I'm done with this place, avoid if you're alone.
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8/10/2021
A total of 13 years in Las Cruces, having owned multiple homes; I think I have a good say in this... Unless your family has a rich background here or you're nearing retirement, this just isn't the place. The number one problem with Las Cruces is that the population continues to increase but there's no job growth here or any kind of new infrastructure. New housing pops up weekly with nothing to offer except more homes, not even restaurants, parks, shopping, nothing comes with these new subdivisions. They get built on cheap land further outside of "town" and raise home prices throughout the city. The only effort here has been a revamping of the "downtown" area which introduced some new drinking options, they even put in an outdoor stage with no seating... but no one plays there. There's no music scene here, eating and drinking are really the only options of any kind of entertainment. Don't get me wrong, the food and booze are great, I love the Mexican food here, but I've gained so much weight over the years living here because the only thing to do on a Friday night is go eat somewhere... "What are we doing on Saturday? Let's drive to this place to eat, go there to eat..." If you look at a map, you'll see you can leave Cruces North/South/East/West but there's nothing in 3 of those directions; the only option is South into El Paso, which kind of has a lot more of the same thing. Unless you want to go to a Triple A baseball game, there's nothing. El Paso will at least bring in some concerts, but again, unless you're embedded in the local culture and have a deep family background, it's not for you. It certainly isn't for me; I've had such a hard time making any friends here over the years. Even the dating scene is bad because everyone knows everyone, you know what I mean? Too many awkward times of running into the same people, going to the same places, it's the same date but with someone different... I got lucky and found someone and now I'm happy but those years of dating here were horrible! If you're single don't even come here. The weather here is nice if you enjoy the heat. I'm looking to move because of it, on the other hand. After 13 years I'm done. It's a dry heat, so that's good at least. I'm a spring kind of guy, I want cooler weather, barbecues and ballgames, but this place isn't it. Spring will last about a month before it's too hot to go outside and during that month there's so many dust storms and high winds, it's not even safe to light up a grill. If you want to go off-roading, shoot at a bunch of trash outside of town, drink all day indoors, and eat spicy food, then come here. There are some nice spots and New Mexico is beautiful in a lot of ways, but it gets old quick. Climbing a dusty mountain so many times loses it's romance. The homeless issue here is also getting out of hand. Crime is going up nationwide but here it's in your face. You can try to avoid it at a personal level but you'll still be witness to it. And for an area that used to be low cost, it's rising with little reward. I wouldn't even consider it low cost at this point... sure a lot of people still say it is, but its getting flooded with retirees who made their money elsewhere. If you're in your 30's trying to make a living here, you won't be able to afford the nicer areas unless you have a really good job... there's no manufacturing here! Like, how is it that these prices continue to increase? Again, it's a national trend, I get it, but the entertainment options here are a joke. I guess I'm just ready for a different lifestyle, it's a shame because New Mexico isn't just the "land of enchantment" .... say it with me folks.... It's the "Land of Entrapment!" And the reason why that saying is so popular here, in my opinion, is because once you've experienced "quality of life" here and have been able to stretch your dollar, it's so hard to transition elsewhere. It doesn't make this a great place at all, it just kind of forces you into this small town mentality that for some reason people end up coming back. I'd like to move to a larger city one day, the thought of moving back here several years later is hard to swallow. Maybe it's the lack of natural disasters, the "low cost" of housing, older people liking the heat, I don't know... I'm just saying, if you're in your 30s, no family nearby, no kids... get out of here.
Adam | Las Cruces, NM