Seniors Discover Los Alamos, the “Cottonwoods”

Los Alamos, New Mexico just has to be quite a special place for seniors to visit. I read recently that this city has an inordinate number of millionaires. What’s the big draw to Los Alamos? Let’s check it out and see for ourselves.

Los Alamos is a place of ancient village sites, spectacular scenery, diverse wildlife, uncommon high-altitude recreational opportunities, small-town friendliness, world-class cultural activities, fascinating history, and world-changing science and technology development.

The total population runs right at 12,000. But get these stats: Concentration of Millionaire Households: 11.7% / Number of Millionaire Households: 906 / Median Income for All Households: $104,914 / Median Home Value: $300,700.

Seniors Entertain Themselves in Los Alamos

If you are a senior scientist, the Bradbury Museum might be of interest to you. You’ll learn about the history of Los Alamos National Laboratory, its national security mission, and the broad range of science, engineering, and technology research programs undertaken to improve our nation’s future.

Nearby, the Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence that goes back over 11,000 years.

Chalk up the density of affluence to the National Laboratory, a research facility focused on national security and the county’s largest employer. Since the lab was established in 1943 as site Y of the Manhattan Project, it has drawn some of the world’s top scientific minds with state-of-the-art facilities, currently including more than 1,200 buildings on a 36-square-mile campus, and generous paychecks. In fact, the area’s six-figure median household income is the highest on this list.

And relatively low living costs — just 2.9% above the U.S. average — will help wealthy residents hold on to their fortunes. Kiplinger has their own top twelve communities starting with Juneau, Alaska clear down to Los Alamos.  I found each to be very interesting.  Millionaires are everywhere, and their ranks are growing. According to research firm Phoenix Marketing International, 6.1 million households in the U.S. can boast liquid, investable assets of $1 million or more, excluding real estate, retirement plans and business partnerships. That’s up about 3% from a year earlier. Just a little rabbit trail I found interesting…

Well Educated Folks in Town

Los Alamos is New Mexico’s best educated community, proportionately, with 68.6% of adult residents (25 and older) holding an associate degree or higher, and 62.1% of adults possessing a BA degree or higher (2000 Census). Senior travelers, plan on stopping in Los Alamos as you travel through to Santa Fe or Taos, it’s close by. Enjoy all of New Mexico,  it’s a beautiful state.

By the way Carlsbad Caverns is not to be missed. I found it totally worthwhile and fascinating.  And all those bats!  Wow.  jeb