Thoughts on New Mexico

[1776 Rebel]

Saw a similar thread on Colorado and thought you folks could help out. I currently live in the North East in suburbia (can't tell you how much I hate the politics, gun laws, crowding etc). Wife and I have been to New Mexico and really liked it. Would be interested in your impressions of it regards, politics, life style, gun laws and shooting/hunting opptys. etc. We were thinking of northern NM around Santa Fe. In our late 50's and this pretty much would be our last move.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Ewwww, no.

I go to Santa Fe to ski sometimes, and my limited impressions from those trips, along with reading, is that the politics are very bad - very leftist. They were finally drug kicking and screaming into the CCW world - one of the last states to adopt CCW. The cost of living is sky high. And yet the cities are very drab and unaesthetically pleasing due to the tradition/culture of plain jane adobe architecture, the countryside is just a desert in the lowlands - not particularly pretty. It'd be one of the last places I'd want to live, even though I do like the very "green" attitudes of the people there.

But the mountains are nice of course. It's fine to visit and ski in, or to hunt elk or pronghorn, if you can get a tag. If you ski a lot, the upsides may very well outweigh the downsides. Economical skiing in about 5 ski areas within 1.5 hours drive of Santa Fe.

 

[Sistema1927]

Albuquerque is much better than Santa Fe, but there are even better places in the state.

I open carried yesterday in Albuquerque, and didn't raise an eyebrow. Our CCW needs a bit of fine tuning, but is workable.

 

[sailortoo]

WoW! - PremiumSauces really fell into it! Santa Fe IS NOT really New Mexico, it is a special, weird, political (state capital), ancient Spanish founded town that is impossible to find your way around - and if you should find where you thought you wanted to be, there aren't any parking places anywhere near. My wife and I love to visit (not in winter!), but a couple of days, and we are out of there. The only way to get any reasonable idea of what New Mexico really is - go look, and visit - take some vacation time and visit different areas. What I find to be beautiful and fulfilling, PremiumSauces and others may see as the armpit of the world, we all see the world differently. I find the Four Corners aea (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado all meet here) offers everything that I had looked for to retire. NOT expensive, all the amenities, great weather, no earthquakes, no tornados, no hurricanes no floods (well, maybe, if you build in the river bottom!) - and laidback and friendly people ( of course, you have to meet them half way - no Nu Yok attitude need apply). Open carry, your car is the same as your home, CCW, BLM land to "help yourself" to go shooting (responsibly), wide open spaces, rock crawling (jeeps), mountain climbing, river rafting, ancient Indian culture/modern Indian culture, you name it. we've got it. Admission: yes, I do belong to the local Chamber of Commerce! Always happy to help out. My next door neighbor (gun collector) is off to White Sands (NM) for his Oryx hunt (large, beautiful, straight horned African antelope) in August, he traps and varmint hunts a lot - just to give a hunter's point of view. One last thing, as travel just "to look" is expensive - go online to various Chambers of Commerce, ask for a local "my pace is better than yours" brochure. If nothing else, you can get some general idea whether or not to even bother to look further in a given area. Good Luck!
sailortoo

 

[Noxx]

I am in silly love with New Mexico. I went to college there and have made it a point to be back annually or better for sixteen years now.

I can't say that I care as much for the northern half of the state, little too trendy around Santa Fe for my tastes. Down south on the continental divide, Silver City and surrounding communities are both flat gorgeous and much less socially aloof.

I can't tell you just how beautiful I think the country is down there, and you can get a big chunk of it at a very reasonable cost. Very firearms friendly in general, plenty of hunting opportunities throughout the year.

The great outdoors in NM requires pretty much the same cautions as everywhere else, just with different beasties. Snakes are plentiful, as are scorpions. A Vinegaroon is not a scorpion, but try to tell your wife that the first time she finds one in the bathtub.
The plague is a real problem with squirrel and other pests throughout the southwest, so some caution is merited there if you enjoy varmint popping. Big Cats are around, although not terribly common, they are ambush predators and will not scruple to eat your a$$.

Javelina may not look like much, but they can be surly. Don't let your dogs get after them while out hiking, because they can and will mess up a dog something fierce. Also, areas where they are common are more likely to host the above mentioned mountain lion.

Anyway I'm rambling on, in short NM is great, carry a gun, mind where you put your feet, and don't eat the squirrels....pretty much covers it, yar.

 

[roger505]

What? I live in Albuquerque and none of what preiumsauces said is true. I open Carry and cc as needed and have never had any problem in fifty years. Although I agree with sailortoo about Santa Fe. To many beautiful people there.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Well, Santa Fe is part of New Mexico, but it is the very rich, over-priced, and snooty part of New Mexico. Never-the-less, you do find a gun shop in the DeVargas center (the mall located near the exit to the Santa Fe Opera). If you want to live in New Mexico and still be near civilization, you must move to either Albuquerque or Las Cruces. I lived in Albuquerque for two years and I consider it one of my favorite places in the world (I've been around Asia and Europe so I do mean world.) The CCW laws in NM are a little screwy and you can see where the liberals had their say, but you also get open carry. Albuquerque has four seasons, a great arts scene, nice restaurants, a really awesome aquarium (I kid you not), and a host of other wonderful features.

 

[sailortoo]

Uh - Prince Yamato - I guess "civilization" is a subjective word. I try to stay away from that particular "civilization" when ever possible. "Civilized" is San Juan County - I think you were referring to "commercialization" when you mention the overcrowded Albuquerque and Las Cruces. They are the "big dogs" for population, but that is the very reason not to go there, unless necessary. Anyway, the main point is - there is all kinds of New Mexico, and a pilgrim will have to "see to believe" what may be the best part for him/her. I'm not leaving!
sailortoo

 

[1776 Rebel]

Hey I appreciate the rapid response on this ! A little background. Last summer we spent two weeks driving around NM. I wanted to gauge the heat factor and was impressed that in August the mornings were down right chilly in places. It wasn't like living there for sure, but at least we got to see the various locals. At least what we could squeeze into two weeks. We flew into Albuquerque and spent a couple of days there. That certainly had the bigger city amenities. Then we started off towards Las Cruces and spent a couple of days there. College town looks like. More desert like. Hotter ! Swung around toward Riudoso and spent a couple of days on the reservation/casino. Then up to Santa Fe and then Taos. Finally drove cross the border into Colorado and did Colorado Springs and Denver. (Let us not bring up Denver. That is what I am trying to get away from.)

First time in my life I actually saw pronghorns! I grew up on Jack O'Connor and this was a high point, trust me.

I am at the tail end of my working career (I hope). Probably 10 more years though. Need to put the last daughter thru college etc. I am in the high technology arena. Sales. Even thinking of starting a business on my own potentially. Wife is nursing management. So we definitely will need for some time to have access to Hospitals, airports etc. I normally spend up to a solid hour on highways communting to work. If I have a customer call I spend sometimes 6 or so hours on the road. Bumper to bumper traffic. All this is simply wearing me down fast. After 30 years of this I have had enough. The suburb I am in is grossly overpriced, changing for the worse and has nothing to offer in the hunting department! Hell I have to get in the car and drive 40 minutes to a gun club to shoot. It costs me nearly 350 dollars a year for this priviledge !!!

From the above Albuquerque seems to be a more reasonable venue than Santa Fe. But it looks like you don't have to live in the heart of Albuquerque. What areas of Alburquerque are safe, nice, and affordable? From my comments above, it certainly wouldn't bother me to drive out to the rural areas/forests to do my thing shooting/hunting etc. but live closer in. Oh my ultimate dream is have some real property like 100 or so acres. Living here on a 75x100 foot plot of land has its limitiations.

 

[skinewmexico]

Eeek. Santa Fe is kind of a mixture of hippie weirdness / super rich / northeast fascism. Kind of like Austin. Killer resturants though. I don't know which parts of Albuquerque aren't gangland anymore. My brother-in-laws speaks highly of Silver City / Ruidoso / Alamogordo. I'm fond of Red River.

 

[armedandsafe]

It has been many years wince I lived in Alamogordo, but the good memories still surface. I'd enjoy living there again.

Pops

 

[yahkohb]

NM is nice

from my house in santa fe ("fanta se") I have:

- national forest hiking trails, 5-10 minutes away
- ski basin, 13 miles driveway-to-parking lot
- half a dozen other ski basins within 100-150 miles.
- BLM land for shooting, 20 minutes away
- probably 30 restaurants within a 3-4 mile radius
- gun shop, 2 miles away

the socialist-wannabes in santa fe tend to run their mouths a lot but they are for the most part pretty harmless. i hardly ever even think about them actually.

the cost of living is indeed high: a cheap house is $250-300k. the gun laws are not perfect but all around pretty good. sunsets are unbelievable.

ABQ has more big city amenities and less snobs, but in exchange has more sprawl, more people, higher temperatures, and less interesting landscape (IMO).

 

[Sistema1927]

100 acres? How much do you intend to spend?

As to "safe" neighborhoods in Albuquerque, you should be able to tell from a quick drive through. You will want to avoid the Southeast area of town (the "war zone"), and possibly the area around the University.

Don't let anyone tell you that the South Valley isn't a great place to live, you might not find 100 acres, but you might find a couple of acres in a more rural setting. The North Valley offers a similar rural feel.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Even thinking of starting a business on my own potentially. Wife is nursing management. So we definitely will need for some time to have access to Hospitals, airports etc.

Again, if you want to do this, you're looking at Albuquerque (ABQ). Honestly, unless you're applying 1950s standards Albuquerque is not very dangerous at all. It has the usual homeless people/mentally ill you see wandering most major cities, but they tend to keep to themselves. Same drug problems as most major cities. The ABQ police are really on top of things though. The "bad areas" are basically anything by the University or the Airport. They're really only bad once the sun goes down.

ALL of New Mexico is beautiful. So no matter where you go, the landscaping is great. You can also move to the outskirts of Albuquerque and have that "rural feel" while still being close to the city (look at Rio Rancho).

Albuquerque also has a very good medical community. The University of New Mexico has a very good medical school and ABQ itself is known for having good plastic surgeons.

Now... as for guns... ABQ has lots of shops. Two of my favorites; Ron Peterson's being great for title 1 stuff and August Arms in Rio Rancho being THE place in NM to get Class 3 weapons. Dave has an INSANE amount of guns for rent.

Calibers is a very nice indoor shooting range in Albuquerque and about 30 minutes away is Shooting Range Park, which is a very nice outdoor range (200 yards rifle/pistol and skeet range next door). It's $6 to shoot. Owned by the city of ABQ. The weather is so nice, you can shoot year round.

 

[SageMonkey]

New Mexico is pretty nice. I relocated here about 6 years ago and live in a rural area sort of near Taos and Espanola. Santa Fe is its own little world... a lot of the people relocated there from California or the NE, and it has a unique feel... it would be the most anti-gun part of the state.

As for PremiumSauces calling it "desert in the lowlands", that portrays a certain degree of ignorance. Northern New Mexico; Santa Fe, Taos, Espanola, even Albuquerque are all HIGH desert. Even Albuquerque is a few feet higher than Denver, though it does get warm enough in the summer to want a swamp cooler. I can't understand the complaint about our architecture, I feel it is some of the nicest in the country- thought I advise against frame-built stucco unless its all you can afford- around here real homes are made of adobe and it works well with the climate.

Santa Fe, and other parts of the state, do have a higher cost of living than much of the nation, but even SF isn't as expensive as many cities on the East or West coasts. More rural areas are cheaper, but this is a very large state and transportation costs run high.

Land can be expensive in many areas, much of the land is BLM, National Forest, Tribal, or otherwise un-buyable.

"Leftist"? I am not sure I would agree with that, though the northern areas of the state are strongly Democratic, "green", etc, there are also a lot of people who value individual rights over big government (or corporate) power. Rural areas in the northern part of the state are a little odd for business... in a lot of places the local population has roots going back for a very very long time, and those roots come into play with politics and business- outsiders might be advised not to compete with local families and not to tread on the wrong toes.

 

[jfdavis58]

I live in the heart of Albuquerque; have for most of my life (40 years). I can get to any place in the city in 20 minutes or less. In 30 minutes I can be out of the city, into the desert, the mountains, even at a small lake. I make a couple day trips to Santa Fe every year; wouldn't live there except in a dire emergency. I was born in Ohio, lived in Michigan, spent significant time in 38 other states. Albuquerque is home.

I've hunted, fished and trapped in nearly every direction at one time or another-nothing is more than a days ride-6 hours. I've skied in the AM, played tennis in the PM and swam (outside) at night all on the same day. NM really has only two seasons: winter and summer; and only part of either truly lives up to it's expected weather. One month in the summer is HOT. One month in winter is (moderately) Cold. The other 10 months are sunny and generally pleasant. Wind can be a pain in the butt. For 10-15 days, twice a year, it will rain for 10-15 minutes--maybe an hour if we get a really big storm. I've seen one winter storm-of-the-century (14-16 inches in 24 hours. It melted in about 10 days.)

The economy is slow-6 weeks to 6 months behind the rest of the country. I'm an engineer, my wife a pharmacist---professional wages are comfortable. Starting a small business is relatively easy; taxes are what taxes always are. While you can get most of your staples and essentially all commodities from one retail outlet or another, specialty items are better had by mail order. Utilities are high but can be managed with some simple tips and precautions. Water is 'in short supply'; might run out in ... (who the he** nows how many decades!)

My neighborhood is upper middle class. Neighbors are white, Hispanic, African American, Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern. We get along just fine. There is a burdensome drug and racially motivated gang problem in the middle and high schools and in neighborhoods south, west and north of me. Real violence is rare. Some crime is up (Murders, Rapes, Assaults), some is down (Burglary, Auto Theft). Robberies (especially armed) are not something we talk much about; They typically happen in sprees and after 10 or 15 by the same clown(s) the media loose interest. When perps are caught it's a circus--if they get shot the DA sends the good guy to the Grand Jury----she's a wimpy little chicken****.

PM me and I'll give you coordinates that will allow a street/curbside Google view of the neighborhood. The images are from last October.

Entertainment, culture and sports are, typical for a medium sized town but extremely varied. We have a nice biopark setup, a bunch of museums, a university, a couple of theaters, many movie houses, a huge variety of city parks and open spaces, shopping centers and outlet malls, golf courses from easy to crushing, gambling and a variety of churches. Santa Fe has an opera.

I belong to a local private gun club. I frequently have a large IPSC/IPDA style 3 walled/bermed area completely to myself for as long as I want it. A full 180 degree shooting arc and nighttime shooting is also allowed. I have all the amenities.

Politics are folksy. Very much influenced by rural concerns. At the state level they have a long session and a short 'money only' session alternately. Hide your money, guns and women, get your 'dibs' on as many entitlements as possible--it's an annual game--stay out of Santa Fe-no parking or lodging, big-wigs hog the best restaurants. The current governor is an Hispanic cowboy with a big Democrat ego. But he did sign the CCW law--he's not much of a shot.

City politics is normally lead by a mayor & council set-up; infantile is the best description. We ain't got a lot of money here about, what with the average wage being just about the poverty line. So projects get funded in little nibbles and work is done in spurts--a little here, a little there. Still, when the district's council(wo)man visits the neighborhood associations she always brings some freebie goodies like donuts or cookies or bottled water in funny containers. One time it was bike path maps normally costing a buck!

We have more state legislators, and elected officials under indictment, headed to trial or in jail than perhaps anywhere else. DUI/DWI, domestic abuse/violence, political corruption-bribes, kickbacks, embezzlement, and drugs. This dips deeply into every government job-from governor to city bus driver or public school employee. The first 15 minutes of the 30 minute local evening news, most of the newspaper first section and essentially all local talk radio has some new scoop and all the current stories in every broadcast or distribution.

Come on down, It's a Land of Enchantment!

 

[sailortoo]

Jeez - all I'm hearing about is "the big cities" of NM! New Mexico is a RURAL state, except for a select few really jambed-up areas like ABQ and Santa Fe. The op mentions wanting something on the order of a 100 acres to roam on. Lots of acreage in this state - mountains, valleys, plains and deserts. Admittedly, most of it is BLM, State or Indian Reservations, but finding a 100 acres should only be a problem in the sense of where and what kind of land. Also, the op has time (10 years ?) before expected retirement, so lots of look and visit time before a commitment. To each his own, but unless city living is a mandatory of the future purchase, I would look at some of the smaller towns and villages, as long as the needed amenities are within a reasonable travel distance (for me, it is 14 miles to one city, 35 miles to another - no problem). One of the beauties of NM is the plethora of small, even tiny, towns with real character, yet have good road access to the "city stuff".
sailortoo

 

[dracphelan]

Well, I really love the area around Cloudcroft. The weather is wonderful (upper 70s in July, not to much snow in the winter). I like the fact that it is not that long of a drive to Alamogordo, so you can get to more commercial establishments easily.

 

[Blacksmoke]

I

can't say that I care as much for the northern half of the state, little too trendy around Santa Fe for my tastes

-NOXX

Eh, Noxx, you need to get out of your car more often. Santa Fe is not, repeat, not representative of Northern New Mexico. Try coming up to the border end of Taos County or Mora County. This is a heavily Latino community with very traditional values. Hippies need not apply. Colfax County to the east is very conservative and more Anglo. Raton and Cimmaron are hardly trandy towns. We have the water, broadleaf trees and green grass.

Las Vegas, NM (east of Santa Fe) is a very nice small city of traditional values and comparatively mild winters. Chama out west next to the Jicarilla Apache Nation is a very pleasent mountain mining and logging town, quaint without being trendy.

As far as gun regulation goes I have found it to be reasonable: Open carry, loaded carry in motor vechicles (except snowmobiles), permitt for CCW is easily attainable, cops are mostly gun friendly (in my rural area). The main thing is that you will get back exactly what you put out; i.e. if you are polite, respectful, friendly, rational, and sober you will have very few problems with the residents or the law. If you are arrogant, bossy, prissy, fussy, in-a-hurry, drunk, or stoned, your head will be dribbled on the pavement.

When you are sitting in your truck and a low-rider pulls up with a bunch of teenagers wearing baggy pants and shaved heads you cannot assume trouble. That is the way youth look here. Your attitude is critical to your survival. Everyone has a gun from about 14 on and most carry. So, it pays to be polite and friendly. Similarly, if Che Guevara pulls up on a chopped hog and is staring at you, assume he is curious- a friendly nod or a wave is called for.

If you live here plan on taking time for people. No one is in a hurry. No one would be so rude as to break off a conversation becuase "I have an appointment." Well, maybe newcomers. The Spanish culture of NM is based on a certain amount of courtesy, friendliness, and openess. Oh, there are some de La Gente in the cities that have soured and are grimly ignornat of social graces. For the most part, standing in line at the bank, the supermarket ,etc. is an opportunity to talk with your neighbors. You can make a new friend in about ten minutes. Also keep in mind that traditional culture dictates that you do not offend someone with the truth; i.e. no one will hurt your feelings by telling you to your face that the color you just painted your truck sucks. That would be rude. Rude is very bad.

Also, La Vendetta is alive and well here. Step on someone's toes one time and you will have an enemy for a very long time. My neighbors are still fighting over what happend back in the early 1940s when water rights were lost.

Keep in mind that when you take on a perp, you are taking on his entire family. Family outranks the law. A youth stealing from you is bad. Hurting him means a war. You have to learn how to deal with trouble without making it worse. People here stand by their kids through all kinds of bad stuff. I shake my head sometimes.

NM is a fantastic place to live but is not for everyone.

 

[1776 Rebel]

Folks thank you very much for all the info. Your impressions are appreciated and I will be chewing on them for awhile !

NM sounds like pretty much any other place on this planet, with upstaters and downstaters, rural and urban, low and high income, natives and new arrivals. In other words just people trying to figure out a way to get thru the day. Again thanks all....

 

[PershingRiflesC-7]

Everybody overlooked...

SASS, the Single Action Shooting Society, that holds its annual End of Trail Shoot in NM in June at Founders Ranch. They are also building their World HQ in Edgewood NM. Check it out: http://www.sassnet.com/

I visit NM quite often and have enjoyed the Santa Fe area several times, especially the cuisine -- make mine the green chile, please. I would agree with the posters that note the traffic and weird street layout, though.

I have long said if I could find a job that would support living in NM that I would move there but haven't found that position yet. I would be good with the ABQ area but tend to like SF and north, though. My next trip to NM will be to attend the Hatch Chile Festival so I can bring some back to OK.

 

[TallPine]

Blacksmoke: I spent a winter logging up north of Mora several decades ago.

It was an interesting area - very insular. Many of the families had been in the area since about 1600. I gave a ride to a young guy hitchhiking and he told me that he had never been out of that immediate valley.

I got along with most everybody even though I had forgotten most of my HS Spanish (it really was the first language in the area at that time). There was a neat old guy that ran a sawshop in Mora back then, but I suppose that he has long since crossed the great divide.

Some kids broke into my camper while I was in town one day and stole a ML rifle and some other stuff. It was pretty obvious who did it because of the tire tracks. But the local sheriff wouldn't do a thing about it. The kids were probably his relatives and I was a gringo.

Northern New Mexico was very much a "place apart" back then - almost like living in a foreign country that spoke some english and accepted your currency

 

[inkhead]

Bringing this thread up

Sorry to bring this thread back up.. But I'm literally moving to Rio Rancho, New Mexico this week. I got a brand new house, right on a national park.

Any advice on weapons. The local police were very nice, recommended having a weapon for home defense. What are the rules? I'm from northern california...

I here in NM it's most likely to be a home invasion, and living in a huge expensive house, in the middle of no-where, I want to make sure I have the means to defend myself.

Not to mention there is plenty of room to shoot in my back yard.

Curious if anyone has any advice or thoughts... or lives around the area and would want to meet up some time.

Cheers!

 

[ronwill]

I was born in New Mexico and still travel there quite often. I'm partial to the north central area (Taos, Espanola). Good luck on your move.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Inkhead, Rio Rancho is very safe. Also, you'll be near August Arms... it's a really awesome Class 3 dealer... check it out.