moving to the mountains

Does anyone live high above sea level? I'm contemplating a move to Cloudcroft, NM. Elevation is 8000 feet. I'm guessing this would not be good for my head.

You will acclimate eventually. I live at 1000' but hike all the time at 6,000 to 9,000'. If you exercise at all you will notice getting out of breath much faster. Most commercial jets are pressurized to the equivalent of 10,000' to reduce the amount of surface area of plane's body. That equates to higher speeds and better fuel efficiency. People that are air pressure sensitive have some problems but the average person most likely does not know it. Most of the problem is how fast the plane goes from airport elevation to the 10,000 pressure level.

I Googled it and that looks like a nice remote area. There should be a lot of great outdoor activities for you. There are only a couple areas of the country I could live and the NM and AZ mountains would be the top two places.

I live at a little over 4,000 ft. altitude, in the HIGH desert. I used to work in the Yosemite Valley, also at a bit more than 4,000 ft. When I was in the Air Force, the tech, school I went to was at Lowery AFB, in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado with an altitude over 5,000 ft.

At lower altitudes, I find the air to be too heavy and opressive, making breathing more difficult. I never really considered altitude as having any effect on headaches.

Some people are triggered by altitude. I notice a difference in my head when I get to a certain altitude. Especially when I already have a m. It makes it worse for me.

It seems most mig patients are affected by the speed of the change in air pressure vs what the static pressure is.

My trips to the higher elevations have been short, so not long enough to acclimate to the elevation. I usually have a migraine the entire time. I also have problems flying, especially if there's a lot of turbulence and/or bad weather.

I love the higher elevations though and that would be one of my choices if I would move at some point.

I forgot to say that I live at 4600 right now and usually a couple hundred more doesn`t bother me.

I live very close to the mountains so it takes me something like 30 minutes to reach 4,000 ft. I often drive up to the mountains but I've never had major head issues. I'd rather say that I feel better when I leave the hot and humid air of the plane and reach the clean, dry, cooler air of the mountains.
I love mountains, I wish I could live up there always

My philosophy is to live where other people go camping, then you know you're out of the urban rat race. I have two campgrounds within a 3 mile radius of me. I am in the mountains but not high enough to get the horrid weather in the winter (usually).

I hope anyone that has a dream to live away from cities can go for it. You will have lower crime, lower property taxes, lower sales tax, lower property/house prices and much fewer neighbor conflicts.

My wife and I have always lived in a rural area our whole lives. Now we live even past what is called rural. West of somewhere and south of nowhere. That's our unofficial address.

We spent about a year looking at different property listings. The only reason it took that long was we have some rigid criteria that we were not going to compromise on. And it found us in a sense.

[quote="Brent"]My wife and I have always lived in a rural area our whole lives. quote]

My husband and me too. I have no wish to live in a more populated area. While it's okay to visit there occasionally, it's such a relief to see wide open spaces and the Big Sky!

And all the wild critters you get to see and the domestic ones you have room to keep.

Brent,

You live North and West of Nowhere, because I live in the middle of Nowhere. My county contains over 10,000 square miles, with a population of a little less than 10,000.

That's right, an average population density of slightly less than one person per square mile. There are about a dozen communities in my county, though some of them have populations of less than a half-dozen people, and the majority of the people live in the county seat and the town next to it. To serve the entire county there is only one hospital staffed with a few Family Practice Physicians.

I live in the county seat, about one furlong from the hospital, but within walking distance of a sagebrush covered ridge. In the county seat and the nextdoor town, together, there are a total of three traffic lights.

It will be a big change, but I guess I'm up for it. The migraines may be worse initially, but hopefully they will settle down. Moving to the mountains will be another "experiment", I'm curious to see how it will affect me. It is relatively cold there and that will be another thing to get used to. I'll keep you all up dated.

But it will be a dry cold.