What's it like to live in Socorro?

Can any one tell me what it is like to live in Socoro? The price of housing? Weather? If you like living there?

Thanks,

Donna

What's it like to live in Socorro?

Sad. Bleak. Desperate.

Actually I haven%26#39;t lived in Socorro, but live in the same county. I%26#39;m not sure what you%26#39;re planning to do in Socorro or why you%26#39;re thinking of moving there, but the times I%26#39;ve spent there have not endeared me to it.

Maybe there are parts of town that I don%26#39;t know about, but generally it%26#39;s a predominately low-income little burg in the middle of the desert. I know that several people live in my neighborhood and commute an hour each way to work in Socorro so that they don%26#39;t have to live there.

I have not been to the area around the University, so maybe things are better there. Maybe.

Weather -- hot and dry most of the year. Cold-ish in the winter.

Sorry not to be more upbeat about Socorro.

What's it like to live in Socorro?

socoro huh. i went to school in las cruces. socoro is in between las cruces and albuquerque. i think id probably think twice before id move there, virtually nothing to do, las cruces is a pretty cool little town. and of course albuquerque is a fairly large city. unless your job is there, i dont really recomend it, although you might love it who knows.

Gee -- You sure got a lot of negativity! I imagine you%26#39;ve moved on!

I moved my entire family to Socorro from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2002. How%26#39;s that for a change? Depending on what you want, Socorro can

be a great place to live. There actually IS a lot to do in town, mostly associated with the university. There is a strong performing arts series, a lot of local musicians and artists and some decent restaurants.

Price of housing is great. It%26#39;s actually started going up, but we bought 4000 sf on an acre in the country but 10 mins from town for $200K. That%26#39;s probably about 1/2 of what Albuquerque is costing these days. If you want to live really inexpensively, there are still a lot of decent places in the low 100%26#39;s.

Socorro offers rural living. You have to want that. It%26#39;s different. Young people often don%26#39;t like it, but if you%26#39;ve spent 30 or 40 years in major cities, it can be really refreshing!

When you need an urban fix, it takes 60 minutes to get to Albuquerque.

I can talk about what%26#39;s wrong with the town -- but you got a lot of negativity ... mostly from people who didn%26#39;t know anything. Socorro is certainly not ';cool'; or ';trendy';. That%26#39;s why it%26#39;s cheap!

[tried to post this a few months ago but had trouble with my forum account]

The first couple of reviews are definitely proof that people who haven%26#39;t lived in a place shouldn%26#39;t comment on what it%26#39;s like to live there!

We%26#39;ve lived in Socorro for nearly 16 years, and we love it. Of course it has its disadvantages - mainly conveniences you%26#39;d miss in any small town - but overall it is a very pleasant place to live. Keep in mind that it is a university town, so there are community-college offerings for those who are interested, and the Performing Arts Series gets some amazing talent. There is also a broad scientific community (NRAO and various NMTech departments) and a thriving artistic community covering a wide range of media, including music. Numerous events are scheduled throughout the year (Family Arts Party, Fat Tire Fiesta, Festival of the Cranes, Star Party, etc. etc.) and there are plenty of outdoor activities within 1-2 hours%26#39; drive. So unless you%26#39;re completely sessile, you won%26#39;t lack for things to keep you busy.

Public schools are a bit below average, but good students do well despite that: every year Socorro%26#39;s schools manage to compete surprisingly well against much larger facilities in events such as Science Olympiad etc. There is a charter school for K-8 as well as the regular schools. Housing prices are lower than ABQ despite a mini-boom in the last 5 years due to new facilities opening at NMTech.

It is only an hour%26#39;s drive from Albuquerque, which gives easy access to stores both general and specialized, additional cultural events (remember UNM is the state%26#39;s largest university) and of course the ABQ airport which is well connected to major airlines%26#39; hubs.

Socorro often makes a bad first impression, since its main street looks like the fast-food/cheap-hotel strip you find just about everywhere you pull off a rural U.S. interstate, and there are certainly areas of town which are very run down. But like most places, when you look beyond that, you find many good things that, in the opinion of most people who live here, more than compensate for its shortcomings.

Do some research on the Web (don%26#39;t get it confused with Socorro, Texas) so that you go into a move with your eyes open, but don%26#39;t be put off by uninformed negative reviews either. Socorro Chamber of Commerce Web site is at http://www.socorro-nm.com/, and many residents have Web sites. Local newspaper is at http://www.dchieftain.com/

Another positive message from me. I knew when I moved there many years ago that a small town could be both good and bad. Newly divorced, I wanted to raise my children in a small town. Socorro was very good to us. The kids did well in school and I loved working there. My two main jobs were at the local supermarket where you meet a lot of nice people and at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. There are many charitable events as well as art and music. The dancing was fun also. There are many types of jobs. It depends on what career you are in. From scientific fields to dishwashers and grocery clerks, from teachers to property owners etc. Oh yeah, I met and married my husband and we have been married for over 20 years!! Wonderful people in Socorro!!

I %26#39;d like to add a few positive items about Socorro. I%26#39;ve lived in the area for 25 years and have come to love it, warts and all. If you want a small-town atmosphere with good weather (except spring winds), a friendly college with open doors for locals, a superb public library, a world-renowned wildlife refuge just down the road, good mountain hiking/biking trails fifteen minutes west, reasonable housing prices, beautiful clear skies, and wonderful friendly people from all over the world, then you will be happy in our part of the state. Socorro is within 75 miles of almost anything you could want in Albuquerque, yet you won%26#39;t have to deal with noise and traffic conjestion around here. I have met more than a few people who have moved here specifically to retire - fortunately we have not yet become gentrified.

We moved here 3 years ago (to retire). Socorro has all the advantages of a well-educated community which is small enough for people to know each other but large enough to avoid the ';cabin feavor'; which sometimes spoils life. It is inexpensive (by East and West coast standards). The weather is beautiful 90% of the time. (If you like cold you can go to the mountains and ski!) And outdoor activities are always available. We had planned on being ';sunbirds'; but going N for the summer was no fun at all!

i,m looking to relocate and was wondering if their are any employement opportunities and housing for a single man in mid forties. job wise i am capable of just about anything but not a scientist or teacher. housing something small doesnt have to be fancy, any reply to whether this would be available would be apperciated.

Although this is a travel forum... Socorro NM would not be a great place to move to if you need to make a living. Look at Albuquerque or Las Cruces.

Hello JazziArtist -- I can be a bit more positive than the lady from Santa Fe. From a 40,000 foot level she%26#39;s not wrong. There is far more corporate employment in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, but the cost of living is also much higher. You are correct to realize that some of the best jobs in town are at the University or the several civilian and military labs, but there is still a need for smart generalists willing to work hard. We do not have enough plumbers/ electricians/ contractors, for example. NM Tech has staff jobs in finance and operations. They are hard to land, but I can tell you as a Tech employee myself that hard-working, responsible types are always welcome -- and there is not a surplus.

Albuquerque is close enough that you could land in Socorro and rent an inexpensive place and work in Albuquerque if that was the first place you could find a job.