Retirement Village/Welfare Town
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2/5/2016
Too small for an aspiring person to grow.
The work force is pretty weak. Most decent employees didn't grow up here; they transplanted from areas where a person has to put forth effort to keep a job. Therefore, the average worker from a big city shines like a superstar, even though all they're doing is being punctual and consistently showing up to work. The people that grow up here learn how to work the welfare system to their advantage because it's more profitable than the minimum wage jobs the town offers. Higher costs of living and poor wages keep the lower and middle classes struggling just to keep ends met. Even when people strive to make something of themselves, the town has a way to suppress ambition and thwart efforts. So, even college graduates struggle to make a living.
Commerce revolves around tourism, so work seems limited to months that are heavy with vacationers, and productive members of the town usually work multiple jobs. The job diversity is weak as well, limited to mainly food industry, construction, and house keeping.
As well shopping is limited to pretty much walmart and a handful of other stores (unless looking for novelty gifts at midtown, then there's a plethora of stores).
If the local has money, he/she most likely didnt come from here. This place is home to migratory oil rich Texans that buy second homes to escape 100 degree summer heat. Money doesnt really trickle down from them, so their counter parts are piss poor New Mexicans that pay high rents for shacks/mobile homes. And the people caught in between will most likely spiral downward instead of succeeding. Not very flattering, but important to know before making a life decision of that caliber.
The environment is beautiful! Hiking is available all around, and the mountains remind you that this is the southern tip of the Rockies. Skiing is the main winter attraction, and forest activities are the summer attraction. Better have money before you move here or be content with cheap/free entertainment. Night life might as well be nonexistent as there are only a handful of bars that are unimpressive. Drinking and drug use seems to be the past time here, so be sure your tolerance is up.
I moved here out of necessity because my family owned a cabin business and my life hit a rough patch. Due to my class (slightly above lower class) i met and found a lot genuine people unlike Austin where i came from. Being poor together built a comraderie [phone spell check fail, sorry] with my friends that I'll cherish the rest of my life. This place is so bass ackwards and lost in time that it helped me evaluate my situation and focus on constructive hobbies to possibly help myself progress in a different location.
All in all, come visit, dont move here unless you have wealth. If you need a secret hiding place to reset, come and heal, then get out before it consumes you too
Travis | Alto, NM