Midland a top tech hub - Newgeography (Alpine, Howe: live, prices)

[Westerntraveler]

thanks.I bet it will be scary.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I hope so too.

It's really scary when it finally does bust....and each succeeding boom seems to be bigger than the one before it.

I got caught in that mid-1980s agriculture & oil bust as it affected Lubbock as well. In 1986 we sold our SW Lubbock house in order to move to the D.C. area and we took a small hit.

If we don't decide to just rebuild this old Texas farm after we sell out in Albuquerque, we may be looking at buying another Lubbock area house in the next few years so I'm sort of watching real estate prices again. We're still not beyond staying in New Mexico though (low property taxes and all) but it would be in a rural area.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

I got caught in that mid-1980s agriculture & oil bust as it affected Lubbock as well. In 1986 we sold our SW Lubbock house in order to move to the D.C. area and we took a small hit.

If we don't decide to just rebuild this old Texas farm after we sell out in Albuquerque, we may be looking at buying another Lubbock area house in the next few years so I'm sort of watching real estate prices again. We're still not beyond staying in New Mexico though (low property taxes and all) but it would be in a rural area.

If you took only a small hit at that time, you were luckier than many others who just had to walk away. Some were just really underwater. I was able to hold on until prices got better, so I'm grateful for that, even if things got hard at times.

I'm leaving NM next fall. I've gotten both NM and CO out of my system (though I am keeping my small CO place for the summers). Yep, lower property taxes and insurance, but I miss Texas, home and family.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Yep, lower property taxes and insurance, but I miss Texas, home and family.

There's no doubt members of my family have visited me more here in west Texas than at my home in Albuquerque but we are all getting to the age that travel for any of us is difficult. Next month, my two brothers (eastern Texas and northern Florida) are supposed to come out here to the farm but that will likely be the last time I see my oldest brother who is ten years older than me. My oldest sister (8 years my senior) is not doing well as I speak and very recently was placed under daily care.

Although I've never gotten rural New Mexico out of my system, the State has changed dramatically since I first came to it in 1968. My wife and I will likely just stay on the Texas South Plains. I'm really tired of moving. And too, I still have to move my wife from Albuquerque whenever I can finally convince her to retire. That move will just about finish me off.

My wife and I are both Texans at heart. Regarding my daughter, I may have mentioned that we were living in eastern New Mexico when she was born but we drove back to Texas so that she would be born in Texas. She's very aware of her heritage.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

There's no doubt members of my family have visited me more here in west Texas than at my home in Albuquerque but we are all getting to the age that travel for any of us is difficult. Next month, my two brothers (eastern Texas and northern Florida) are supposed to come out here to the farm but that will likely be the last time I see my oldest brother who is ten years older than me. My oldest sister (8 years my senior) is not doing well as I speak and very recently was placed under daily care.

Although I've never gotten rural New Mexico out of my system, the State has changed dramatically since I first came to it in 1968. My wife and I will likely just stay on the Texas South Plains. I'm really tired of moving. And too, I still have to move my wife from Albuquerque whenever I can finally convince her to retire. That move will just about finish me off.

My wife and I are both Texans at heart. Regarding my daughter, I may have mentioned that we were living in eastern New Mexico when she was born but we drove back to Texas so that she would be born in Texas. She's very aware of her heritage.

Yes, I remember that little story about your daughter being born in Texas!

I don't like eastern NM--and southern NM is too hot in the summer, as is Texas. For weather, you can't beat northern NM. I wouldn't live in ABQ because it's just too big. I'm a small-town gal at heart, and even Midland was getting too big when I left, though I was comfortable with it.

Farmington is the perfect size, and everything is here--but I have fought the homesickness for over two years, and I can't shake it. I'm so far from home that I never get to see anybody any more. While I've made friends in NM, it's not the same as the ones you've known for so many years, and that includes many relatives. So it's good that you will get to see yours more often.

So, I'm headed home--and like you, I'm sick of moving. This is my third big move in 6 years, and it had better be my last, 'cuz if it's not, I"m gonna shoot myself in the head, LOL!!

There is a LOT I just don't like about NM, despite the great weather (northern only) and the gorgeous scenery. I want to go HOME to TEXAS.

I'll spend summers (except for next year, whien I have to stay and get my very small yard in and landscaping going) in Durango, and possibly a month in winter when I want snow and cold/skiing.

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Yes, I remember that little story about your daughter being born in Texas!

I don't like eastern NM--and southern NM is too hot in the summer, as is Texas. For weather, you can't beat northern NM. I wouldn't live in ABQ because it's just too big. I'm a small-town gal at heart, and even Midland was getting too big when I left, though I was comfortable with it.

Farmington is the perfect size, and everything is here--but I have fought the homesickness for over two years, and I can't shake it. I'm so far from home that I never get to see anybody any more. While I've made friends in NM, it's not the same as the ones you've known for so many years, and that includes many relatives. So it's good that you will get to see yours more often.

So, I'm headed home--and like you, I'm sick of moving. This is my third big move in 6 years, and it had better be my last, 'cuz if it's not, I"m gonna shoot myself in the head, LOL!!

There is a LOT I just don't like about NM, despite the great weather (northern only) and the gorgeous scenery. I want to go HOME to TEXAS.

I'll spend summers (except for next year, whien I have to stay and get my very small yard in and landscaping going) in Durango, and possibly a month in winter when I want snow and cold/skiing.

I dont like Eastern New Mexico either except Ruidoso and Alamogordo.Ive only been to ABQ once.My last move was 20 years ago.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Westerntraveler

I dont like Eastern New Mexico either except Ruidoso and Alamogordo.Ive only been to ABQ once.My last move was 20 years ago.

I don't know why Alamogordo is classified as Eastern NM--I see it as south central, but....

I mostly liked Alamogordo, as it's a pretty town (albeit run-down and trashy in parts), and you usually don't see towns backed up to mountain ranges (the Sacramentos) like that, with another (San Andres) in the distance. Also like Ruidoso quite well, but could never find a place to live that I liked. Being a mountain town, it's hard to find level spots, enclosed fenced yards, etc.

I have never liked Hobbs, Roswell, Clovis, Tucumcari, Artesia and the like, though Carlsbad isn't too terrible other than being way too hot!

If I stay in NM, it will be here, and with hindsight, had I known how things were going to shake out with my aging parents (both gone now), I would have come here to begin with, instead of 4 years in Alamo. I like northern better than southern, especially being near the CO line. I hope to have the best of all worlds with permanent residence back in Texas, and trips to the Four Corners during the summers and possibly some in the winter.

When you're an oldie, the moves get a lot harder, LOL!

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I don't know why Alamogordo is classified as Eastern NM--I see it as south central, but....

I mostly liked Alamogordo, as it's a pretty town (albeit run-down and trashy in parts), and you usually don't see towns backed up to mountain ranges (the Sacramentos) like that, with another (San Andres) in the distance. Also like Ruidoso quite well, but could never find a place to live that I liked. Being a mountain town, it's hard to find level spots, enclosed fenced yards, etc.

I have never liked Hobbs, Roswell, Clovis, Tucumcari, Artesia and the like, though Carlsbad isn't too terrible other than being way too hot!

If I stay in NM, it will be here, and with hindsight, had I known how things were going to shake out with my aging parents (both gone now), I would have come here to begin with, instead of 4 years in Alamo. I like northern better than southern, especially being near the CO line. I hope to have the best of all worlds with permanent residence back in Texas, and trips to the Four Corners during the summers and possibly some in the winter.

When you're an oldie, the moves get a lot harder, LOL!

i
I have never liked places like Hobbs,Roswell, and Carlsbad.

[pammybear]

HI Cathy, are you coming back to Midland? We should meet in real life for some Mexican food! LOL Anyway I wanted to ask you (and others) what are the signs that an oil boom is coming to an end? I have only lived here 5 years so I have only seen the growth and so I am wondering, are there any subtle signs that things are slowing down or what would those signs be? Thanks and welcome back soon!
Pam

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by pammybear

HI Cathy, are you coming back to Midland? We should meet in real life for some Mexican food! LOL Anyway I wanted to ask you (and others) what are the signs that an oil boom is coming to an end? I have only lived here 5 years so I have only seen the growth and so I am wondering, are there any subtle signs that things are slowing down or what would those signs be? Thanks and welcome back soon!
Pam

Hey, Pam!

It would be fun to meet and go out for lunch when I am in town. I'll be coming to M-O periodically, so when the time comes I'll give you a buzz, OK?

I'm moving to Alpine sometime in the fall.

People in the oil business for YEARS have tried to predict when the boom is going to end--and haven't been right, LOL!!

I will say that this current boom has lasted longer than I thought it would. My dad was an independent oil operator who commuted to Midland since 1951 (he retired in 1988 or so and is gone now), so I've seen the boom-bust cycles over all those years. There have been several.

One year (1963 or so) we remodeled the house extensively, bought two new cars, and took a vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim. All that--with money left over.

When that one busted, we had to mortgage the house that was paid for just to have bare living expenses. So my parents learned a very hard, hard lesson--and learned to sock money away for the lean times.

Some in Midland did learn their lessons--but I'm afraid that many haven't yet. I think many feel like it's going to last forever--and it never does!