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I grew up in Carlsbad, but left as soon as I could and never looked back.
In retrospect it was not at all a bad place. It is not particularly scenic, but it is way nicer than towns like Hobbs and Artesia. It's the county seat of Eddy County. It's extremely cheap (you can buy a pretty nice home for $100k), and there are lots of very nice folks living there. The river is a great asset in arid southeastern New Mexico, so there is some cotton and alfalfa farming in addition to minor oil & gas production.
It's just that there's nothing there. The town doesn't grow, it shrinks. Not because of politicians IMO but just because there's nothing there. Biggest excitement and hope for the town is associated with the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) which plans to store low level radioactive waste in nearby underground salt caverns. The hope is that it will create jobs, something there's not much of in Carlsbad. Medical care also leaves something to be desired, even though there is a small retirement community.
You do have every fast food place you have ever heard of, a couple of strip malls, and a WalMart. There's a golf course. There's a pretty good Mexican restaurant, the Cortez Cafe, and a wonderful BBQ place, the Red Chimney. Other than that, for eating and shopping, you generally get in your car and drive 169 miles to El Paso.
The weather is extremely hot and dry. Triple digit temps are common. Dust storms not uncommon, and they are not pleasant. I hope you don't wear contacts! It hardly ever rains. Maybe a few days of snow in the winter.
The water.. we always drank it from the tap, and none of us died. But my grandmother had a water softener, so I guess I would characterize it as highly alkaline.
I have some fond memories of the place, but I really can't imagine why anyone would voluntarily move there. It's more of a place that people leave.
Last edited by Aiiyiiyiii; 01-26-2008 at 12:50 AM..
Reason: add comment about the water
I have been offered a job in working in the Carlsbad area, should be there July 21, 2008 and I am looking for temporary housing until I can find something for when my family arrives later.
Also any information about the area, like quality of life (things to do), schools, etc would be much appreciated.
Thanks
I have been offered a job in working in the Carlsbad area, should be there July 21, 2008 and I am looking for temporary housing until I can find something for when my family arrives later.
Also any information about the area, like quality of life (things to do), schools, etc would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Just passed through Carlsbad last week. We actually stayed in White's City because it was closest to the Caverns. I would say that the hotel at White's City is below average but suitable...they did offer free wireless internet and breakfast.
I was surprised to see that Carlsbad the city had not changed much since the last time I visited...which was at least 15 years ago. In fact, I read online that Carlsbad had actually shrunk a bit between the last two census.
Not much in the city itself. Typical Small town New Mexico. Everyone knows everyone...The teenager at the fast food joint we stopped at was hooking up all of his friends with freebies...
I tried to check the Mexican place mentioned in this thread but it was closed....same with the No Whiner Diner....Guess they open only during peaks times. Too bad we had to settle for chains....
As for the other cities. Artesia still stinks (as in actually smell) and we didn't bother with Hobbs. We went straight to Roswell then up to Ruidoso...
Jim...it's very rare to have Carlsbad posters on here but even these older posts are about right as very little changes in that city of 25.000 people. Wish you the best out there.
Check out
cityofcarlsbadnm.com
and
carlsbadchamber.com
I'm thinking of relocating to Carlsbad - besides from the Caverns and Pecos River, it sounds bleak. Alot of retired people, not alot of entertainment and no shopping. Is this true?? What are the positive things in Carlsbad?
Thanks for any input.
Not sure it is a positive but the W.I.P.P. site exists about 26 miles northeast of Carlsbad. W.I.P.P. was built to dispose of some of the nation's defense-related radioactive waste. I worked at the site as a graduate student conducting biological investigations in the 1970s. Back then there were only Jeep trails, sand hummocks and rattlesnakes at the site. I can tell you that, in the summertime, Carlsbad was a shining point of light to a student worn out from trapping and tagging critters in the hot Chihuahuan Desert for ten days at a time. Ah but the sands of time have probably changed the Carlsbad I once knew.
So is Carlsbad. If you do a search on Carlsbad on this forum you'll find some general discussions about the city. Very few are positive and rightly so. To give you an example of how old and dilapidated Carlsbad is, just this year they paved a major street that runs through the city. The last time a street was paved in the town was about 25 years ago!
I hope you really, really, really like your new job or the compensation is superb because there is not much to admire about the city. This is my honest opinion and if do a search you'll see that my views on Carlsbad and SE NM in general are not very positive. In the region, however, Carlsbad has had the least growth.
I would suggest renting or rent to own a place in the center of N.M. and explore the whole state from there and find out where you would like to live. I like the Moriarty East Mountain Area its close to Albuquerque and Santa Fe and little Traffic and friendly people and lots of activities in the Summer and fall and Cool temps in the Summer and Cold temps and snow in the winter. pintada kid at webtv.net
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