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Do not get me wrong. Maybe I was too blunt and grouping because there are some good folks there but that number is shrinking constantly. I mean a lot of your highly educated people seem to come from other places.
Not a lot - but sadly most educated people in this city are outsiders. In fact, when I look at anything positive being done in this city, for the city, it is usually initiated by outsiders. There is a serious problem with lack of motivation with the locals in this city. I think most people are either fed up or accepted the fact that the city will not grow or progress into something better. Lot of this has to do with poor leaders who have drove the city into the ground. How do you get rid of corrupt politicians with wide connections - I heard the mayor and cheney have hung out in the past.
I grew up in Carlsbad and spent the first 4 yrs of my married life here. My husband and I moved our young family to Phoenix 24 years ago. Due to family matters, we relocated back to Carlsbad 2 years ago (but who's counting?). It has been a difficult transition for me.
I work for a large healthcare provider whose corporate office is in LA. I work from home and travel a great deal. The local airline is a joke. Hopefully, the new regional airline will offer some relief. Weekly trips to El Paso grow old after awhile.
I am very frustrated with the city fathers. I keep threatening to run for mayor but that would never fly since I'm considered an outsider with big city ideas. If big city ideas include clean, resurfaced and clearly marked streets, storm drainage systems, restaurants, shopping, revitalization of downtown, restoration of old neglected buildings, then I'm guilty as charged.
Carlsbad could be such a wonderful small town. How many towns have a natural river that runs through it (It is much prettier than I remember as a kid)? The citizens need to clean sweep city hall and elect officials that are committed to making Carlsbad the special place that it deserves to be. Spindoc is absolutely right. The good ol' boys club is alive and well. In fact, these guys are of the same group that ran the town 24+ years ago! They own most of the town and stifle growth. They do not want competition and prevent any/all new businesses that could be a threat to them. We had more restaurants and places to shop in Carlsbad when I was a teenager.
To answer questions about cost of living. It depends on your perspective. We have lived in Phoenix and Seattle. When we moved back to Carlsbad 2 yrs ago, we were excited at the prospect of buying a really nice home for less than we'd paid elsewhere. Wrong! We were in sticker shock. We paid more for the house in Carlsbad than we've ever paid. We've owned 10 homes over 28 years so we have a little experience in this area. There are homes for sale for less than $100k but they are considered fixer uppers and they're usually very small and not in the best neighborhoods. My sister and her husband are buying homes for $50-60k, gutting them and remodeling to flip or keep as rentals, if that gives you an idea of what houses in that price range look like.
Homeowners and auto insurance is more than what we paid in AZ. I believe the flood from 2 yrs ago and the hail storms have driven up the rates. Real estate taxes are comparable to what we've paid in the past. Auto registration is cheap in NM ($80 per yr compared to $500 per yr in AZ). Utilities are reasonable, Gasoline is high but you don't have to travel far.
I have to give the local business owners kudos. It has been a pleasure doing business here. The service has been outstanding from the local furniture store all the way to the readi-mix company. I have a fondness for the local businesses. We never received this type of customer service in the city.
You're probably wondering why we stay if we (I) dislike it so much? We won't stay (famous last words). Our daughter graduates in 2 years, at which time we will reevaluate and make our next move. It will be tough. We have 40+ family members from both sides that call Carlsbad home. It has been wonderful being here to celebrate and do all the family things we didn't get to do for so many years. My daughter really likes school and has done well. My husband likes his job and has settled in nicely. It's nice having mom, dad, sister, sister-in-law, etc... across town. With that said, I just don't see ourselves growing old here. We might reconsider if there is a changing of the guards at city hall and a leader without a self-serving vision emerges. How wonderful that would be...
I know that you are not talking about Carlsbad, Nm !
Sorry , but I was shocked when I read an earlier post about Carlsbad being pretty. To be honest Carlsbad is not pretty at all. I grew up in Carlsbad, (and also Phoenix) finally got the heck out of town almost 5 years ago. The town is a dump! I live in a very small town now, (Lovington) that's 100 times better than C-Bad was. There is nothing to do there for the kids. Unless you call getting pregnant and using dope something for the kids to do. As a not to long ago teen, I know first hand what activities there were. Now if you are retired then it's a great place to golf. I know that the drugs are everywhere, but Carlsbad has really gotten bad. Unfortunetly noone seems willing to change that situation. They are still waiting to catch the "Big fish" instead of dealing with the small timers. But they do have plenty of bars open. If you are looking for a place with the small town atmosphere then I would look elsewhere. You won't find that there. The town is primarily owned and run by the "insiders".
I went back to Carlsbad a few weeks ago for my dad's funeral and nothing had changed. I hated the idea of puting him that cemetary that was so unkept and trashed. Also that beautiful river that runs through it, well there's no way that I would let my kids swim in it. It's nasty!
I live about 70 miles away,and 20 miles away from Hobbs, and Lovington is an absolute wonderful place for families. We have the drugs just like everyone else, but as a community we are fighting against it. As a business owner here and like many others we vow to drug test our employees to try and help with the problem. And the cost of living is not too bad here at all. We have a 5300 sq ft home and it was $270,000. Try to find that is Carlsbad. It will cost you alot more. As for Hobbs, it's alot better looking than Carlsbad but you have more violence and wannabe gangs.
Before you make the decision to move please drive there yourself and see what the big fuss is all about. Carlsbad looks good when you are just seeing what the "city" wants you to see, but please look for yourself. Also, I not trying to be against Carlsbad, just trying to point out some of it's faults. In closing they do have a beautiful Country club and Elk's club!
There is nothing to do there for the kids? Sorry but there is plenty of things for the "kids" to do in this town. Carlsbad is improving and i wouldn't leave here for the world. The drug rate is steadily decreasing and our crime rates have never been off the chart. We have great community programs nice parks more than one national park and our highways are finally improving. More than 70% of high school students in Carlsbad are drug and alcohol free, yes our pregnancy rates are high but theoretically so are the rest of New Mexico's. As for Hobbs, it's alot better looking than Carlsbad but you have more violence and wannabe gangs????? How in the world is Hobbs better looking than Carlsbad for one they are more industrialized as we are more natural... we have great places to visit and our town is a tourist town so it has that to fall back on. It seems to me you only point out the town and not the city.
Glad to hear someone talk nice about Carlsbad. I know it's small but if you are going to live in a small town then what do you expect.....
Anyway i like the Pecos River and Brantley Reservior there as you are 15 minutes from water/jet sking and also the Guadalupe Mountains are nice with Sitting Bulls falls and the Caverns there.
Regarding services for a child with autism. For children 0-3 CARC has a program through the Child Development Center providing occupational therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy etc. All services are provided in your own home. After age 3 the schools provide services. The preschool and kindergarten programs at ECEC are wonderful. I assume your child has already been diagnosed. If there is no official diagnosis, it is more difficult. The earlier there is a diagnosis the better. My daugher has special needs and is in a regular kindergarten class. I think it'll get more difficult as she gets older but that may be true most places. I don't know. There has been like many places much more inclusion into regular classrooms over the last few years. I would guess that special ed may be behind some other places but I was surprised to find out that my daughter had more services when she was 2 than she would have recieved in New England.
CARC also can provide some respite services even after the child has been transitioned into the public school system. If you child qualifies you should also apply for a DDWaiver as soon as possible as there is a long waiting list. However, if and when the child does qualify there is a new program called Mi Via which is wonderful and will help with services you cannot get through the school system. eg my daughter recently qualified and will be getting hippotherapy through that program.
Medical services may be an issue depending on if there is a need for a lot of specialists. Expect to travel to EL Paso or Lubbock or Albuquerque for many specialists. eg we travel for her pediatric opthamologist and ear, nose and throat dr.
Regarding some earlier comments about the quality of education of people in Carlsbad. Historically it was a mining town. There is not as much appreciation for education as I would wish. On the other hand there are more Ph.Ds per capita than any other place in NM with the exception of Los Alamos.
As mentioned in a previous message, Carlsbad has problems with crime which are the fault of citizens who "just don't want to get involved." Common folk feel beat down by the powers that be, whether it's the government (including police department) or the system of GOB'S who have a tight grip on the townspeople's kahones.
Largely, serious juvenile crime which would be addressed seriously any other place I've lived is blown off and categorized in the "kids will be kids" department. Of course, these JD's, thankful for the voluminous number of passes, go out and reoffend, knowing they'll get a feather-tickle on the wrist for smashing car windows and the like. A wonderful lesson for these impressionable minds about how life works.
When citizens witness robbery, assault, abuse, they ignore their moral duties to step-up and help victims, preferring not to get involved. This is Carlsbad's definition of "live and let live," which I always thought meant work with your neighbors to achieve safety, peace and tranquility, knowing the legal system is there to back you up. But, as in Alice in Wonderland, down is up and up is down.
There are laws covering a cornucopia of crimes, but it is commonly assumed that laws are made to be broken, and there are few instances in which adults will be required to pay for their crime. Lower recorded crime statistics makes the city appear much more crime-free than it is.
If someone does get involved, reports crime, testifies for a victim, etc., this lone ranger is labeled a "trouble-makers," especially outsiders who, by the way, comprise the majority of college-educated people. In other, more sophisticated cities, they would be called activists.
Government is considered corrupt by many. Huge amounts of money were spent by the city, hiring a high-powered Albuquerque law firm to fight awarding raises a federal arbitrator thought the Carlsbad firemen richly deserved. Even though Carlsbad officials agreed to binding arbitration, when the decision came down in favor of the firemen, the officials, hoping to use a "loophole," tried to wriggle out of paying court costs for the firemen awarded by the arbitrator. The city "leaders" could have done the right thing before lawyering up against the firemen, who were asking for no more or no less than what was deserved. The thousands upon thousands of tax dollars spent to fight what common sense demanded, which was basically financial and benefit parity with other NM fire departments, have been frittered away like sand down a gopher hole.
This is not the place to raise your kids if you want them to value their independence and individuality and be analytical thinkers, for these qualities have been erased from the local townspeople's Psyche's. Just imagine "Stepford Townspeople" controlled by GOB'S, corrupt officials, afraid to step up, man-up, woman-up and make a difference. And, yes, after 4 years, I'm gratefully moving where men and women do step up.
An aside, the medical system is abominable, requiring long trips to larger cities.
Carlsbad is not the place for aware, independent-thinking people.
need info for carlsbad,temp. housing,child care,day cares and elementarry schools.any help is appreciated.thanks
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Long response - Carlsbad native and retransplant
I know that you are not talking about Carlsbad, Nm !
