Today at lunch, my realtor and I went out and looked at four houses for sale in Los Alamos proper (as opposed to White Rock, which is technically part of Los Alamos though it is separated by about 10 miles). There were only four houses in all of Los Alamos that were for sale in my price range and required feature set. And after today's visits, I can basically say with certainty that they all suck. Small, old, poorly maintained, or some combination of the above. That pretty much rules out living in town. So White Rock it'll be.

Tommorrow at lunch I start looking at places in White Rock. There are 12 places in my range there and they all look infinitely better than what is available up in town. The median price per square foot in White Rock is about $40 lower. For the same money, you get a larger—and generally higher quality—house, and usually in a better neighborhood.