Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Logic Puzzle

Before diving into this week's subject matter, let’s solve the weekly logic dilemma.

Imagine a blind man sitting at a table surrounded by 30 coins. He is informed that there are 10 coins showing heads and 20 showing tails. With gloves on his hands preventing him from feeling the coins, he is challenged to divide them into two piles such that each pile has an equal number of tails. The sizes of the piles can vary. How can he accomplish this task?

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Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Recently, I spent a week exploring the quaint town of Truth or Consequences in New Mexico. The primary goal of my visit was to assess it as a potential retirement destination, which is approaching sooner than I realize. The residents often shorten the city's name to T or C, which I will use for convenience moving forward.

I found a charming and affordable casita through Air BnB during my stay. In fact, the cost of living in T or C is remarkably low, including housing prices, which is a significant advantage.

The landscape here is predominantly flat, and the climate resembles that of a high desert, offering cooler temperatures compared to places like Las Vegas. To be precise, the elevation here is about 4,311 feet, whereas Las Vegas is only at 2,030 feet.

A key factor for my future relocation is being near both mountains and water, and T or C fulfills this requirement perfectly. Not far from the town, and just a short wade across the Rio Grande, lies Turtleback Mountain, which offers a round trip hike of 4.5 miles with an elevation gain of approximately 2,000 feet. It’s a moderately challenging hike that promises a good workout without being overly technical.

T or C is situated just a few miles away from New Mexico's largest reservoir, the Elephant Butte Reservoir. I enjoyed kayaking there on three occasions and went stand-up paddleboarding once. The scenery is breathtaking and is easily accessible by car. Additionally, nearby is the Caballo Reservoir, which ranks as the fourth largest body of water in the state.

One of the biggest attractions of T or C is its hot springs. The city is built over a natural hot water supply that feeds into ten spas. In fact, the city was originally named Hot Springs, but it was renamed about 75 years ago in homage to a radio game show. I had the chance to visit three of these spas. Most operate on an hourly rate, and while many of the spas offer small private hot tubs, Riverbend Hot Springs has a lovely public space with various temperature pools. Unfortunately, the pricing is generally the same for one or two users, but Riverbend does offer a half-price promotion for solo visitors before 4:00 PM from Monday to Thursday.

Despite its relatively small size, T or C boasts a vibrant live music scene. I personally enjoyed a weekly show at the Fiddlers Playhouse, a jazz performance at an art studio, a duo at the local golf club, and two separate performances at the town's main bar, the T or C Brewery. The musicians don’t seem to mind playing for small crowds, which often happens.

The city features an impressive veterans' park and museum, which includes a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall located in Washington, DC. I discovered that four individuals with the last name Shackleford died in the war, albeit they all spell their surname differently as Shackelford.

In summary, here are my observations on the advantages and disadvantages of moving to Truth or Consequences.

Pros:

1. • The residents are incredibly welcoming and laid-back.
2. • The cost of living is very cheap.
3. • Hot springs
4. • Close to water

Cons:

1. • There are not many dining options; sometimes a drive-in is the only restaurant open.
2. • The community lacks diversity, with most residents resembling me in age and ethnicity, and there are hardly any individuals under the age of 30.
3. • It may be too small for me.

Logic Puzzle Solution

Allocate 10 coins to one pile and 20 coins to another. Next, flip over all the coins in the pile designated as 20.

To demonstrate that this solution works, let's denote pile 1 as the group of 10 coins and pile 2 as the group of 20. Let h represent the number of heads in pile 1.

In pile 1, the total tails will be 10-h because it consists of 10 coins.

Initially, pile 2 will contain 10-h heads, given that there are a total of 10 heads. After flipping all the coins in pile 2, it will contain 10-h tails, which matches the total number of tails in pile 1.