Doug Kerr
Well-known member
On 2012.03.15, we relocated our home from Weatherford, Texas to Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA, in The Land of Enchantment.
As many of you know from earlier notes, the change was driven by a desire to reduce our cost of home ownership and operation. This suggested moving to a smaller and less costly house in an area of lower property tax rates. Having decided to undertake such a daunting project, we concluded that we would rather not live in Texas, but rather in New Mexico.
An evaluation of various factors, including tax rates, climate, and topographical setting (we really like living in the shadow of a serious mountain range) led us to focus on Alamogordo, a city of about 30,000 population located in southern New Mexico (about 90 miles northeast of El Paso, Texas), a town that first came into general note when, in 1945, it was described as the location of the first nuclear bomb detonation (Ground Zero was actually about 60 miles away, but Alamogordo was the nearest city of notable size).
It is located between the famous White Sands dune field and the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains, at an elevation of about 4400 feet (downtown). It is the company town for the White Sands Missile Test Range, Holloman Air Force Base, and the German Air Force advanced flight training school. (Why is that in New Mexico? Man, the weather is so much better than in Germany!)
During a visit in January of 2012 we confirmed that this was where we wanted to be and entered into a contract to buy a lovely home, indeed nestled in the foothills.
There subsequently ensued a frantic project to thin out our belongings and pack for the move, mostly masterminded by Carla.
The house has 60% the rated floor space of the previous house, so in fact "downsizing" is a serious fact. The basic guideline for the preparation was to take only 2/3 of the stuff, and shed the excess after we arrived.
On Thursday, 2012.03.15, two 26-foot box trucks with elevator gates took our stuff westward. (The best route is over a mountain pass, and a 53-foot trailer rig would not be allowed.) And here we are.
Of course getting established is a gigantic task, which moves forward from day to day. But I won't bore you (just now) with the details of that!
We are in any case delighted to be here.
Here we see the house itself:
Douglas A. Kerr: 3102 Thunder Road, Alamogordo, New Mexico
This view is nearly to the south.
The leftmost window in the front is my office; the rightmost, Carla's office.
The concrete bench in the front is evocative of a pig. This is the third house he has graced.
The elevation there is about 4575 ft MSL.
Yes, I have a smudge on the sensor of my EOS 40D.
Here is a view generally eastward on our street, toward the mountains:
Douglas A. Kerr: Where the desert meets the mountains
The eastern city limits are at about the water tank seen in the picture, 1/4 mile east of our home. The Lincoln National Forest starts there, and the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains begin to turn up at that point.
Here is a view westward on our street, toward downtown:
Douglas A. Kerr: Overlooking Alamogordo to the White Sands
The view overlooks the city proper, and the white band is the White Sands Dune Field, a couple of miles west of town.
This is a view from the back yard, nearly to the southeast:
Douglas A. Kerr: The Sacramento Mountains from the back yard
The "A" is courtesy of the students of Alamogordo High School.
This is a view of some of the homes actually up in the foothills (further along our street, in fact):
Douglas A. Kerr: Serious mountain living
When the street finally comes to an end, the elevation is almost precisely one mile MSL.
Well, more later - I have to attend to numerous plumbing and electrical challenges, hang some pictures, etc. etc.!
Best regards,
Doug
As many of you know from earlier notes, the change was driven by a desire to reduce our cost of home ownership and operation. This suggested moving to a smaller and less costly house in an area of lower property tax rates. Having decided to undertake such a daunting project, we concluded that we would rather not live in Texas, but rather in New Mexico.
An evaluation of various factors, including tax rates, climate, and topographical setting (we really like living in the shadow of a serious mountain range) led us to focus on Alamogordo, a city of about 30,000 population located in southern New Mexico (about 90 miles northeast of El Paso, Texas), a town that first came into general note when, in 1945, it was described as the location of the first nuclear bomb detonation (Ground Zero was actually about 60 miles away, but Alamogordo was the nearest city of notable size).
It is located between the famous White Sands dune field and the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains, at an elevation of about 4400 feet (downtown). It is the company town for the White Sands Missile Test Range, Holloman Air Force Base, and the German Air Force advanced flight training school. (Why is that in New Mexico? Man, the weather is so much better than in Germany!)
During a visit in January of 2012 we confirmed that this was where we wanted to be and entered into a contract to buy a lovely home, indeed nestled in the foothills.
There subsequently ensued a frantic project to thin out our belongings and pack for the move, mostly masterminded by Carla.
The house has 60% the rated floor space of the previous house, so in fact "downsizing" is a serious fact. The basic guideline for the preparation was to take only 2/3 of the stuff, and shed the excess after we arrived.
On Thursday, 2012.03.15, two 26-foot box trucks with elevator gates took our stuff westward. (The best route is over a mountain pass, and a 53-foot trailer rig would not be allowed.) And here we are.
Of course getting established is a gigantic task, which moves forward from day to day. But I won't bore you (just now) with the details of that!
We are in any case delighted to be here.
Here we see the house itself:
Douglas A. Kerr: 3102 Thunder Road, Alamogordo, New Mexico
This view is nearly to the south.
The leftmost window in the front is my office; the rightmost, Carla's office.
The concrete bench in the front is evocative of a pig. This is the third house he has graced.
The elevation there is about 4575 ft MSL.
Yes, I have a smudge on the sensor of my EOS 40D.
Here is a view generally eastward on our street, toward the mountains:
Douglas A. Kerr: Where the desert meets the mountains
The eastern city limits are at about the water tank seen in the picture, 1/4 mile east of our home. The Lincoln National Forest starts there, and the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains begin to turn up at that point.
Here is a view westward on our street, toward downtown:
Douglas A. Kerr: Overlooking Alamogordo to the White Sands
The view overlooks the city proper, and the white band is the White Sands Dune Field, a couple of miles west of town.
This is a view from the back yard, nearly to the southeast:
Douglas A. Kerr: The Sacramento Mountains from the back yard
The "A" is courtesy of the students of Alamogordo High School.
This is a view of some of the homes actually up in the foothills (further along our street, in fact):
Douglas A. Kerr: Serious mountain living
When the street finally comes to an end, the elevation is almost precisely one mile MSL.
Well, more later - I have to attend to numerous plumbing and electrical challenges, hang some pictures, etc. etc.!
Best regards,
Doug
