What do you love/hate about New Mexico? (Albuquerque, Roswell: real estate, crime)

[DarkFoxFlerb]

I am an ABQ, NM native (born and raised). I have lived in Arizona, Florida and Colorado and I would say that there is no place else like New Mexico. Having been around a little myself, including some large "metropolises" (Denver and Miami), I always find the attitude of urban dwellers a little puzzling. Both my parents and grandparents are/were NM natives, from small towns (Clayton and White Rock) and we've had a lot of discussions about this buzz on New Mexico's so called problems. Most of the people that complain the loudest about the "poverty" and "lack of infrastructure" are people that have relocated from some overpopulated urban mess, then all of a sudden want to transform NM into to something that it's not. As my parents/grandparents would tell you, the areas in which they lived growing up would certainly be considered "poverty-stricken" or "underdeveloped" by today's NY Times Gold Standard. However, what outsiders fail to realize is that this is a rural state and a largely rural way of life. Life here revolves around family, nature, connections to your fellow man and inner peace. The rampant greed, consumerism and obsession with urbanization that plagues many other parts of the country doesn't enter the equation here. And, to be honest, of all the places I've lived, people in NM seem to have more overall happiness and contentment than any of the compulsive dollar chasers I've encountered in highly urban areas. I believe that people from any heavily rural state would most likely agree with me. The "poverty" that transplants (not to be stereotypical, but usually from California or the Eastern Seaboard) see is not the blight that they imagine it to be, it is a genuine part of life and has been that way since the beginning of the territory in the 1600's. If you wanna make lots of money and have a lot of infrastructure, go move to Manhattan, if you want to feel connected to the world and happy, come to NM, just don't come to NM and then try to transform it into San Francisco or New York.

[Towanda]

Just LOVED your post, DarkFoxFlerb!!!!!

[_yb]

Right on the money Darkfoxflerb. Good post.

[AndyJ]

Originally Posted by DarkFoxFlerb

If you wanna make lots of money and have a lot of infrastructure, go move to Manhattan, if you want to feel connected to the world and happy, come to NM, just don't come to NM and then try to transform it into San Francisco or New York.

Easily one of the best things I've seen written about our state on this forum.

[newmex]

DarkFoxFlerb!! The lack of pretension in NM is a blessing.

[councilor j]

I think that post by DarkFoxFlerb described New Mexico perfect.

[GregW]

DarkFoxFlerb - Thank You!

I grew up in an exurb, now a suburb of Albany, New York. I really enjoyed being able to walk everywhere and hike to my hearts content (at least when I had the time- most of my childhood was spent building, runnning and working on a minataure railroad my step father built - Anyone ever heard of "The Carolyn Road - I'm trying to find out where it went after he got too drunk to run it and I left for 'Nam). There was a small "supermarket" nearby along with a hardware store.

Since then I have lived in suburbia (Londonderry, NH) and deep city (Brooklyn, NY) and vastly prefer the boonies. However, Anne & I get older we will likely need to have a hospital nearby and a way of getting there . This is why we will be looking for a place in, most likely, Socorro. It also has the college for courses and entertainment.

If I could wrangle a part time job with one of the space fabricators that will likely move into Las Cruces area we will have to consider that city. This will be OK as open space, dark skies and some peace will be a very short drive away. The same two hours a day I currently waste commuting into Boston could get a long way into the boonies around LC

[pinusconus]

I've lived in Massachusetts for 61 years, have done lots of traveling in the US and other countries. I've seen hundreds of cities and small towns. I've dined at lots of restaurants and have met loads of people from all walks of life. I adore New Mexico, Las Cruces in particular. There is no perfect state, no perfect city of town. But, I must say, I would rather live in southern New Mexico than in central Massachusetts. I am looking forward to selling my house here in MA and relocating to Las Cruces in two years or less.

[designer]

I have lived in NM for a little over 3 years and I am aware that the crime rate
is bad as are many other places but I get somewhat depressed about the
poverty and the lack of educated people when you get outside of the larger
or more afluent communities. I know if I move again I will be sure that
there is a college or university in or near the town I relocate to no matter
which state it is in. I guess the lack of education is a correlation to the high crime rate in this state. The lifers here in NM seem to take it in stride but I find it difficult to except. Sometimes I feel I am living in the wild west. Maybe I am.

[NMCowgirl]

I have lived in New Mexico all my life! I can't imagine living in another state. I can't leave the hot springs near here, they are amazing. I found this story on the Las Vegas NM hot springs, and it describes exactly why I love Vegas so much:

http://www.lapajaro.com/lvnm/2007/01/108_degrees_of_.html (broken link)