Hey all, I am considering possibly moving to NM in a couple years. The wife and I want to get away from the winters (it was - 9 here the other morning) and taxes here in Iowa. We are just starting to look at places in the SW and NM seems to be a cheaper state to live, less crowded than AZ and lots to do outdoors. I am a Second Amendment Advocate, NRA Instructor and I helped get our Shall Issue law passed here a few years ago. I have my AZ CCW Permti so I should be good in visiting there.

So this is a big question but tell me about NM in general, mainly about carrying weapons with and without a permit and the gun culture in general?

How is the economy, where are some good places to live and look for jobs? I am a IT guy by trade and kinda jack of all trades. Also how friendly is the state to outsiders and are there any hidden costs, taxes or things to be wary of in looking to relocate there?

Thank you for any help

Steve

Steve

Over all, it's a good place to be. There are pluses and minuses like anywhere. Generally, it is a liberal state, though there a lot of gun people here. Most of the people are easy going and laid back.

Concealed carry by permit, and open carry without. Open carry will draw stares in public but not so much out in the forest.

Economy is not that great here, wages are lower than other parts of the country.

As far as getting out of the cold, it's pretty good here.  We had snow Friday,  today(Sunday) it was 60 degrees. If we get snow, usually it is gone off the roads by noon, and that is without doing anything to it. Here in Albuquerque, it does get cold, but it doesn't last long.

Thanks, I looked a little further in the forums and found some others asking the same questions

Taxes here are higher than what I was used to in FL. 7% income on income of 24k IIRC, 8.2% sales in Santa Fe

Carry laws are so-so IMO, but there are some bills in our House and Senate to make them more in line with what I would consider standard conceal carry like much of the south has. But we do have Open Carry. No-gun signs carry weight of law. No guns in restaurants that serve hard liquor even though you can't drink and carry anyways

Weather is pretty varied depending on altitude from hot desert to cool mountain weather in the North.

Economy is meh.

For IT there are the two labs here, LANL and Sandia plus many contractors and some companies in ABQ. If you're interest in learning about lab life shoot me a PM.

Lots of liberal derp, but its not too hard to find 'like-minded' people.

I like it here, but it's very different from where Im from (FL/GA). Maybe that's why I like it.

IowaJack,

NM is a great place to be.  It is a large state so make sure you check out all parts before you decide on one or cancel out the whole state.  I live in the Las Cruces area and love it!

Cost of living can be pretty inexpensive depending on where you are at.  

Overall I think the gun laws here aren't too bad at all, but could use some improvement.   I only once was even looked at funny when open carrying and it was into a bank I no longer do business with.   Most of the cops i've run into (in S NM) have been pretty knowledgeable about the gun laws and most of the time being a gun owner put me in a positive light with the officer .   In NM you can have weapons in your vehicle loaded or unloaded without a permit.  Open carry is permitted without a permit and a CCW isn't that hard to get, although there is some maintenance (refresher course every 2 years) to it, but hopefully that will change.  

In Las Cruces I've had some friends do really well with IT working at WSMR (White Sands Missile Range) and Nasa.   I know there is a lot (IT stuff) in the northern part as well.  In southeastern NM there is URENCO that pays extremely well, but not a lot of people like living in that area.

I believe NM has a great strong economy for those willing to work.   We have a pretty descent entitlement crowd that I believe makes our numbers look worse than they could be.

The outdoors in NM are awesome and varies greatly.   Most of NM is owned by the government so not being able to go out and hunt/off road/dick around because you don't own land isn't really a problem.  I can drive my UTV from my house, in city limits, to the Dona Ana mountains without putting it on a trailer.  

The different climates of NM vary greatly except that there is always a spring wind no matter where you are.   Northern NM is colder and has more seasons.   Southern NM is more of a warm arid climate.    And if you miss the snow, we have several great ski resorts in the state.

And the food in this state is the best of any I've ever lived in.   Not a big seafood guy, but I'm sure were low in that ranking.

Great, thanks for the info.

The CCW sounds a little more restrictive than here but nothing I couldn't deal with.

Can anyone tell me what the people are like in general?  

I understand that is a big question and that there are good people and assholes no matter where you go. Here in Iowa though we are in the bible belt and the mix of bible bangers and snobs is split or combined. The town I am from no one is really outgoing and most wont really say hello to you and generally aren't very "social. The other half here are higher income and think their shit doesn't stink.

In opposition to that, about 100 miles north of where I am there is a strong Catholic population and they are the fun types that go to mass at 4 pm Saturday evening and then go to the bar. They will invite you to their home for dinner or give you the shirt off their back to help. The one thing I appreciate about the entire Midwest is the sense of values.

I am 46 and not into the bar scene or nightlife so much. I am into hunting though and think I would enjoy that in the area. I would probably need someone to show me around so I dont get bit by a snake or become lunch for a cougar. ( we have them here now too)

We plan to come for a visit for a few days and check out some places and people. While it is tough to get the entire picture of a area in a short time, you can usually get a feeling for the people.

For the most part customer service sucks a lot of places these days.

I am surprised about Elk tags. I thought they would be more readily available to residents. I do like waterfowl hunting though too. We have the Mississippi flyway but not one close to me. How about fly fishing?

If I bring a suppressor into the state do I need to register it?

The majority of the units that have no elk or deer are the units that the state wants you to hunt in.  The state just wants your money.

The fly fishing in this state is phenomenal, even in the Rio Grande Gorge.

I have a stupid followup question

Are snakes or specifically poisonous snakes getting into homes or garages a problem?  How about in the yards or outdoor living spaces? I don't mind so much and my wife would shoot them with snake shot no problem, but the concern that crossed my mind would be our pets.

Do you need snake boots or gators to go hiking in certain areas?

Here in Iowa we dont have to worry about anything poisonous except Ivy and Oak

Pretty much, the rattlesnake is the only poisonous snake here in NM.  We don't have water moccasins or copperheads.  I grew up in the lower desert outside of Las Cruces and encountered more bullsnakes than rattlers.  When I bought my house here in Albq, it was in an undeveloped area.  Lots of coyotes, skunks and the occasional raccoon are the only wildlife I've encountered at the home stead.  Up here, the bull snakes out number the rattlers.  Never worn gators anywhere, just keep an eye out while in the wild.

I need to go dove hunting with you, Matt.  I'd like to bag some rattlers.

You got that right.

Jack
Fellow Iowan here.  Burlington to be specific.  Anyway currently in Ruidoso traveling with the g/f who's a nurse.  Can't tell you much about the state as a whole but this area is beautiful. We're in the Lincoln national forest.  this town is pretty tourist oriented with ski apache a short drive.  the folks we've met here have been great. i've talked to several folks and the fishing is suppose to be really good and the trout are spawning. hope this helps a little.

Former Midwesterner here (WI and yes the hawkeyes still suck lol) but what I can say it is what you make it. But that still only goes so far. The politics from large city (state) to small town can truly vary. Many of things they have done politically all around makes your head scratch. I live here in Gallup where you will see a lot of FSA and just pure wasteful spending but then complain about not having job but want nobody big to create jobs. Granted that's my area of the state

It also depends where you want to live too. I will say this unless you are going to work at the refinery near by my town, its pointless to live here specifically. Other places like LC and Farmington are awesome (at least for me but it could be the grass is greener kind of deal)

Side note I do open carry around my city and it does help having the bums to go away. They really do believe because you have money they are entitled to it. (not sure if this problem is all around the state or just my county)

I moved from the DFW area as I was sick of city life and love it.
When you come tour the state IM me and if you close I will buy you a cup of coffee a give you the law of the land.

I moved from the DFW area as I was sick of city life and love it.
When you come tour the state IM me and if you close I will buy you a cup of coffee a give you the law of the land.

New Mexico is a widely varied state, from Abq if you travel two hours in any direction you will likely end up in a place vastly different than any of the other directions you can head. This is one of the reasons so many films and tv shows are filmed here, a production company can simulate just about any city, state, or nation on earth, the exception being large bodies of water. To give you an idea of the variety you can find in NM, here are some projects that were entirely or near entirely done here, many folks would never guess they were done in NM.

Terminator Salvation
Lone Survivor
Transformers
Wild Hogs
Paul
Young Guns
Swing Vote
Contact
Observe & Report
Astronaut Farmer
Twins
Red Dawn
Book of Eli
The Longest Yard

And hundreds more movies & tv shows....

We live about 25 miles west of Truth or Consequences (yes a real place) in an out of the way valley with year round spring fed water: beautiful area with good people (hard working, ranch types, etc.).  A great state with much to see and do not to mention a history which is fascinating.  If you like 'Mexican food', this is the place.  Where we live, it is unusual not to see people carrying but we are out in the country - if you like out of the way places, privacy, unusual places, Indian culture (varied by tribe) and beautiful landscape, this is the place .............