re: O-T: Tell me about New Mexico.

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Albuquerque

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low crime rates.

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To be fair, this may be related to our "officer involved shooting" rate.

LINK

Indians. Colder than you'd think.

Move to Farmington. Live cheaply only an hour from Durango. Buy a jeep and make full use of BLM lands before the Bundy's take it all back.

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What about New Mexico? Is it the Mississippi of the West? No one seems to talk about it as the place to go.

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If by Mississippi you mean poor and uneducated then yes. NM is always near the top of any list related to trashiness (poverty, education, teen pregnancy, etc). This is mainly due to the illegal and legal Mexicans near the southern border and the Natives up in the northern part of the state. The ABQ/Rio Rancho/Los Alamos/Santa Fe cluster is a solid region that is very much unlike the rest of the state in regards to trashy stats.

Jobs:
Northern NM:
As mentioned above, there are several military bases, 2 national research labs, a few large tech operations, lots of tourism, and UNM.

Southern NM:
Copper mining in Silver City area, Border Patrol & other federal LEO, NMSU, lots of federal govt jobs, NASA, White Sands Missile Range, and farming around Las Cruces.

Eastern NM
Oil & gas, Potash mines, Nuclear Waste storage

People:
Northern NM:
Mix of Natives, Mexicans, science/engineer nerds, hippies, artsy folk, Occupy Wall Street types, retired military.

Southern NM:
Mexicans, cowboys, mexicans, NASA nerds, mexicans, military, mexicans, college kids, mexicans, retirees, more mexicans.

Eastern NM
Mexicans, cowboys, oil field baws, out of state oil field baws who hate the desert. W TX vibe out here.

Statewide:
Very DGAF attitude. Not as flashy as Phx or stoned as Denver. Hispanic, Native, and cowboy undertones everywhere.

Nature:
Northern NM:
Southern tip of Rockies, so pretty much anything you find in S CO you will find in N NM (skiing, lakes, rivers, hiking, camping, etc). Lots of archaeological stuff. Lots more I probably don't even know about, haven't spent much time up north.

Southern NM
White Sands National Monument, Ruidoso/Cloudcroft mountain towns, lots of desert, some caves and archaeological stuff out in SW NM.

Eastern NM
Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains (technically TX, but right on the border), lots of mountains, high desert areas.

Unless you are military, Border Patrol, engineer, oil & gas, hippy, or a retiree there is really no reason to move to NM. That being said, it has some of the most beautiful landscapes (many highlights in Breaking Bad) in the country. And some good salt of the earth Mexicans and cowboys.

it's beautiful

stayed in albuquerque for near a month in 2012

all kinds of great food places

I lived just outside the New Mexican border--in the TX panhandle. Traveled through the state frequently. I've never felt so lonely. My family and I decided to move back to MS after 6 months. We feel like we're back in civilization again. That should tell you something.

Never cared much for Sante Fe (though beautiful country). Albuquerque was pretty cool. But the thing is, they're cities surrounded my nothing. Cool stuff doesn't pass through often.

Nice places to visit. Beautiful scenery. But I would never live there.

dry

Santa Fe and the surrounding area is great if you're into the outdoors, a chill vibe, art and green chilies. Really enjoyed the visit but don't think many people live there year round

Ran out of gas there once.

Too close to Texas