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I got off track on one thread so I thought I'd start a new one. Please take just a moment to read my response to EnjoyEP's posting on the Land of Enchantment thread.
My point is why is the national public image of NM and ABQ in general so poor, or to put it better.. so odd?
Again, this is coming from a midwesterner that knows nothing about NM and ABQ and has never heard anyone speak of it.. EVER!
Yet, I still had an image in my mind when someone says NM or Albuquerque. Again, I think of brown and taupe and boring cream colors and 1970s. I have no idea why. I have nothing to back that up.. never been there.. don't know anyone who has.. nothing. Yet, that is my impression.
EnjoyEP's impression when he did research on NM and ABQ is much like mine. He knew nothing, never heard of it.. seemed like a foreign country. I told my parents and friends we were thinking of moving to NM and ABQ and all of their responses were the same..... "New Mexico?????" "What the heck is in New Mexico?"
So my question is why? With the mountains and beautiful plants and fruit trees and near perfect weather and a few good size cities and good job market.. why does the country has such an odd impression about NM and ABQ?
I'm just curious about everyone's opinion. Again, I'm not bashing ABQ or NM. I now have such a good impression that I have job interviews and a vacation lined up in ABQ. But before I heard all these great (and some negative things) I just had a really odd impression about ABQ and NM and yet, knew nothing about it.
It is actually a huge conspiracy on the part of locals to keep the Californians out! I tell everybody I know how terrible it is here. Ugly, dirty, crime-ridden, etc. I try and scare them off. The only problem is that once they come here, they won't leave.
In all seriousness, people who are comfortable and secure with themselves don't need to brag to the world how great they are. Cities are not much different. We have some problems: the schools need an overhaul, we elect corrupt leaders, violent crime is out of hand in some areas, there is too much poverty, and we lack vision. Anybody that has been here for any length of time discounts the negatives and makes the best of the good things we have: sunshine, great weather, friendly neighbors, diverse population, outdoor recreation opportunities, tradition, culture, and of course, great food.
I have a friend who lives in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He grew up there, went to grad school here, and moved back. I finally got out to visit him one fall and found it quite pleasant. Lots of green, lots of water, cheap houses, and the temps were not too bad. My vision of Indiana was different. I guess I pictured hot, humid cornfields. Anyway, he loves it there, likes the small-town feel, and claimed that nobody in Ft. Wayne was too worried about what people in the rest of the country thought of them....I think Abq is not much different.
It is actually a huge conspiracy on the part of locals to keep the Californians out! I tell everybody I know how terrible it is here. Ugly, dirty, crime-ridden, etc. I try and scare them off. The only problem is that once they come here, they won't leave.
In all seriousness, people who are comfortable and secure with themselves don't need to brag to the world how great they are. Cities are not much different. We have some problems: the schools need an overhaul, we elect corrupt leaders, violent crime is out of hand in some areas, there is too much poverty, and we lack vision. Anybody that has been here for any length of time discounts the negatives and makes the best of the good things we have: sunshine, great weather, friendly neighbors, diverse population, outdoor recreation opportunities, tradition, culture, and of course, great food.
I have a friend who lives in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He grew up there, went to grad school here, and moved back. I finally got out to visit him one fall and found it quite pleasant. Lots of green, lots of water, cheap houses, and the temps were not too bad. My vision of Indiana was different. I guess I pictured hot, humid cornfields. Anyway, he loves it there, likes the small-town feel, and claimed that nobody in Ft. Wayne was too worried about what people in the rest of the country thought of them....I think Abq is not much different.
Peace.
True, but there is a big difference between the perception of an entire state compared to a fairly small city like Fort Wayne. Plus Albuquerque is much much larger than Ft. Wayne. It is odd for a state and the state's largest city to have this really odd and almost "foreign country" like perception from the rest of the country. Again, I still haven't even stepped foot in NM yet so I don't pretend to know anything about anything when it comes to NM or its image.
I just know how I thought when my wife and I first researched the state and it sounds lilke EnjoyEP had some of the same thoughts. Plus talking to friends and family they also shared the same perconceptions of ABQ and NM. So my question is why?
That is a good question. I have often wondered the same thing myself. I've had the same response from various friends around the country. Many of these people have never been anywhere near Albuquerque. I think one thing that confuses them is the name of the state...New Mexico. I guess the believe I am moving to a foreign country?
Currently, we are making the numerous, necessary phone calls so that we can officially change our address. Each phone call goes the same. I give them the street address, and then I say, "Albuquerque." There is always a long pause... and then, I am always asked, "How do you spell that?"
I have a very good friend who currently lives in L.A. When I told him where I was moving, he was shocked. "Why?" he asked. All he had seen of ABQ was the view from the I-40. I think he saw it as a dinky truck stop..a place that you have to drive through on your way from the civilized Eastern cities to the great L.A.
I always had a pretty good impression of ABQ. My mom's family made a road trip from Texas to southern Calif back in the early 60's. They took Route 66. The trip made a huge impression on my mom and her brother. I grew up hearing stories about cliff dwellings, the painted dessert, & the vast, open spaces.
My next exposure to ABQ was back when I was a freshman in college. I had a friend from ABQ who missed it dearly. He hated the Florida humidity, all the green, and the "dead stuff hanging from the trees." He told us stories of snow skiing, beautiful skies, and chilies. When the school year was over, he returned to ABQ. He is probably still here.
Here are my reason's, I think it is this combination:
1. For a really long time, New Mexicans didn't really want to associate with the rest of the nation. For a long time there was a no growth, no change attitude. Keep in mind that in 1955, Albuquerque and Phoenix were the exact same size. They both took different directions toward growth.
2. During the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos wan't highly advertised, nor was White Sands and the Trinity Site. The United States wasn't going to let their most top secret projects be in a place with a lot of tourism.
Needless to say, much has changed. Keep in mind we still have the largest balloon fiesta in the world, and you wouldn't believe how many people actually come.
it could have something to do with the fact that theres not much more goin on here than Minot, ND.....hm, I bet some will disagree. Also the whole state has what maybe a million two. Could be the rest of the country just dosent care about green chili that much. Maybe no one else is into dust that much i dunno. Personally Im here for the sun and skin cancer. Maybe the lack of German restaurants has put people off. I didn't even know NM existed till Forbes pushed some line of crap about great places to do business ( I think that translates to no worker rights, government land giveaways and huge tax credits for corporations coming here). Also God help ya if yer looking for a good cup of joe. Winnnings coffee excluded from that statement. Also the only real time you hear about NM is if a alien lands in whatever town that OH yea Roswell i think.
Honestly It may have something to do with the fact that there are no truly large metro areas (thus not that much in terms of national news). There also seems to be this overall funkiness don't give a crap feeling. I also don't believe there is a lot of cutting edge/innovation here. (no im not talking about atoms and bombs).
Having grown up in New Mexico, I was always taught that one of the largest factors in making this state unique was its geographic isolation. That isolation created a mini melting pot here, where the people willing to tough it out created a new culture taking from what was known and tempering that with what could be done, or what was available. Many of the local folk arts that visitors find so unique and charming were born of necessity. Retablos replace printed images of the Saints with handpainted images on wood using locally sourced pigments. Bultos, or handcarved Saints, replace statuary that eventually broke, or maybe never came over, but wasn't forgotten. Tinwork replicated pieces originally done in silver to created sanctuaries, light sconces and mirrors.
Once a car is up to speed, it only needs a tiny fraction of the power required to accelerate it to maintain that speed. It's one of the reasons why mileage differs from city to highway. Even mid-sized American cars have nearly 200 horsepower. With that kind of power and the modern interstate system it's no surprise that people minimize the effect of this isolation. The interstate system has only been around since the mid fifties, and regular jet service since the sixties. Before those, it was still a real hassle to get here. Because it was difficult to get here it attracted the kind of people that didn't want to be found. I think we still see the reverberations of that early isolation.
I think the final piece to this is that because it was difficult to get people here, no one with money ever wanted to 'sell' the place. We've never had that "wow" spot that got ubiquitous national attention. Nevada: Las Vegas. Colorado:The Rockies, Denver. Texas:Oil, Legends (the Alamo, etc...). Santa Fe's national interest was for it's art and history, which don't necessarily appeal to a wide ranging crowd. It's tough to find a person who doesn't like something about Las Vegas because money has sold Las Vegas. Where's New Mexico's Disneyland?
Jrod - you think of the 70's? What does that mean?
He watched Bugs Bunny cartoons during the 70's?
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