Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you feel my comments were a personal attack, I apologize to the board. But I am passionate about New Mexico and have never encountered the things that some have mentioned on this board.
Life is too short to judge people by the way they dress or the color of their skin. I have many friends of all ethnicities, religions, social and economic status and ages. I find it invigorating to have such a diverse group as friends and be able to talk about just about anything with them.
Are there criminals, hoods, punks, gangsters in New Mexico? Of course, as everywhere else. And since I don't live in Albuquerque, I don't know how prevalent they are there. But walking away from someone who looks at you wrong or makes a comment does wonders.
It is sad that if I walk through the mall or around town you see so many people with frowns on their faces as if they're mad. It is so sad that so many people are not happy. I read a bumper sticker today that sums it all up.
The really neat thing is that you will find an awfully lot of people here at this forum who feel exactly as you do about the state, who love it here, and who promote it to everyone.
There are always going to be people who don't like it here and complain about it; I just kind of take that attitude with a grain of salt, and enjoy all the richness of life here. So do many others. And others that post here are just so anxious to get to New Mexico because they love the state too.
Im one who will tell it like it is and wont sugar coat anything, I tell the pros and cons, I sometimes have a complaint but I love my city and I think its only healthy to have a complaint every now and then, some people just spread non-factual info on here though or have intentions of causing an argument.
Its great some people have never seen or experienced some things in their time here or in NM and its unfortunate others have, just last week I know a guy(related to family) who just got arrested for murder, so things do happen.
Cool things about New Mexico: Views, mountains, desert landscape, varieties of cultures. Good food, skiing, trout fishing and hiking.
Not so cool things about New Mexico-
1. certain small towns, especially in the central and northern part of the state, have little to do expect drink. It can be hard to find quality young adult friends to hang out with in these small towns. There is skiing, which I can't complain about!!!
It's different than most areas- not that this is bad. For instance, the mountains recieve a lot of rain in the summer and lots of snow in the winter. So, if you live in the mountains, it's not always clear. Which isn't a bad thing, especially for fair skinned people like me.
I love so much more about NM than I hate. The natural beauty of the state is awe inspiring. The mountains, deserts, and plains all offer vistas to please the eyes in any weather or season. In particular, I love the clean crisp air in the Sacramento Mountains. The night sky full of more stars than you ever knew existed in your city life. And for some reason I can't explain, the sunlight in the mountains has a different quality to it that's soothing, not searing. Close encounters with bears, deer, elk, and wild turkeys reaffirm that there are still places where man's influence is not predominant and the land is much as it was a thousand years ago. I love the cottonwood trees that line the banks of the tiny streams that trickle through desert canyons, offering shade under their generous canopies. I love driving on empty highways across the desert, feeling like I can see a hundred miles in any direction and rounding a curve to meet a coyote or a roadrunner. The blend of Anglo, Mexican and Indian culture gives a real western feel to nearly every town with less than 50,000 residents. And it's genuine, not a put-on for the tourist business. NM seems to feel very comfortable in its own skin, which is a tanned leathery western hide, hanging next a ristra of red chiles. Do I even need to mention the food? Anyone who doesn't like NM cooking has dead tastebuds, and I'll leave it at that.
I hate the almost constant threat of wildfires. Unresponsive small town government bureaucrats. Poorly planned and badly implemented development in some areas, leaving the places looking like Bartertown.
On balance, NM is so much more positive than negative. When I read the unhappy posts from naysayers, a part of me understands. NM is different in many ways from other states. Some folks find it fits them like their favorite jeans. For others, it's too different and they find their attention focused on the distractions, rather than the attractions. For them there are 49 other states to choose from.
35 years ago, my parents left all of us kids and retired in Roswell from North of Chicago. 3 years later we all followed with our families. We were there for 17 years and then Mom and Dad left us, 3 months apart. My family moved to Missouri to be by the lakes and the fishing. We thought we missed it in NM. Then the children had their own families and move to other states. Divorce follows and old age sets in. Retirement is close, very close.
two weeks ago tomorrow I flew back to NM after 14 years. Flew into Albuquerque and rented a car and headed down Route 25. I felt like I came home and had to pull over because I was bawling my eyes out. I called each of my children, crying like a baby and relaying how I felt. So peaceful, like arms were around me welcoming me. I could breathe deeply, I could see so very far. The mountains, the desert, the meadows were a wonderful site to me. I was home, finally home. I can't explain all that I felt while driving to Socorro, but I prayed and thanked God for letting me return to NM.
I missed it so.
I returned to dirty, noisy, crime ridden, elbow to elbow houses, old, Kansas city last weekend but I will survive this temporary residency as I bought a home in Los Lunas and am making preperations to move. I will have a modest home, a modest retirement income and I will have to pinch pennies and lock my doors. But I will have a meadow across the gravel road, a full acre of land, a glorious mountain view in the back and I will have peace and quiet til the end of my days. There is a bible verse, that spoke to me during my trip. Each and everytime I gazed at a mountain..."How lovely are the mountains at the feet of him, Our God Reigns." I have no clue where that is as I don't memorize the bible but I know it exists and I know that my God that made the beautiful, awsome NM mountains sent it to me.
I LOVE NM!
Welcome back home, nmretire, and thanks for a wonderful, touching post. I wish you the very best, and many, many years of contentment in your new home.
God bless you tecpatl. I'm glad you found your way back. I think you have described what some of us feel that want to be there too.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
New Mexico love/hate
