A Nice Place to Live
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11/18/2007
Portales is a real family town with a large university and reasonable home prices. The city is a compact 5 square mile oasis of neighborhoods and commerce in the heart of the southern High Plains. At 4,000 feet, both winter and summer are mild, although the sun shines 300 days a year.
While the "big shopping" is in Lubbock, 90 minutes away, Portales has two of everything. For more expensive fast food and mall offerings, the dumpy city of Clovis is just 20 minutes north.
One key fact: Portales has 39 houses of worship and two bars, quite amazing considering there are 4,000 Eastern New Mexico University students in a town of 12,000 people.
The historic town square and compact shady neighborhoods host kids playing on front lawns. The downtown area will be undergoing major renovation, and so modest early 1900s bungalows a few blocks from the square can be had for under $100,000. Most of the newer neighborhoods are in the south part of the city, and it's hard to find any home listed for over $250K (2007).
The prehistoric grasslands and bird habitat of Oasis State Park are just a few miles north of town, and the ski slopes of Ruidoso are lest than three hours southwest.
IDaveZ | Portales, NM