Transportation

In researching ENMU you may have noticed that it's a little far from just about everything. That includes airports, train stations, bus stations, and car rentals. It became a difficult task to get my husband back to Albuquerque after driving my car from Los Angeles to Portales. I wasn't about to drive him 7 hours round trip to drop him off at the airport. Here are some of your transportation options within and to and from Portales and other major cities.

1. Cars: I would recommend coming here with a car. There is no parking fee and the neighborhood is fairly safe, so the biggest obstacle is getting your car here. My husband and I did the 16 hour drive from Los Angeles but I know a few other people who made an even longer trek. It's worth it becasue you can bring as much stuff with you as you can fit in your car (instead of whatever you can fit into luggage) and then you'll have a car once you're here. The reason you'll need a car eventually is that in Portales you can essentially walk everywhere or find a friend in the program to drive you BUT if you need anything outside of the tiny town, your closest bet is driving to Clovis which is 20 miles away. The nearest car rental is also in Clovis. Here's a tip! If you rent a car from the Clovis Enterprise they will drive to Portales to pick you up. Also another tip, if you are driving with someone from your hometown and they need to get back home, stop by the closest airport/train/bus station that they will be traveling from once they separate form you and pick up a rental car so that they can drive it back. The return fees if you pick up a car in Clovis and drop it off in ABQ are insane (last time I checked it was $160 drop off fee, plus the car rental). My husband and I drove through Albuquerque on the way from LA and picked up a car and then we both drove the last 3.5 hour leg to Portales. That ended up being the cheapest option even though it's not very efficient.
2. Airports: The closest airports are Lubbock and Amarillo which are both about an hour and half away. I have also found that flights in or out of those airports are also a lot more expensive than ABQ. Therefore, it's often time saving and cheaper to fly out of ABQ despite the 3.5 hour drive. At least for flights to LA, since you can't get a direct flight from Lubbock or Amarillo, you usually have to take 2 flights and a layover, plus the 1.5 hour drive. If you fly from ABQ it's a quick 2 hour direct flight to LAX. It takes about the same time of travel but it's cheaper and you get the bonus of going through the big city of Albuquerque which has a lot more shopping options (like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's).
3. Train: Amtrak has a 16 hour overnight train that goes from LA Union Station to ABQ and it's fairly reasonably priced at about $70 each way. It's a really great deal so long as you don't mind sleeping in a chair on a train. At least it's better than a plane since you can get up and walk around.
4. Bus: There is a Greyhound bus that runs from ABQ to Portales but that takes over 10 hours. Do yourself a favor and find a buddy with a car if you ever need to travel to ABQ. There is no bus system that runs within Portales; however, I have heard that you could call the city if you needed to get anywhere (such as a doctor's appointment in Clovis). There are a couple of specific shuttle services to get around town. The local bar Dawg Houze will pick you up and bring you to the bar. You can either ask them to take you back home or you could call the ENMU safe ride. They are they to provide you a safe ride home from wherever you've been drinking to help prevent drunk driving.
5. Bike: Portales is very bikable. The flat roads are a dream as compared to hilly Los Angeles. I brought a foldable bike with me in my trunk. A friend of mine who didn't bring a car eventually broke down and bought a $100 bike from the Walmart so that she could get around. If you don't bring a car, I would recommend buying a bike. I think it was a good investment for my friend.