Midwest). IF this applies to you like so many Wisconsinites, and IF you are close to your family like so many Wisconsinites, then my 1a scenario gets even bigger tenfold to heed warning.
Moving cross-country to a new and completely different region is a tough enough adjustment. You aren't going to know people at first. You aren't going to have the friends / social network you have at first. You aren't going to have that immense "comfort zone" at first.
This applies to anyone that moves, however, if you are happy or excited about the move, that surely helps immensely. Or, if you are more "neutral" about the move (not necessarily thrilled but not against the idea either and truly having a completely open mind and don't mind moving away from where you are), then you can survive things too.
But, if you are like so many of my friends that live here in WI...they would never even TRULY fathom moving from WI, and if they were forced to, whether they know it or not (and I am not just talking about to IL or MN or IA either), they would crumble. They would hate it. They are just too close to their families / social networks, etc., and are so used to that in their "Wisconsin comfort zone" that even if they had nothing but positives to look out for in moving to New Mexico, the family-thing alone would crush 'em.
People not familiar with the Upper Midwest often cannot grasp this. Sure, there are other mini-pockets, regions, etc., in the nation where generations of family sticks in one place. But it isn't nearly as widespread or as common anywhere outside of the upper Midwest.
If this is you (and maybe it isn't...but you have to be truthful with yourself I think)...this "caution" alert grows by 10-fold.
2. Now, maybe you already know this (and if so, I apologize), but many people from WI or the Midwest, when they think of "New Mexico" they basically get mental images of Phoenix. They think scorching hot desert. Well, surely there are parts of New Mexico that are warm (Central NM) or hotish (Southern NM) desert, however, the areas that you are looking at temps-wise won't be much different from WI. You'll have a relatively long, cold winter with snow. You are looking at regions kind of in the 7000-foot altitude range with mountains all around, and that really makes a big difference in temps.
One big difference to the winter will be the amount of sunshine you will receive. In NM, in the high country of Northern NM, you'll get cold and snow, but the sun will still shine much, much more often than in WI in the winter, with also a much greater intensity.
Also, the air year-round is much drier than in WI and snow will often tend to melt a bit quicker. Days often will be more mild for highs than you're used to in the winter in WI, however, nights will be just as cold if not colder often.
As for the warmer months, again, with far less humidity, one thing you'd love about NM in this region is the lack of mosquitoes / flying-biting insects. So you don't have to worry about being out once the sun sets and getting bitten up. Major plus for NM.
Heat-wise, it is probably a wash, if anything, probably consistently cooler in the Northern NM mountain areas where you'd be. Some days will get into the 90s and will be kind of a "baking" sun thing (versus the humid sauna feeling of the Midwest), however, the nights will always cool off significantly in these areas of NM.
You will find pine trees galore, snow, fresh / crisp / sunny mountain air, etc. In these regions, you won't find cacti, palm trees, sand, or 100+ temps. 4 seasons with a long winter, just like WI temps-wise in many regards, but much different in many regards too as I just described.
3. You like water, boating, the river, etc. Again, another red flag thrown up in a friendly, but cautiously way.
So many Midwesterners move to New Mexico for the sunshine, dry air, etc., but they LOVE the water-laden items that you described and wish for them to apply to New Mexico. While there IS some water around the areas you are describing, surely it is nowhere near-like the water-plentiful Midwest.
I use this analogy on the CD-forums a lot. You can't move to Phoenix and then be mad at Phoenix because it is "too hot." OF COURSE IT IS HOT! That just is what it is in Phoenix. Do not move to Phoenix if you don't love heat, or you are destined to hate it. Or, do not move to Duluth MN if you hate long, cold winters...again, that just is Duluth! It is what it is! You can't escape it. If you love SoCal-esque weather but instead move to Duluth, I really don't think you can then complain about the long winters to the point of it being Duluth's "fault"...it just is what it is. Same thing about moving to Florida and despising humidity (Florida just IS humid in most spots) to moving to Denver and hating mountains, etc.
My point being: New Mexico is geographically the 5th largest state in the US. New Mexico also has the LEAST amount of water per capita of any state in the country. Now does that mean there is NO water in NM? Of course not. Especially in Northern NM, you will find spots. But it is no where near as plentiful, common, or prevalent as the Midwest - not even in the same ballpark.
That isn't New Mexico's "fault" per se. It just is what it is.
This area of New Mexico though is gorgeous. The mountains are spectacular, and for many in your shoes, what you'd be giving up in water they'd trade in a heartbeat for the mountains and the views. However, again, they'd have to be "mountain people" as much as they are "water people" and if they aren't, well, they'd be in trouble.
The mountains, amazing views, and brilliant (nearly daily) sunrises / sunsets would be a major beautiful aspect of living in Northern New Mexico where you'd be versus Wisconsin, along with the much more common brilliant sunshine and crystal bright blue skies. To me, I find that much prettier than any of Wisconsin (although surely I find components of WI pretty too). However, to others that love the Midwest, they'd find WI prettier. It just depends what you personally find beautiful. Look at the art world - we all have different tastes on beauty.
4. Finally, yes, Los Alamos is pricey in general. Los Alamos County is one of the wealthiest counties in the entire US, and the cost of housing is somewhat reflected in that. SoCal-pricey? No. But for NM, absolutely pricey. Very nice, quaint mountain town of 20,000 or so; isolated and the people very in general quiet and most households have professional involvement in the labs.
I wouldn't move to Espanola. Largely due to wider spread drugs and crime, even though there are some that live there and love it.
Other suggestions of areas to check out have been good. For your situation, even if you'd end up moving to NM (which again, I am sensing might be not in your best interests but surely I can't tell you over a message board especially) in the northern region, probably Jemez Springs would be a good bet for you. Water is there (although nothing like the Mississippi, beautiful scenery, ultra-small / isolated, and quiet).
Good luck to you!
P.S. I would love to see NM add as many residents as possible, but I want for them to be HAPPY in New Mexico, and I fear you may just be setting yourself up for failure if you make the transition. Even though for me New Mexico works far better than WI, I would never tell someone "NM is better than WI" or "WI is better than NM"...however, I will say this with no hesitation: "WI and NM are night-and-day different places."
Tim, do you mean east? A nice 12 K peak -- but isn't it in the Sangres? Santa Fe Baldy is higher and snow capped -- you didn't see it?
One of us is confused, and -- of course -- it could be me. It's likely that it is me. I make this sort of mistake more often than not.
If you look the other way, there is a nice view of the falls. It is unexpected and easy to miss.
Assuming he's talking about Overlook Park, I think you might be right - I always thought it faced towards the Sangre de Cristos.
Regarding the quality of schools in White Rock - the town is a CDP in Los Alamos County, so the schools are under the Los Alamos school system umbrella. It's all one and the same. I lived in White Rock from when I was born until I was in 7th grade, after which we moved to Los Alamos for easier access to the middle school and high school. White Rock itself is about a 15-minute drive from Los Alamos, but for all intents and purposes, people who live there are still from Los Alamos. White Rock has two elementary schools (Piñon and Chamisa), while Los Alamos has three elementary schools (Barranca, Aspen, Mountain) in addition to the middle school and high school. As I mentioned before, all are part of the same school system.
Currently living in NE Iowa and planning a move to Santa Fe/area late 2008? Never been there and don't know what I will do for a job, but at this point I'm not worried about it (maybe I should be, but..). Just looking to put a bit more adventure in my life once again, skiing, biking, meeting new people, etc.
I will be looking for a home and will need to make a trip or two and scout it out. Square footage is not as important as location, location, location and that is different for everyone.
With the current housing situation, perhaps a foreclose would be worth looking into?
Currently living in NE Iowa and planning a move to Santa Fe/area late 2008? Never been there and don't know what I will do for a job, but at this point I'm not worried about it (maybe I should be, but..). Just looking to put a bit more adventure in my life once again, skiing, biking, meeting new people, etc.
I will be looking for a home and will need to make a trip or two and scout it out. Square footage is not as important as location, location, location and that is different for everyone.
With the current housing situation, perhaps a foreclose would be worth looking into?
We didn't get the boom, very little funny financing, and so far anyway haven't got the bust, and jobs are holding up so people can pay their mortgages. So not many foreclosures. Prices are soft however, so a good time to buy.
There are a few foreclosures -- if you go that route make sure you get the assistance of a competent realtor or lawyer.
Okay, I'm curious. Why did you make the decision to move to Santa Fe, a place where you have never been? That's a pretty risky decision.
You say you will be making a trip or two to look for a house. May I suggest you make a trip or two just to get a feel for the area and decide whether it is a place you like enough to want to live there?
I have said this so many times to people ~ New Mexico is very different from every other state and it is not for everyone. You owe it to yourself to find out if you are going to fall into the "love it" or "hate it" category before you make plans to move.
Also, Santa Fe can be expensive, especially for someone wanting to move there with no job lined up...unless you are independently wealthy, in which case you would fit right in with much of the population of the city.
Not sold on a foreclosure, but..... If the right deal came along. Never hurts to research, ask and keep options open.
Why Santa Fe? Just some advice from a few friends. You are completely right about checking the place out first. I am not one that jumps into things without researching, etc. Although, I wish I could do a better job of flying by the seat of my pants.
Independently wealthy? Absolutely not, especially after going through Divorce! Oh well, live and learn I can think of a million worse things in life. On the bright side, I do have some equity built up and could put a sizable downpayment on a home (for a poor guy that is).
Job??? I am confident that I will find something, there are always jobs available. Not concerned with the money situation, as I learned the hard way that money does not buy happiness and you can't take it with you. Besides, If things go completely wrong, I can always spend all my time skiing on the double black diamonds, start skydiving and scuba diving with sharks. (just kidding, then again... lol)
Not sold on a foreclosure, but..... If the right deal came along. Never hurts to research, ask and keep options open.
Agreed. My impression is that the banks put any foreclosures on the market rather than auctioning. Do they put them on the MLS? That would be my guess -- but I don't know.
Last edited by Devin Bent; 04-17-2008 at 01:13 PM..
What is your personal opinion of making a move to Santa Fe?
I am looking for a place that has a friendly, laid back atmosphere and to enjoy the outdoors, ski, bike, etc.
I'd say yes, with two caveats.
Some areas of Santa Fe are definitely high priced and snooty. Stay away from them.
The skiing is better up around Taos, and generally your access to the outdoors, biking, etc., is more direct. Taos itself can get pretty tied up with traffic. But for an active sort of guy (or gal), it might be a better choice than Santa Fe. Maybe Red River or Eagle Nest up that way.
If you are into skiing that points to the Taos area -- it is the furthest north, but more important, the mountains are just higher up that way.
Ruidoso, down south, but with all due apologies to the Ruidosans -- both altitude and latitude are working against this town as a ski area.
I am a bit worried about finding a decent job around Taos?
Provided Santa fe is my best option in that regard. What area of or around Santa Fe do you recommend?
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Santa Fe Baldy is higher and snow capped -- you didn't see it?
It's likely that it is me. I make this sort of mistake more often than not.
It is unexpected and easy to miss.
Taos maybe
