Been in Silver City about 10 years. To me, it is a 'boom and bust' town in lots of ways. The mines obviously, but also businesses, restaurants, real estate-- everything seems to have peaks and valleys. Don't know how many different restaurants have closed in the last year-- mostly local ones, but this is about the only placed I've lived where corporate places like KFC, Burger King and Taco Bell(!) have gone out of business. Retirees come and go. Some realize that winters aren't nearly as warm as they expect for being as far south as it is (6,000' elevation does that), and the quality of health care can be an issue and if you need a specialist you are probably making the drive to Tucson or Las Cruces.
Still, I like the town and the best aspects of it-- the remoteness and access to magnificent public lands-- will never change. Pretty easy to draw a resident deer tag in nearby units and the overlap of Coues whitetail and mule deer in the same units keeps it interesting. The massive forest fires in 2011, 2012 and 2013 opened up tons of new habitat for deer and elk alike.
I've gotten into mearns, scaled and gambels quail all within an hour of town. I'd say that gambels are probably most common, but if you are a dedicated mearns hunter you'll find them scattered throughout the Gila-- just never in great numbers. Scaled and gambels rely on the winter precip which has been inconsistent lately and truly awful this year.
