Get the Most
from Your
LANL House
Hunting Trip

Los Alamos Canyon Bridge

According to Relocation Travel for Regular Hires issued by LANL, regular hires are permitted one house-hunting trip for employee and spouse not to exceed 10 days, including travel time. Whether you use the entire 10 days or just a long weekend, here’s our suggestions for making the best use of your time.

Los Alamos countryside

Do Advance Research

Before the clock starts running on your 10 days, put some time on your calendar to do some online research. Sixty-five percent of the Los Alamos workforce commutes from Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and Albuquerque, so expect to look for a home in the Santa Fe area and not necessarily in Los Alamos. Use these links to get started.

 

Towns and Population Centers Close to LANL

 

Counties

LANL is located in Los Alamos County. Adjacent counties are Santa Fe County, Rio Arriba County, and Sandoval County. Los Alamos County is the smallest county in New Mexico. During the years of the Manhattan Project, it was administered exclusively by the U.S. federal government. Today Los Alamos County has equal status to New Mexico’s other counties.

 

 

Schools

If you have school-aged children, you’ll need to educate yourself about where public schools are located near LANL. Contact the district to arrange a tour of schools.

 

 

Recreation and the Outdoors

Santa Fe is a year-round outdoor paradise. You’ll be living in an area known for mountain biking, road biking, hiking, skiing, and some of the most spectacular natural spaces in the Southwest.

 

 

Health Care

The location, type, and quality of health care will be a major consideration when relocating to LANL. While Los Alamos Medical Center is only the hospital located in the town of Los Alamos, it’s just one of several health care facilities that provide a high level of care.

 

  • Los Alamos Medical Center 
    Quick Facts: 47-bed acute-care facility, 55 active medical staff plus 40 consulting physicians. A majority of physicians have offices on the medical center campus.
  • Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center 
    Quick Facts: General hospital located in Santa Fe. Largest medical facility north of Albuquerque. Only level III trauma center in northern New Mexico. Center of a network of over 30 locations, including urgent care facilities, family medicine centers, surgical center, cancer care, and women’s specialty clinics.
  • Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico 
    Quick Facts: Located in Los Alamos. A practice of doctors who specialize in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, nephrology, and endocrinology.
Pitched roofed homes in Los Alamos

Use Our Home-buying Resources

Our Barker Realty real estate agents are your most important asset when exploring options in the Santa Fe-Los Alamos area. Use the resources listed below to browse our listings and homebuying guides. LANL is only 42 minutes from Santa Fe, putting The City Different within commuting reach—along with all the on-trend and unique cultural offerings that make Santa Fe a sought-after place to live.

Lush green Pajarito ski area in the summer background

Fly to Santa Fe and Rent a Car

If you’re flying to the area for your house-hunting trip, the best airport to fly into is Santa Fe Regional Airport, located 14 miles from downtown Santa Fe and 44 miles from LANL.

 

According to LANL, about 35 percent of the lab’s employees live in Los Alamos. The rest commute from commute from Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and Albuquerque. You will definitely need a car to view homes, plan commuting routes, and explore the area.

 

Two rental car companies are located inside the airport terminal.

 

 

If you’re flying from the East Coast, be prepared for a long trip. If you’re coming from New York or Florida, you’re probably looking at a couple of hours to get to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport in Texas, and a couple more to get from Texas to Santa Fe, assuming you don’t need to stop in Albuquerque for any reason. You may be looking at a stop in DFW even if you’re coming in from Colorado.

 

Flying into Albuquerque is an option as well, but will add about 45 minutes to your initial drive into Los Alamos.

 

Getting here from other places in the Southwest or even the West Coast is a little easier. Flying in from Nevada or even LAX could take you less time than you’ve spent on grocery shopping trips in the past.

Schedule Home Viewings in Advance

In the Santa Fe area, contact our team to arrange some home viewings in these neighborhoods:

 

  • Los Alamos
  • White Rock
  • Tesuque Area
  • Pojoaque Valley
  • Northwest of Santa Fe
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