When I was researching my move to New Mexico, I looked up Cloudcroft. It is a high mountain climate. The prospect of getting a decent paying job did not look promising. It is a small community. The roads are sometimes inaccessible during winter from what I read. One cannot get in or out of the town during heavy snowfall.

A friend of mine vacationed in Cloudcroft and thought the area was really beautiful. It might be a good place to retire, but it would not be a gardener's dream because of long, heavy winters.

My parents lived in Cloudcroft for 5 years but moved for several reasons. Cloudcroft is at a pretty high altitude, their house was 9000 feet. Some winters there are very snowy and icy, (there was a ski slope), although the winter of 2005-2006 had no snow at all. I agree that it's not a gardener's dream but it is pretty and quite a few things will grow there. Pine and aspen seem to like it. Ruidoso is lower elevation, just as pretty but getting very pricey as well as crowded.