Is New Mexico a good place to live?

[AmerDem]

We are thinking of leaving Pennsylvania and New Mexico is on our list of possibilities. Was wondering how employment, way of life, attitudes of the people etc. are to live there. Any info is truly appreciated.

Thanks

[slestak]

1. I moved here from Oklahoma 18 months ago.

"Here" being Albuquerque. The weather is wonderful and the sunsets are hard to beat.

However, life out here is a little, um, "different" than I was used to. Not bad, just different.

Examples:

- Everyone is late for everything. If you make a date for 2:00, your date will probably arrive at 2:40.

- Curious driving habits. If you are stopped at a red light, and it turns green, you must look both ways before proceeding into the intersection. And no one uses their turn signals.

- The food you think is spicy really isn't.

- Water is scarce. The Water Police will send you a ticket if you violate the rules. You may wind up with Water Nazi neighbors who will rat you out for washing your car.

- It is very, very dry. Stock up on lotion. You will have pointy boogers.

-You can buy booze in convenience stores in handy travel sizes.

- It's a pretty remote part of the country. Also, it is NOT a sports town.

- Lots of people have junk piles.

- Lots of people litter. Trash is flying around everywhere.

- Bone up on your Spanish. I got ragged on once for my pronunciation of "taco"

- Lots of Subarus

As far as employment, for my line of work (graphic design), the job market is pretty dreadful. However, my wife opened her own veterinary practice and is already profitable after being open just nine months.

New Mexico doesn't have a sales tax. There is a gross receipts tax which business pass on to the consumer, so almost everything is taxed. This has kept NM from having the budget shortfalls that have plagued almost every other state. Also, the tax is lower than most sales taxes around the country (~6%), and Gov. Richardson is trying to do away with tax on groceries.

Real estate is overpriced compared to the cost of living, but you'll probably find it's cheap.

Everyone is very friendly and very laid back. Albuquerque is a pretty liberal town.

[yellowdogintexas]

2. Not to mention how beautiful northern New Mexico is!!!

And parts of Southern NM as well. We took two really great vacations in the NewMexico/Colorado border area, with a little time in Santa Fe too. Such beautiful country.

[AmerDem]

6. LOL

that made me laugh. Thanks, these were the type of things I was hoping to hear about...the lil stuff along with the more important.

[fnottr]

15. you mean you can't buy Jack Daniels in handy pocket size flasks

in other places in the country?

I think you just missed the drive-thru liquor stores, they were just outlawed a few years ago.

[robt6750]

70. +1

[RoadRunner]

3. It's an awesome place to live.

I moved here almost 8 years ago from Virginia. I will never leave this place. The people are friendly, the sky is spectacular, the climate is perfect, and, oh yeah, what slestak said above is also true. The hardest to get used to is people never show up when they say they will. I'm adjusted to it now and I just think of it as organic living. It comes with the territory, and the territory is awesome.

Jobs are not too plentiful, but New Mexico is a great place to start a business - especially Santa Fe and Las Cruces. The cost of living is sky high in Santa Fe and Los Alamos but reasonable in the rest of the state.

There's plenty of room down here, come on down!

[AmerDem]

7. I wonder how things are in the

Heating and Air Conditioning field? I'll have to look more into it. Thanks for the info and invite :-)

[slestak]

12. HVAC?

Then you need to know -- very few people use refrigerated air units here. This is the desert, so everyone uses evaporative coolers.

[aggiesal]

72. They use Swap Coolers ...

You'll see one on just about every roof.

Simple motor turns the fan to suck air in through the 4 panels.
A motor siphons/pumps COLD water from a reservoir (bottom 3-4 inches)
to the top of the unit where it is split 4 ways to dump over the
top of each 4 panels through what looks like straw inserts.

When the fan sucks air through the panels the cold water stored
in the straw inserts convert the air to cold air.

They break down constantly. If you get really good at servicing them
you can make a pretty decent living. If you don't mind heights.

[SheilaT]

74. Swamp coolers.

They're called swamp coolers. Not sure if you simply made a typo or have actually mis-heard what they are called.

I believe swamp coolers became common by the 1950's across the southwest, possibly a decade or two earlier. They are much cheaper to run than real a/c.

I live in Santa Fe without either, but I can tell you that when I used to live in Tucson and that's what we had, our unit did not break down constantly. Probably in any large city enough break down so that there's good work in fixing them, but on an individual basis I don't think that's true.

The down side to a swamp cooler is that it can only cool down about 20 degrees, so if you live in a seriously hot place like Phoenix, you probably also want regular a/c.

[aggiesal]

75. Yup, Typo. Just read right over the word. Good catch. n/t

[aggiesal]

76. Lived in Las Cruces ...

Can you tell my the handle?

[musicaldogs]

58. "An awesome place to live"

I really like your post! I am currently living near Portland, OR and am hoping to get out of all this rain and darkness as soon as I can. I was wondering, would I have to learn Spanish to live in NM? Where are the safest, most comfortable places for a fairly poor but progressive and creative person to live? Is the health care system as bad as some of the others are saying? Are there safe, pleasant areas and neighborhoods for those with less capital to live? Thanks in advance for any answers!

[Lost4words]

4. Been in ABQ 2 years, from Northern Virginia

Actually in the mountains east of ABQ @ 7500' above sea level.

Beautiful skys, beautiful country to be sure.

I cant find a baguette anywhere thats worth eating, best tortilla's in the country.

I was in IT, jobs are few far between. I still haven't found work, wages suck. NM is 50th in health care in the country. My wife and I pay $730.00 per month for Blue Cross. Car insurance is high, there are allot of drunk drivers here. We pay more in car ins. here than in Arlington Virginia, Metro DC. My Ins agent says it cause of all the uninsured motorists on the road.
Housing is not cheep for such a poor state. In Albuquerque the single family homes are crammed right on top of one another. To get any land you have to be out of the city.

Meth labs are everywhere. Every other car has a disabled veteran lic plate. NM doesn't use a front plate so crooks ofter back away from wittinesses. Shootings and stabbings are common place in ABQ.

This is not the place to move if you are an auto enthusiast stay in PA.

I thought I was moving to a blue state, it doesn't seem blue to me.

Clean air, it taste good, great views, mountains.

Very few Black people here, it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable.
I am used to a more cultural varied environment I guess.

My wife loves it, but I miss the Eastern Seaboard.

More tattoos and tattoo piercing parlors than I have seen anywhere.
If I could find a job I think I would love it.


86 43

[slestak]

5. Good points

However:

My wife and I pay $730.00 per month for Blue Cross. Car insurance is high, there are allot of drunk drivers here. We pay more in car ins. here than in Arlington Virginia, Metro DC. My Ins agent says it cause of all the uninsured motorists on the road.

In my experience, our insurance is cheaper across the board than in Oklahoma. That may have something to do with former Insurance Commisioner Carroll Fisher (crooked SOB). But yes, you will want to have some sort of Uninsured Motorist provision in your auto policy.

Also, I don't think the meth problem is as out-of-hand here as it is in OK.

Everything else you mentioned is fairly spot on. I had forgotten about the near-absence of AAs. That was pretty strange for me, too.

[AmerDem]

8. not blue?

shoot this is one of the main reasons it was on our list? hmmm I will be looking more into it, Thanks.

[Lost4words]

10. We let the pukes steel the election even with a Dem governor.

I have allot of respect for Governor Bill Richardson, but after the election and all the reports of irregularities little or nothing was done. Its like Bill realized that he had better not piss off our illegitimate masters.

[aggiesal]

73. You're probably living in NM by now ...

but NM is neither Red or Blue. Pretty much 50/50
One year they'll vote for Dem, next time a Rep.
They had 1 Dem Senator and 1 Rep Senator for about
20-30 years until Domenici retired and NM voted in
another Dem.

NM had Dem governors for the longest time, now they
have Crazy Susana a Rep.

It's the one state I feel votes against it's own best
interest more then any other state.

Gov. Richardson wouldn't clean up the 2004 elections
because "... We are a poor state, and can't
afford to spend the money to verify elections. ..."

[Cybergata]

23. From your friendly Middle School Social Studies teacher...

You wrote:
Actually in the mountains east of ABQ @ 7500' above sea level.

The elevation of the Sandia Mountains on the east side of ABQ are 10,000 feet above sea level. They may not look that tall since ABQ sits at 5,000 feet above sea level.

:hippie:

[Lost4words]

26. Teacher, Sandia Crest is 10,670 ft asl. our home is 7,500 'asl

Not all of the Sandias are 10,000 feet, we are on the East side of the Sandia range. South Mountain which is also East of the Sandias is 8690'.

Thanks for the info, but I am acutely aware of my current elevation and the elevation of Albuquerque. The Sandias do not look small to me.

here is the line you used to highlight my error,
Actually IN the mountains east of ABQ @ 7500' above sea level.

As a teacher, you should have caught the meaning.

:hi:

[bpeale]

39. moved to las cruces from no.va. 14 yrs ago

i love it here! i was very unhappy in northern virginia. way too many people. felt like i could reach out & touch my neighbors at night. we could never have afforded to buy a house if we hadn't moved here. we took a 60% cut in pay to come here but it was so worth it. the quality of life went up by 200%. what a great tradeoff!

[Lost4words]

9. 85% of NM roads are unpaved! You will need a truck.

snow isnt too bad its all the fricking mud afterwards.

thats right only 15% of New Mexico roads are paved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fnottr]

14. well that's only because

most of the roads are forest service and county roads that hardly anyone actually ever uses. You can get around just fine in any car here, unless you want to go up into the mountains on a regular basis.

Still, the voter registration forms do have an area where you can draw a map to your house, in case you don't have a real address.

[blueblitzkrieg]

11. Well, I'm ready to leave N.M...

but I'm 21 and have lived here my whole life and am ready to see someplace new, so that's probably the reason.

I'm originally from Roswell, which is Repug country..I went home for Thanksgiving and I've never seen so many Bush bumper stickers. I think I was the only one in town with my Kerry stickers. :(

I moved up to Albuquerque to go to school at UNM 3 years ago, and like it a lot better up here. More liberal, people aren't so close-minded, although there are a fair share of Repugs. Bernallilo county went Kerry though, so we Dems outnumber 'em. Santa Fe and Taos are probably the most liberal cities in NM. Very arsty, creative, nice people, and the cities are absolutely beautiful. Kind of expensive though, at least compared ot the rest of the state. I want to leave NM for sure, but I could see myself coming back and living in Santa Fe or Taos...The other parts of the state are too red for me though.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

13. Silver City in southern NM is also nice

That's where I live and we have a very liberal downtown community, very artsy, many coffee shops, etc. and our county went for Kerry by about 2000 votes.

[fuwah]

36. Silver

I am from Silver too... a lot is changing down there. It is nice to go home and see the renovations from the main st. project, but sometimes I just long for the old days.

[newyawker99]

38. Hi fuwah!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LearnedHand]

16. I moved here two years ago from Tennessee

I LOVE it. LOVE the pace of life -- very manana (or as someone else wrote, people are late, but I'm one of them, now). More expensive to live here than I thought. Food is mostly comparable, but real estate tax is very, VERY high (I'm just east of Albuquerque).

Don't know your employment background, but professional-type jobs are available (maybe not as easily available as other places). Biggest job markets are health care and call centers, it seems.

We have a state income tax; I'm not sure the percentage, but it doesn't feel terribly onerous. As others wrote, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos are very progressive (with a few exceptions, at least in ABQ). It feels very tolerant and liberal here to me, after having lived in Tennessee.

The surrounding areas are spectacular. Albuquerque and Santa Fe maintain a system of open space areas that are wonderful, multi-use trails. Hiking and biking galore; wonderful camping; excellent arts and music; excellent multi-cultural events.

Oh, wait. Don't tell anyone, please! Nothing but rocks and dirt here. Move along, now. Nothing to see. Move along.

[naryaquid]

17. ..Arle the apartment rents very high?...and apart from the taxes,

how is the housing stock/home prices?...It looks very beautiful!

[LearnedHand]

18. Housing prices and apartment rents are higher than I expected...

...but they're not unreasonable. Depending on where you want to live, you can expect to pay around $600/mo for 2BR, 1 or 1.5 BA apt. Average home price is about $110K (3BR, 2BA), again, depending on where you live in the city. The housing market is down right now (that time of year), but is still tighter than expected. ABQ is growing very, very quickly, and the homes in more popular parts of the city are more expensive.

It is INCREDIBLY beautiful! I thank the universe every single day that I'm fortunate enough to live here -- even though it's sometimes harder and more expensive than to live elsewhere.

If you're interested, I think you can check housing prices online at http://www.abqjournal.com. Look in the classifieds for info. FYI: The most popular areas of town -- and thus, the most expensive -- are NE Heights, UNM area, West Mesa, and Rio Rancho.

[naryaquid]

19. Hey!,,,Thanks for all the information...I really appreciate it as I

may be applying to UNM grad school.....Actually the prices you've quoted seem cheap to me!...but I'm in the Chicago area, so that might be more expensive (with the east coast being even worse, in many cases.)..It's relative, I guess...Thanks again for your response!

[bobweaver]

21. Rents in Albuquerque x 3 = Rents in San Diego, California

[Lost4words]

28. Yea but, San Diego is beautiful, worth 3 times the rent. n/t

[vduhr]

27. It's all relative...

to where you are coming from. I moved here two years ago from California! I love it and think New Mexico is beautiful, cheap to live in, more open sky and less people, cars (and no traffic jams). The air is cleaner, the people friendlier and not in such a hurry. New Mexico has a fantastic Governor, who is helping to move the State forward (he did sign the grocery tax repeal and it took effect on Jan. 1) Yes, there is crime here; every State has its problems. Relative to California - well, I would never, never, never go back there! My ex-inlaws, who were ALL born and raised in California are leaving that state too - no one can afford to live there. Bottom line, my life has improved 100% since moving here.

[Lady Sonelle]

20. Shoo! :)

No, you wouldn't like it here! Shoo! Scat!

First off, the laid back pace is stressful for those accustomed to city hustle. You don't want that, do you?

The sky is too large, it will make you feel all humble and insignificant! Go 'way!

All that scenery and the heavenly vistas... they're just so BIIIIG...
No, no, you don't want to live here! It's all just varying shades of red, sand, blue, green, very horizontal... boring!

The inexpensive rents (compared to other areas of the US) don't give you the feeling you're living in luxury. Besides... who wants to live in picturesque places or in beauti... I mean BORING old adobe houses?
No, not for you. Move along...

Besides... the state closes at 6:00 PM and it's 5:45 now. You'll have to wait til next year. Sorry.

There's only enough New Mexico left for MEEEEEE!

MINE!

Harrumph!

Lady Sonelle

[YDogg]

57. heh

:hi:

[bobweaver]

22. More statistics on New Mexico are here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico

[Gloria]

24. I moved here from NJ nearly 5 years ago...I moved to

Las Cruces, in the South, 50 miles N. of El Paso because of health reasons. New Jersey's pollution and dampness had severely hurt my health with terrible bouts of bronichitis that got worse and worse and lasted longer and longer.

My problems are just about gone here. I do so much better in the mild winters. We get seasons but aside from a few weeks in December when we get some rain, a bit of snow that lasts a few hours, overcast days, winter is a breeze. Cold nights in January but in the 60's most days with nice sun. Today we were near 70. When I first got here I couldn't figure out why the clouds looked so different. Well, it's because we'are at about 4700 feet, so we see the SIDES of the clouds, not just the bottoms!!! LOL.! The SUNSETS are......gorgeous. I see double rainbows, too!

Las Cruces is growing, but there is no heavy industry and compared to NJ, traffic is a breeze. Good roads. And about 50 miles from a couple of crossing to Mexico for drugs. The Senior Center sponsors trips!

Las Cruces has New Mexico State University and a wide variety of organizations. The library has book reviews, and there is a very rich artistic community. Then there is the outdoors...The Organ Mountains and plenty of hiking, etc.

Check out the Las Cruces website and get a travel guide from the tourist center.

I haven't been back to NJ and I don't miss it at all. Las Cruces is a gem.

PS: AS FOR HVAC----Nearly ALL the new housing here in Las Cruces is now going with air-conditioning. I have it!! We have a 1600 sq ft house and the taxes are abou $900 a year (we were over $6,000 in Jersey for a comparable-sized house). Mean prices are up to about $150,000 but you can still get a nice little house for about $110000.
El Paso is about 40 minutes down the road if you need to work out of town.
State, federal, local government, the University. Some tech businesses.
Lots of retail.

[naryaquid]

25. Hi Gloria...I'm originally from the East Coast and lived in New Jersey

for many years (Flemington), have lived in the West before (California and Colorado) and am now, for a couple of reasons, interested in New Mexico...Las Cruces sounds great...The weather sounds great (compared to Chicago!) and I especially like the idea of it being a college town, as it were.
I know that Albuquerque and/or Santa Fe?..also have UNM campuses, and I was wondering, how, in your opinion, those two areas compare - weatherwise, etc. - with Las Cruces.

Thanks.
Arlene (Naryaquid)

p.s. The housing prices sure sound better than Jersey OR the Chicago area!

[Gloria]

43. Ah, the Flemington Circle!! YIKES!!! We don't get the cold

and snow that ABQ gets....about an hour and a half from here is the "snow line"

[dean_dem]

29. Wow, I'm also looking at grad school at UNM.

Now I'm definitely applying after what you all have said.

Any info on what University of New Mexico is like? Is it a nice school,etc.? I did a little research on housing and cost of living and it seems much lower than the East Coast or Southern California.

Plus what they say about that "dry heat" is true. You guys have the best frickin' weather ever.

[phusion]

30. Lately the weather has been crappy...

Rain almost every other day. We are 2-3 inches above our normal for this time of year. But, you're right, with the exception of the spring winds, it's pretty nice.:)

I go to UNM...What degree will you be getting?

Housing/cost of living is probably cheaper than most college towns. I pay $400/mo for a studio apartment that is about 2 blocks from campus. There is campus housing (private apartments) that run $250/mo...

Electric/gas will run you about $30-40/mo for a 1 bedroom if you aren't outrageous about it.

The campus is huge, about 20,000 students. But many are non-traditional, meaning they are older and commute to campus. We have just received a shitload of building improvements -- new student union building, engineering building, archaelogy center/museum, etc...With wireless internet across most of the campus.

Great selection of restaurants, bars, nightlife is good on weekends...

And, if you like the outdoors, UNM is about 25-30 minutes from great hiking/biking trails and about 45 minutes from skiing.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be glad to help you out.

Edit: I noticed you are into cycling...we have a huge road bike team and I was president of a large mountain biking social/advocacy club here in albuquerque...cycling is huge. Oh, and we might get a velodrome!

[dean_dem]

31. Cool, thanks!

I'll be going into the Master's Architecture program. From what you said about the school, it sounds a lot like the school I'm at now in Virginia (VCU). Just much higher rents around here.

I noticed the city provides a lot of cycling routes around the city, is it possible to commute around there safely by bicycle? I don't want to be too reliant on my car.

And if you guys get a Velodrome, I'll move there tomorrow!

[phusion]

32. It's possible...

It's possible to commute around here by bicycle. I haven't for a couple of months, but I used to commute by bike about 8 miles each way to work 3 times a week.

There are lots of bike lanes and bike "paths", but, like any car-heavy city, you have to watch for nutty drivers. Some people really don't know how to drive around bikes and some believe you aren't even allowed on the road, despite the fact that it's illegal to bike on the sidewalks..

This link might give you an idea: http://www.bikeabq.org/

And try www.nmcycling.org for competition stuff...

[all.of.me]

33. we need this rain, though!

for the first time in about 10 years, we have enough moisture in the plants to avert a wildfire season. it is safe to say we are out of the drought, but it could be a dry spring and summer, which will reverse things quickly.

i've been in taos a long time, and this is the first winter i have seen the mountains completely covered with snow for months! it's great! maybe my ditch will run this year! i haven't seen that for about five years...

[phusion]

34. Yea, I know...

It would be nice to ward off more bark beetle attacks and save the last remaining trees.

It just sucks sometimes, that's all:)

[all.of.me]

35. yeah, it does - a few cloudy days in a row....

...make us all crazy!

i'm digging the rain, though, because you know soon it'll be dry and sunny with no wind or water, and we'll be crying!!

[hecate77]

40. I went there to grad school in 1975 and didn't leave NM till 1997

It is an awesome state to live in. Now, I live in the Santa Cruz mountains in California, but I still miss New Mexico a lot. If we were to move from here, I would consider going back to New Mexico, but it would kind of depend on how blue the state was. (I won't live in a red state anymore, and until the New Mexicans get rid of the likes of Dominici and Wilson, I am not sure I would go back. I am so sick of Dominici, and I remember when Wilson first lied her way into office.)

And things were way cheaper out there than here. I last taught at UNM in about 1995, and I can tell you it is a great school, with a very nice campus, in the middle of the city. Lots of great departments.

Lots of housing, huge space all around the city and the state, incredible places to go, whew. All in all, one of the best places I have ever lived.

[comradebillyboy]

56. UNM is a good state university

Excellent school of medicine, very good law school, Anderson School of management has very good MBA program, good college of engineering, very nice campus, but very different than what you may be used to. No red brick and ivy. The whole campus is Pueblo revival style architecture, so all buildings look like they are made with adobe and are all shades of tan and light brown. Campus parking is a pain. But all in all very pleasant and attractive campus.

Lots of good graduate programs. Some really superior specialty programs.

[abqmufc]

65. Decent school....good weather...cheap rent.

Rent/ home costs are cheap b/c the average income is low (less than $36K annually per household).

NM is a state with the biggest disparity of income. You have folks like Ted Turner, Sir Richard Branson, Julie Robert, Donald Rumsfeld all owning massive ranches and homes in the state. But you also have 16 federally recognized Indian Tribes, many of which are 3rd world conditions. On Navajo reservation over 1/2 of the homes have no running water or electricity.

ABQ and town south of ABQ are very "blue collar" but rather conservative compared to other states. Yes we are very liberal with homosexuality but that is about it with respect to openminded thinking.

UNM is a nice campus. I finished up all my schooling before I arrived to town (but if I stay unemployed I'll attempt law school next fall). As for any graduate study it all comes down to your impression of the relationship (and academic freedom) you will have with your advisor and faculty. I'd recommend my alma matter, Northern Arizona University if they have your degree.

It is a dry heat and never really that hot. I grew up IL with 95 temps and 100 percent humidity. I spend 10 years in Tucson, AZ where it was 120...and it doesn't matter at that point dry heat or not (plus UofA is a completely corporate driven university). The plus for ABQ is being at 5000 feet above sea level, it never gets too hot. It never rains either...and I miss that!

The nightlife scene is rather odd. Drunk driving is an epidemic here and thus cops shut down all roads into downtown but one and monitor it. In short do not ever drink and drive in the state of NM as it seems to have 0 tolerance...and no cabs/public transport like cities on the East and West coast. My first night out in ABQ (Modest Mouse concert) I watched a gang of 15 beat up one man (about 22 years old) with a baseball bat in the middle of a busy street in downtown.

Every night there is a shooting, stabbing, or DWI accident in metro ABQ.

[jackelope72]

41. Las Cruces is a nice enough place to live...

however, the people can be very frustrating at times. It's hard to make people focus on the bigger issues, because they're too busy arguing over fireworks bans or dogs pooping in public parks or whether or not it's considered barbecuing if you use a gas grill rather than charcoal...yes, these are issues for public debate around here! And the few times I've actually dared to voice legitimate grievances about the way things are done by the city government, the response has usually been something along the lines of, "Well, if you don't like it here, you can just leave, no one's stopping you!" It's a very small-town mentality at times, which can really get to you if you let it.

But there is always something going on in the arts, whether it's galleries or music or theatre, and you can't beat the food -- if I ever move away, there are a few restaurants I would love to be able to help relocate along with me. The sunsets are breathtaking, and if you need to get away from it all and go be by yourself, solitude is usually no more than a fifteen or twenty minute drive away.

[Gloria]

42. delete...

[Gold Metal Flake]

44. Any more comments? How have things changed since this thread was started?

I am seriously considering a move to ABQ. It could end up being very good for us. What is the area of south east ABQ like? Like around Central ave and eubank? Looking at an employer around there.

[Cybergata]

45. We are running out of water!

You would not believe what areas to the northwest of ABQ do to get water. My husband works on this stuff, and I promise you, we don't have enough water for those of us who live her now.

[slestak]

55. Central & Eubank

Not a great neighborhood, but it's not far from some better ones.

With the two interstates running through town, you can get just about anywhere in ABQ in twenty minutes, though.

[Puckster]

46. Don't do it

Yeah, it's beautiful here, but there are other things to consider. The poverty here is jaw-dropping, the racial tension is unbelievable, and I really think there are better places to go.

[NMDemDist2]

47. racial tension?

huh?

:wtf:

[all.of.me]

49. come up north.

it's very subtle, but it's everywhere.

[Cybergata]

52. It isn't so much racism as being pissed off!

If you are talking about Hispanics being pissed off, they are. People whose families have lived in northern New Mexico since 1598 adn 1683 are finding they can no longer live there because of all the newcomers. It has become too expensive in some places, especially Santa Fé.

[all.of.me]

53. I can't grasp that.

People should not sell their land to outsiders, then complain or treat those people badly. No one should ever be treated like a second class citizen ever, anywhere.

[Cybergata]

54. Sometime you have no choice, . . .

when the property tax and insurance raises because of the multi-million $$$ homes being built around you. And you can't grasp it because it isn't happening to your family. Anyway, I don't often see Hispanics treating anybody badly, but I've experienced the opposite.

[Cybergata]

51. NM has a tradition of Racial acceptance!

We have to since most of us are a mix of ethnic backgrounds. Forget racism, we don't have enough water to support the population in 1980 let alone in 2008.

[abqmufc]

63. Not my experience!!!!

NM statehood happened solely b/c fo race relations and the ongoing feud between NM territory and Texas. It has never stopped since then.

There is an ongoing feud between Spanish decent NM and Mexican decent NM.

Tribal people (ie American Indians) (one of the highest populations of any state) have ALWAYS been treated with racial bias and it continues today. In addition there is racial bias amongst tribal peoples (Navajo v. Pueblos; Apache v. Pueblos)

African-Americans are very few in the state...Something I miss having grown up in IL where public schools were 50-50 at least.

Asians where brought to NM to build the train and where not allowed to walk on the streets after sunset. They were slaves then and are still not treated with equality...maybe those with PhD working at Los Alamos Labs or Sandia Labs.

Gang warfare in the warzone of ABQ is racially charged and motivated.

[abqmufc]

64. Not to mention.....

that the vast majority of land and home buyers in places like Red River and Angel Fire are all from Texas and Oklahoma (my current biases). Every 1 ton pick up truck you see in Red River is not from NM and most are from OK and TX. It is something worth noting b/c their second or third homes in NM increase our taxes. Rich outsiders think our prices are cheap...and they are to someone who doesn't live here. But for those who call NM home for 365 days (and are not part of the white collar elite of Taos and Santa Fe or the wealthy down around TorC) the cost of living is not cheap...it is affordable based on our pay rate.

So when someone from TX, CA, or OK pays 25% above asking price (just to close the deal that day) it hurts us who call NM home as it impacts the housing market and property taxes.

NM is a right to work state, meaning you can be fired at any time with no cause! I just found that out 6 months ago.

[Abq_Sarah]

69. Red River and Angel Fire

Are both resort towns. Without Texas and Oklahoma dollars, they would be at best, bumps in the road. Red River is a former gold/silver/copper mining town. When the mines played out, they started renting out old cabins to people in the summer who wanted to go into the mountains for cooler temperatures. Angel fire grew out of the Maxwell land grant. The land was bought from the land grant company in the 1950's specifically to create a resort area which they named Angel Fire. Those Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas people bring millions of needed dollars into New Mexico yearly.

[Gold Metal Flake]

48. By "here", do you mean California?

Because that's what it says in your profile... :shrug:

[Puckster]

50. I live in NM now.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

67. Racial tension, that's bullshit

Of course there's some but the people here get along better than almost anywhere else I've ever been

[SheilaT]

59. Okay, here's another update 12/18/2010.

I moved here from Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, MO two and a half years ago. I love it here, although Santa Fe's weird reluctance to plow streets or put down sand or snow-melting chemicals may eventually drive me away.

Before I moved here several people said I should go to Albuquerque, not Santa Fe, because the cost of living, meaning housing, would be a lot cheaper and there would be more jobs yadda yadda yadda. I spent a day and a half in Abluquerque, registering with employment agencies and just checking out some housing complexes, when all of a sudden I realized that it was like any other big city in the Southwest. I've lived in Phoenix and Tucson and won't go back to them, and you couldn't pay me to live in some of the other big cities in this part of the country. So I got on I-25 and drove to Santa Fe and have been to Albuquerque exactly eight times in two and a half years.

I found a nice two-bedroom apartment in Santa Fe for no more than I would have paid for comparable accommodations in Overland Park. But then, even though the Kansas City area is overall a low-cost part of the country, Johnson County, which contains Overland Park, has this reputation of being so expensive no one can live there. As does Santa Fe. The reality is, there is a wide range of housing. In Santa Fe the statistics can be distorted by the multi-million dollar places the movies stars who live here (mostly part time) own.

After renting a year I bought a small, two bedroom place not unlike my rental and only two blocks from my rental. I live on the unpopular south side, which I have found to be a great place to live. I have a million dollar view of the Sangre de Cristo mountains across my back yard. I have good neighbors. Las Acequias Park, which is only one block from me, is very family-oriented and most weekends there are family picnics and birthday parties there. We have Christmas caroling in the neighborhood, and a nice Christmas lights contest. I won't win because I never put any up, but I really enjoy seeing all the great lights and displays this time of year. Oh, and my mortgage is about $100/month less than my rent was. I understand real estate prices are still dropping.

Finding work can be tricky, and I actually got fired from my first two jobs here, which had never happened to me before. The first was from an art gallery -- I thought I'd try something completely different -- and after two days I was let go for (and this is a direct quote) "Unbridled enthusiasm". I know. Kind of weird. The next job was as a legal secretary at a well-known law firm here, and I was let go essentially for incompetence. And it was justified. I wasn't very good at the job. They did say lots of nice things about they'd be happy to give me a good reference, despite letting me go, because in the six weeks I was there they were fielding calls at the front desk from clients saying how nice and how helpful I was. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at the details or making sure any piece of paper I worked on left my desk absolutely perfect. I didn't test them on the good reference. I just let the job disappear from my resume.

I love the climate. I love the views. I have made good friends here. Santa Fe has a good cultural life. We have three colleges here and the Santa Fe Opera is based here. We have the Lensic, which is an old historic theater just off the Plaza and lots of people and things make it there.

Since being fired those two times I found a job at the local hospital, then left it to attend the Hypnotherapy Academy here, and I am now building my practice as a certified clinical hypnotherapist. I love what I do.

I still need to explore more of the state, because like pretty much every single one of our fifty states there are many things to see and do here.

And for anyone who is into knitting or crochet (as I am) the Taos Wool Festival the first weekend of October in Taos is absolutely amazing. Not to mention we have at least four excellent yarn shops here. And a great independent bookstore, Collected Works.

I think what I like the very best about living in Santa Fe is that this is a fairly small city, despite being the state capital, population around 75,000. I often see people I know when I'm out and about. It never takes more than fifteen or twenty minutes to get anywhere.

On the down side, drunk drivers are a huge problem in this state. Just a couple of days ago an inebriated driver got on the wrong way of I-25 (another thing that happens a lot here, getting on the wrong way on the interstate) and travelling at speeds or around 100 miles per hour, crashed into an ambulance which was being driven back to Santa Fe after bringing someone to a hospital in Albuquerque. The 19 year old EMT driving the ambulance was injured, but looks like she'll recover. The driver of the wrong-way car was killed, the passenger badly injured although will recover. Really bad drunk driving accidents happen here a lot more than I noticed back in Kansas, in a metropolitan area significantly larger. I don't fully understand why, except that there is apparently a policy of tolerance here that disappeared from the rest of the country a couple of decades ago.

Others mentioned the manana attitude here, and it can be frustrating at times. I'm originally from the east coast, have lived in a number of different parts of the country as an adult, including the DC area. I have learned not to expect swift service in a restaurant, even in a major chain. But recently I was in one of those chains, the server was one I'd had nearly a year earlier, and she not only remembered me but remembered something specific that I had said to her. Now that's Santa Fe!

[duhneece]

60. Great update

I live in southern NM and you taught me a thing or two...I may end up in Santa Fe if I can't find work here.

[SheilaT]

61. Another thing I love about living here:

Because this is such a small town, it's easy to see people you know any time you go out. This evening, after work, I stopped at my local Albertson's. As I was waiting in line, the woman behind me said, "I know you, don't I?" She did. We'd originally met a year ago, saw each other last summer once, and now again at the grocery store. We chatted, caught up, and it was delightful. I love it than I can have a sort of friendship that simply encompasses seeing someone every few months.

Because I moved here after a divorce, I have a connection that is different from the kind that those who grew up here have, or who moved here for other reasons. In the past four or six months I've come to realize how incredibly fortunate I am. I've been saying that even in my most optimistic fantasies of the marriage not ending (for what it's worth, he met someone else he decided he'd rather be with) I cannot imagine our moving here together. And even though there are things I still miss about my ex (we were very much on the same page politically, and we could talk about anything and everything) I am very happy with the life I have here now.

I can also say that this is a good place to be as a single, middle-aged woman. I would really not want to be young here. But at this point in my life's journey it's been easy to make friends and to build a new life.

[abqmufc]

62. TERRIBLE!

Live in Albuquerque for over 7 years now (been unemployed over 6 months), moved for work (from Tucson, originally from IL).

NM ranks near the worst in all the catagories you don't want - poverty, highest heroin addiction rate per capita, worst education, etc.

A doctor (and lifetime resident of ABQ) once said to me that NM politicians work on keeping the population poor and under educated b/c they have figured out how to make the state work off of federal funding for such programs....I tend to believe it these days.

We have a very conservative state government taking over who will be pro oil and natural gas and are willing to suspend the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act is they can figure out how to do it as it will benefit those who helped get them elected.

NM is a state that is stuck somewhere between "the Old West" and "new agers". It gets annoying quickly to see how much Santa Fe has changed into a land for the rich. Most State employees have to commute from ABQ daily b/c home prices in Santa Fe are no longer affordable for the middle class (and you can forget about Taos).

We were the last the feel the economic woes and will be the last to recover - this state is still posting high levels of unemployment.

I see NM going one of two ways and neither of them are positive. One, NM will become the energy whore for the USA. It will be a place where we mine our resources for energy and do little to protect the environment and what little water we have. Two, NM will look like AZ with 100s of gated retirement communities who are exempt from property tax (and thus really hurt the economy and public services).

The weather is great and the open space and public land is what has kept me here for so long.

I'll miss the green and red chillie when I move. But this is one NM who is desperately attempting to leave.

[abqmufc]

66. My first week in ABQ (7 years ago)

I moved to ABQ from Tucson as I'd finally found work back in 2003.

Tucson and ABQ look alot alike and the only major difference is Tucson is much hotter. In 7 years ABQ has adopted a lot of the things I didn't like in Tucson (massive growth for example).

My first experience was finding a place to live. I rented for the first 3 years. There is only one major property management company (AMMRE) and I'd beg you to stay clear or them! Nobody has anything nice to say about AMMRE. However, most rental homes are owned by folks in CA and other places outside of NM. This is b/c NM has always had cheap housing and many saw this as an investment opportunity, by buying a home and turning it over to a property management company to run. ABQ is also a college town and thus many homes go quickly around UNM (such as Nob Hill, a very nice older part of town). I moved in late fall and thus my options were limited due to college students renting most homes in the central part of town. ABQ does have a lot of sprawl but I'm one to oppose such "cracker jack houses" being built by the 1,000s on the West side of town. For me anything West of the Rio Grande River is not ABQ.

While looking for a house I stayed in a longterm hotel that allowed my dog to stay, it was a run down place but near UNM and in Nob Hill (a nice part of town). We lasted one week. The burn marks on the bathroom counter where from heroin spoons. That is what did it in for me. NM has the highest heroine addiction rate in the USA. Small towns North of Santa Fe are in epidemic situations.

In that first week I went to a concert downtown. Upon walking out with about 2000 other concert goers I watched 15 men beat up 1 man with baseball bats in the middle of the street. Many on-lookers including myself were about to stop the most violent act I've ever seen until someone said "they probably have guns"...i quickly learned in NM most carry heat and are not afraid to shoot. This is the most true to ABQ police who have shot a staggering number of people in the past 16 months.

That night I also heard about a horrific DWI accident on I-40 in town. A man went the wrong way on I-40 and killed a family.

Both the violence and the DWI crashes are a weekly event! It is sad to see how much violence and abuse goes on in this state. By abuse I mean substance, alcohol, and abuse of family and spouses.

Once you learn about the 100 of years of oppression that has existed in this state one begins to realize why everyone has seemingly lost hope in this state and turned to meth, the bottle or smack....or is a violent abusive person.

[comanchero]

68. Interesting what people think of the homeland.

Very interesting. I personally love it. Having lived all over the west and upper midwest. NM is growing way too fast. BTW I agree with cybergata

[Whapiti]

71. New Mexico is THE place to be...second only to AZ

[Name removed]

77. Deleted message

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