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| What Las Cruces is like for active adults |
Las Cruces, the second largest city in New Mexico (92,000), is in the southern part of the state. It has been listed as a “Best Place to Retire” by several organizations for many reasons; low cost of living, active cultural life with its major university, and unusually beautiful location. In addition to active adults who choose this as their new retirement community, it is home to 23,000 students of New Mexico State University. Las Cruces is in Dona Ana county.
Las Cruces shows traces of civilization going back 8,000 years. The ancient Anasazi people had communities here, although they seem to have disappeared by 1300 A.D. The town is 4000 feet above sea level and enjoys 350 days of sunshine per year. The nearby village of Mesilla was founded in 1848 and represents a timeless version of what New Mexico was like when it was under a Mexican flag. Mesilla has good shopping and dining. Although Las Cruces has won a “safest city” award, several references cite a high crime rate (which is possibly related to low-level crimes associated with any student population). There is an active master plan with has the goal of sustaining and revitalizing the town’s central shopping area. Farmers markets and other activities keep the downtown vital. In 2009 Topretirements wrote a special feature on New Mexico retirement towns that you might find helpful.
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| Where to Live & Real Estate Values |
There are several active adult communities in town. There is a planned rental retirement community as well as an assisted living facility in Las Cruces. Active adults will find communities just for them as well as mixed generation neighborhoods (see Active Communities link at right).
Home prices vary according to what you are looking for. Most are in the southwest "adobe" style. The 2011 median price was just over $160,000. Prices are far lower than in Santa Fe. Homes in the newer golf communities go for more. It also has lower property taxes than many states (about $2000/yr on a $200,000 home). |
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| What is special about this retirement community |
| Frequently picked as best place to retire. Whole Enchilada Festival. Southern New Mexico State Fair.Village of Mesilla. Aguirre Springs National Recreation Area. 3 golf courses. New Mexico State University. Outdoor and wilderness activities. The town of Mesilla is a historic town that is now a suburb - it is a fun place to explore and see its historic plaza and the Basilica of San Albino. Photo of Main Street courtesy of Wikipedia and Jumacdon. |
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| What is not special about this retirement community |
| Although it is not that far from El Paso some people might find Las Cruces too isolated. (see additional comments below in "What People are saying" section) |
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| What kinds of people like retiring here |
| Active adults who like living in a dry climate with very picturesque scenery and a large university in town.
This page explains the various types of retirement communities and this has more information about taxes and living if you want to retire in New Mexico |
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| Local economy is driven by |
| Education, tourism, construction. White Sands Missile Range and NASA have helped diversify the economy. |
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| Climate and Physical Environment |
| Las Cruces is in southern New Mexico in the Mesilla Valley, just 40 miles northwest from El Paso, Texas. The elevation is 3900' and the environment is desert. Winters are mild (it might snow but it tends to melt in a day) and summers very hot. The Rio Grande River valley is to the west. Thanks to artesian water the valley is green with trees and crops. |
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| Restaurants & Cultural Scene |
| Las Cruces has a rich cultural environment. New Mexico State University provides many concerts and plays in its Pan Am Center. The Las Cruces Symphony and the American Southwest Theatre Company perform at its Hershel Zohn Theatre. Ballet, Community Theatre and art are also available in Las Cruces. The University has 4 museums including the Las Cruces Museum of Art. The Dona Ana Community College offers classes for retirees at the Academy for Learning in Retirement. There are several important fiestas including The Whole Enchilada Festival. The Academy for Learning in Retirement (527-7527) |
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| Crime |
| The crime rate is slightly above the U.S. average. |
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| Medical facilities |
| Memorial Medical Center has 286 beds. |
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| Transportation |
| Las Cruces International Airport has no regularly scheduled flights. El Paso is the nearest airport, 40 miles away. RoadRUNNER Transit is a small transit system run by the city. |
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What people are saying about Las Cruces | | New Mexico |
| Although NM is a very pretty state and Las Cruces is a decent city, I would never move to a state for retirement, that taxes my social security. If they are that desperate or greedy for money, who knows what they will do in the future. |
| Posted by steve0401 on January 18, 2012 | | Las cruces is different for different folks |
| I loved reading the above comments, because they are closer to my own opinions. However, these are comments I am passing along from a friend who just explored Las Cruces:
I take issue with this review in a couple of areas.
1. We looked at this area and liked it, but note:
2. The crime rate is because of proximity to el paso, not students.
3. We only found 3 adult 55+ communities and were too expensive. We kept hearing about a retirement area, but i don't know where they're living.
4. Sent an email to chamber of comm., re: crime rate - no response |
| Posted by 2putz on November 07, 2009 | |
| We just got back from a visit to Las Cruces and I guess we saw in it what lindabird didn't. We stayed at a wonderful place called ValuePlace where the manager was very friendly and helpful. I had left my laptop power cord at home and he called around and found me a used one. Also one day on his way into to work he stopped and picked us up some flyers of homes for sale. We decided to go from Wednesday to Wednesday so that we could go to some of the open houses on Sunday.
We were looking for an assisted living place for my mother-in-law so while there we visited 5 of them. We went without an appointment and all of the Directors welcomed us in gave us a tour and told us about their facility. They did not hurry us out and all were very friendly and helpful.
We met with one realtor who said she would not be able to take us around as she was flying out on Sunday to a conference. She introduced us to one of her associates and we ended up looking at a couple of houses with him She even called us from the airport on Sunday to see if her associate had taken good care of us.
Saturday we went yard saleing. We thought this was a great way to check out the neighborhoods. Every place we stopped people were more than happy to talk about Las Cruces and what a great place it is to live.
Later on Saturday we went to the Downtown Market. We must have spent over 3 hours there. There was the most awesome baked goods, homemade jams and jellies, jewelry, produce, etc. In order to be a vendor everything must be homemade. And the talent that some of the vendors have is utterly amazing. They had entertainment as well as food. And the vendors love to talk about their wares.
We found Las Cruces easy to get around and we loved Furr's Buffet. The WalMart is 3 times the size of our Super Walmart. We live a mile and a half from our Walmart and depending on the time of day it can take us 15 minutes to get there. They have all the stores and restaurants that we have plus more. We also checked out the Senior Center which offers many opportunities. Plus NMSU offers classes for Seniors.
All in all we found Las Cruces a very desirable place to live. Even though it is not a big city it is a friendly city. |
| Posted by yssim918 on September 02, 2009 | | About Las Cruces |
| Here is a quote from another post i saw at Eons regarding the discussion between Las Cruces and Albuqueque. My friend LIGuy thinks Albuquerque is a lot nicer!
The Las Cruces Farmer's Market is a hype job. It is open two days a week Saturday and (I believe) Wednesday. We were only there during the week but we were told that the Market was a worthwhile visit so we went. There had to be more action in a cemetery. There were maybe 3 or 4 vendors and a few stores and all I saw was junk. If there was a down town area we must have missed it because I didn't see anything. I'm not saying the place was horrible but it was too quiet for a small city. A lot of the homes we saw were over a 15 minute drive to a supermarket and some places it was even further. But the homes that we looked at were quite nice and very reasonably priced. As I recall there was only one major shopping center in the whole area.
But there's more... Here's what another poster said about Las Cruces at Eons.com:
"....absolutely love the place.... there is (like many college towns) a great Arts community.... fantastic music... great food... reasonable prices.... I have spent considerable time there and never experienced crime or felt unsafe.... been coming here since 1987."
So you decide |
| Posted by lindabird on April 13, 2009 | | Is Las Cruces big enough? |
| I've read a lot of good things about New Mexico and Las Cruces in particular. The climate and mountains have a lot of appeal for me. Real estate prices in Las Cruces (at around $180,000) look like a bargain compared to places like Boulder or even Albuqurque. But i did see a comment from someone that they thought Las Cruces was too small in terms of the resources it offered. Shopping, libraries, culture were all second rate compared to the bright lights of Albuquerque. Anyone who has any insight on this - it would be appreciated! |
| Posted by junebug on December 12, 2008 |
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Facts about LAS CRUCES
- State: NM
- Environment: College Town,Mountain,Desert,Outdoor Oriented,
- City Population: 50,001-100,000
- Median age of Population: 25-44
- Avg Jan Temperature: 41-60
- Median HH Income: 20,001-40,000
- Average Home Price (MLS): $100,000-$200,000
- Annual Property Tax on a $200,000 house: Less than 2000
- Total Crime Index: 101-110 (slightly above average)
- Cost of Living Index: 91-100 (slightly below average)
- Culture Index: 111-120 (high)
- State Sales Tax: Yes
- State Income Tax: Yes
- Name of the Guide: jfb48
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Can you add to or correct these Facts? Or do you have a photo of this community we could use? If so, please click on Edit these facts |
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Vote on the Ratings for Las Cruces |
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Update Your Ratings |
1. Overall Retirement Ratings
1. Rating: 3.2/5 ( 6 votes cast)
2. Expense:
Inexpensive to Luxury
2. Rating: 2.2/5 ( 6 votes cast)
3. Taxes:
Inexpensive to Expensive
3. Rating: 2.2/5 ( 5 votes cast)
4. Culture:
None to Cosmopolitan
4. Rating: 3.2/5 ( 5 votes cast)
5.Recreation:
None to Summer camp
5. Rating: 4.2/5 ( 5 votes cast)
6. Transportation:
Boondocks to World Hub
6. Rating: 1.2/5 ( 5 votes cast)
7. Security:
Dangerous to Ft. Knox
7. Rating: 2.6/5 ( 8 votes cast)
8. Medical Facilities:
None to Excellent
8. Rating: 3.0/5 ( 6 votes cast)
9. Political Situation:
Conservative to Liberal
9. Rating: 2.8/5 ( 6 votes cast)
10. Environmental:
Oblivious to Ultra-Green
10. Rating: 3.8/5 ( 4 votes cast)
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