Thinking about homesteading in new mexico any advice ?

[Mamabear89]

My family and I are thinking of homesteading in new mexico near albuquerque. Not completely off grid. Any advice for making the change over to this life style?

 

[Amish Heart]

Ugh. I just moved from there in July. We were there (in Corrales) for over 20 years because of my husband's job. It is a very difficult place to grow. Not impossible, but difficult. It is also a blue state, and has had very tight covid restrictions since March. Drove me crazy. There are alot of people there on state assistance, and very high unemployment. Many that do work, work for the govt. So I see that as problematic if an economic collapse happens. If you have any children in school, expect that to be a problem, too. New Mexico is 50th in education, most years. Sometimes they get 49th because it flip flops with Mississippi. Crime is high in Albuquerque. Even outside of it, we had an attempted home invasion. Didn't realize how "shell shocked" I was till we were driving in our big town yesterday, about 15 miles from where we are now. Some guy pulled up next to us to tell us to roll down our window. I was thinking drive by shooting, and so was husband. Ha. not here. He was smiling and asked where we were from in New Mexico, because of our license plates. He was originally from Farmington, NM.
So, Mambear..where are you moving from?

 

[The Lazy L]

I was tempted at looking for land in New Mexico. I believe the State Government leans too close to California's type of "government".

 

[dademoss]

Welcome from Ohio!

 

[Amish Heart]

Oh hey, welcome from Kansas

 

[Amish Heart]

She was a possible for Biden's VP. She's the governor that has closed everything, but had private owners open a jewelry shop just so she could shop. There was a protest in Belen, outside of Albuquerque last weekend. A peaceful protest wanting her to stop limiting churches to 20 percent. She had them all closed previously. Also has outlawed all firearms in state parks and state owned areas recently.

 

[hiwall]

If you do move to NM then

 

[hiwall]

If you want the weather found in NM then move to a state on either side of it. I don't even like driving through any parts of NM.
The people of all states are losing their freedom but some states are waaaaay worse than others.
I'm about 4 miles from NM. I'm okay with that as long as I am on this side of the border.
Good luck no matter where you end up.

 

[Meerkat]

 

[Mamabear89]

Ugh. I just moved from there in July. We were there (in Corrales) for over 20 years because of my husband's job. It is a very difficult place to grow. Not impossible, but difficult. It is also a blue state, and has had very tight covid restrictions since March. Drove me crazy. There are alot of people there on state assistance, and very high unemployment. Many that do work, work for the govt. So I see that as problematic if an economic collapse happens. If you have any children in school, expect that to be a problem, too. New Mexico is 50th in education, most years. Sometimes they get 49th because it flip flops with Mississippi. Crime is high in Albuquerque. Even outside of it, we had an attempted home invasion. Didn't realize how "shell shocked" I was till we were driving in our big town yesterday, about 15 miles from where we are now. Some guy pulled up next to us to tell us to roll down our window. I was thinking drive by shooting, and so was husband. Ha. not here. He was smiling and asked where we were from in New Mexico, because of our license plates. He was originally from Farmington, NM.
So, Mambear..where are you moving from?

We currently live in CT and want a change

 

[Weedygarden]

We currently live in CT and want a change

Have you been to NM? What made you decide NM and not one of the other 48 states (minus CT and NM)? There are many states you could move to that would provide BIG change to your life.

 

[Mamabear89]

We also like Arizona. The main reason for our NM interest is the opportunity for reasonably priced land we found.

 

[Duncan]

We also like Arizona. The main reason for our NM interest is the opportunity for reasonably priced land we found.

True, New Mexico is less expensive than Arizona, where I spent 40 years, but Arizona has more opportunities for jobs. Also most of what you read by folks here bad-mouthing NM is true. High crime, high poverty level, few high-paying jobs, crappy schools, and so on.

But I left Arizona, because its government and bureaucracy is onerous, the mean temperature hot and getting hotter, the big aquifer (Coconino Aquifer) in Arizona had has its life expectancy lowered, and it's just too damned crowded.

If you're still looking for a place where costs are reasonable, agriculture is the main industry, less-intrusive state government, good hunting and fishing, four season high desert climate, and the best aquifer in North America, think a bit about Idaho: the State that Everyone's Heard Of, but Nobody can Find on the Map!

If you're a person who is interested in getting a little bit further away from the grid; or if you're a bit nervous about what the country might be like in five or ten years, the Idaho people and state might be good neighbors in a good place.

Worked for me....

 

[viking]

From what I've heard and read, my thoughts would be to go to Arizona, by far a far greater freedom state with good gun laws.

 

[Amish Heart]

There were a group of Amish that bought land (at a good price) sight unseen in New Mexico, way back when. They couldn't grow anything, and the group dissolved. It's not impossible to grow there. Chili and corn grows well. But it's difficult to grow there. The quality of the soil is extremely poor and water is a problem. Desert living can be hard, even if land is cheap.
Have you looked in Arkansas? Missouri?

 

[Spikedriver]

The Midwest is a better bet IMO. Land may be more expensive, but that depends on where it is and what type of land it is. (Near me, good farmland is +/- $7000 an acre, but timber ground can be had for much less, and less fertile areas like in Missouri can be bought relatively cheap.)

Most of the Midwest is relatively good politically, other than Illinois and Minnesota. I think you'd like the people, too.

 

[hiwall]

Water is an issue in at least parts of all the western states. All are semi-arid. Plus many have been in drought conditions for several years now. I'm in AZ but have family in multiple spots in CO and WY. No place is perfect.

 

[jazzy]

i lived in northern NM for aobut 20yrs and enjoyed it very much. it is much different from the southern parts, differetn climate and differetn mind set, but it does realy alot on tourists.. differetn sections of states have differetn personalities i think.

taos is way different than ABQ which is different from black lake or angel fire which is different from santa fe------------

i preferred the more rural relaxed areas up north. i guess it really depends on what YOU need and what you are looking for. i thopught the southern parts were too hot and dry in more ways then weather.

i ended up moving to south central CO to be closer to family some years ago and this rural area is also very nice. i love living in the mountains even with its so called inconveniences of unpaved dirt roads, long drive to any town, no home mail delivery, occasional black outs. no TV reception, nothing is ever plowed in the winter, some things are not easy, ya got to want to live in the mountains. but i love it.

lifting up a prayer you find the right place for all that you are looking for

jazzy

 

[Grizzleyette___Adams]

Welcome to here!

If you want to get a close-up look at any prospective new homeplace, check out city-data.com. They also have individual forums where you can ask questions and generally learn more about places from a local perspective.

Also subscribe to the local small newspapers in the area. You can learn a lot that way, too. (Not the big dailies but the small weeklies hold a lot of info about local life).

Good luck in your search!

 

[backlash]

Also subscribe to the local small newspapers in the area.

You can read a lot of them online for free.

 

[zannej]

My sister lives in Albuquerque. It's expensive but they have a lot of stores, some cool museums, lots of arts and crafts, etc. Great restaurants.

We looked for houses around the area. Belen was one of the areas that was less expensive (but this was many years ago). Looked pretty nice but stuff was still out of our price range bc we wanted more land and privacy.

Whatever you do, stay away from Meadow Lake neighborhood of Los Lunas. It has 3 cartels there. It's so bad Fedex won't deliver there after dark. We went looking at a house & the real estate agent wouldn't go meet us there. We passed a place that turned out to be a body dumpsite. Not a good area. LOL.

I wish I had more advice but we decided not to move for both logistical and financial reasons.

 

[Amish Heart]

And they have lots of crime and all those cool things are closed. (since March) Poverty is high, and it's very liberal there.

 

[zannej]

My sister lives in a very nice neighborhood with low crime & people are not impoverished. She's near a military base where she works. But she is inside Albuquerque. Her husband is able to have his guns and there's a shooting range he visits (not sure if it's still open right now). I think it depends on the area though.

It's got a lot more stuff than where I live-- but then, I live in a "No Man's Land" for services. Her area has better medical treatment, lower prices for medical treatment, lower insurance costs, more coverage, better technology, etc. But there are a LOT of people. Like 100x more people than where I live.

I think it all depends on personal preference.

 

[Terri9630]

The only reason I go to Abq is for the kids Electrophyiologist and endocrinologist. We are looking to move her endocrinologist to a different city. Abq is awful.

 

[Amish Heart]

My husband worked at that base, retired last summer when we left. There's an area outside the base called "the war zone". You don't want your car breaking down around there. Your sis may be living in a gated community. The hospitals there are pretty overrun right now. The range your brother in law goes today is probably Zia...I'm still a member, and yes it's open. Not much else is though. The economy there is tanking since the governor won't let businesses open up. Pretty much you work for the govt or you are on welfare. So when the economic collapse happens and the govt tanks, it leaves everyone in that state in dire straights.
That being said, I'm glad to be out of Albuquerque. We lived in an upscale area, and the crime was crazy. The drugs alone in Albuquerque are crazy.
But it's good your sister likes it.