A good place to retire and live like a hermit, but
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2/13/2015
If want to retire in a nice, quiet place where you can live in isolation, you have a steady stream of income from an outside source, you don't have anything valuable that can be easily stolen, you don't care about having access to cultural events, and you don't mind extremely cold winters, then Alamosa is perfect for you.
If, however, you have to work to make a living, want to start a business, or have grand ideas of coming in and transforming Alamosa into a "sustainable community", you are going to be very frustrated and disappointed.
JOBS
The only jobs are in
- healthcare
- government funded institutions (and therefore very hard to get)
- are in construction or ranching
- low-paying retail or restaurant.
STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Alamosa is like most small towns in that the locals won't do business with you unless you've lived in the area for at least 40 years and are part of the good-ol'-boys network. And forget hiring anybody. The few decent workers who won't rob you blind the minute you turn your back either already have jobs, are ex-cons, or they're in rehab.
CREATING A SUSTAINABLE UTOPIAN COMMUNITY
I can't tell you how many times I've seen movers and shakers sparkle into town, ready to transform Alamosa into the next sustainable utopian community, only to leave again, frustrated and disappointed. Sorry, guys, but the locals just aren't interested in being moved or shaken. They just want to be left alone to their sheeplike existence. The few who actually have dreams, leave.
IN SUMMARY
Alamosa is a rural ghetto (see the book by Osha Gray Davidson), now on its second or third generation of welfare recipients, and in spite of the pretty city buildings built with government money, there is a deep-running anger and hopelessness here that comes out in violent crime, drug use, and theft.
My advice: if you don't have to live here, don't.
Catharine | Alamosa, CO