Looking to relocate. New Mexico or Texas as of now

[Sharpspur]

My wife has the opportunity to relocate to for her work. I'm a commercial Construction manager, so my opportunities are pretty open near bigger cities. I understand that Texas is going to be a pay to play and require me to lease.

We also have Albuquerque New Mexico. As a New Mexico resident, is it feasible to draw a resident elk or mule deer tag every year?

Pros and cons of both places? Tx could be Fort Worth area, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston. El Paso is also option but ruled that one out.

 

[cuerro viejo]

My wife has the opportunity to relocate to for her work. I'm a commercial Construction manager, so my opportunities are pretty open near bigger cities. I understand that Texas is going to be a pay to play and require me to lease.

We also have Albuquerque New Mexico. As a New Mexico resident, is it feasible to draw a resident elk or mule deer tag every year?

Pros and cons of both places? Tx could be Fort Worth area, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston. El Paso is also option but ruled that one out.

Large chance of your new company having a lease and vendors taking you hunting.

Texas has public, as does every surrounding state.

West Austin’s pretty but whole town is liberal,
NW SA is also pretty, closer to coast, but economically not as strong as other two.
NTX is most cost friendly but 8 hours from coast, but closer to Western states, strongest economy

Houston is the closest thing to Hell, in Texas. Never ending traffic, 100% humidity and 110 days@ 100% humidity, only positive is is close to coast if you like to fish and duck hunt

 

[roadrunner]

Avoid NM and particularly Albuquerque.

Nearly, or does have the highest crime rate in the lower 48. The state gov't is very 2A unfriendly and before long hunting will not be recognizable to what it is today.

I'd go TX. You can always travel to hunt.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Wife and I have been trying to move out West for a while, but I just can't leave Texas, specifically the coast. Between here and NM it's definitely a no brainer for me if for nothing else just the politics. Dunno about NM, but no state income tax in TX. There's public to be had but it can be competitive and tough hunting, we kill deer every year on public and most of the coast is public for waterfowl. Coastal fishing is incredible IMO. The only thing NM is going to have over TX would be resident Elk and other draws but having to live in NM wouldn't even be close to worth it for me.

edit: As stated above, avoid Houston at all costs. Personally I'd avoid being in Austin as well or at least stay on the outskirts of it.

 

[TxxAgg]

Don’t move to Houston.

Fort Worth or San Antonio would be nice.

 

[TaperPin]

New Mexico is not a construction hot spot. Population is flat and infrastructure projects funded by the last guy aren’t going to last long. Albuquerque isn’t a vibrant growing city despite what google may say with its new rosey AI descriptions.

 

[displacedtexan]

I'd move to Houston before Albuquerque.

I grew up right outside Houston. It's too hot, too humid, too big, too much traffic, too disaster prone. But the fishing is good.

Of your options I'd pick the west side of the Metroplex, or the west side of Austin.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Here are my two pesos...

Do not rely upon drawing hunts in NM on any sort of regular basis. If you want to hunt regularly, you are going to have to go the LO tag route which can be pricey (or know folks to get killer deals). I have a friend who is a lifelong resident and his entire extended family is lucky if they draw one to two tags a year; single aoudad tag this draw for their entire clan. I do believe that they use federal and state gas tax revenue to make pot holes on all roads (streets to interstates).

TX has very little public land (percentage wise) compared to other states. You are going to have to pay to play if you want to hunt on a regular basis; lease or per hunt depending on your desires and budget. It is awesome that you can potentially hunt a massive variety of game year round. Depending on your political ideology, you may or may not want to avoid the Austin area (gorgeous country). Houston is crowded and humid but there's fishing. DFW is nice but depending on work and where you live, the commute can blow. DFW is a major airline hub so flying is convenient and less costly than many other locations.

 

[Dos Perros]

Does your calculus include kids or other family considerations? Or just purely hunting focus?

 

[bpa556]

Houston sucks. If I was in your shoes, I’d take Austin/San Antonio. Austin is a beautiful and expensive shit hole. S.A./Austin is the fastest growing area in the U.S.

There’s still a bit of country between the two that’s gorgeous and “open”. Buda, San Marcos, etc. Have a look before you decide.

If your company does much work in Texas, they have hunting leases for clients. Valuable employees also get the treatment. You may have opportunities to kill animals that only exist in Texas, outside of their native habitat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Theringworm]

If you ruled out El Paso, then you automatically have already ruled out all of New Mexico….seriously. Albuquerque, as mentioned above, is a crime hot bed. Mayor just called in the National Guard to help with the crime and violence. There is a reason nobody from Texas, that knows, stops there. You stop before or past Albuquerque. And you sure don’t overnight there.

DFW would be my number one. I love San Antonio but vehicle theft there is rampant with the cartels. Austin, too damn liberal and too inconvenient to get around. Houston, well it’s hot and very humid. Basically hell on earth. DFW is where I’d go.

 

[flathead#2]

Tough choice there.
Even with the screwed up politics,
I'd prolly go NM simply due to the public lands.
But definitely not Albuquerque.
Like I said, tough choice.

 

[roadrunner]

Tough choice there.
Even with the screwed up politics,
I'd prolly go NM simply due to the public lands.
But definitely not Albuquerque.
Like I said, tough choice.

Public lands simply isn't worth it. There is a reason NM is bottom of the list in everything nationwide except for stupidity where it's a three-way tie with California and Colorado.

 

[Colby]

Public lands simply isn't worth it. There is a reason NM is bottom of the list in everything nationwide except for stupidity where it's a three-way tie with California and Colorado.

Don’t forget Oregon, we are always a strong contender in the stupid race.

 

[CorbLand]

If Albuquerque is the only choice in New Mexico, I would probably go Texas...and I hate Texas.

 

[TX_Diver]

I've lived outside ABQ and San Antonio (and in WI where it appears you are now).

Unless you live in downtown Milwaukee currently (and maybe even if you do...) stay in Wisconsin!!

NM has reasonable odds as a resident, and a great archery shop in ABQ (Hit or Miss Archery Center) but those are the only things that'd I'd have in the "pro" column of a pros/cons list.

San Antonio is my 2nd favorite spot I've lived (behind Wisconsin). The hunting is pay to play but there are reasonably priced opportunities if you're okay with that type of hunting. Weather is decent. Cost of living is getting way up there though.

PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

You should move to Espanola New Mexico.

 

[Wprinkle]

Avoid NM and particularly Albuquerque.

Nearly, or does have the highest crime rate in the lower 48. The state gov't is very 2A unfriendly and before long hunting will not be recognizable to what it is today.

I'd go TX. You can always travel to hunt.

If I remember right it's also the highest murder rate.

 

[Wprinkle]

New mexico is like colorado and california.. Amazing places except for the people and their politics and economy.. As for texas "Pay to play" its way more than you think.. Our smaller place in central ish texas.. We charge $10,000 a gun per year. Dove, duck, Turkey, whitetail, hogs, fishing and use of the lake. Only about every 5 years is a "trophy" deer killed. The place in west texas is 72 sections, $20,000 a gun- dove, turkey, quail, blacktail, whitetail, occasional muley, aoudad and javelina. They slam "trophy" deer every year. All places are low fence. You can go on a lot of western hunts or damn near a sheep hunt for what it costs to lease a good place in Texas. But if you get to know people there are ranches on the coast you can hunt Nilgai for little to nothing.. Bay fishing is good too.

Also to be a real hunter in Texas you have to have a $50,000 SXS you only tow and barely drive and at a minimum a king ranch dually and the minimum required cartridge seems to be a 300WM... But you'll never be a REAL Texas hunter until you have a deer with an ear tag hanging on the wall...........

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

New mexico is like colorado and california.. Amazing places except for the people and their politics and economy.. As for texas "Pay to play" its way more than you think.. Our smaller place in central ish texas.. We charge $10,000 a gun per year. Dove, duck, Turkey, whitetail, hogs, fishing and use of the lake. Only about every 5 years is a "trophy" deer killed. The place in west texas is 72 sections, $20,000 a gun- dove, turkey, quail, blacktail, whitetail, occasional muley, aoudad and javelina. They slam "trophy" deer every year. All places are low fence. You can go on a lot of western hunts or damn near a sheep hunt for what it costs to lease a good place in Texas. But if you get to know people there are ranches on the coast you can hunt Nilgai for little to nothing.. Bay fishing is good too.

Also to be a real hunter in Texas you have to have a $50,000 SXS you only tow and barely drive and at a minimum a king ranch dually and the minimum required cartridge seems to be a 300WM... But you'll never be a REAL Texas hunter until you have a deer with an ear tag hanging on the wall...........

Unsure how much of your post is in jest.

Leases can be very pricey but they can also be a bigger PIA than many HOAs. Up to the individual if the financial and time costs is worth it or not.

For your $10K per year, in 2025 I can go hunt and kill a broken horn bull oryx, axis buck, turkey, hogs, broken horn bull eland, and a red deer hind. I would have to drive around a bit but I'd not have to deal with the assorted hassles of a lease. For the $20K, I can absolutely slaughter game year round.

Folks don't have to bust the budget for whitetail. Yes, there are "$100 per inch over 120" places but there's also a ton of places to get 140"+ "cull bucks" for much less than the "120" bucks, buck/doe combination hunts, etc.

There's a lot of options at a variety of price points.