City recommendations for family... (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: school, quality of life, live in)

[alicenevada]

I know nothing about NM. I have heard wonderful things about Santa Fe but havent been there myself. What cities are great for climate, air quality, and for raising a family? Housing prices are also a big factor. We are coming from a small town so a level of community would be nice as well.

Thanks in advance,
Ashley

[tito]

There are a lot of posters regarding Santa Fe, please go to "search" and look under SANTA FE.

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by alicenavada

I know nothing about NM. I have heard wonderful things about Santa Fe but havent been there myself. What cities are great for climate, air quality, and for raising a family? Housing prices are also a big factor. We are coming from a small town so a level of community would be nice as well.

Thanks in advance,
Ashley

One town comes to mind: Cloudcroft. It's very small, and has the second highest rated school system in the state behind Los Alamos. It may be too small for you though. Los Alamos housing prices are astronomical, but it is larger in size (I think around 15k).

Getting back to Cloudcroft. If you live there, you almost certainly have to work in Alamogordo, which means essentially working in some capacity for Holloman Air Force Base. It's basically a service oriented town, so the majority of the business is retail, which translates into lower paying jobs. High skilled positions are usually contract work or civil employee hires at Holloman. White Sands Missile Range is beyond Holloman, and also offers high skilled jobs, but if you live in Cloudcroft, the length of commute becomes a factor. Also, Cloudcroft is 9000 feet elevation, so it never goes above 80 degrees in the middle of the summer. I have a friend who lives there, and after spending a lifetime in the rat race of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro, he'd never leave.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by alicenavada

What cities are great for climate, air quality, and for raising a family? Housing prices are also a big factor. We are coming from a small town so a level of community would be nice as well.

Many could fit what you are asking in a ''small town'' with good all around quality of life but here's my list......
Alamogordo
Farmington
Roswell
Carlsbad
Silver City
Rio Rancho
Clovis
Moriarity/Edgewood

Anyway i'm sure others can name some other towns but these i listed are small towns with good housing prices and a feel of community in them yet large enough to offer employment.....

[onelilredrose]

well, I AM a bit biased, but I have lived in Carlsbad, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Rio Rancho...and although I have a very special place in my heart for Carlsbad, I have chosen to raise my boys in Rio Rancho. There are many posts that discuss the many opinions of people who live there in the topic tittled "Likes and dislkies of Rio Rancho"
I know that Santa Fe is one of the most expensive cities in New Mexico...which I guess isn't much compared to other parts of the country ( I personally would not know prices comparisons to the rest of the country as I have only live in New Mexico all my life).
Best of luck in your decision!
Rose

[alicenevada]

what is the climate like in Rio Rancho? What type of winters?

[LLD]

Rio Ranch is basically a suburb of Albuquerque so the weather is the same. Albuquerque is high desert -- mile high like Denver. But our winters our milder here than in Denver. And we don't normally get tons of snow either.

[Mark S.]

Santa Fe is nice, but I consider it more of a fun place to visit than an ideal place to raise a family. It's very expensive.

Were I moving my family back to New Mexico, I would probably consider Cloudcroft, Alamagordo, Carlsbad, Las Cruces, and Silver City.

Were I moving my family back to NM, I would steer way, way clear of Roswell, Clovis/Portales, Artesia, Gallup, Belen, and Los Lunas.

[john4355]

For raising a family, I would say STAY AWAY FROM GRANTS, especially if you are white. That's really the only recommendation I can give, since its the only place I've lived in NM (17 years growing up).

[Sioux Flay]

UGH! If Air Quality's a concern: avoid ANY place in the east (clovis, portales, roswell, etc.)