Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've lived in Eastern Ky and Eastern TN all my life. Property here is wildly expensive (we're in 3800 sq ft with 7 acres now for 279,000) and it's just not worth working six days a week to have. (hence the smaller housing budget. What good is having it ALL if you're too tired to enjoy it? ) Everything is priced with the developer in mind, at upwards of 10g an acre.
We've long felt a need to go somewhere, but my recent health problems (asthma that is extremely sensitive to humidity- I get two MAYBE three *good* days a week- you know where i'm only using the inhalers twice a day- and I hold an office job ) have pushed us towards a drier climate.
Colorado seems too restrictive, Arizona maybe TOO hot... New Mexico seemed a good fit. As we're wanting to stay as rural as we can without a horrendous commute, we're looking for moderately priced properties with a little land for us and the horses.
I think you need a reality check. First, property prices in most any desirable place in New Mexico, Colorado, or Arizona would--at least currently--be far higher for a similar property than the $279,000 you quote for your property in Tennessee. A friend of mine moved several years ago from Santa Fe to a desirable area of Tennessee (near Knoxville). He sold his relatively small in-town house in Santa Fe on a postage-stamp size lot and bought a home three times as large, with a swimming pool, on 5 acres--and still had money left to put in the bank.
Second, your horses. Unless are willing to supplemental feed your horses year-round, you will either need to buy a irrigated property (very pricey, and you'd better know your water rights), or you will need a LARGE acreage. Unirrigated land in New Mexico can require from 20 to 80 acres or more per animal-unit (and a horse is generally considered around 1 AU) to sustain on graze. Overgrazing on "ranchettes" is a real problem in the Rocky Mountain West and is leading to serious issues with erosion and noxious weeds that transcend the property boundary.
Excuse me? So you're saying all these places i've found with both property and a suitable dwelling WITHIN my price range are non existent? I asked about the above cities BECAUSE I found homes there that fit my criteria. So don't tell me I need a reality check- i've already found what I am looking for, I was merely inquiring as to the availability of employment in those areas. My husband is already commuting 40 miles each way for work, property of this sort closer to his office would be even more expensive. We wish to downsize as well, a house this size is simply too large- there are rooms we don't even use here.
You mention your friend from Santa Fe moving here.... is Santa Fe not one of the most expensive towns in NM?
As far as the horses, we supplement year round. I have never had acreage that supported the horses. I feed an average of four flakes per day per head, plus their pelleted feed.
I've throughly researched the water situation in NM as well as the trials/tribulations surrounding horsekeeping there as well. I do nothing without research and comparing variables. With what i've discovered, New Mexico seems the best fit, period.
I'm not sure what you consider desirable, but any place I can actually breathe the air without being hooked to an inhaler 24/7, have my family and my animals with me and make enough for us all to survive- that's pretty desirable to me.
I've lived in Eastern Ky and Eastern TN all my life. Property here is wildly expensive (we're in 3800 sq ft with 7 acres now for 279,000) and it's just not worth working six days a week to have. (hence the smaller housing budget. What good is having it ALL if you're too tired to enjoy it? ) Everything is priced with the developer in mind, at upwards of 10g an acre.
We've long felt a need to go somewhere, but my recent health problems (asthma that is extremely sensitive to humidity- I get two MAYBE three *good* days a week- you know where i'm only using the inhalers twice a day- and I hold an office job ) have pushed us towards a drier climate.
Colorado seems too restrictive, Arizona maybe TOO hot... New Mexico seemed a good fit. As we're wanting to stay as rural as we can without a horrendous commute, we're looking for moderately priced properties with a little land for us and the horses.
Why are you looking at the Tri-cities? It's a poorer part of the state (what industries are left are retail and a factory or two) and not a very scenic one at that. If you don't mind rural, Rogersville and Greene County are beautiful and have a small town feel with good property prices.
Of course the closer you get to Knoxville, the more expensive you get....
I think the Tri-Cities area is pretty. Poor people don't bother me.
I think you're going to get a BIG surprise when you move to NM in terms of being around a mix of really rich and really poor!!!
I have no idea where you are finding wonderful properties for $150K tops in the areas you're looking!!! Must be a well-kept secret. Hang onto your realtor; he or she is an absolute miracle worker!
BTW my ex's and son's asthma was at its worst in NM -- both ends of the state.
I worked those mountains in the Central Highlands for years. Tres Piedras is as blue blood as it comes. They will take your money, but they will never accept you. Abiquiu is almost as bad. There are no jobs up there because there is no industry. You will drive to Los Alamos or Santa Fe if you are looking for work. Espanola has a little bit shaking for the locals, but you had better have the proper last name.
I dont know if the Spotted Owl sawmill is still running or not, if they are, you might get labor work there. Anglos coming into that area expecting a well paying job isnt going to happen. Folks in that area consider $7 an hour as good money.
Even though both of those areas are old hippie towns, outsiders are still not welcome. You will always be Huerro or Gringo. I worked that area bringing necessities to life there, and was Huerro to the last day.
Alamagordo has a more of an Anglo balance and will be easier to fit into. You would not need to live right in Alamagordo, there are good properties in the mountains to the east of town which would escape the summer heat. Ruidoso is growing. Tularosa is near and much less expensive. Lateral transfer into an equal or better paying job likely isnt going to happen unless you have connections to get into a company and get a promotion in the process. Remember, $7 an hour is good Nuevo Mexico money.
I think the Tri-Cities area is pretty. Poor people don't bother me.
I think you're going to get a BIG surprise when you move to NM in terms of being around a mix of really rich and really poor!!!
I have no idea where you are finding wonderful properties for $150K tops in the areas you're looking!!! Must be a well-kept secret. Hang onto your realtor; he or she is an absolute miracle worker!
BTW my ex's and son's asthma was at its worst in NM -- both ends of the state.
Lol, i'm not using a realtor, but I am looking for as self sufficient properties as possible- not to mention ugly doesn't affect me, I can fix ugly
I guess i'm not looking at the right area in the Tri Cities when I visit... it reminds me a LOT of where I grew up- Pike County, Kentucky (oh yeah, I know of POOR. :-)
Oddly enough, with my asthma my only found triggers are humidity, unventilated cigarette smoke, working hay- not feeding it, but I can't load/unload or be in an enclosed space when great amounts are being moved. By far, though humidity is my problem. The air feels so thick and wet, it just clogs me up. A couple Saturday's ago, I used my once every eight hours inhaler SIX times and still wasn't able to take a normal breath. I count the days until our trip west. It's all I can do at this point.
Thanks for the insight, Jim.
My husband will be more likely than not be transferring into the same line he's in here with one of the companies' whose service he provides. He's been talked up by some of the supervisors here. He says that a change of career isn't out of the question, though. I feel so bad, my family is sacrificing so much for me.
I will suggest (given that I really don't know that much about the situation) you also check the Rio Grande valley south of Albuquerque and north of Las Cruces. Considering your husband is skilled in the telephone/communications business I would expect these communities to have need of his skills. Also considering your asthma I would look at Silver City region.
Lol, i'm not using a realtor, but I am looking for as self sufficient properties as possible- not to mention ugly doesn't affect me, I can fix ugly
I guess i'm not looking at the right area in the Tri Cities when I visit... it reminds me a LOT of where I grew up- Pike County, Kentucky (oh yeah, I know of POOR. :-)
Oddly enough, with my asthma my only found triggers are humidity, unventilated cigarette smoke, working hay- not feeding it, but I can't load/unload or be in an enclosed space when great amounts are being moved. By far, though humidity is my problem. The air feels so thick and wet, it just clogs me up. A couple Saturday's ago, I used my once every eight hours inhaler SIX times and still wasn't able to take a normal breath. I count the days until our trip west. It's all I can do at this point.
Honey, I'm going to put it to you straight: YOUR ASTHMA IS POORLY CONTROLLED.
First on your list of "things to do" is to find a better doctor. Don't get mad; it's a fact, whoever you're with is not doing a good job controlling it, needs to think harder, consider the new powdered inhalers, etc.
I've been through this with my son. Awful time getting a breath. But once we had a top pulmonary doctor, PLUS lucked out with a GREAT respiratory therapist, it was like night and day.
NOTE: my son had an undiagnosed HEART PROBLEM and THEY FOUND IT and now he's on meds for it and he can get his breath properly. Make sure you do not have an underlying heart problem.
Personal aside: Do not "feel bad" that everyone is "sacrificing" for you in this move. Everyone ought to move all around the country and world while they can, get some experience and see different things. This is good for them. Growth and all that.
HSH,
I know it's poorly controlled. I am currently on advair (been on it for over a year, as well as proair as the rescue inhaler- much better than the old albuterol) been given singulair, spiriva and prednisone with no change in condition. The advair helps, but it can't seem to hold the pain (yeah, my chest aches occasionally with the effort.) and the inflammation down. Bad breathing days exhaust me and i'm completely drained by 2:30 or 3:00 and I don't close down the office until five :-(
The next step is a lung specialist and as soon as my insurance begins, in July, i'm there.
I've had an ekg, frequent spirometer readings as well as a dye injected CT scan ( all out of pocket. OUCH). Everything scans clear. My family is a walking, talking timebomb- cancer, heart disease, seizures, blood pressure, diabetes.... so the doctor has always been really great about scans/tests/monitoring. He was a bit leerly of the humidity aspect until my husband told him if i'm cooking and something on the stove boils, I can't breathe. Nor can I be in the bathroom if anyone is taking a hot shower. I'm an anomly, I guess.
My husband, thankfully, is one hundred percent behind me, believe it or not, since i've always been one STRONG independent person, this weakness has drawn us closer and he likes *taking care of* me. I've always been the one wrestling unhandled colts, loading and unloading the hundreds of pounds of feed and gentling the abused horses. He doesn't mess with the horses for me- we've phased out the rescue part- but he does the heavy stuff now.
I'm glad your son was properly diagnosed and was able to get the help he needed.
Alamogordo, in climate and terrain, isn't terribly different from El Paso (except that the former has a nearby high, cool area in summer), but there the resemblance ends. Clovis, Roswell, etc. are not a lot different from the flat parts of western Texas in the same latitudes (again, in climate and terrain...NM to me has a different essence as soon as I cross the state line!).
I don't understand why anyone is offended by this. It's just the way it is. I find western Texas and eastern NM interesting.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) have pushed us towards a drier climate. 
