Good: Historically there was one period when there was a worry that the lab would shut down but that was right after the war when everyone went back to their prewar jobs. The lab has only grown since then!

Bad: There are quite a few places being built but I'd recommend doing research on the history of the lots. There have been instances where houses were built on or with material that was exposed to radioactive elements such as plutonium and uranium (Residence building surge after ww2, demolition of TA-1 in which its dirt was used on North Mesa to level building areas, building materials and stones exposed to radioactive materials were used to partially construct some houses, contaminated spots in homes due to the scientists having brought various stuff home from work, and there is currently a problem with living spaces being built over places that were supposedly cleared of radioactive substances but we keep finding some things, etc).If you don't mind the background radiation and the disappointing history of waste management/disposal, then you'll be fine. Let me know if you need reference material for the previous claims.

This is coming from an historical archivist. There is a lot of living memory information that is scarcely mentioned in newspapers. Our backlog of town's newspapers have not been digitized (Papers from wartime-2011 and the multiple papers that have existed in this town).

When you guys come to town, come by and visit the history museum. Admission for locals is free(just say that you are a resident) and the docents have a variety of Lanl backgrounds. They may be able to answer the lab questions better.

I know that I said a lot of dreary things, but I grew up here and truly love this town. It's just that our housing situation has always been a problem.