Real talk. Family talk. Life decision talk.

[Customweld]

haha no don't come to CA, we're just finally making some space by sending people to Idaho.

We really wish you would stop!

 

[Jimmy]

We really wish you would stop!

The worst are the ones that 'live' in ID and still travel to work in CA. I can't stand those people. Just pick one bozo.

 

[OKHunter84]

Yeah I'm waiting for new mex to become "cool"...guessing I'll be waiting a while

Dude, NM looks rough man. I've had a couple opportunities with work out that way but the schools and economy seem pretty bad. Every small town I drive through in NM makes me wonder how people are surviving there. Don't get me wrong, I love the state and love hunting there. Just don't think I could live there.

 

[Mojave]

Dude, NM looks rough man. I've had a couple opportunities with work out that way but the schools and economy seem pretty bad. Every small town I drive through in NM makes me wonder how people are surviving there. Don't get me wrong, I love the state and love hunting there. Just don't think I could live there.

What about the Ruidiso and Alamogordo? They both suck, but ruidioso has trees.

 

[Esteban]

It wouldn't surprise me for NM to be next. Couple years of people up in cold winters, people always looking for a place with lower prices... what other state would be next in the west?

AZ saw some significant growth during and after covid too. Place is getting sucked dry...

 

[cnelk]

I’m on my way to my Wyoming place as I type this.
Can’t wait to get there and enjoy wonderful Wyoming in a couple hours.

 

[Esteban]

What about the Ruidiso and Alamogordo? They both suck, but ruidioso has trees.

Between the fires last yr and the floods that have occurred after, Ruidoso is in a bad way right now. Alamo is pretty tough town

 

[Esteban]

It is being gentrified by Californians the same as everywhere else. Has zero hope to ever be red again.

We were in Las Cruces before we moved to Germany. The housing cost doubled during covid. Every little 3-5 acre 3500 square foot house went from $350,000 to $750-850,000.

Lots of cheap starter homes though. $275,000 for a 1800 SF that is less than 5 years old. Nice 4-5 bed 2500-3000's are $350-400,000 in nice neighborhoods.

Santa Fe still sucks and is expensive

Albq really sucks and is expensive

Honestly Roswell to me is the nicest town in New Mexico. Oil town but still pretty nice. Carlsbad is about the same as Las Cruces but way smaller. It's not a border town, but it is hotter than hell there.

Silver City is really good too, but not sure what will happen if that mine shuts down.

Crime dropped, I hear Trump has made that 1000% better.

Nothing up north. Raton and Las Vegas are ok. There are some really nice towns on the Texas border on the eastern side of the state. But they are really hot and really oil towns.

Most of the northern towns are associated with Reservations, and have problems. Las Alamos is crazy super expensive and kind of sucks.

Gallup is a hell of a place to get murdered if you don't get murdered in Albq.

Poor New Mexico, so close to Texas so far from Heaven!

Alot of truth here

 

[Mojave]

AZ saw some significant growth during and after covid too. Place is getting sucked dry...

Yes!

Love AZ, but too hot and too many people.

Pheonix and Tuscon are so much hotter than Las Cruces.

I felt like you could hear the population in the two of them going up daily.

I really love Flagstaff, but I don't know that I would want to live there.

My wife jokes with me that if she ever dies and I end up in Flagstaff or Scottsdale I am not allowed to talk women, as the ones that look my age are 20 years older (because of the plastic surgery).

 

[Hnthrdr]

We've been suckered boys and girls... OP just wants to talk about how tough he is and how good he is at splitting wood.

Hasnt answered any of the pertinent questions asked in the thread but boy he likes to defend himself if questioned about toughness.

He is a self proclaimed mountain man from an area with no real mountains, so watch what you are saying Siv!

 

[Mojave]

Between the fires last yr and the floods that have occurred after, Ruidoso is in a bad way right now. Alamo is pretty tough town

Never had a problem in Alamo, Ruidoso is a Res town moonlighting as a Texas weekend spot.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

It wouldn't surprise me for NM to be next. Couple years of people up in cold winters, people always looking for a place with lower prices... what other state would be next in the west?

I disagree. NM politics, similar to CO, are a hard pass for lots of folks that care about state elections and where they live. People will still pay to hunt, but living in NM would be a deal breaker for many.

 

[Customweld]

Never had a problem in Alamo, Ruidoso is a Res town moonlighting as a Texas weekend spot.

It's funny you say that. That is where my daughter and sil took me when they were stationed in El Paso. There was a fantastic smoke house restaurant in Ruidoso.

 

[NVUplandHunter]

All of us have that dream home or hunting setup, I get it, I share that passion too. But when you have a family, it becomes a shared decision, not just your own.

Some things to really think about:

• How old are your kids? Are they settled, with good friends and routines?
• How strong are your family’s roots in the current community?
• How would they adjust to a big move, new schools, new social circles, harsh winters?
• And beyond hunting season, which is short, what does life look like the other 9–10 months of the year?

The way I see it, family comes first, their needs and stability drive the decision. My hunting dreams will always be second to that, if that has been taken care of then best of luck, you followed the right way

I've tried reading as many responses as i can as they come in and i think this is in the "very sound advice" bucket of all that ive seen.

you're a good man. Fam and wife always come first. We can find our ways to get what we want to do. but if you go wrecking your home, well the rest follows.

 

[OKHunter84]

No. What I was expecting (as naive as it may be) was some honest input. You guys are a lot like some of the clients I take hunting…glad to see them leave lol.

There’s people with valuable input and opinions…then there’s the “heavy hitters” on this posts. I’ll keep it up, it’s good entertainment!

 

[roadrunner]

Yeah, depending on how you move and your situation, you could easily spend 10,20,$30,000+ moving across the country twice. If you compress that into a short time frame of, say 12-16 months, that's potentially setting your family back quite a bit. Then there's selling and buying houses or dropping $8,000 in deposits just to move into a rental these days. One might also consider that nurses and medical professionals tend to be underpaid in the Mountain West, not to mention potential rural hospital closures looming in the near future with recent Medicaid cuts.

But, end of the day, a person who prioritizes the lifestyle will figure it out and make it work. I did. 2 of my hunting partners have also done it. My fiancee did it. Hell, most everyone in my local social network decided they wanted to live here, gave up stability elsewhere and figured out a way to make it work.

We couldn't easily do it without significantly increasing our debt.

We have no mortgage and it would be a tough pill to swallow to suddenly have one again.

 

[czgunner]

Big city to small town or similar size town in both states?

As far as nursing salaries, the pendulum was bound to swing back in after the COVID surge. Wouldn’t be surprised if recent legislation pushes salaries down further as healthcare adjusts to the changes.

Pay was waaaay before covid.

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Tapatalk

 

[Jethro]

Today is 4 months that I’ve been in WY. Love it. That’s crap about the people not being friendly and being meth heads. It’s just like anywhere else. Some bad, most good.

99.9% of my interactions have been positive and I’ve met TONS of people since here. I’ve gotten a few easterner snide remarks from locals. I ask them if they just moved here from CO or CA. That gets them grumbling.

Haven’t experienced a whole winter, but not worried at all. Can be lots of snow, but we were golfing on April 9th.

Housing is tough. Haven’t bought a home yet. Hard to find nice and affordable. Currently renting a very nice 2 bed apartment.

 

[Traveler]

Is your plan to go after securing jobs? Or decide to go, picks location and find jobs once there?

 

[Mojave]

It's funny you say that. That is where my daughter and sil took me when they were stationed in El Paso. There was a fantastic smoke house restaurant in Ruidoso.

They went tits up. The good one is in Cloudcroft.