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This Will Make You Jealous You Aren’t Living in Los Alamos, NM

Spoiler alert: You’re going to want to pack your bags and move to Los Alamos after reading this.

By Jessica Walker Boehm on June 5, 2016

Pajarito Mountain Ski Area
Los Alamos / Courtesy of Pajarito Mountain

Los Alamos has a long list of attributes and advantages that other cities only dream of, but there are a few things that stand out from the rest.

1. Ease of Access

Traffic is practically nonexistent in Los Alamos, which means residents never have to deal with headache-inducing commutes, and they have quick, convenient access to everything the area has to offer. As a result, locals get to spend more time enjoying their activities and pursuits of choice – and less time in the car staring at brake lights.

Sounds like a pretty fantastic way to live, right? According to Ryn Herrmann, marketing manager for the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corp., it absolutely is.

Why Los Alamos is One of the Best Small Towns in America

“It takes seven minutes for me to get to work in the morning, and I live out on one of the far mesas,” Herrmann said. “There are under a dozen stoplights in town, and Los Alamos is a very walkable place, especially downtown. It’s easy to get in and out of, we have extremely short commute times and you just don’t have to waste your time sitting in traffic. It’s a pretty idyllic little place.”

2. Proximity to the Pajarito Mountain Ski Area

Herrmann also mentions that Los Alamos is a perfect place for skiers, thanks to the Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. There’s no long drive to contend with, and it’s affordable, making it an easy choice for families looking for a fun place to spend a day.

“My family can get from our house to the ski hill in 15 minutes,” Herrmann said. “We feel very lucky. We’ve been to Lake Tahoe to ski, and we found that the price to ski for a weekend there was about the same as an entire year at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. Living here, we don’t have to worry about travel time or the price of lodging and meals. Ultimately, we get to spend far more time on the mountain, which is great because we prefer to spend our time actually skiing – not commuting to the mountain.”

6 Bucket List Things You MUST Do in Los Alamos

Even if you’re not a skier, there’s still plenty for you to enjoy at Pajarito Mountain. The destination is an excellent place for hiking and mountain biking during the summertime, and it kicks off the season with a SummerFest event that includes live music, a craft beer garden and more.

3. Rich History

Los Alamos’ unique, storied past is another feather in its cap. In addition to its many mesas and canyons created more than a million years ago, the city lays claim to several sites where scientists and engineers worked to create the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Today the community is still a hot spot for innovators, largely due to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which continues to attract and retain highly-skilled scientists.

“Los Alamos is a really cool, hip little mountain town, but honestly, there are a lot of those around New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming,” Herrmann said. “One thing that’s truly different about us is our history. We like to say we’re a mountain town with a science problem. It’s really a fun place to be, and my husband and I have found it’s a wonderful place to raise a family.”

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