New Mexico Livin'

[roadrunner]

Thanks for the info about Las Cruces so far. I definitely meant to say NMSU and shouldn't be typing in the small hours of the morning.

I would only be in Las Cruces for the two to three years it would take to finish a program. I'm like a raccoon that can live anywhere, but my lady would be with me working her job remotely. She's Idaho-born and gets cabin fever pretty bad. It would be peace of mind knowing that I'm dragging her somewhere with good outdoor recreation opportunities within weekend warrior range.

It looks like big game tags are a lot more scarce than I'm used to, but I would be pretty excited to get into Javelina hunting for a couple of years.

Well, definatley put in for oryx then, they're in your backyard there...

 

[thinhorn_AK]

What's everyone's opinion on Las Cruces and the University of New Mexico? I'm applying to Master's program there and have no idea what the city or the public lands around it are like.

NMSU is a good school but Las Cruces is pretty terrible. I had a buddy who went to NMSU who was a big cyclist triathlete type guy and he loved it, they have an outdoor pool at the university, UNM dosen't have an outdoor pool. NMSU used to have a triathlon that took place entirely on the university campus. Back in the day, (like 20 years ago) NMSU tried to ban students from going down to Juarez to party because so many girls would get assaulted down there and going south of the border to party was a common thing.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Well, definatley put in for oryx then, they're in your backyard there...

He wouldnt be too far away from the Florida mountains either. I havn't done the ibex hunt for a few decades but I remember it being fairly easy to draw a bow or muzzleloader tag. I knew an old guy back then who was obsessed with getting an ibex, he would shoot his muzzle loader all year round out to ~ 500 yds. If I remember right he got one when he was like 55.

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

NMSU is a good school but Las Cruces is pretty terrible. I had a buddy who went to NMSU who was a big cyclist triathlete type guy and he loved it, they have an outdoor pool at the university, UNM dosen't have an outdoor pool. NMSU used to have a triathlon that took place entirely on the university campus. Back in the day, (like 20 years ago) NMSU tried to ban students from going down to Juarez to party because so many girls would get assaulted down there and going south of the border to party was a common thing.

Disagree. I grew up just south of Cruces, still spend a fair amount of time there and I think it's a great place to live. I have lived in ABQ for the last 12ish years as well. Each town is different, the culture in Cruces is closely tied to El Paso and Juarez which can be great places to explore, eat, etc. though I would avoid Juarez now. Like any town in any state or country if you look for trouble, you can find it. If you leave your car in shitty areas with attractive items inside then don't be surprised if it gets broken into. Doesn't matter if you're in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Phoenix, Austin, Salt Lake City etc.. There are safe areas in all these towns.

I am also a UNM grad but almost went to NMSU to follow an agriculture science program. Both schools are good for different reasons and I would advise one or the other based on your degree path and interests.

Marmots - What degree are you pursuing and where in ID are you moving from? I spent the last year working in ID and can give you some comparisons.

 

[ttmannan]

Lived here for over 40 years and I think I have been to Santa Fe maybe twice! Lol mostly travel to Taos, Chama, Albq, Socorro, TorC, Las Cruces, Deming. Farmington and surrounding area thousands of times all other places like Cimmaron, Eagle Nest, Red River, Gallup, Grants, etc I’m just passing through to get somewhere else. I grew up going to Mountainaire a lot since I had a ton of family that lived there.

I grew up spending summers in Mountainair at church camps. I like that little town and surrounding area.

 

[ttmannan]

NMSU is a good school but Las Cruces is pretty terrible. I had a buddy who went to NMSU who was a big cyclist triathlete type guy and he loved it, they have an outdoor pool at the university, UNM dosen't have an outdoor pool. NMSU used to have a triathlon that took place entirely on the university campus. Back in the day, (like 20 years ago) NMSU tried to ban students from going down to Juarez to party because so many girls would get assaulted down there and going south of the border to party was a common thing.

Just out of curiosity why do you say LC is "pretty terrible"? Because of the outdoor pool or because the University discouraged partying in Juarez?
NMSU grad (mid 1990's) and grew up in Alamoghetto - 72 miles from LC. Partied plenty in Juarez from 1991 to 1998 (high school and college) and felt safer there than I do in Albuquerque where my office is.

(The OP here specifically asked about ABQ and SF area but @Marmots is asking about LC and NMSU)
NM is split in half, North and South with two different cultures, lingo, sets of food and politics. The southern half tends to be more red politically and is beautiful Chihuahuan Desert.

LC and NMSU are great, IMO. Dona Ana County is a little blue (the most blue of the southern half of the state). The food in Southern NM is better than the food in Northern NM (can't change my mind).

Hunting - Oryx is tough to draw but in your backyard. Ibex is tough to draw but nearby. Coues deer and elk and some good mule deer hunting are nearby as well as barbary sheep.
Fishing - Elephant Butte is about empty right now and so is Caballo but they are fun lakes to go to and bow fish for carp or striper fish.
Tourism - El Paso is very close, White Sands National Monument is close. You can get to the Gila Wilderness easily. The Organ Mountains offer some day hikes. It's not too far to get to snow skiing in Ruidoso, or sometimes in Cloudcroft. There are a few great golf courses in and around LC if that's your thing.

 

[Marmots]

Marmots - What degree are you pursuing and where in ID are you moving from? I spent the last year working in ID and can give you some comparisons.

The degree program is Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology. I sure hate getting paid.

I currently live in Boise but have also lived in Kooskia, McCall, and Elk City and spent some time in just about every other part of the state.

I've never been south of Utah so have no idea what I'd be getting into. After Boise, the second largest city I've lived in is probably Fairbanks. I really appreciate the time everyone has taken to explain NM.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Just out of curiosity why do you say LC is "pretty terrible"? Because of the outdoor pool or because the University discouraged partying in Juarez?
NMSU grad (mid 1990's) and grew up in Alamoghetto - 72 miles from LC. Partied plenty in Juarez from 1991 to 1998 (high school and college) and felt safer there than I do in Albuquerque where my office is.

(The OP here specifically asked about ABQ and SF area but @Marmots is asking about LC and NMSU)
NM is split in half, North and South with two different cultures, lingo, sets of food and politics. The southern half tends to be more red politically and is beautiful Chihuahuan Desert.

LC and NMSU are great, IMO. Dona Ana County is a little blue (the most blue of the southern half of the state). The food in Southern NM is better than the food in Northern NM (can't change my mind).

Hunting - Oryx is tough to draw but in your backyard. Ibex is tough to draw but nearby. Coues deer and elk and some good mule deer hunting are nearby as well as barbary sheep.
Fishing - Elephant Butte is about empty right now and so is Caballo but they are fun lakes to go to and bow fish for carp or striper fish.
Tourism - El Paso is very close, White Sands National Monument is close. You can get to the Gila Wilderness easily. The Organ Mountains offer some day hikes. It's not too far to get to snow skiing in Ruidoso, or sometimes in Cloudcroft. There are a few great golf courses in and around LC if that's your thing.

Las Cruces just seems like a crappy place to me. My grandparents used to spend winters down there to avoid the freezing cold where they were from so I would get stuck spending several weeks each winter down there. THe outdoor poo is a great thing and the school trying to keep students away from Mexico was just speaking to the safety of the region.

 

[boom]

ABQ is coming apart at the seams. what a GREAT location, but even their police dept has been taken over by the State Police (last i heard). moral is at an all time low.

i would move to a gated community

 

[butcherboy]

Mountainaire has changed a lot from when my dad was a kid growing up there in the late 40’s to early 60’s. It was a booming place then. It was pretty quiet when I was a kid and it’s even smaller now. As for the food here in the north. It’s pretty dang comparable to the south except you might see more Navajo tacos or Navajo burgers here. Still have to have me some GC on them and everything else.

 

[Akwoodchuck]

You got to go through there to go hike up Wheeler peak though.

Probably the only patch of ground in NM I felt at home in



Purty state, though....mighty purty.

 

[WhiteOak]

I've been living in Eastern NM for a little over 3 years now, love it here. Grew up in the northeast and spent 4 years in Central TX. There are shifty places everywhere. Parts of ABQ suck and some parts are pretty nice. Common sense goes a long way in any big city. If I had a choice of living in Philly or Abq I'd pick Abq all day.

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

The degree program is Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology. I sure hate getting paid.

I currently live in Boise but have also lived in Kooskia, McCall, and Elk City and spent some time in just about every other part of the state.

I've never been south of Utah so have no idea what I'd be getting into. After Boise, the second largest city I've lived in is probably Fairbanks. I really appreciate the time everyone has taken to explain NM.

I don't believe UNM (main college located in ABQ) has a program for FW studies but I could be wrong. NMSU has more programs tailored towards ag and wildlife so you'll be at home there.

I spent the better part of 2020 in Idaho Falls, which I would say is about the same size as Las Cruces. I definitely recommend the move, you'll learn a ton about the culture and be in a very different environment than where you are up north. I don't think I've been anywhere that I didn't hear someone say "there's nothing to do here" which is always bullshit. Get out, explore, get out of your comfort zone.

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

Las Cruces just seems like a crappy place to me. My grandparents used to spend winters down there to avoid the freezing cold where they were from so I would get stuck spending several weeks each winter down there. THe outdoor poo is a great thing and the school trying to keep students away from Mexico was just speaking to the safety of the region.

Spent plenty of time in Juarez partying and hanging with my family. We would regularly go down as a family or school trips and visit restaurants and markets in the 90s without any issue at all. Obviously that has changed in Juarez as of the late 2000s but El Paso and Las Cruces are still very safe. As others have said I feel safer in most parts of El Paso than I do on Central Ave. in ABQ.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Probably the only patch of ground in NM I felt at home in

View attachment 259878

Purty state, though....mighty purty.

I really like Wheeler peak, been up there many times, in all different seasons. I climbed it on christmas day once in a blizzard.

 

[Theringworm]

IMO..... NM is the armpit of the United States. Terrible healthcare, bottom of its class for education, top of the class for crime, state annual income per household is in the bottom tier...... and it’s a Blue state (who would have ever guessed).

There is no question the lay of the land in NM is stunning. Some absolute gorgeous places to visit, hunt, hike, fish camp etc. If you could take all of the bad out of that state it would be an amazing place to live.

We learned long long ago....we never ever spend the night in Albuquerque. If stopping for lunch it’s a drive through or direct visualization of the vehicle while “carrying” outside of it.

It’s unfortunate, it is a beautiful place. Just my .02

 

[Akwoodchuck]

I really like Wheeler peak, been up there many times, in all different seasons. I climbed it on christmas day once in a blizzard.

I'm kind of a pika fanatic, spent whole days just lying in the rocks watching them cruise around on hills from Sangres to Denali.... Wheeler is a mecca for the little buggers for sure, this pic is from the same day:

 

[Akwoodchuck]

From Bosque del Apache:

 

[roadrunner]

The degree program is Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology. I sure hate getting paid.

I currently live in Boise but have also lived in Kooskia, McCall, and Elk City and spent some time in just about every other part of the state.

I've never been south of Utah so have no idea what I'd be getting into. After Boise, the second largest city I've lived in is probably Fairbanks. I really appreciate the time everyone has taken to explain NM.

Why NMSU? I'd stay north if it were me. NM is likely to get pretty bumpy the next two years with dumb in the governors chair and dumber in the Oval Office...

 

[dtrkyman]

I would never live there permanently but I did live in ABQ for 2 years while my wife went to school. Had zero issue and really like running in the Sandia's most every day.

My biggest issue with it was the summer is too hot!