New Mexico Congressional seats all BLUE

[Desert grandma]

Last edited Wed Nov 9, 2022, 11:50 PM - Edit history (1)

Not sure if this has been posted but Gabe Vasquez (D), who was challenging Yvette Harrell (R) the incumbent in the newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District has just declared victory in the race!!! She was terrible....one of those Rs that voted to not accept the results of the 2020 election. This is a Democratic pickup for the House!! Maybe Kevin won't be speaker after all!

[Deuxcents]

1. If NM didn't have water issues, I could consider relocating.. just saying

The Land of Enchantment..

[lapfog_1]

2. I plan on retiring there... water issues or no

[Deuxcents]

3. I've thought about it.. did some Google searches

[lunatica]

20. I retired here in NM

I love it!

I came from California so I’m quite used to living in drought stricken areas so I just keep up my old conservation habits. I don’t have anything to complain about.

[ret5hd]

6. Northeast area (Raton, Cimarron)...

doesn’t seem to have any water issues.

IF you can handle the small town slow pace vibe.

Seems to be LGBTQ friendly. Affordable housing, great weather.

Not much for jobs though. But we are retired.

[Deuxcents]

12. Small town..slow vibe.. that's what Ft Myers was in '94

When I moved here. Now, the population has exploded, too much crime n I’m tired of hurricanes! Can’t enjoy the beaches anymore b/c of all the tourists. I’m getting too old!

[ret5hd]

15. Do you like walking? Hiking?

Maybe a nice drive to some spectacular scenery?

Lots and lots of that.

[Deuxcents]

17. I would love to see that.. it's flat where I am

[triron]

9. Not really a problem here. I live in Albuquerque.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. I moved here in 2008, after a divorce.

I did think long and hard about the water issues. I have lived in Arizona two different times in my life, so I'm very aware.

For what it's worth, in Santa Fe, where I live, we use about half the water of people anywhere else. No lawns. No backyard pools unless they are grandfathered in, and not very many of those.

I found this city to be a wonderful place for an older woman (I was 60 at the time) to reinvent herself. I have no idea what it's like for men, but hopefully just as good. I would not want to be a young person here, as they pretty much roll up the sidewalks at 9pm. I had the good fortune to have my dissipated youth in the Washington DC area, where things were open very late and, well, just say it was wonderful back then.

And yeah, I do continue to think about the water issues. They are real, and will not go away.

[Deuxcents]

18. Been checking the pros n cons section on line again..

Safest place, most scenic but being retired, the tax system..both property n income, SS, health care, etc. I did this a couple of years ago n I’m not getting younger.. thanks for your info 🙏

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. It is a highly personal decision.

I love living here, and hope I can spend the rest of my life in NM, but that depends partly on where My Son The Astronomer winds up after he gets his PhD. He is currently on the East Coast, attending school at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. I don't like being so far away from my only son, so I might well relocate after a while.

I will add this. I feel very fortunate that I was able to move to a place I truly wanted to live in. Most of us wind up somewhere because of job or family or some such. Not many of us get to look around the country and decide, "I'd like to live THERE!" which I was able to do. In my case, I was divorcing after some 25 years of marriage. I did not have a career, as I'd stayed home some 25 years to raise children. I knew that I would of course need to work, and I'd be getting an entry level job, whatever it might be. Which actually gave me a lot of freedom that someone who is trying to relocate but has some kind of real career or non-entry-level job would be dealing with. I looked at several different parts of the country, but in the end, I like to say that Santa Fe kept calling my name. I moved here, got work, made friends, and have never regretted it.

If you relocate anywhere, I sincerely hope you have the same experience, wherever you go.

[Deuxcents]

28. The best part is you made your decision n never regretted it..that says everything

Last edited Thu Nov 10, 2022, 02:40 AM - Edit history (1)

I got divorced after 23 years.. I actually ran away after I retired so I started over, too. You do sound happy n maybe your son might consider where you are. I have a feeling you’ll be happy wherever you will be and that is my wish for you. Good to know I have a DU friend w/ parallels to my life and also have no regrets. “Non, je ne regrette rien” Edith Piaf sings this beautifully.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. Sounds like we have some similarities.

I hope my son winds up in this part of the country, but at this point there's no telling where he might go. He does like the East Coast, and since I've lived there in the past I could go there again.

His area of research is exo-planets, and I gather there are a fair number of jobs all around the world that he might do. I am also very aware of my advancing age, and expect to move into independent/assisted living at some point. I would not expect him to care for me in my declining years. I've also been involved in helping relatives who need to go into independent/assisted living, and so I'm very aware of what's involved, and what needs to be done. I'm crazed by people who simply don't recognize they can no longer live on their own until it becomes a crisis. It's all I can do not to grab everyone I see over the age of 50 and lecture them on this topic.

Anyway, it sounds as if you are making good and thoughtful decisions on your own.

Love to you.

[womanofthehills]

19. Depends on where you live in NM

I live in the middle of NM and got water at 160 feet. I have a solar pump which needs repair about every 5 or 6 yrs. When we pull out pump & drop back in - water level has not changed in 20 yrs. Was told the mountain ranges block water from traveling.

In the 20 yrs I have lived here, our monsoon this year was the best ever. Instead of living in a desert, I was surrounded by tall green grass, wild flowers and wild 6 ft sunflowers. Rained almost every day for two months. - I’m in the high desert and get double the rain of Albuquerque.

[Deuxcents]

21. A couple of articles I read about the water

Said water was precious n the many ways people have created to save it. You’ve adapted living in the high desert, another poster lives in the city..or near a big city..n one maybe in the beautiful mountains. Water would be one concern as I’m sure the tricks of the trade, so to speak, are shared. I’m 75 n in good health n active but searching now about SS, Medicare, taxes..stuff like that. I live in Florida so my diet of fresh fruits n veggies n seafood would change but I can adjust to things like that. I’m just seriously thinking if I just have wonder lust or am I really fed up n want to relocate while I can enjoy my life. Thanks for your info..I hope I’m not overloading your reply 🤗

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

26. Water is very much an issue here, but I'll remind you

that, at least in Santa Fe where I live, people use about half the water that people elsewhere use.

I'm 74 myself. If you live in Florida you probably use air conditioning a good half of the year. And then there are hurricanes. I lived without a/c my first 11 years here, and only finally got it because I was also getting a new furnace, and so piggy-backing the a/c made sense. I use it maybe 6 weeks in the summer, and even then not every day of those six weeks. So it may not have been such a good financial decision. Meanwhile, no hurricanes. No tornadoes. No earthquakes.

Santa Fe has a reputation for being hideously expensive. I think that's in part because people here compare housing prices to those in Albuquerque, or Las Cruces, or other smaller communities in this state. Clearly they have no idea what it is like in other parts of the country. When I moved here from Overland Park, KS, I rented an apartment for just about exactly what a comparable place would have cost in KS, which is considered a low cost of living part of the country. Having lived in various parts of the country, I think I have perspective that those who don't move, don't have. I have noticed that people who have lived their entire lives in pretty much one place do not understand that the things they think are unique to their area are really very common. Although, and I can say this because I have lived lots of places, some issues are different in different places.

Anyway, enough about NM. Do research different places. Go to different parts of the country. Before I moved here I made two major trips, one to the Pacific Northwest, the other a long driving trip from Kansas to South Carolina, north to NYS, across to New Hampshire, back to NYS to visit a cousin, and then west to visit a friend in Pennsylvania and another in Ohio. All the while I was assessing everywhere, and did I think I'd want to live there. Please do something similar. I'm sure your final decision will be different from mine, but check different places out. You won't regret it.

Oh, and do not get hung up on thinking that if you don't have to shovel snow off your car in winter life is perfect. Trust me, while not having to shovel snow off the car is nice, it is not the only thing that contributes to quality of life.

[Deuxcents]

31. Good advice n thank you 🙏

[womanofthehills]

27. Lots of people from other states have retired here

And basically everyone knows everyone around here. Lots of artists and musicians and a great art center in one of the largest old buildings in town. I’m sure the mayor knows everyones name. We all post with him on Facebook. Our mayor is tight with the gov - Michelle Lujan Grisham. I have a great view of the Manzano Mts from my place and I’m less than a mile from National forest. In fact, cows are grazing a half mile from my place and we have a local slaughter house.

Out here you can get great grass fed/grass finished beef from local ranchers. I buy mine from a women who is in my book club - very convinent. The small grocery has organic veggies all summer from local gardens plus a small farmers market. I have some raised bed gardens and 8 hens for fresh eggs.

Albuquerque is only 90 miles away - with lots of organic grocery stores. Lots of organic fruits from Mexico. Whole Foods in Albuquerque has lots of fresh fish - unfortunately not just caught.

Santa Fe has the farmers market from hell.

I lived in Albuquerque for many yrs before I moved out here. My daughter, grandkids and great grandson live there.

I use non toxic cleaning products - so all my house water just drains to trees outside plus I have water catchment off roofs for gardening. I lived totally off grid for yrs but as I got older I connected my solar panels to the grid.

[Deuxcents]

33. What area do you live in.. west side of the state?

[Cha]

29. New Mexico is beautiful! nt

[DinahMoeHum]

4. McCarthy probably won't be speaker regardless. . .

. . .of whether the 'Pukes win the House or not. He backed a whole bunch of losers and that will not play well for the GQP goping forward.

[Cha]

32. & he backs DT who also backed

a whole bunch of crazy losers as we all know.

[republianmushroom]

5. LIKE IT

[Quixote1818]

7. I think Herrell lost because of her stance on abortion. She is nuts! So glad she lost. nt

[triron]

8. Albuquerque journal indicated that this morning.

[3Hotdogs]

10. Move there? Dunno. I saw this documentary about this guy, Walter White.....

[comradebillyboy]

24. Well Albuquerque does have a bit of a crime problem.

[SheltieLover]

11. Awesome!!!

Ty for sharing!

Our big beautiful Blue tsunami continues to roll along! 🏄‍♀️ 🏄‍♂️

[phoenix75]

13. Great news!

Hope is alive and well!!
Thank you for your post.

[HardPort]

14. As a Gabe voter in Las Cruces -- whoooooooooo!!

*Vasquez

[Desert grandma]

22. He was a great candidate!

I live in Albuquerque, and was excited about his candidacy. I donated to him because was so eager to see Yvette Harrell out of there. She voted against the bill to fund medical care for veterans that were the victims of the "burn pits" in the wars they like to initiate. Happy for you folks down south!

[womanofthehills]

23. I grew up in NJ and went to art school in NYC

Came out to UNM and was blown away by NM. Within a month, I knew I wanted to live in the Land of Enchantment for the rest of my life. I came out here with 4 friends who all went back to New York.

Although I’m in a rural area and the closest town only has 850 people - we have a two block downtown with almost every store you would need plus 3 art galleries and a DEMOCRATIC mayor.

[vercetti2021]

30. Lemme guess

Red River?

[onetexan]

35. Love NM, esp'ly their governor. Michelle Lujan Grisham Rocks!!

Several years ago while visiting NM during fiesta month (and posted here of my experience ) i saw Dems out in droves in every town for every fiesta, and where i saw MLG when she was running for governor. A petite woman who packs an outsized personality and tremendous gusto. I was thoroughly impressed w her and Dems in NM. So happy for yall & your beautiful state!!
KUDOS TO NM Dems for turning the state from purple to BLUE!!!