While researching a place to retire, Tom made a matrix of options we deemed necessary for living: crime statistics, education, average income, ethnicity, population, whether the population was growing or not, weather, and whether there was a hospital anywhere near. There were other considerations, but those were ours and not listed on the matrix.
Did it matter in the long run? Well, kind of. Let me give you the low down on what we looked at and whether it actually mattered.
Crime: It was important, at first. When we looked at the crime rates for our county, it was higher than New Mexico's which, in turn, is higher than the United States' averages. It looked like a hotbed of criminality! But when we took into account how small in population our county was, it wasn't that big a deal. In 2016 our county had 4, 550 residents, and the violent crime consisted of five aggravated assaults and fifty burglaries, larceny and car thefts, no murders or rapes. We could live with that. Folks with vacation cabins sometimes experience break-ins unless they hire a local guy to keep an eye on their places and an old guy in an area about 30 miles away had some bad felllows break into his house and rob him a couple of years ago. Our own place was a vacation home and before we bought it, the home and garage were broken into twice. The burglars were caught and most of the stolen goods were recovered. That said, we are not complacent. There is a drug problem here and so we keep our home secured and don't advertise when we go somewhere. We have someone keep an eye on the place to ensure its safety. I rarely see local police, (except when I am speeding).
Education: We wanted to know something about the schools, not because we had children, but because often a school is a reflection of what's going on in an area. An 85% graduation rate is what we found here, but that doesn't take into account that only 22% of the students are proficient in reading and 14% proficient in math. 100% of the kids are considered economically disadvantaged. A neighbor whose daughter was the valedictorian of her graduating class ended up taking remedial math in college because she didn't pass the placement test at the University of New Mexico. A recent problem occurred when the county superintendent was found to have falsified his transcripts, a letter of recommendation and credentials to get the job. I have encountered several residents who drive their kids 30 or more miles to Angel Fire to attend high school and others who home school.
Average Income: We looked at this to see if we'd be able to afford living here on our retirement savings. Household income is just $21,000 and the poverty rate is 20%. Although income is lower than both the New Mexico and national averages, home ownership is at 76%, which is higher than the averages. People inherit homes and land, and if the home is falling apart, there's either a rudimentary fix or they'll pull in a used mobile home, a travel trailer, or something else one can call a home. Unemployment is 5%, with agriculture and forestry being where most of the jobs are, which don't pay much. We were told that if we were coming to retire, that was a good thing; if we were going to take someone else's job, well, that was another thing and we might reconsider. Since we are retired, it's all good.
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Ethnicity and Population: We wanted someplace small and not growing, which is what we got. Population here is going down. Someone said we could maybe adopt some Syrian refugees and they could open a restaurant. I wonder how Syrians would do in a county that's 85% Hispanic. We are doing fine, although at first it seemed weird to be a minority. Some long time residents have done what old time non-Hispanic settlers did years ago, which is give their children Spanish sounding first names. Carlos White, Diego Mueller, and Cielo Kagan are some names that mix it up. I kind of like the idea. Most of the people born here will tell you that their families are from the original Spanish settlers who came along with the conquistadores. The Spanish they speak is interesting. It's not Mexican Spanish, but Spanish whose roots are in the 14th and 15th centuries, combined with words from the Pueblo natives with whom they intermarried. Everyone code switches when they are talking, even many English speakers, which is a whole other level of cool. Now we are used to being a minority and it's no big deal.
Hospitals: A retired lady who moved here recently with her husband was matter of fact: "I figure that if one of us has a heart attack, we will probably die." Well, I hadn't really thought of it that way, but she is probably right. The closest hospital is 48 minutes away, and that's not counting how long we might wait for an ambulance. A couple years ago there was an additional sales tax levied for ambulance services, but they are understaffed. Calls go unanswered and someone died because the only driver scheduled couldn't leave because he had two small kids to watch and no other driver on the schedule. So I guess we don't count on an ambulance if we are hurt. I had an anaphylactic bee sting reaction, so we drove to the hospital after I gave myself an Epipen shot. The hospitals are fine and have figured out that if they can't fix it, a helicopter will take you to Albuquerque. We have a good local clinic for minor issues, and specialists one, two and three hours away. We usually spend the night if the drive is two or three hours, for a fun medical getaway.
Groceries: There was a small market 12 miles away but it has closed. The closest grocery store is WalMart which is 35 miles away. If we are desperate, there's Allsup's (a gas station mart) and Family Dollar, where I was happy to find the lemon juice I needed for drying my apple crop. Something new, though: Los de Mora, our local grower's coop, has a farm store open on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. They sell veggies and fruits in season, are starting a bakery, and have USDA lamb and beef cuts in the freezer. We are excited about this and hope to see the little store grow and grow. It's significant that people have gardens, hunt elk and deer for meat, and generally grow or gather what they can for their families. That doesn't preclude the occasional trip to Wal-Mart, a grocery store in Taos, Trader Joe's, or Costco. It's just not an every day thing.
Weather: We were done with unending 100 degree summer days and the other seasons that felt like summer. We wanted seasons, but with sun. Vermont has 157 days of sunshine a year; Santa Fe has over 300 days. It also has snow, something I'd never experienced for more than a couple days up in the California mountains. And winters are cold. But I justified the cold this way: there are just so many articles of clothing one can remove in hot weather, and it still feels hot. With layers of the right clothing for cold weather, it can feel warm even when outside. I'll gladly trade a cold winter for a moderate summer. Yes, there is ice and snow sometimes, but the good thing about being retired is we don't have to drive in that bad weather every day. Home, looking out the window as it snows, is just fine. Being able to grow a garden without the sun burning it to a crisp is also a big win.
Guns: Most people here have guns, but it hasn't contributed to a spate of murders. Gun owners here are liberal and conservative, Democrats and Republicans, and like most country folks, consider guns to be tools for hunting and/or for home protection. One friend told a story of her women's group having brunch outside at her place one spring morning. A couple bears walked up nearby, so she grabbed a shotgun and shot, scaring away the bears. Then she calmly put the gun down and inquired if anyone needed more coffee.
(I said it's the frontier. )
After considering the matrix, we realized that many of the items we were looking for weren't as important as it was just to live in the country, to breathe fresh air, and to not worry about neighbors close by. Yes, some things give us pause to reflect, but at this point we aren't too worried about living in the frontier. Drone grocery delivery and driverless cars will be something to look for in our future.
