Anybody live in New Mexico? I'm looking to pull up stakes here...

[TreasonousBastard]

on Long Island, and NM looks like a likely spot. Housing seems cheap but I wonder about water supplies.

[marybourg]

1. Water is not a problem.

But rent first if possible. Culturally it's on a different planet from L.I.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. No. New Mexico has been a radioactive wasteland since 1945. Nobody lives there. Big coverup.

[lapfog_1]

3. I like the sangre de cristo mountains

santa fe, taos, etc... but rents are pricey there...

I am thinking about someplace near silver city for more affordable housing... but there isnt much to do in SW New Mexico.

[Haggard Celine]

5. I like that area as well.

I love the scenery there. Really, I like the whole state, but it's been quite a long time since I've been there. The place has changed a lot, just like every place else. I live in one of the cheapest places to live in the U.S. Don't know if I could afford to live anywhere else.

[LeftInTX]

4. There's always plenty of drinking water and water for household chores etc

There's always a shortage of water for: lawns and lush landscapes
There is sometimes a shortage of water for: vegetable gardens

Watering landscapes is where the shortage is.
I live on one of the first federally regulated aquifers (in Texas)

Even then, we still have water for landscapes, but it just isn't consistent. It certainly doesn't rain enough and it really sucks when it's a million degrees and you're told that you can't water your lawn. Nevertheless our restrictions have never gotten worse than once a week on Tuesday 7am-11am and 7pm-11pm - No watering allowed midnight - 7am. No watering 11 am- 7pm.


Modern technology provides plenty of water for drinking, showering and doing laundry.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. I've always looked askance at lawns. One thing I admired on a...

week in Arizona was the desert houses with swamp coolers on the roof and raked sand to make the illusion of a lawn.

There are, however, snakes and scorpions down that way.

[irisblue]

7. Access to health care is a point to consider too.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. True, but most things are covered by the VA, and NM seems to be adequately covered,

if the VA is worth a damn down there. Sometimes it isn't.

[irisblue]

22. I'm thinking on long distance driving to get to primary/specialist care

As I age, sometimes getting a ride is a bitch

[TreasonousBastard]

24. True anywhere, but does bus service exist?

[triron]

25. In Albuquerque it does. I imagine Santa fe and las cruces do as well

[LeftInTX]

8. Don't worry about snakes

Scorpions are more common in new construction.

I have been stung before

I wouldn't let those issues be part of your decision

[TreasonousBastard]

20. As worries go, they are way down on my list, but I did notice the carpets in my hotel...

were designed to let the critters show up, and one morning I saw a scorpion in the tub. No shower that morning!

[LeftInTX]

28. I'm in San Antonio, so my encounters have been infrequent (my home is 40 years old)

Scorpions here favor new construction.

However, one of my Facebook friends lives in an old farmhouse about 150 miles west of here, she's deals with scorpions frequently.

One of my friends here in town have a newer home and they have a pest control that sprays for scorpions.

[cstanleytech]

9. "There's always plenty of drinking water" For now and I would not move anywhere west due

largely to the water issues it may be facing in the long term.

[2naSalit]

13. +1

Things aren't looking all that promising up here in headwaters country.

[LeftInTX]

29. No there is plenty of water for essential needs.

There is not plenty of water for landscape needs.

[cstanleytech]

32. For now means it can change and given the climate issues we are potentially facing I personally

would not risk such a move.

[calimary]

10. There are always rock gardens, with succulents to provide some green.

Add a couple of rocks with cool crystal formations and you have something really gorgeous, and even glittery when it catches the sunlight.

Cactus gardens can be quite fascinating, too. Including the occasional cactus flower!

[TreasonousBastard]

21. Always admired rock and cactus gardens!

[Kaleva]

34. That makes trying to raise your own food to rude out food shortages a oroblem

As the farm belt in the Midwest moves north and CA no longer can be the food basket if the world got many products as drought conditions intensify.

[mnhtnbb]

11. PoindexterOglethorpe

lives in Santa Fe. Check with her. Maybe also post to the New Mexico group? https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1067

[EYESORE 9001]

12. As much as water, I'd be concerned about warming temperatures

Perhaps it won’t happen in our lifetimes, but climate change-related rising temperatures may render vast swaths of the American southwest uninhabitable.

[Kaleva]

31. +1. He'll be adding to the competition for a ever more scarce resource.

[haele]

14. Mom lives in Albuquerque near the AF base. It's reasonably affordable for a city.

However, there's still a lot of issues with housing for working poor and addiction issues that lead to homelessness due to scarcity of living wage jobs in the area. Not a lot of big employers other than the Federal Government and a few associated scientific organizations. New Mexico is still suffering from over a century from resource extraction companies owned by out-of-state corporations and investment firms that seriously exploited the native and hispanic majority settled there since the early 1600's - because, who cares about non-whites and 'dirt' farmers?

As for water?
She has a backyard veggie garden, an elderly Apple Tree, a fruiting Mulberry (which is far more drought tolerant than the Apple Tree) with the rest of a yard that is otherwise zeroscaped with local flora.
There's not a lot of landscape watering (she put in a grey-water system to catch shower and kitchen drain water for her trees and veggie garden), but other than that, household use water doesn't seem to be an issue, yet.
She's also a lot of wildlife - Rabbits, Prairie Dogs, Raccoons and Chipmunks, and the occasional Lynx down from the nearby Scandia's. And lots of Road Runners.
The Rio Grande has been awfully low in the past few years, though, and she's starting to get nervous as it is pretty much high desert in New Mexico.
It's an never too hot, or too cold. Just very dry and windy for a lot of the year, and the monsoon season can be miserable.
Also, in Albuquerque, the climate can be radically different depending on what quarter from the Rio Grande you live.

So, yes, New Mexico can be a good place to live, if you live near infrastructure. Out in the smaller, rural areas, it might be a bit more difficult if you're used to modern comforts.

Haele

[triron]

15. I live in Albuquerque near the Manzano foothills about 6000 feet

Elevation. I love it here. Solid blue state. Lots of nice dry weather good for outdoor activities. We also have skiing here.

[Demsrule86]

16. Try Ohio, we have some of the best prices for houses anywhere and Cleveland has a Theater

district that is amazing...not to mention museums which are often free...lots to do and see. Also, if you want to live on the water in the country we have that too. I have lived all over and this is one of my favorite places I have ever lived.

[TreasonousBastard]

23. Theater! I lived in Manhattan for a while and there was this little thing called...

Broadway, and off- and off-off- Broadway and it gets into your blood after a while.

Love to find a place where theater is still taken seriously.

[triron]

26. In Albuquerque we have the university of nm with popejoy hall and rodey theater

[PufPuf23]

27. Look at Ashland, OR if want to stay close to theatre

Not the water and temperature concerns of NM.

Not that far from the Pacific. On Interstate 5. Airport in Medford.

Ashland is built around a long running Shakespeare Festival and is a liberal oasis.

Housing is cheaper outside of Ashland proper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashland,_Oregon

https://www.osfashland.org/

[Elessar Zappa]

18. I live in Silver City, NM,

which is in the south western part of the state. We’re pretty blue here but do have some magats. The downtown is lively. We’re pretty dry but we do get rain in the summer and snow in the winter. We have 4 seasons. We’re right on the edge of the Gila national forest, which is beautiful. I hear northern NM is great. Avoid eastern New Mexico unless you wanna live in a little Texas that’s dominated by right wingers.

[Quixote1818]

19. I grew up in Las Cruces and it's still my favorite city in NM

I currently live in Albuquerque but it's too big for me. Las Cruces is really easy to get around, has a nicer winter climate than Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The Organ Mountains are spectacular, White Sands is an hour away, El Paso, TX less than an hour. Camping in very green mountains about an hour away. It has NMSU and NASA so there are quite a few intellectual's there.

[Kaleva]

30. Isn't NM predicted to be hit hard by climate change?

https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2021/07/23/new-mexico-get-hotter-and-drier-next-50-years-climate-change-drought/8024841002/

I would think people ought to be considering on how to leave NM instead of thinking of moving there.

[lindalou65]

33. Love New Mexico

I live in Albuquerque and for the most part find it to be a great place. Crime is high here unfortunately--mostly due to drugs. Homelessness is a problem but that has become an issue in many US cities especially in the west and southwest.

Mild weather overall--lots of sunshine. Can get pretty warm in the summer especially in July-August. We get cold weather and some snow during the winter. People often don't know that Albuquerque is the 'other mile high city.'
So far, water supply is adequate and many people have xeriscape yards and drought tolerance plants/trees. We have a garden and enjoyed tomatoes, squash, pumpkins and green chile this summer. Can grow many other veggies. Also plum, apple, cherry trees grow well here.

Santa Fe is lovely but very expensive to live in. Southern NM is nice (less expensive) with less moisture but a very pleasant climate year round--pretty hot in the summer.

Come out for a visit!