My husband and I purchased a small business in Southern New Mexico and relocated in 2008. We felt this was the best move for our family, especially the children. I love what I’m doing too much to discontinue my CPA business though. I have continued to do what I love, just virtually via fax, internet, e-mail, and phone.
We moved to my home town of Animas, New Mexico and my husband is running the local grocery store, Bootheel Grocery, Inc. At the time of purchase, Tommy had 18 years experience in the liquor industry at the time and for three of those years, he ran a liquor store in Las Cruces. So this purchase was a perfect fit for him and his career.
Attached behind the store is a small bar and grille. This had been closed since November of 2006 but after remodeling, he opened on October 24, 2008. He named it Ghostriders Grille and serves steaks, burgers and home-made Mexican food. The store sits on seven acres of land, which also contains five trailer hook-ups for visitors with travel trailers.
Both of my parents teach/work at the local schools and our children attend Animas Public Schools. Ryan’s class has a whole ten students and Rachel’s class has fifteen. Compared to our Albuquerque school, where there were 14 kindergarten classes, this has been a big change, but for the positive. The one-on-one attention our kids receive is invaluable. The knowledge my children are 5th generation in the valley is also comforting.
Although my husband and I have put all we owned into this little store, we plan to save up again and build our dream house. There is plenty of acreage for sale in the area.
The transition from city life to country living went smoothly. My phone numbers remained the same for ease of transition, but e-mail is still the best way to get a hold of me. The only change is my mailing address. I did miss the one-on-one I had in my daily client meetings in Albuquerque but I am now able to focus more of my time on taxpayers and projects rather than driving between appointments during the day.
Please know that visitors are always welcome in the valley and, of course, I’ll treat you to a meal at the grille!
