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I was active duty at Cannon AFB in Clovis for a few years and found it to be a city that loves the base and the military; they fight hard for their base whenever the need arises. I lived in base housing in Portales and it was a short commute to Clovis. Very rural, but equidistant from Amarillo and Lubbock so you can find things to do. Personally, I prefer large cities for the long haul, but Clovis was just fine.
Ignore the comments you hear and form your own opinions once you arrive. Snakes were not a problem for me and I have a healthy fear of those critters . . . LOL!
Fickle-- there is some base housing near the university on the southwest edge of town, its a really nice clean neighborhood.
There is a newer subdivision on South Globe that has some really nice brick houses and is right next to Valencia elem. school
you might also want to check out some houses on 18th st, all really good areas and just on the edge of town and to the country, some nice spots are the streets named after the states.
The only spot In portales I wouldnt want to live is anything north of the railroad tracks, its known as Taco Town to the locals, its more of a little Mexico vibe and has some wanna-bes roaming the streets all the time and on Sundays is the cruise so the neighborhood is busy.
Portales is a nice town and I dont regret growing up there, kids get a little bored there but they will too in Clovis.Population of Portales is just over 11,000 and its been around the same population since I was a little boy.
If you want an even smaller town there is Texico which is 8 miles from Clovis and has just over 1,000 in population, I really like this town but Im not too sure how easy housing is to come by
good luck, if you got any other question go ahead and ask
I found tons of info on Clovis.. I have a friend who lives there, helped him move up from El Paso. Clovis is not the best place the Air Force could send you but its not the worst either. Its a small community, and that can be good or bad depending on where you come from. I found Clovis to be charming, and friendly. I think if you follow the writers advice on going with a positive attitude, you'll find that Clovis is not all bad. Besides you'll be in the Land Of Enchantment, and I know there are lots of outdoor stuff to do up there.. so if you and your husband like to camp, fish and all that.. then your in a great place to do it from.
Don't worry, you'll be fine.
The Clovis news Journal has lots of pictures too.. give you an idea of where your going.
One more thing about Clovis.. is your not too far from 3 larger cities.. Lubbock TX, Amarillo TX, and Albuquerque NM. You can also make a day trip of Roswell and go check out the Aliens.
The 801 (base) housing in Portales is a pretty nice option if you are AFSOC, and right near the university, so you will have some culture around. Portales has some very wealthy but low key and friendly people who live in modest but nice homes, especially on the south side of town. Yucca Estates, Mesa Estates, South of University, etc. are all charming areas with cheap home prices compared to most markets. Out of town there are a lot of country places if you like the "Green Acres" life. You will see some shabby homes in downtown and north Portales, but not the gangsters like in the same type of neighborhoods in Clovis.
It's sure as heck not Freiberg, but Portales does have some very European characteristics, like you actually see small foreign cars intermingled with the pickups and horse trailers, neighbors wave, some people actually ride bikes, and you can walk to many of the stores. Sounds mundane I know, but we like the small town feel and caring atmosphere of Portales and would never live in Clovis or Roswell.
Lubbock and Roswell are 90 minutes from Portales, and the mountains of Ruidoso are 3 hours. Add about 15 minutes to these times from Clovis.
Relax fickle
i am in Clovis for 2 years.
I am not from Clovis and can be unbiased.
No problem with snakes
Gangs- I read in paper. have never experienced anything
drugs- it exists. never had first hand experience.
tornado- not impossible. hits about once in 50 years
winds- real problem in spring
sand/dust- yes, a problem. not more than inconvenience though.
you would want to live in north-east quadrant of the city. east of prince and north of 21st. I live in colonial park, right on the golf course. left my house/car unlocked several times. when I had bought home, I did not even know that my garage door is not locked for 1 full year.
occasional vandalism by teenagers in area north of 14th. thats it.
people nice. schools ok. recreation- not much here but ute and Ft sumner lake is not far. ABQ or santa Fe is only 3.5 hrs. we go out evry other weekend or so. very easy traffic. housing market very buyer friendly now. 3 of my friends recently moved out and selling their houses at no-profit rates.
none of the worries that you mentioned are real.
hospital really sucks though.
Relax fickle
i am in Clovis for 2 years.
I am not from Clovis and can be unbiased.
No problem with snakes
Gangs- I read in paper. have never experienced anything
drugs- it exists. never had first hand experience.
tornado- not impossible. hits about once in 50 years
winds- real problem in spring
sand/dust- yes, a problem. not more than inconvenience though.
you would want to live in north-east quadrant of the city. east of prince and north of 21st. I live in colonial park, right on the golf course. left my house/car unlocked several times. when I had bought home, I did not even know that my garage door is not locked for 1 full year.
occasional vandalism by teenagers in area north of 14th. thats it.
people nice. schools ok. recreation- not much here but ute and Ft sumner lake is not far. ABQ or santa Fe is only 3.5 hrs. we go out evry other weekend or so. very easy traffic. housing market very buyer friendly now. 3 of my friends recently moved out and selling their houses at no-profit rates.
none of the worries that you mentioned are real.
hospital really sucks though.
I am not from Clovis either and am biased only in so far as I have to live here for a few years and need to find what's good, rather than stuff to complain about. I agree with Orlan's assessment.
Interesting comment about the hospital. I just spent some time there and it was very noisy with [other patients'] family members coming early and staying all day, little kids getting tired and cranky from spending the day in a hospital room looking at a sick granny. Some old lady fell out of bed and we could hear her calling "help" for a while before a nurse checked and found her on the floor.
Most of the nurses and staff were really nice, with a couple of exceptions. The evaluating nurse was concerned to find that I had some complaints and followed up with phone calls and gift certificates (!) to Walmart.
Yes, Portales has Super Walmart and Russell's, which is like an old-fashioned Safeway. Portales also has a lot of local shops that are worth exploring. Once you have lived in Portales for a while, you can find just about two of everything you need, aside from some of the bigger city accoutrements. Need a shoe shine? Go to the Bar G Boot Shop! Dresses? Shiela's, Merle Norman, or Beall's. Makeup? Walmart or Merle Norman... you get the drift.
If we don't find it in Portales, we drive the 90 minutes to Lubbock for everything else, like Furniture Row, Triple J Chop House, the Depot District (live music), French restaurants and the airport. Clovis is good for Lowe's and Dillards, but we don't care for Chili's or Applebee's and would rather eat at Hong Kong, Cattle Baron, or Something Different Grill in Portales rather than drive to Clovis to spend $50 on junk food.
Housing in Portales is a little cheaper than Clovis and the streets are way safer for many reasons (e.g. lower crime, less traffic, friendlier neighbors). Portales is also a lot easier on the eyes, although not perfectly beautiful. If you scan the various realtor websites through Kiva Realty's link (www.kivarealty.net) you can get a better picture of most homes available in Portales. then there are a few "For Sale By Owner" properties that simply take some driving around town.
The schools are calm in Portales with lots of friendly kids and teachers and no gang stuff, and the new Roosevelt General Hospital is awesome. Our favorite thing is the University, which adds an interresting feel to town.
We'll be moving to Clovis soon too! My husband just got an assignment there, but we don't have a report date yet... although we think we'll have to be there sometime in Sep/Oct. We're pretty excited to get there and check things out... look at the real estate, shopping, base... everything. We don't live too far away right now (Wichita Falls, TX) so we might drive there one weekend to do some sightseeing and house searching. We better like it because I "think" we'll be living there for the rest of my husbands career!
We'll be moving to Clovis soon too! My husband just got an assignment there, but we don't have a report date yet... although we think we'll have to be there sometime in Sep/Oct. We're pretty excited to get there and check things out... look at the real estate, shopping, base... everything. We don't live too far away right now (Wichita Falls, TX) so we might drive there one weekend to do some sightseeing and house searching. We better like it because I "think" we'll be living there for the rest of my husbands career!
Welcome to Clovis! I think you'll find it to be a friendly place. I have four albums of photos you can look at, just click on the icon under my name.
~clairz
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