Las Cruces is a GREAT place to live! It is my hometown since birth in 1961, with family roots dating back to the early 1930's.

Las Cruces has been a top retirement destination for the past 6 years, and offers the culture and activity of a College Town as well. Our economy is strong, and the real estate market is stable.

The property tax is roughly $950 per $100,000 assessed value for residential property. Sales tax is presently 7.125%, with medication and non-prepared food items exempt from tax. While the wind blows on occasion in the spring, our weather is fabulous. http://weather.yahoo.com/climo/USNM0169_f.html You can get just about anywhere here in 20 minutes or less. Being the 2nd largest city in the state of New Mexico, the population of Las Cruces is roughly 96,000, and the population of the whole county is around 200,000.

We have two hospitals, two oncology centers and a rehabilitation hospital.

Some major employers in Las Cruces are:

New Mexico State University
Las Cruces Public Schools
The City of Las Cruces
Dona Ana County
The Federal Government
Mountain View Regional Medical Center
Memorial General Hospital
White Sands Missile Range
NASA
the Construction and Real Estate industries..... And the list goes on...

Agriculture is also a big employer. There are roughly 16,000 acres of pecan orchards in the valley. Chile and cotton are also predominant crops.

Las Cruces is the home of the X-Prize Cup aerospace competition and the Rocket Racing League. There is a Space Port in development 45 miles north of Las Cruces, with plans to use it for tourism flights, cargo launches and aircraft races.
http://www.spaceportamerica.com/home.html
http://www.xprize.org/
http://www.rocketracingleague.com/

Las Cruces is 2 hours from winter snow skiing, gambling, horse racing, fishing and camping in Ruidoso. The Inn of the Mountain Gods is a beatiful resort in Ruidoso. One hour to the north are Caballo and Elephant Butte Lakes for water skiing, fishing and camping. Carlsbad Caverns are about 4 hours to the east. Two hours to the northwest is Silver City and Pinos Altos, a great place for a weekend getaway. The Catwalk at Glenwood, Ghost town of Mogollon, and the Gila Cliff Dwellings are located in this region of New Mexico.

I have lived in Los Angeles and Scottsdale for a few years, but I came back to Las Cruces, and have no plans to leave again!

This is a great place to live!

Fri May 9 2008, 14:06

If you are not working with a realtor, I would like to offer assistance. It is a great time to buy! A great selection of homes and prices are lower than national markets.

Thu May 8 2008, 15:46

This is a great time to purchase property in the Las Cruces Area. Interest rates are great, we have a nice selection of homes, it's a sellers market here as well, the weather is great, and we are close to the El Paso airport .

Prices have been coming down, but the area still remains strong. The days on market went from 96 in our peak to currently around 137.


We have a space center going in soon, which is likely to bring more tourists. We are experiencing a revitalization in our down town area.

Tue Apr 22 2008, 13:19

You could do worse. Its a nice, growing town with much to recommend it. Price appreciation in the 5 years prior to the downturn was substantial. Even now the slowdown is much milder than the general situation. We own 3 houses and a lot here with absolutely no regrets.

Thu Apr 17 2008, 22:40

To live in or to rent out?

Denton Ward
Nationwide Real Estate Investments
http://www.nwrei.net

Thu Feb 14 2008, 15:53