A New Mexicans View on Los Alamos & Española (Albuquerque: transfer, construction)
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Well, both towns are going to have their ups and downs. If I'd choose it may be somewhere is Los Alamos as with a reasonable distance from the old nuclear mine. However, I think people that move to these types of towns need to know what to expect. What to expect may not actually be bad but just different.
A lot of it depends where the person is from moving to these towns.
If I was retiring and like to gamble, Espanola probably would not be all that bad.
If I am there looking to raise teens from another culture or if you are a young adult from a different culture trying to meet people similar to your culture vibe, then you will want to spend some time thinking about this. (Especially for Espanola).
But remember this is just my opinion. You have to do what you know is best and what you want.
One man's treasure is another man's trash while one man's trash is another man's treasure!
A person from another state that has a completely likes the culture may fit right in.
I have heard good things about Pojacque as well. Not only that, your less than 15 miles from Santa Fe which is nice.
My parents lived in LA for years but ended up moving back to SF because of the prejudice in LA towards Hispanics.
My family lived in Los Alamos for roughly 20 years. Some of the best friends we made were Hispanics. Yes, we are white.
For every story about prejudice you've got, I can provide ten stories/anecdotes about whites and Hispanics getting along swimmingly.
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I attended SFHS and went to a SF-LA basketball game in LA and the LA crowd had numerous signs with rude and insulting remarks towards the cheerleaders and their ethic persuasion.
I never saw anything of the sort in my time at LAHS. I'm not denying that it happened, but something of that nature would obviously not be tolerated nowadays. At least, I sincerely hope not.
But honestly, if you don't think the prejudice runs both ways, you're completely blind. It's not like the evil, rich white folks in Los Alamos are the only ones to blame. Just as an example, my most memorable experience in Española involved going to a basketball game between LAHS and EVHS. My older brother was on varsity, and after Española pulled out a close victory, their student section showered the court with packages of saltine crackers. A nice gesture, to say the least. It did wonders for an already tense relationship.
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LA is elitist, racist and prejudice. Unless you are white.
Please. I've never heard a more ridiculous statement about Los Alamos in my life. We all know that it's a predominantly white area, but that doesn't automatically make everybody from Los Alamos a prejudiced elitist. Sheesh.
You seem to be more concerned with venting anger than being rational.
Last edited by ThatTNGuy; 10-03-2008 at 04:41 PM..
I never saw anything of the sort in my time at LAHS. I'm not denying that it happened, but something of that nature would obviously not be tolerated nowadays. At least, I sincerely hope not.
But honestly, if you don't think the prejudice runs both ways, you're completely blind. It's not like the evil, rich white folks in Los Alamos are the only ones to blame. Just as an example, my most memorable experience in Española involved going to a basketball game between LAHS and EVHS. My older brother was on varsity, and after Española pulled out a close victory, their student section showered the court with packages of saltine crackers. A nice gesture, to say the least. It did wonders for an already tense relationship.
Oh yea well i remember my days at LAHS/EVHS games the students from Los Alamos would throw beans at us, football games mostly..we didnt expect that from that school, since we heard everything was strict and nontolerable..
I went to a EVHS/LAHS basketball game last year, and the student sections from both schools were negitive but the thing that aggrivated me was the LAHS students called a basketball player from Espanola a "Trader" while at the line for a free throw, just because he transfered over from pojoaque.. that is something i would have never thought LAHS students would have said.. the rivalry between the two schools has got worse over the years.. well when i was there all hell broke lose.. i'm not sticking up for espanola, im just saying its fair to say both sides of the story
Los Alamos is the Safest city in NM, it must not be that bad
Yeah, I gotta agree with that. Maybe there is a lot of "underground" crime in LA, but in the violent crime dept. you won't find much. Really, if anything negative, Los Alamos is boring (I'm 29 and love nightlife, so it was not my cup of tea). Alone at night, I'd feel MUCH safer on the streets of Los Alamos than the streets of Espanola, though. Until I see an actual citation to crime stats, I'm going to have to say LA is much safer, no contest. Just reading the police reports in the morning paper can lead to that conclusion.
As for the high schools, I didn't attend either, and by some of this content I'm thinking that's a good thing.
Yeah, I gotta agree with that. Maybe there is a lot of "underground" crime in LA, but in the violent crime dept. you won't find much. Really, if anything negative, Los Alamos is boring (I'm 29 and love nightlife, so it was not my cup of tea). Alone at night, I'd feel MUCH safer on the streets of Los Alamos than the streets of Espanola, though. Until I see an actual citation to crime stats, I'm going to have to say LA is much safer, no contest. Just reading the police reports in the morning paper can lead to that conclusion.
As for the high schools, I didn't attend either, and by some of this content I'm thinking that's a good thing.
Espanola has way more nightlife.. WAYYYY MORE.. in ways thats a good thing .. i used to walk the mainstreets with friends in espanola when i was younger and it was safe.. too safe i thought something would happen but hey its actually what you make of it, you hear so much negitive things it brainwashes you.. so dont always belive the papers that bash espanola.. Los Alamos and Espanola are about the same when you walk the streets.. the scary part is all of the los alamos fast food places close at like 6.. pretty freaky since in espanola they close at 11 haha
Espanola has way more nightlife.. WAYYYY MORE.. in ways thats a good thing .. i used to walk the mainstreets with friends in espanola when i was younger and it was safe.. too safe i thought something would happen but hey its actually what you make of it, you hear so much negitive things it brainwashes you.. so dont always belive the papers that bash espanola.. Los Alamos and Espanola are about the same when you walk the streets.. the scary part is all of the los alamos fast food places close at like 6.. pretty freaky since in espanola they close at 11 haha
That's exactly what I was saying. Los Alamos has pretty much no nightlife, which was a real drag when I lived there, but it did account for streets that were pretty safe. All I'm saying is that, in terms of feeling safe walking the streets at night, I'd take Los Alamos over Espanola. For nightlife, Espanola has Los Alamos beat by a long shot. Anyone who disputes that either enjoys karaoke way too much for my taste or has never visited either place. It was usually just more worthwhile for me to go to Santa Fe than Espanola, because the service and the fellow night crowd were much more welcoming.
But hey, I'm not saying Espanola has racism as less affluent caucasian folk would say... I happen to know the problem is just ethnic segregation and a resultant separatism, and even Mexicans would agree with that. If a person can speak Spanish and walk the walk, if you will, then race is no issue. If I had my brother-in-law or some friends from Riverside with me, I'm sure it'd be a lot more fun. Trouble is, I have no Latino descent... only Spanish... and it's obvious to those who know what to look for. Otherwise, I'm Scottish, Italian, and Dutch, which makes me an olive-skinned caucasian to the untrained eye. I learned Spanish during a three-month stint in Sao Paulo living with an Argentinian family, and that was a decade ago; thus, if I try to bridge the gap in communication by speaking Spanish, it just gets more awkward due to my English/Argentinian accent on Spanish and my slow uptake which would even be slow without sorting out Mexican accents (which are easier than Argentinian due to annunciation, but still sound garbled with consonants compared to what I'm used to hearing).
Overall, I'm no longer fluent enough to avoid looking like a poser. Also, I am friendly to the extent that not-so-savory folk mistake my demeanor for weakness and gullibility, so I prefer people I can read and interpret quickly when I meet strangers. There you have my personal segregating factors, so I can admit it.
That's exactly what I was saying. Los Alamos has pretty much no nightlife, which was a real drag when I lived there, but it did account for streets that were pretty safe. All I'm saying is that, in terms of feeling safe walking the streets at night, I'd take Los Alamos over Espanola. For nightlife, Espanola has Los Alamos beat by a long shot. Anyone who disputes that either enjoys karaoke way too much for my taste or has never visited either place. It was usually just more worthwhile for me to go to Santa Fe than Espanola, because the service and the fellow night crowd were much more welcoming.
But hey, I'm not saying Espanola has racism as less affluent caucasian folk would say... I happen to know the problem is just ethnic segregation and a resultant separatism, and even Mexicans would agree with that. If a person can speak Spanish and walk the walk, if you will, then race is no issue. If I had my brother-in-law or some friends from Riverside with me, I'm sure it'd be a lot more fun. Trouble is, I have no Latino descent... only Spanish... and it's obvious to those who know what to look for. Otherwise, I'm Scottish, Italian, and Dutch, which makes me an olive-skinned caucasian to the untrained eye. I learned Spanish during a three-month stint in Sao Paulo living with an Argentinian family, and that was a decade ago; thus, if I try to bridge the gap in communication by speaking Spanish, it just gets more awkward due to my English/Argentinian accent on Spanish and my slow uptake which would even be slow without sorting out Mexican accents (which are easier than Argentinian due to annunciation, but still sound garbled with consonants compared to what I'm used to hearing).
Overall, I'm no longer fluent enough to avoid looking like a poser. Also, I am friendly to the extent that not-so-savory folk mistake my demeanor for weakness and gullibility, so I prefer people I can read and interpret quickly when I meet strangers. There you have my personal segregating factors, so I can admit it.
I'm italian.. i guess i can say i'm more european american than anything else.. my lighter skin was no shock in espanola, there are many white people who live there everyone gets along there belive it or not,.. and like it. However, i dont feel that santa fe is more welcoming in the nightlife category..
Espanola has more local roots and is older..way older founded in 1598 vs. Los Alamos a town based on the Labs founded in the late 40's, most of the people that live in LA are from out of state or where not born here.
I'm italian.. i guess i can say i'm more european american than anything else.. my lighter skin was no shock in espanola, there are many white people who live there everyone gets along there belive it or not,.. and like it. However, i dont feel that santa fe is more welcoming in the nightlife category..
Espanola has more local roots and is older..way older founded in 1598 vs. Los Alamos a town based on the Labs founded in the late 40's, most of the people that live in LA are from out of state or where not born here.
Yeah, I can see it not being an actual problem, but I'd still prefer it with the right company to smooth out rough edges.
When I visited my sister in Greeley, CO, going out to the bar with or without my bro-in-law was like night and day. He knew a lot of folks in the area from growing up there and doing construction jobs, and once we found one of his pals I got a free pass to 'untuck my tail' and approach whomever I chose. Maybe the segregation was due to the more rampant exploitation in Colorado, but my bro told me it's best to keep to myself until I've got an in, and without that the nightlife isn't worth much and I might as well couch it. With the way peoples' glances/demeanors very obviously changed from suspicious to jovial when we met up with his friend(s), I wasn't going to test the validity of his advice during the suspicious phase.
Geez... I've got to go up to Greeley in a few weeks for work.
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.. i used to walk the mainstreets with friends in espanola when i was younger and it was safe.. too safe i thought something would happen but hey its actually what you make of it, you hear so much negitive things it brainwashes you.. so dont always belive the papers that bash espanola.. Los Alamos and Espanola are about the same when you walk the streets.. the scary part is all of the los alamos fast food places close at like 6.. pretty freaky since in espanola they close at 11 
