Hello from NM

[LauraAnneMarie]

Hi,
I’ve actually been on the forum for a little while but it’s been a struggle this winter so I’ve kinda been hibernating.
I was actually pulled into the life by chance. I’m from Michigan. I used to travel the SW during the winter since 2017 with my dog and my small teardrop trailer. In 2019, I decided to move permanently to Tucson so I packed all my things into storage and started to look for a new desert home. Unfortunately, the pandemic broke out, the housing market dried up and to ad insult to injury, I lost more than half my income. I now live off social security which isn’t enough to make ends meet with a permanent roof over my head. I’ve been on the road full-time since leaving my temporary rental in Tucson on July 4th, 2020.
I had a New Mexico annual state park pass prior to the pandemic and thankfully, when NM reopened the state parks last February, they also extended everyone’s pass for an additional 12 month given the parks were closed to out of staters for a year. I’ve spent the past year wandering New Mexico and love it here. People are so kind in NM! I had planned to spend the winter at Imperial Dam LTVA but ended up staying in southern NM instead.
I am disabled and travel alone and I hope to be a little more active here in the future as I can use all the advice I can get. Given my extensive travels over the last 5 years, hopefully I can add some value as well.
Thanks for letting me join!
Brian

my ssdi is very low and I will live off it until i can pry my pension from the government. Want to sell the house and get a van

 

[Zurdo]

my ssdi is very low and I will live off it until i can pry my pension from the government. Want to sell the house and get a van

Hi Laura, I didn’t chose the lifestyle but there are many parts of it I’m grateful for. With my disability, it makes everything more difficult and one of my biggest struggles is having to pick up move every 14 days. It is really difficult and it’s hard on me. At the same time it forces me to not grow roots and become homebound as I mostly was when I had my condo.
What I gain the most from living on the road is not having a house to take care of nor the financial burden that goes with it. That was always a struggle for me; keeping up with cleaning and cooking healthy. The second is that the lifestyle encourages me to spend most of my time outside. Although I’m not able to hike nor explore by foot but just sitting outside enjoying my surroundings helps a lot. As I’ve told my doctor many times, sunlight is the most effective med I have!
There is a lot to gain from shedding the house and hitting the road but I can’t glamorize much of it because it is a difficult life. But, at the end of the day, looking at a different beautiful landscape all of the time, and meeting really interesting people, do make it worth it.

Good luck!

PS, if I could rewind the clock and do things differently, I definitely would have gotten a van or maybe a class C towing a small toad.

 

[user 22017]

Hi Laura, I didn’t chose the lifestyle but there are many parts of it I’m grateful for. With my disability, it makes everything more difficult and one of my biggest struggles is having to pick up move every 14 days. It is really difficult and it’s hard on me. At the same time it forces me to not grow roots and become homebound as I mostly was when I had my condo.
What I gain the most from living on the road is not having a house to take care of nor the financial burden that goes with it. That was always a struggle for me; keeping up with cleaning and cooking healthy. The second is that the lifestyle encourages me to spend most of my time outside. Although I’m not able to hike nor explore by foot but just sitting outside enjoying my surroundings helps a lot. As I’ve told my doctor many times, sunlight is the most effective med I have!
There is a lot to gain from shedding the house and hitting the road but I can’t glamorize much of it because it is a difficult life. But, at the end of the day, looking at a different beautiful landscape all of the time, and meeting really interesting people, do make it worth it.

Good luck!

PS, if I could rewind the clock and do things differently, I definitely would have gotten a van or maybe a class C towing a small toad.

I appreciate your candor about life on the road and how you got there. We are in very similar circumstances. I can't walk very far either (need total knee replacement). My primary doctor says I should not leave (my house) to live in a camper, but my cardiologist says to "Go for it".

Hope to meet you and many others on this board when I get out there. A New Mexico parks pass is an option I'm considering for the winter months.

Cheers!

 

[Zurdo]

I appreciate your candor about life on the road and how you got there. We are in very similar circumstances. I can't walk very far either (need total knee replacement). My primary doctor says I should not leave (my house) to live in a camper, but my cardiologist says to "Go for it".

Hope to meet you and many others on this board when I get out there. A New Mexico parks pass is an option I'm considering for the winter months.

Cheers!

I understand now why they call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment! It’s beautiful here!
I’m looking forward to meeting people from heere along the way too. Now that COVID #s are going down, I really need to find more “community”!

 

[tx2sturgis]

Anywhere in NM you aren't far from a Blakes Lotaburger.

The Hatch green chili cheeseburgers are really good! And they make a darn good sausage egg and cheese with green chili breakfast burrito too!

Dang. I might have to come get me some!

 

[user 423]

Hope to meet you and many others on this board when I get out there. A New Mexico parks pass is an option I'm considering for the winter months.

Southern NM is at about 4000' elev. and it gets cold at night in winter. Average January lows for Truth or Consequences is 27 degrees. So not as nice as the lower areas in Arizona.

 

[Zurdo]

Southern NM is at about 4000' elev. and it gets cold at night in winter. Average January lows for Truth or Consequences is 27 degrees. So not as nice as the lower areas in Arizona.

Indeed, there’s been more sub freezing nights this winter as I’ve experienced in shorter winter stays in the past. The same with spring winds. Where I’m at, nearly every day has been a high wind day for the last few weeks. I’m definitely going to winter in AZ again next year. I couldn’t swing it this winter.
On the flip side, the summers above 6000’ elevation here are absolutely perfect. Even during monsoon season as the rains usually come and go relatively quickly and after going many months without rain, they are also welcomed.

 

[Zurdo]

Anywhere in NM you aren't far from a Blakes Lotaburger.

The Hatch green chili cheeseburgers are really good! And they make a darn good sausage egg and cheese with green chili breakfast burrito too!

Dang. I might have to come get me some!

I’ve been coming to NM 5 of the last 6 years and would you believe that I’m pretty sure I have never actually gone into the one of hundreds of Blakes I’ve passed. I came very close in downtown Santa Fe last fall as their Blake’s is really old school and kind of looks to be one of the originals.
I think I may just have me a breakfast burrito in the morning!

 

[Zurdo]

Anywhere in NM you aren't far from a Blakes Lotaburger.

The Hatch green chili cheeseburgers are really good! And they make a darn good sausage egg and cheese with green chili breakfast burrito too!

Dang. I might have to come get me some!

My all time favorite burger chain is in your state. P. Terry’s

 

[user 22017]

Southern NM is at about 4000' elev. and it gets cold at night in winter. Average January lows for Truth or Consequences is 27 degrees. So not as nice as the lower areas in Arizona.

Maybe not New Mexico then

I asked in another thread about the average daytime temps in the south. Nighttime low temps are fine as long as it warms up during the day. At night 27 isn't very cold to me, but I wouldn't want that during the day. Otherwise, why go south in the winter?

I looked up heart conditions and high elevations (that is my concern). At heart.org they don't consider 4000 high elevation. Still, I don't want to go above 2,500 feet.

I don't know where I'll be headed for winter. I had always thought the beaches in Mexico, but then I read that beaches are hard on vehicles due to the salt from the ocean.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I think Blakes originated here in Texas but long since moved to NM....I have eaten many meals at Blakes over the years, and they were always good.

https://www.lotaburger.com/about/

 

[user 423]

I asked in another thread about the average daytime temps in the south. Nighttime low temps are fine as long as it warms up during the day. At night 27 isn't very cold to me, but I wouldn't want that during the day. Otherwise, why go south in the winter?

TorC has 290 sunny days per year and on many winter days it warms up fairly nice. The avg. highs are 59 degs. in January so it's not too bad. I stayed around TorC a few years back with the NM annual camping pass. There were a few nights that got down to 17 or so. As long as you're prepared for the cold nights, it's not a bad place to spend the winter. Much better than the northern plains,etc.

 

[user 22017]

TorC has 290 sunny days per year and on many winter days it warms up fairly nice. The avg. highs are 59 degs. in January so it's not too bad. I stayed around TorC a few years back with the NM annual camping pass. There were a few nights that got down to 17 or so. As long as you're prepared for the cold nights, it's not a bad place to spend the winter. Much better than the northern plains,etc.

Thanks Slow Every now and then I look up 'best climate in the U.S.' type searches. Eleven of 20 listed at U.S. News are in California, so I eliminated those... and a few others. That left:

Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Greenville, South Carolina.
Spartanburg, South Carolina.

I'll check out Arkansas. But I want to spend some time in the southwest & NM, too. One weather article says April and May are the best months in NM.

The U.S. News article:

https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?

 

[bpdchief]

Anywhere in NM you aren't far from a Blakes Lotaburger.

The Hatch green chili cheeseburgers are really good! And they make a darn good sausage egg and cheese with green chili breakfast burrito too!

Dang. I might have to come get me some!

Blakes Lot-a-burger Green Chili Burger is almost the best thing on this earth. I can't remember what the best thing was lol

 

[bpdchief]

Thanks Slow Every now and then I look up 'best climate in the U.S.' type searches. Eleven of 20 listed at U.S. News are in California, so I eliminated those... and a few others. That left:

Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Greenville, South Carolina.
Spartanburg, South Carolina.

I'll check out Arkansas. But I want to spend some time in the southwest & NM, too. One weather article says April and May are the best months in NM.

The U.S. News article:

https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?

You can stay in the SW and stay in good weather ... low desert in winter, high desert in summer. AZ or NM in winter and Leadville, CO Twin Lakes area in summer.. easy and beautiful drive. Personally I like the Socorro / Magdalena NM ... Box Canyon or Water Canyon area - BLM free camping. So much to see and do. All the places you have listed are high population or tourist traps... which if you like that sort of thing.... Give me the wide open clear sky places any day.

 

[AmargosaWayne]

"Every now and then I look up 'best climate in the U.S.' type searches. Eleven of 20 listed at U.S. News are in California, so I eliminated those... and a few others."

They are sticks and bricks oriented. In a van one would need a reliable heat source and/or cold weather sleeping gear in those cities.

Interestingly, I was sleeping in a plain 15 passenger van in at a state park in the Greenville/Spartanburg area back around Fall of 1974 and it got cold.

 

[Zurdo]

TorC has 290 sunny days per year and on many winter days it warms up fairly nice. The avg. highs are 59 degs. in January so it's not too bad. I stayed around TorC a few years back with the NM annual camping pass. There were a few nights that got down to 17 or so. As long as you're prepared for the cold nights, it's not a bad place to spend the winter. Much better than the northern plains,etc.

That’s what’s most important to me; the sun!

Maybe not New Mexico then

I asked in another thread about the average daytime temps in the south. Nighttime low temps are fine as long as it warms up during the day. At night 27 isn't very cold to me, but I wouldn't want that during the day. Otherwise, why go south in the winter?

I looked up heart conditions and high elevations (that is my concern). At heart.org they don't consider 4000 high elevation. Still, I don't want to go above 2,500 feet.

I don't know where I'll be headed for winter. I had always thought the beaches in Mexico, but then I read that beaches are hard on vehicles due to the salt from the ocean.

Thanks Slow Every now and then I look up 'best climate in the U.S.' type searches. Eleven of 20 listed at U.S. News are in California, so I eliminated those... and a few others. That left:

Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Greenville, South Carolina.
Spartanburg, South Carolina.

I'll check out Arkansas. But I want to spend some time in the southwest & NM, too. One weather article says April and May are the best months in NM.

The U.S. News article:

https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?

When I first started my plan to move south about 8 years ago, I was living in a region (West Michigan) that had the second least annual sun light in the us. For me, I’ve found that my health improved the most from sun exposure.
What I ended up doing was travel everywhere south between the two oceans. I had ended up deciding on Tucson after visiting just about everywhere except for southern California (too expensive). My biggest part of that choice was how much sun.
I’m kind of glad though that COVID ended my home search and cast me out on the road. Because, I ended up spending more time in New Mexico and found people to be the authentically kindest of any state that I have visited.
It was a list like this that was very helpful for me:
https://www.traveltrivia.com/sunniest-cities-us/XqgZkXU1XQAGkh8N

 

[Zurdo]

You can stay in the SW and stay in good weather ... low desert in winter, high desert in summer. AZ or NM in winter and Leadville, CO Twin Lakes area in summer.. easy and beautiful drive. Personally I like the Socorro / Magdalena NM ... Box Canyon or Water Canyon area - BLM free camping. So much to see and do. All the places you have listed are high population or tourist traps... which if you like that sort of thing.... Give me the wide open clear sky places any day.

Being from Michigan, I was surprised to find climate that was so much better (for me) than Michigan both in the winter and summer by being in only 2 states Az & NM. My only downside is staying at higher elevation in the summer does aggravate some health issues. What I’ve found is things seem ok up to about 5500’ until I start to feel it.

 

[Stardown2earth]

Hello and welcome...I have a question:

Are online reservations still required for the NM state parks?

During the pandemic, we lost the ability to just 'show-up' and stay, even with an ACP sticker on camper. They had added a $4 a day reservation 'fee'....which would add up if a person actually used that service a lot.

Hopefully, they are back to 'normal'.....whatever that is these days.

I just stayed at a campsite in NM and online reservations were required for camping. I also think those reservations fees are alot. So disappointing when you are already paying for a camping pass/camping fees.

 

[user 22017]

You can stay in the SW and stay in good weather ... low desert in winter, high desert in summer. AZ or NM in winter and Leadville, CO Twin Lakes area in summer.. easy and beautiful drive. Personally I like the Socorro / Magdalena NM ... Box Canyon or Water Canyon area - BLM free camping. So much to see and do. All the places you have listed are high population or tourist traps... which if you like that sort of thing.... Give me the wide open clear sky places any day.

Thank you. I don't know where I will live. I know I want to visit the southwest and Mexico, but for extended stays... I don't know. Arkansas is close and I want to be able to see my kids and grandchildren as often as I can. My dad retired first to Cape Cod for eleven years then to Florida. I wish my kids had known him, so I want to be somewhat close. Then there is the desert thing I love forests, bluffs, streams, wildlife. Maybe I will love the desert, too. We'll see!