Espanola #1 in the rankings (Santa Fe, Los Alamos: 2009, high crime, live)

[desert sun]

The Drug Capitals Of America - Forbes.com


I remember someone talking about the drugs in Espanola in another thread once. These stats are based off of actual deaths so this aint bogus,anyways just some useless info.

[funkymonkey]

Well, when the statistic is based off /100,000 and the sample size is only 10,000 the number is easily susceptible to statistical flukes. But Espanola certainly does have a long-standing reputation for a lot of drug use and I wouldn't be surprised if the stats are more-or-less accurate.

[santafe400]

Well for a Santa Fe resident, Espanola is still alright by my book.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by santafe400

Well for a Santa Fe resident, Espanola is still alright by my book.

I agree. I like Espanola and I have not been fearful in any of the times I have been there.

[bradly]

I'm from Espanola, yea truth be told there is a drug problem. But Not in the "City Proper" meaning in the City Limits. This is a problem in the smaller communities that surround Espanola or are distant but in Rio Arriba thats what this article does not mention. Espanola does NOT depend on the "Los Alamos Labs" for its employment. Only a small 13% of Espanola works for LANL. The rest is all on the city's economy, which in fact is one of the best in the state. The 8th best after Artesia.

So yea.. we have problems.. that does NOT effect the whole community. Espanola is a great place. I enjoyed it.. Some will bring it down just because it doesnt offer what most newcomers want.

That being said it also ranks on New mexico's top 15 safest cities...





People, Need to get over themselves. We wont shoot you.

[Fischer_girl]

I believe it was in my "relocating" thread that we had this conversation before. I commute there every day and the only problems I have had aren't drug related. Myself (and two girls I work with) have been very closely watched (to the point of men pulling up and watching us from their cars) as we lock up at night. I know it has nothing to do with drugs..but I think its the only scary thing I have experienced there. I think its all a matter of who one hangs out with and the potential of "being at the wrong place at the wrong time" when it comes to these sorts of things. We have to pay attention but realize that if something bad is going to happen..there really isn't much you can do about it unless you plan to have your guard up you're entire life!

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by Towanda

I agree. I like Espanola and I have not been fearful in any of the times I have been there.

Well I don't think this article would give you reason to be afraid unless you plan on using heroin there. lol

[santafe400]

I have no doubt that Espanola has some internal drug issues. However, I don't think the high crime associated with that of the larger cities is there. I think what hurts Espanola is that it appears to be a little rough around the edges from the main drag. However, the vast majority of residents are amazing.

[bradly]

Originally Posted by funkymonkey

Well I don't think this article would give you reason to be afraid unless you plan on using heroin there. lol

Yea but there are some ignorant people who "think" Espanola is dangerous.. and its not.

Thats why he stated it, because he probably knew it would come along in the conversation.



What bothers me is how desert sun mentions Espanola's drug problems "aint bogus"..
He hasnt lived there, to experiance the problem. I have and I know. It is not as bad as this article or people you talk to say it is.. they like to create rumors and make a big issue out of something.

Useless article?, Yes. Shouldnt have posted it. Unless you wanted to make Epsanola sound even worse to people who post on this. Probably.

[ThatTNGuy]

Originally Posted by bradly

Useless article?, Yes. Shouldnt have posted it. Unless you wanted to make Epsanola sound even worse to people who post on this. Probably.

How, exactly, is the article "useless"? Just because it highlights a negative aspect of a place you love? It's not as if the people at Forbes had an ulterior motive when they published this story - they didn't conjure up fake numbers in an attempt to degrade Española's image, after all. Also, I don't think the topic starter was trying to "make Española sound even worse" to the folks here at CD. As he mentioned, it's a topic that has been addressed in the New Mexico forum before, and he merely linked to a relevant source of information.

I think part of loving your city involves being able to acknowledge its shortcomings. There isn't a single place on Earth that can claim to be perfect, so it's not as if Española is alone in having problems.