I grew up in Farmington and have lived in Del Rio, Tx; Ocean Springs, MS; Tacoma, WA, South Korea plus in New Mexico; Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Clovis, Gallup and Las Cruces. I am currently in Clovis because that is where the job is. It does have the TRANSCON for trains but it gets old watching stack trains run across the Llano Estacado; part of the High Plains, straddling the Texas-New Mexico border. It is flat.
I would recommend Farmington to anyone. It has issues as anywhere does, but the scenery and weather are great. It provides everything you need and most of what you want. It is close to so many things; Durango, Chama, Mesa Verde, Bisti Badlands, Navajo Lake, Farmington Lake and the list could go on and on. What really strikes me is the services the city has. I can say of all the places I have lived, the Farmington Parks and Recreation cannot be topped. The parks, pools, the river park, baseball, softball, soccer facilities are the best. Plus the Connie Mack World Series is the best amateur baseball you will see, why ESPN goes Williamsport, PA for that tournament and not Farmington is beyond me.
I want to leave Clovis and there are only two of the places I have been I want to return to, one is the Pacific Northwest and the other is Gallup. Gallup is also a hidden gem.
Of course you are from California so I would rather you go to Durango, it has already been Californicated.