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Though New Mexico's relative isolation I find could be both a curse and a blessing depending how one looks at it.
Definitely a blessing from my POV. But I find that although I prefer to fly nonstop to my vacation destinations, I have never felt discouraged from vacationing somewhere that took two flights (or more) to get to. From ABQ it's nice that we can get nonstop flights to San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. It was kind of a drag to have to go through Dallas to get to Vancouver, but it didn't stop us. Vancouver was worth it.
Before I traveled New Mexico the first word that would come to mind was crime. All you hear about New Mexico in the east is about how beautiful Santa Fe is and how much crime there is in the bigger cities (10,000 pop.). After traveling about NM I understand just how beautiful the entire state is. From the four corners area to the Carlsbad Caverns area it was all awesome. However; a lot of the cities we traveled through did appear to be crime ridden dumps. Not all but some - Farmington, Aztec, Roswell, parts of ABQ and Alamogordo. WTF?
^^ And thinking like that, will make Albuquerque, a dull , forgotten place, that will never progress to it's full potential. It's a shame people have that mentality in my opinion to never progress, yet the population just keeps growing and growing and growing, yet people don't want to invest in the cities future ( not talking only sky scrapers) the mentality that 'Nah, we dont need to change, or better our future" the mentality that " Nah, why work when I get SSI and other government hand outs" The mentality to never want to better yourself, and live to the true potential, is a very shame, Albuquerque is a beautiful city, that needs a huge face lift, sure it has mountains and alright scenary nobody is denying that! But the town evolves VERY slowly, and if a city DOESNT CHANGE, it will decline, look at Detroit, Cleveland.. Do you guys want Albuquerque to be like that all because you are too stuck in your ways?? OR would you rather invest in the future of downtown, central, and revitalize the city? The things that can change, just don't because people in NEW MEXICO (Not just albuquerque) are too stuck in their ways, are the people of Albuquerque, happy with mediocrity? Why settle for less? People need to wake up, it is 2012, we are behind the times, if the city dont change within the next few years where do you think it will be going if it's not going up?
It's also ashame, that we are getting published and articles, with things like this..
However; a lot of the cities we traveled through did appear to be crime ridden dumps. Not all but some - Farmington, Aztec, Roswell, parts of ABQ and Alamogordo. WTF?
Yes, NM is a poor state. Even in places like Taos and Santa Fe there is a evidence of significant poverty.
I wouldn't call the towns you mentioned "crime ridden dumps" though. They aren't Mayberry, but often towns in NM look shoddier than they would in other places, due to the dust and lack of greenery.
NM is poor because we are lacking in significant industry to bring in $$$. We need "exports" to cover all the things that we "import". It's too dry for much farming, we aren't big on oil and minerals, etc. Manufacturing has probably been low due to low population density, and remoteness from population centers. We have no ocean access, so no ports.
What about tourism... or retirement? AZ and FL have the edge in winter warmth for reasonable cost. Colorado has the edge in mountain and forest beauty, and frankly there are many states with more dramatic natural landscapes... like CA, AZ, UT, at least.
So I don't see NM's situation changing much in the near future. But that's fine... because I like it just the way it is.
... if a city DOESNT CHANGE, it will decline, look at Detroit, Cleveland.. Do you guys want Albuquerque to be like that all because you are too stuck in your ways??
You can't compare Albuquerque to Detroit or Cleveland. Those cities are part of the Midwest Rust Belt. Milwaukee, WI can be added in there too. Huge factories closed and jobs went south or overseas. Poverty moved in along with higher crime rates. It's very hard to try and revitalize a city if there are no new companies to support the city's tax base or jobs to support the economy.
While this may be true today, it's not true historically. NM once had some of the most active copper producing mines in the nation - and lately the open pit mine near Silver City has been ramped back into use as copper prices have soared. Coal has been a significant resource along the northern border with Colorado as evidenced by the Four Corners electrical generating facilities.
There is plenty of mineral wealth remaining - if the prices support the huge costs industries face in conforming to ever more stringent environmental rules/regulations.
Recent interest in re-starting uranium production is one example of the difficulties. Resistance to oil/gas exploration/production in the Galisteo basin is another.
Other recent news has been about precious metal claims in Lincoln County where a Canadian company has been doing exploratory drilling with reputed great success. With gold prices going through the roof, I personally know several people who are out there right now reworking old mining claims or panning/prospecting for new.
NM once had some of the most active copper producing mines in the nation
So tell me, what year did New Mexico ever produce more copper than any other US State?
Copper mining in the United States has been a major industry since the rise of the northern Michigan copper district in the 1840s. In 2007 the United States was the world's third largest copper producer, after Chile and Peru. The United States produces 63% of the copper it uses. Top copper producing states in 2007 were (in descending order) Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana. The top four producing copper mines in the United States are in Arizona and Utah.
The mining of copper, today Arizona’s most valuable mineral, began at Bisbee in 1880. Been there many times... Drank a lot of beers in the Copper Queen Hotel looking at the world's largest open pit copper mine (now closed, but a tourist attraction)
Coal has been a significant resource along the northern border with Colorado as evidenced by the Four Corners electrical generating facilities.
Producing coal and using coal are two different issues. New Mexico ranks number 13 in production of coal. Wyoming produces 40.8% of us coal, over 20 times more coal than New Mexico. New Mexico produces 1.9% of U.S. production.
But what does all this have to do with tourism? Do you think all those claims will bring more tourism?
Nothing.
Sorry, my post sent this thread off the rails a bit. I was responding to the comment of why so many towns look like "crime ridden dumps". NM might be a significant player in oil and minerals, but it isn't enough to make it prosperous.
And poverty does effect tourism. People seem to like visiting places that are pretty, safe, well kept, etc.
We've been up here around the high road to Taos on & off for 35 years now. Although it's not as bad as it was 30 years ago, I still do not feel safe leaving my car at trailheads & hiking by myself. Although folks don't appear to be dumping trash in the arroyos like they did years ago, we see trash dropping off of dump loads & folks throw trash, particularly beer cans & bottles, out along roads a lot.
But I also take offense of visitors judging us to be crime-ridden dumps via appearance only. There is the element of poverty to take into account and also, at least up here in these mountains, folks save what may appear to be junk, but is often spare parts to rebuild that truck or use for later construction, washing machines that have been turned into planters to keep gophers out, tires that have been used for erosion control in arroyos, bedspring fences and so on. Recycling is not always pretty LOL
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