May 11, 2008
Got a few minutes?
No backstory right now, I’ll just get to the pressing matter at hand:
1. Go here, take a look around.
2. Then go here and do the same.
3. Next, check this out.
4. Then, check that out.
5. Finally, see this.
6. Finally (really), see that.
All things above considered, as well as anything you may know about either place, which region would you choose? (if you can’t see the form below, leave your choice and reasons for it in comments)
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ADVENTURE JOURNALIST
a blog by tee poole
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Writer, editor and communications geek (and a collection of other things) at home in the wild, desert west.Subscribe
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missoula?? really? i know three people there and never thought another person on earth had heard of it! do you know these people? (from lj) two of them are getting married in a month (to each other :D).
and I say NM mainly because I remember wehn you were there and you seemed to be in the best heaven ever. plus the photos that came from you out of there were, just wow.
NM, in a heartbeat. I love Montana a lot, but I personally just have a thing for the southwest.
It’s so hard because they’re both such really, truly neat places — in many ways for the same reasons, and yet they both have a seemingly equal number of unique things about them that we like. We’ve got a pros/cons list going for both places, and no matter how many things we can think of on either side of either list, they continue to be an almost 50/50 split. Grr!
And besides, this was supposed to be about where YOU’D go, not where you’d have me go!
bahahah well, neither has a large body of salt water, so.. uh… neither
but I want you guys to go where *I* will get to see great pictures (which actually will be anywhere, hell I love the pictures of just inside your home. so I will just shut up now 
)
Missoula is what I would choose, based on what I’ve read. It seems I could enjoy gardening there, being somewhat protected in the valley. I’m curious to know more about the large bike commuting demographic. It’s not so much a resort community, and there is a university there, which are two good youth magnets. I enjoy being part of a larger range of ages, especially a younger population (more stimulating things going on in the community)…I’d have to read more. That’s where I’m leaning.
The University has a big draw for me — it’s closer in Missoula to the area we’d be buying land in if we chose Montana than the University of NM in Albuquerque is to the land we’d be buying in NM (that was a mouthful). And I REALLY want that graduate degree in the next couple of years.
But of course, like I said, for all the positives of one place, there’s a corresponding cool/convenient/sensible/beautiful thing about the other, too.
I voted for Missoula. I adore New Mexico…but still harper Missoula fantasies.
Tonya…Our parents lived in Ruidoso for about 12 years. They loved it, until it started growing so much. Now they live in San Patricio, about 25 miles out of Ruidoso. They like it much better. We hate visiting though, because there is nothing to do there. Even when they lived in Ruidoso…it was fun visiting the little shops, but after that…yawn, bored. They are retired so it’s perfect for them. They keep busy doing home/yard things. It’s very pretty up there.
Dave’s sister lives in MT, Missoula, I think. Says it’s beautiful, but winters are harsh. But that’s nothing for you.
Thanks Mickey - yeah, I’ve heard Ruidoso is growing at a higher pace for its population than Missoula seems to be. I’d have to be down there to really see it in action (and how much was “smart” growth vs. unchecked sprawl — the primary thing keeping me away from Albuquerque despite how much I love it) to know. The not-much-to-do stuff doesn’t bother me so much, most of the things that interest us are outdoors, in rivers, mountains and such, and both areas have plenty of that!
I voted for Missoula after reading the info. Before that I would have said definitely NM. But Missoula sounds like much more of a growing, active city, with many things to offer. The U would be nice both for classes for you guys if you want, and may have some specialty classes or activities for Sarah. I wouldn’t be crazy about the long winters there, although their temps chart looks warmer than I would have thought. Ruidoso is beautiful, but I think is lacking a vitality that you all would enjoy. I sense that Missoula has a definite vitality and and a more open environment, mostly r/t the U being there. Good luck - tough decision!
For me, it’d be a tough choice, too. But the landscape in NM speaks to me much more than Montana. I’m also drawn to the small town makeup of Ruidoso. If I were to move to another big city, it’d be somewhere like Reno. (or Seattle. or San Francisco.
)
But I’m sure that I’d love Missoula, too. For many of the features that it boasts are the same things that I love about the Pac NW.
I had to really think about that too. Ruidoso is about 9,000 people in its proper, and then with all the tiny towns bordering it about 25,000 altogether. Missoula is about 65,000 all told, I believe. Even so, not like Reno, at a whopping 200,000+ now!
For me, NM.
Decisions like these I have to make with my heart. If I put my mind to it I’ll just keep going between possibilities and always wander whether I made the right decision… and it’s the South West for me. for sure
Cool… Missoula is on our list of potentials, too.
T.
Montana has no state sales tax, a big plus.
If you like fly fishing and camping it is number 1 for that .
The people I have met in Montana were always very friendly.
One problem in winter is air pollution from wood burners ( air inversion ) .
You love cold places , go for it !
Oh, man, I like them both so much! But with no research I would pick Ruidoso. Montana is gorgeous, but probably a little too cold for this girl.
But I know you’ll love either place. Good luck!
I only voted for which one I would choose, you have to go with your own gut feelings, of course! You *must* visit both, if you haven’t already. Do things like go to the post office, go to the grocery store…get the feelings you’d really get, living there, not just being a tourist. For me, the south is warmer in every way, but I’ve never been to Montana, specifically. I just know the winter would be too much for me, and it’s hard to find weather too hot for me.
Good luck with your decision, both places look great!
Oh cursed dial-up! I condemn thee to HELL!
Ten years ago I’d have said Missoula (I almost moved there in 1999). Now I say NM (not having seen Ruidoso).
I think Glacier NP is the prettiest place in the US. But now I think Missoula would get old pretty fast. I think it’s too far from anywhere else (another thing I’d have laughed at ten years ago).
Eric -
You people are no help at all — that pie chart has pretty much been stuck right at 50% for each place. Every time someone votes and changes it, someone else votes for the other and changes it right back.
. . . . . . . . .
Jen -
>> You *must* visit both, if you haven’t already.
LOL. I know that’s the logical way to do it, but in the 20+ cities I’ve ever moved to, I think I first “visited” maybe 3 or 4 of them. I’ve rarely ever been sorry for having moved sight unseen. In fact, the one place I was sorriest to have made a move to was a place I’d spent a fair amount of time in the months prior to the move, and thought I’d love but didn’t. The place I loved most (Reno) and stayed longest, I’d been to/through its downtown area a few times but never looked around beyond that prior to moving there (and honestly never thought I’d live there, wasn’t that impressed with downtown, but ended up there for college and fell in love with it).
This move, too, has to be made sight unseen — more out of necessity and circumstances than principal.
Missoula. Nuf said.
have fun with the decision!
Missoula on the strength of the nearby University and deeper winters.
Tonya -
You’ve probably been to Ruidoso, but have you hung out there much? It’s still NM, but very different from Santa Fe or ABQ or the rest of northern NM. I lived near Ruidoso for amost 4 years and even with the new arts center, skiiing and the horse tracks, Ruidoso is very much a seniors’ retirement area as well as a mountain weekend tourist haven for people from El Paso and Juarez. Those same two towns - together with Las Cruces - will become your lifelines to culture and the outside world. I know you lived in relative isolation up in Alamosa, but those cities are 2 hours away from Ruidoso. The 3 1/2 hour drive to Abq or SF will get even more tiresome.
I have followed your blog for a few years after discovering it while searching for pics of NM. I also moved back East for after 10 years in NM, arriving only a couple days after 9/11. (An omen? - There is truth to the cliche that “You can’t go home again.”) It took me several years to get back - I initially rented in Eldorado as well on my return. Your blog was a like a lifeline while I was back East as it was a consistent source of beautiful photos of NM.
I have never commented before, but now have been watching you go through a similar experience with your move to Maine. I also had friends who lived in Missoula but I think NM is the choice for you. However, I strongly suspect you would be truly happier in northern NM than down south where it is more west Texas in attitude. It is truly beautiful around Ruidoso, but there is a reason land is so much cheaper down there. SF real estate is still totally out of control, but since school systems are not an issue, you would do well to look in the area between SF and Taos. I think you should think twice before you leap to southern NM.