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The downside is that now, since the advent of Covid-19, this liberal town is literally on lockdown with no end in site at present. So....the downtown area is struggling, loosing businesses right and left.
It's by state mandate. It's the same everywhere. Talk to the governor.
Pros for Silver, nice climate close to Gila national forest, at 6,000 elevation, tho a tad hot in summer, especially in June, before the monsoon. Warm in winter, would be nice if it snowed a bit more. Some quaint houses and buildings in the older section of this very hilly town. 45 art galleries for browsing or collecting.
The downside is that now, since the advent of Covid-19, this liberal town is literally on lockdown with no end in site at present. So....the downtown area is struggling, loosing businesses right and left. Previously, there have been a lot of nice little eateries that are now going down due to being forced into curb service and no eat in dining. The nightlife is also nearly non existent, along with the previously lively tourist trade and visitors who came for the ambiance, galleries and scenery. The downtown section is almost entirely "Mask required", and the local "Karen's" will give you their 2 cents worth if you don't have one on....plus, at present, the city council is trying to pass a mandated more stringent law on masking, and a $50 non compliance fine for violators.
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I love Silver City. I wish it was closer to ABQ, it's a bit remote for me but still on my possible list because the downtown is beautiful, thriving in normal times, and the climate is near perfect.
But, Huh. Last I looked this masking/eating outside/social distancing is the situation across the entire country except for Georgia where the governor mandated "no masks" allowed in certain places and has horrible number of cases. Let's expand that, the truth is that the outdoor eating, masks required in indoor places, is across almost the ENTIRE WORLD. It can't all be a liberal conspiracy can it, worldwide including extremely conservative countries? Furthermore, "Karen's" are the ones who refuse to wear the masks, feeling entitled to throw a hissy temper tantrum and spew their deadly germs on others.
I think it would be good to not derail this into a Covid 19 thread...
I think it's interesting that there is a swath of higher elevation land in southern TX, NM, and AZ where the year round climate is pretty darn great... at least by USA standards... but hardly anyone lives there. IMO the only place that rivals it would be the California coast from the Bay south. Inland CA there is too much smog and winter rain/snow, and you don't have to go far inland before the temperature variation is more than we have here.
Alpine TX, Ruidoso and Silver City NM, Sierra Vista and Bisbee AZ. I guess Sierra Vista is fairly large, but it's a bit low and hot in the summer for me; and I'm not fond of the white-thorn mesquite either.
What with the ongoing lockdown, and some folks getting pretty agitated, with good reason.....not so hot. OK, for those who think mask wearing is the latest best new thing. For those that don't....as you would expect. Some small businesses closing their doors. Mostly small cafes already running on a tight budget. Not a good time to move here....or to even think of starting a business.
Alpine TX, Ruidoso and Silver City NM, Sierra Vista and Bisbee AZ.
I used to live in Alpine, and LOVED the climate there. You get a little bit of snow in the winter, and it gets super hot for a month or so in summer, but beyond that, it's great. I actually lived in an apartment there that had NO a/c and NO heat, and did fine!
Lots of people from Alpine would go to Ruidoso for the horse races. I never made it there, or to Silver City, but always heard good things about those towns, and wish that I'd gone while I lived there.
My trip for 2020 was going to be to New Mexico. Hopefully I'll get to explore your lovely state next year!
What with the ongoing lockdown, and some folks getting pretty agitated, with good reason.....not so hot. OK, for those who think mask wearing is the latest best new thing. For those that don't....as you would expect. Some small businesses closing their doors. Mostly small cafes already running on a tight budget. Not a good time to move here....or to even think of starting a business.
Businesses that mandate masks get my business. Businesses that don't enforce mask mandates don't.
Back to the topic: I was happy to see that Silver City residents were behaving responsibly when I was there in May. Obviously a well-informed lot of people.
Negatives against SC are fairly high crime (check the CD page), and being small and isolated. I like the town, the vibe, the climate, and the vast wilderness and mountains.
I started going there in the late '80s. It doesn't seem to have changed much as far as I can tell. There are surely more retired transplants and probably fewer mining jobs. About the same vibe, and neither growing nor declining.
I'd really like Grant County to remain on my short list for building a retirement home in a few years but its crime, poverty and teenage pregnancy rates are scaring me. Ditto for the somewhat questionable viability of the mining sector, as it's clearly the largest employer, while the rest of Grant's economy is not diversifying or growing at all. Licking those problems will be very hard especially in these times and it seems questionable whether the leadership in Grant is even motivated to do so.
According to https://www.usnews.com/news/healthie...o/grant-county most of Grant's population is reasonably well educated. And as much local revenue goes to supporting that the public school and even the private college there, that sector should be called upon to better equip and inspire the youth away from destructive and these costly behaviors.
Otherwise, there's really no chance to make Grant a more livable place, even for relatively affluent retirees. Indeed, I can see myself having to consider the cost of installing fine mesh six foot high electrified fencing not only to keep out the scorpions and snakes but youthful (and not so youthful) burglars, while out food shopping or at the Gila Medical Center.
Crime and poverty are as bad as Silver City, and the disparity between median income and median home price is insane. At least housing is cheap in Silver City! There are a lot of rich retirees that move to Taos, so if you fit in with that crowd it can be a draw I guess.
High crime in Santa Fe and Espanola also. If you like N NM, Los Alamos has low crime and is pretty upscale. Frankly I don't think crime is bad enough to bother me in any of them.
I still believe Ruidoso has mix of qualities that are hard to beat. Beautiful area, great year round climate, low crime (especially for a tourist town), lots of entertainment and activities for the size, and quite affordable. Been here 14 years and am on my way out, but not because I don't like the area.
Just remembered, you mentioned building a house. Got a 16 acre parcel I might as well get rid of. Will send you info if interested.
Fire danger is certainly an issue here, but I'm not the slightest bit concerned about losing my life.......The Silver City area gets plenty of fires as well, but I think right in town it's dry and deserty enough to not be much of an issue.
Silly question? I've heard that basements are basically safe from tornado damage but how affordably can they be made fire and heat resistant?
And how well does Grant County's nine fire departments likely protect homes surrounding SC?
I realize no place can ever be 100% safe but unless the FDs can quash fires quickly before they grow and electrified fencing can protect my home from burglars when I'm out food shopping then moving there-and especially building a new home-seems pretty stupid.
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