Tell me about New Mexico

[BSF]

Actually, Los Alamos might be a good gaming town. Lord knows there's plenty of nerds out there. Other than that, yeah Durango looks like it might be your best bet.

In years past there was a gaming community in Los Alamos. I doubt that would have changed too much. However, it is not an easy, friendly drive from Los Alamos to Farmington. Pretty drive, yes. Easy and quick, no.

 

[kenjib]

New Mexico.

Best.Food.In.The.World!

 

[tarchon]

New Mexico?

I drove down this road called a freeway, for 5 hours straight, at 75 miles per hour.
Except for this city called Alberquerque, a small place called Gallop, and a few residences along the freeway, there was ... nothing.

I do mean nothing. Nothing at all. Imagine looking to the horizon, and seeing nothing, for hundreds upon hundreds of miles of lonely road.

I've done it about 12 times, around half of them going across the country. Neat stuff everywhere, by far my favorite state by interstate: lava flows, dune buggy races, the continental divide, sweat lodges, vans full of stranded Koreans, drive-through liquor stores, Route 66, Route 666, Indian casinos and tourist traps. You have to stop and taste the fresh chiles once in a while. It's said that the local Spanish has an odd lilting accent as well, though I'm insufficiently versed in the language to appreciate it.
Gallup at one time reliably had the cheapest gas between Lexington, Kentucky and Phoenix, AZ, (partly because of the 86-octane Colorado Plateau) but it's not that great anymore.
I will say it has bad car mojo though - most of my breakdowns have been in NM, but they're usually been... memorable.
Santa Fe may be a little overrated, unless you're really into decorative arts, but Taos is cool. I've managed to miss Roswell every time, sadly. Many archaeological hot spots, Chaco Canyon, Clovis, Black Draw.

I did know a guy from Durango; he seemed to think it was a bit of a pit (his description was eerily similar to what would become South Park, in retrospect), but it's hard to tell from that.

 

[Dr.Dan]

New Mexico?

I drove down this road called a freeway, for 5 hours straight, at 75 miles per hour.
Except for this city called Alberquerque, a small place called Gallop, and a few residences along the freeway, there was ... nothing.

I do mean nothing. Nothing at all. Imagine looking to the horizon, and seeing nothing, for hundreds upon hundreds of miles of lonely road.

Yah. I got lost there once, on my way to a really big hole in the ground in northern Arizona. Something like 120 miles in the wrong direction before I saw a road sign that corresponded to anything on my map. They don’t believe in road signs in New Mexico.

The whole detour gave the impression of being in a great big sandbox.

And then I saw the tumble weed . . .

Hope you like it lonely and desolate. Believe it or not, I’d go back in an instant.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

New Mexico?

I drove down this road called a freeway, for 5 hours straight, at 75 miles per hour.
Except for this city called Alberquerque, a small place called Gallop, and a few residences along the freeway, there was ... nothing.

I do mean nothing. Nothing at all. Imagine looking to the horizon, and seeing nothing, for hundreds upon hundreds of miles of lonely road.

Oh, it can way more nothing than what you were looking at.

The area to the east and north of Clovis is very nothing.

But west Texas is nothing... nothing at all.

Congratulations to your wife, Number 47, New Mexico is a good place to find a teaching job.

 

[Number47]

Wifey Here!

Thank you to everyone who posted! I have been on vacation for the last week and a half (boy my boss was NOT happy when I e-mailed him and told him I was giving him 4 days notice, but I let him know as soon as I got the official offer ) so this is the first time I have had a chance to read the thread. One of the problems I have with Detroit is that you can drive for an hour and still be in Detroit! I'll miss my family and friends but I will be glad to be in such a beautiful location. It seems that I may have to search for a game, but I know that there is a local Society for Creative Anachronism group. If anyone is going to game, they most likely are! Of course, maybe the Albuquerque gamers wouldn't mind meeting us in the middle somewhere...

Again, thanks to everyone who posted!!

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Just thought this bears repeating: Get out and do stuff. NM is neat as a touristy place, and has great outdoorsy vacation activities. If you make sure to hit them, your stay will be much more enjoyable, and less of a stinking pit of dispair.

Oh, and I'm not sure if this is true of Farmington, but Albuquerque was having a rising gang problem when I left (admittedly 4 years ago). If you've got kids, it's probablly something to try and find out about.

 

[LuYangShih]

Free advice, tell your wife to get another job. It is probably too late now, but I figure I might as well warn you. New Mexico is the absolute worst state in America to live in. I would rather live in a foreign country than live in New Mexico. The only decent part of the state is the weather and geography. The following statistics all apply to the state aptly named by the residents, "The Land Of Entrapment":

50th in Wages.
Routinely in the top five of real estate pricing. Combine that with the above for highest poverty rate in the US.
50th in quality of roads.
50th in education.
Routinely number three to number one in drunk driving.
Rated worst state in America for small businesses.
Albuqerque is routinely rated among the top five most violent cities, per capita, in the United States.

New Mexico has much more such statistics as the above, but right now I do not have the time to look them up. In addition to all of the above, it is almost impossible to find anything to do in New Mexico. Unless you like to go hiking, you are not going to find much of interest to do for fun, especially in Farmington. I know you will probably not listen to me, but I guarantee you that you would be better off staying in Detroit, or moving somewhere else. Just fair warning, and I hope you do not get caught in The Land Of Entrapment.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

But New Mexico does have more institutions of higher learning per capita than any other state in the union.

 

[BSF]

Clearly you have had a bad experience or two with New Mexico. Yes, there are things I don't like about it here. Though, I haven't consistently seem the same statistics that you are citing, we are certainly not the most favored state.

But, it is all a dichotomy. We also have the highest concentration of PHD's and one of the highest concentrations of millionaires.

We also have a number of issues that really boil down differences in culture. We have large Hispanic and Native American populations that do not hold to the same benchmarks for "success". I do not want to get into a social commentary, but it is sufficient to say that there is a bit of culture clash.

Obviously, everyone has different tastes. New Mexico is definitely not the type of place that appeals to everyone. What's more, I wouldn't want that to change! One of the things that appeals to me about New Mexico is the lack of population density.

As for the "Land of Entrapment", that is a reference that goes back several years. There was a "scandal" accusing local police forces of entrapment for speed violations. I was too young to understand it all at the time, but I can still remember the political cartoons in the paper.

Anyway, I do not think it is as bad as it could be protrayed. But then, what is? You may not enjoy it here, or you may find it very refreshing.