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If there is anyone that resides in Ruidoso or has recently moved there, please let me know your experience of living there. Is the "Vegas" style overstated or real? Are there liberal thinkers here? Not that I need a hippie town, but we don't want to be in a totally conservative town. I'm an architect looking to possibly relocate there. Are people friendly? Any input on this lovely little town would be great.
Ruidoso is not bad. There is definitely somewhat of a "hippie" vibe there, but not nearly as much as places like Taos and Santa Fe.
Horse-racing, gambling, and snow skiing are probably the town's biggest draws.
People are friendly --- unless you're from Texas. For the past 30 years or so, wealthy Texans have been buying up all the local businesses and land, driving up prices so that locals can hardly afford to live there. Many of the Texans also come in with a less than good attitude about the locals. In fact, many of the locals calls them "Tex-asses" rather than Texans.
There is a little bit of racial tension between anglos and the local Mescalero Apache. Not bad, but it is there.
I just returned from vacation in Ruidoso and am planning on moving somewhere in the area, probably Timberon now but had a great time while we were there in Ruidoso.
I found the people to be friendly even though I am a "texass"
It seems to be a "live and let live" attitude. It was refreshing to go and not be asked what religion I belong to or if I am a republican or democrat. Seems to me, people mind there own business and not get into mine. That's the way I like it when it comes to religion and politics. Then again, I was only there for 4 days. LOL
Cheryl
hello, im moving to new mexico in a year or so, and im trying to figure out where i should move.
i live in washington right now, and am moving cause boyfriends family lives in las cruces.
we lived in las cruces for 6 weeks, and had to come back, due to the very hot weather in may.
we want to be closer to family, but want to find a city that actually has some snow in the winter, and doesnt get to 100 degrees in the summer.
we liked las cruces, the moutains were pretty, and the whole city was beautiful to us. so we might move back there.
any suggestions?
im a big snow girl! and want to keep it that way!
Well for Southern New Mexico thats about the only choice you have from what you ask. It does get cold in the winter there and the summers are mild and very nice there. One thing to watch out for is fire season up there as over the years there have been outbreaks of fires burning peoples homes but other than that it's very nice in Ruidoso.
Most of the snow in NM is north of Santa Fe in the higher mountains. As the family is in Las Cruces, I would suggest Alamogordo as the Cloudcroft resort is nearby and frequently has significant snow. Alamogordo is only about an hour away from Las Cruces.
Try this link!
Chama (broken link)
Last edited by GregW; 02-06-2008 at 07:44 AM..
Reason: added link
Most of the snow in NM is north of Santa Fe in the higher mountains. As the family is in Las Cruces, I would suggest Alamogordo as the Cloudcroft resort is nearby and frequently has significant snow. Alamogordo is only about an hour away from Las Cruces.
Actually, Cloudcroft and the general region have seen relative drought conditions for many years. We now rarely get significant snow. Some years are better than others, but on the whole I'd call it moderate at best. I really wish the tide would turn and bring us reliable snow each year. It's been very dry this year. Still, it's always much cooler than the desert below. Sometimes 30+ degrees cooler.
Ruidoso is almost 2,000 feet lower than CC, and I would not call it cold. Not like Chama anyway. It's a nice little town if you don't mind swarms of tourists.
Alamogordo is very hot in summer (mid to upper 90s regularly and can be over 100). You might also look west of Cruces, around Silver City.
Don't know what other requirements you might have, but Ruidoso has an 11,000 ft mountain with a nice ski resort. In town the temps are pretty mild all year. Last year there was a lot of snow but very little this year. Here is a good place for weather stats:
we lived in las cruces for 6 weeks, and had to come back, due to the very hot weather in may.
we want to be closer to family, but want to find a city that actually has some snow in the winter, and doesnt get to 100 degrees in the summer.
we liked las cruces, the moutains were pretty, and the whole city was beautiful to us. so we might move back there.
any suggestions?
im a big snow girl! and want to keep it that way!
I live in Cruces now. I used to live outside of Ruidoso for several years. We're planning on moving to Albuquerque (lived there before too).
My first question is, what will you do for work? Opportunities in Ruidoso are limited. I enjoyed living there very much and would still live there again but there are some downsides to it.
One, no offense, but it's kind of "biker central". If you're into that lifestyle, you'll enjoy it. There's a bit of an art scene locally but it's haphazard and not particularly well developed. It's more of a blue collar town (like T or C but in the mountains) than you'd imagine and there's no shame in that. Other than hotels and restaurants, there's not much work. I'm self employed, web-based but it was difficult to hire people with specialized skills or with ...sophistication...(required in my industry) locally. I know that sounds snotty but can't think of a more diplomatic way to phrase it right now. I like the place, okay? Enjoyed the people (the nicest and honest too) but it was heck to find talent.
From time to time, forest fires were a serious concern, mostly because dead trees weren't culled from the area I lived and I had no control over it. No one's mentioned it but wildlife can be an issue. Specifically elk, bear and mountain lions. I loved the wildlife but it can be dangerous so always be wary, even when not driving, particularly if you have small children who tend to act like prey. Oh and if you have cats, there are large birds of prey. Keep them indoors or they'll become dinner for owls, eagles (bald eagles too) or coyotes. Personally, I enjoyed the visceral environment. Snow can be an issue too. I got snowed in a couple of times. Depending on where you live it can be a problem when you least expect it. Outside of town, you may not be able to get medical help depending on conditions. Once, I had to have a vet sew me up because the closest doctor in ruidoso was nearly a two hour drive away (hairpin curves and heavy snow and ice).
I don't know about rental prices but the last time I was there a couple of months ago, home prices were more affordable than I was expecting. We'd move there if my husband's mother weren't elderly and I could hire locally without so much training.
I enjoy Las Cruces too (live here now). It's a smaller city, no danger of getting snowed in. For me, it's either not small or not large enough. Kind of on that cusp of lacking the benefits of the two extremes. It's more intellectually stimulating than Ruidoso but outside of cycling, hiking and running, there's not as much outdoors stuff to do. I don't know what the job situation is like. I think housing has gotten costly recently. People are really nice (really nice!) but you wouldn't know that from their driving.
Have you thought of Silver City? It's small and cute too but it has a university and an arts community. They get some snow. It's an easy commute to Las Cruces if you want to visit your folks here.
I live in Cruces now. I used to live outside of Ruidoso for several years. We're planning on moving to Albuquerque (lived there before too).
My first question is, what will you do for work? Opportunities in Ruidoso are limited. I enjoyed living there very much and would still live there again but there are some downsides to it.
One, no offense, but it's kind of "biker central". If you're into that lifestyle, you'll enjoy it. There's a bit of an art scene locally but it's haphazard and not particularly well developed. It's more of a blue collar town (like T or C but in the mountains) than you'd imagine and there's no shame in that. Other than hotels and restaurants, there's not much work. I'm self employed, web-based but it was difficult to hire people with specialized skills or with ...sophistication...(required in my industry) locally. I know that sounds snotty but can't think of a more diplomatic way to phrase it right now. I like the place, okay? Enjoyed the people (the nicest and honest too) but it was heck to find talent.
From time to time, forest fires were a serious concern, mostly because dead trees weren't culled from the area I lived and I had no control over it. No one's mentioned it but wildlife can be an issue. Specifically elk, bear and mountain lions. I loved the wildlife but it can be dangerous so always be wary, even when not driving, particularly if you have small children who tend to act like prey. Oh and if you have cats, there are large birds of prey. Keep them indoors or they'll become dinner for owls, eagles (bald eagles too) or coyotes. Personally, I enjoyed the visceral environment. Snow can be an issue too. I got snowed in a couple of times. Depending on where you live it can be a problem when you least expect it. Outside of town, you may not be able to get medical help depending on conditions. Once, I had to have a vet sew me up because the closest doctor in ruidoso was nearly a two hour drive away (hairpin curves and heavy snow and ice).
I don't know about rental prices but the last time I was there a couple of months ago, home prices were more affordable than I was expecting. We'd move there if my husband's mother weren't elderly and I could hire locally without so much training.
I enjoy Las Cruces too (live here now). It's a smaller city, no danger of getting snowed in. For me, it's either not small or not large enough. Kind of on that cusp of lacking the benefits of the two extremes. It's more intellectually stimulating than Ruidoso but outside of cycling, hiking and running, there's not as much outdoors stuff to do. I don't know what the job situation is like. I think housing has gotten costly recently. People are really nice (really nice!) but you wouldn't know that from their driving.
Have you thought of Silver City? It's small and cute too but it has a university and an arts community. They get some snow. It's an easy commute to Las Cruces if you want to visit your folks here.
Thank you for all the helpful information.
as far as jobs go, im an at home mom, and my boyfriend, (soon to be husband) works for comcast.
he would more then likely work for another cable company down there, we were going to wait a year or so to see if comcast opens up in ruidoso, since the city is growing.
ruidoso sounds like the place for us, cause ive lived in las cruces, and i loved the city, but i get sick from all the hot weather. so that wouldnt be a good choice.
i heard some pretty bad things about silver city, so i dont know about moving there. i was just wondering if there was another city in new mexico that was like ruidoso, so we could have some options to choose from.
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relocating to ruidoso or another cold city
