Our trip to Las Cruces or how we ended up in New Mexico

The first thoughts I had about retirement was where do we want to settle down. When we left New York City back in the '70s, the prerequisite for moving was staying close to family. We essentially we drew a 150 mi. circle around N.Y. and thought we would move within that circle to be out of the urban atmosphere yes still be able to see family. This is how we ended up in Massachusetts.

After some 27 years here, it is time to move on. We were tired of city life. We wanted to raise our kids in a place where they could see trees and animals and not spend hours in traffic or crowded schools. Massachusetts offered that to us. We have a nice home, 3 acres of woods, and a view of sunsets that is outstanding. Those are the pluses. On the minus side of the ledger, we need to drive 30 minutes or more for everything. Want to go to the movies, 45 minutes. Want to eat in a nice restaurant, 45 minutes. Want to see some turkeys or deer, 3 seconds. Want to find a good bagel, three hours. You get my point.

Over the last several years we have used vacation time to explore potential retirement places. This included Cape Cod, the Outer Banks, North and South Carolina, even Virginia. Our report:
Cape Cod too cold, too much snow, too expensive.
Outer Banks - too humid, too expensive.
North and South Carolina - too hot with too much humidity. Same with Virginia. I hate heat and humidity together.

So we began looking for a site that met these needs – sun, no snow but low humidity and the desert southwest began calling us. New Mexico seemed to offer a lot and the exploration began on the internet. Santa Fe seemed too expensive plus they get snow as does Taos. Albuquerque was just too hot most of the time but Deming and Las Cruces offered more.



Deming seemed too small for us now. We had done BIG city (NYC) and small town (North Brookfield) and wanted something different than either. Las Cruces seemed to offer that: larger population, culturally interesting (Native American and Hispanic) yet still close to medical services and a lower cost of living. Once we came to this conclusion, Mrsfabp did what she does best and the information started to pour in. We read about the climate, the schools, housing market, crime statistics, restaurants and more. Looked at pictures, saw videos, contacted realtors and builders. She read blogs, bulletin boards, emails and the like, passing them on to me. We made some internet friends (that’s a whole ‘nother story Lucy!) and planned a trip. That adventure to explore the area begins this Wednesday!

BTW, the forecast right now is for snow on Wednesday. Nooooooooo!!!