Linda Ferrara

November 16, 2009

If you're ready to move to Silver City (and I hope that you are!), there are some things to consider. I hope this list will help you determine your needs and wants:

• How close / far to town?
• How many acres?
• Home Requirements
  • # of Bedrooms
  • # of Baths
  • Age of Home
  • Other Requirements (Workshop, Office, Guest House, Horses, Close to Forest, Off-the-grid, etc.)
• What kinds of things would you love to have? (fireplace, views, southwest-style home, views, green building, etc.)
• What is your price range?
• Do you require a fenced in yard for children or pets?
• How much repairs / renovations are you willing to perform?
• Is a well (for water) acceptable?

Today's Saying: Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

November 13, 2009

Since my last post talked about gathering information to help you decide where to move, I thought that I'd give you as much Silver City detail as I can come up with. I hope it helps.

Location: Southwestern New Mexico

Grant County seat: Silver City (population 13,335)

Closest Metropolitan areas: Las Cruces, NM 112 miles - El Paso TX, 154 miles - Tucson, AZ 199 miles - Albuquerque, NM 235 miles - Phoenix, AZ 266 miles.

Elevation: 5,920 ft.

Temperature:

Average Annual Precipitation: 15.8" - High 3.2" August - Low .2" April

Average Relative Humidity: 31%

Census Bureau Quick facts on Grant County: 2000

Population, New Mexico: 1,819,046
Population, Silver City: 14,066
Population, Grant County: 31,002

Cost of Living Index: 93 100 = National Average 110 = 10% more expensive

University: Western New Mexico University www.wnmu.edu

Medical Services: Gila Regional Medical Center www.grmc.org

Things to do nearby:

• Gila National Forest: 3.3 million acres of rugged beauty
• City of Rocks: Geological Monument
• Gila Cliff Dwellings: Indian Cliff Dwellings dating from 1280-1300.
• Lake Roberts: Fishing, boating, hiking, birding
• The Catwalk National Recreation Trail: hiking, picnicking
• Mimbres Regional Arts Council: brings in a wide variety of cultural events www.mimbresarts.org
• Palomas, Mexico: shopping
• Rock Hound State Park: Collect Semi-precious stones
• Historic Downtown Silver City: Shops, restaurants, walking trails, museum, Victorian buildings, micro-brewery
• Penny Park: skate park, imaginative climbing structures, slides, swings, bridges, balance beams, castle structures and picnic grounds, shaded by mature cottonwood and elm trees

Today's Saying: Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

November 9, 2009

Nice people live in Silver City, NM

I feel compelled to write about the people in Silver City. They're nice. I come from New Jersey and I wasn't used to it. But you know what? You get used to it - -fast. I remember when I first moved here I was on line at the grocery store. I was third in line. The clerk at the check-out was talking to the first customer. I was irritated that I was waiting and they were chatting. Then I began to listen. The clerk was asking about the health of the customer's mother. Hoping she was okay and feeling better. I felt like a heel for being impatient. This is the reason we moved here! The people are nice. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fact.

My husband and I laugh when we have strangers in cars waive to us in our car. We laugh because they use their whole hand.... Not just one finger like in NJ. Lol. Now we waive to people and wonder if they're laughing.

During Christmas time, we received a lot of UPS deliveries to the house. So Frank wrote up a card and put some money in it to thank the delivery man. One day he gave the card to the UPS man but suddenly realized he gave to a man that wasn't our normal delivery guy. Darn, he wanted the regular guy to get it since he worked so hard. Don't you know that a week later, our normal delivery guy comes to the house and thanks us for the card and gift. The man who had received it, gave it to the regular guy! That would not have happened back in NJ!

I remember a while back, my Broker telling us about a restaurant in town having trouble making ends meet. She asked us to patronize the restaurant to help them out. And we did. And she's still in business.

That's what living in a small town is about - - nice.

Today's Saying: Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

November 6, 2009. It's the end of the week and time for some nice photos. Enjoy.

This is a photo of the mountains north of Silver City. Like the view?

There are doors and gates all around town like this one near our office.

Large Lizard on the house of a friend.

Cowboy Action Shooting:

Have you ever heard of Cowboy Action Shooting? Or the Single Action Shooting Society www.sassnet.com ? Well if you want to play cowboy / cowgirl, you'll want to check this sport out.

Using 3 different types of guns (2 pistols, 1 shot gun and 1 rifle), you ‘get' the bad guys by following a scenario. You may shoot 10 pistols, 9 rifle and 4 shot gun, being timed and misses counted along the way. The fun begins before hand when you choose an alias, get dressed in 1890's garb and build a gun cart.

My husband belongs to the local club, www.gilarangers.com . What a nice, fun bunch of people! They shoot out in the Mimbres on John Fowler's ranch. They have permanent stages set up for variety. Imagine shooting your pistol from the bar doors, then moving to the train ticket counter and shooting your rifle and then to the jail house and shooting your shot gun.

And it's fun to watch too! I'm not a shooting kind of a girl - - - but I am the best darn score keeper in these parts!

This is a photo from Border Dispute in July 2009.

We've met people from all over the country (and Germany too). It seems that with this organization, people aren't strangers; they're just friends you haven't met yet. It's a national organization so there's a good chance there's one in your area. There are folks who enjoy getting in their RV and travelling to all the different clubs around the country. And the National Headquarters are in NM! I encourage any of you who are SASS members reading this, to add a comment and photo so people can see what it's all about.

Until then, shoot straight and be safe!

Today's Saying: One must be a god to be able to tell successes from failures without making a mistake.