New Mexico
March 6, 2021 11:23 PM Subscribe
Please describe your living experiences, here. If you work in NM remotely, particularly Albuquerque or Santa Fe, please describe especially.
All atmosphere, including pandemic tolerance, weather, culture, etc. This is for a person who is interested in relocating there. Thanks!
All atmosphere, including pandemic tolerance, weather, culture, etc. This is for a person who is interested in relocating there. Thanks!
Albuquerque is so much more affordable than Santa Fe. But ABQ has a high crime rate, two or three or more times higher than the U.S. average.
New Mexico is especially good for people interested in outdoor recreation. We also have more going on that you might expect in filming, visual arts, music, food, and alcoholic beverages. For the latter, I mean mainly craft beers, but we also have some distilleries and wineries. We also have more DWIs than the rest of the country, but that problem has lessened. We also have the best flamenco outside of Spain.
The weather in ABQ has four seasons, but is pretty moderate. The state is often in a drought, but that hasn't personally affected me since I moved here in 2009.
Higher education costs less here than in many other states.
I have been working remotely for a year, and I haven't had any significant problem.
Most of the state is blue, but we do a rural-urban divide.
At least in ABQ, there has been little problem with mask-wearing and other pandemic protocols. I believe our governor has generally done a good job mitigating against the pandemic.
Our legislature is very part-time and understaffed, which I think holds us back. New Mexico often leads the "bad" lists and lags on the "good" lists. We are high in poverty and low in education.
I don't know if it is my age or what, but it can be a little hard to make friends.
New Mexico or its urban areas have a higher rate of LGBT, but there isn't much of a strong LGBT community. We do have an LGBT film festival.
posted by NotLost at 7:35 AM on March 7, 2021
New Mexico is especially good for people interested in outdoor recreation. We also have more going on that you might expect in filming, visual arts, music, food, and alcoholic beverages. For the latter, I mean mainly craft beers, but we also have some distilleries and wineries. We also have more DWIs than the rest of the country, but that problem has lessened. We also have the best flamenco outside of Spain.
The weather in ABQ has four seasons, but is pretty moderate. The state is often in a drought, but that hasn't personally affected me since I moved here in 2009.
Higher education costs less here than in many other states.
I have been working remotely for a year, and I haven't had any significant problem.
Most of the state is blue, but we do a rural-urban divide.
At least in ABQ, there has been little problem with mask-wearing and other pandemic protocols. I believe our governor has generally done a good job mitigating against the pandemic.
Our legislature is very part-time and understaffed, which I think holds us back. New Mexico often leads the "bad" lists and lags on the "good" lists. We are high in poverty and low in education.
I don't know if it is my age or what, but it can be a little hard to make friends.
New Mexico or its urban areas have a higher rate of LGBT, but there isn't much of a strong LGBT community. We do have an LGBT film festival.
posted by NotLost at 7:35 AM on March 7, 2021
Also, a good portion of the state economy is based on oil and gas. And we have a lot of federal employment.
posted by NotLost at 7:37 AM on March 7, 2021
posted by NotLost at 7:37 AM on March 7, 2021
I used to stay at a friend’s house outside of Santa Fe in a rural area a few times a year. Even coming from nearby Denver, I was always surprised at the altitude and the dryness and the dustiness. I felt like I could taste the dust and it would get all over everything.
The food is very good and the buildings are charming, but there’s a lot of poverty, and you could drive through small communities where it felt like you were in a developing nation. I very much would feel the white versus Mexican/indigenous gap for income levels.
The arts are very strong and impressive.
posted by umwhat at 10:21 AM on March 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
The food is very good and the buildings are charming, but there’s a lot of poverty, and you could drive through small communities where it felt like you were in a developing nation. I very much would feel the white versus Mexican/indigenous gap for income levels.
The arts are very strong and impressive.
posted by umwhat at 10:21 AM on March 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I haven't lived there but I have had many friends and co-workers that did. The ones that are happy are into the outdoors, food, the arts, or all three, and have good jobs. The ones that are unhappy are other than white, straight, cis, etc., and have had trouble finding decent work. There doesn't seem to be much economic activity outside of the military/national security/casino fields. Santa Fe is a big tourist destination, and very expensive given the median income. ABQ is more affordable, still has some great food and arts. There's nowhere in the state that's truly urban, if that's important to you. The natural beauty is really something. You can see the Milky Way pretty much anywhere dark outside one of the major cities. The skiing is world-class. Lots of Native American culture. The University of New Mexico is a good school, and affordable. Thanks to subsidies the ABQ airport has decent regional flight frequency.
posted by wnissen at 1:45 PM on March 7, 2021
posted by wnissen at 1:45 PM on March 7, 2021
Response by poster: LGBTQI not necessarily a factor but that's great to know (and a little disheartening)
posted by firstdaffodils at 7:32 PM on March 7, 2021
posted by firstdaffodils at 7:32 PM on March 7, 2021
Where is this person moving from? A few years ago, I wrote an essay about the pros and cons of living here.
posted by olopua at 8:28 PM on March 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by olopua at 8:28 PM on March 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I live in ABQ. I have friends in the LGBT community and I would say the community is strong in ABQ, but you must keep in mind the size of the city. There are going to be less of everything here, or at least less variety.
ABQ is the city with the biggest population in NM, and it still, to me, feels like a very small town (we moved here from Austin TX, and before that we were in Orlando FL so that was my basis for comparison). ABQ has everything a big city has (except an Ikea, alas) but there is just a bit less of it. On the plus side, traffic is almost non-existent (however people who have lived here all their lives think traffic is terrible so I guess it depends on your frame of reference), its 15 mins to get anywhere in the city, including the great little airport. Lots of out door activities and amazing places to visit. Really close to other states with more outdoor activities like the southern portion of Utah, Colorado, Grand Canyon area in AZ etc. However, as someone above noted, there is terrible drought right now and everything may be on fire this summer, who knows...
Crime is... how shall I put it? Yes, it seems to me like there is a lot of crime here, but its pretty much avoidable if you take precautions, and depending on your lifestyle. When people tell you how to avoid crime here, take them seriously, do what they tell you, and that goes a long way to avoiding most of the problems. So for example, NEVER leave ANYTHING out visible in your car. Obviously, don't leave anything out lying around your yard/property that you want to keep, lock that all up. Don't engage or antagonize people in traffic. Etc. Etc. Etc. You just have to be a little aware and a little cautious and then its mostly fine.
I found people to be really friendly when we moved here, but that was four years ago, just a bit ahead of the current influx of Californians/Texans fleeing their burning/freezing states and buying up all the available housing, so attitudes may have changed a bit (understandably).
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:54 AM on March 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
ABQ is the city with the biggest population in NM, and it still, to me, feels like a very small town (we moved here from Austin TX, and before that we were in Orlando FL so that was my basis for comparison). ABQ has everything a big city has (except an Ikea, alas) but there is just a bit less of it. On the plus side, traffic is almost non-existent (however people who have lived here all their lives think traffic is terrible so I guess it depends on your frame of reference), its 15 mins to get anywhere in the city, including the great little airport. Lots of out door activities and amazing places to visit. Really close to other states with more outdoor activities like the southern portion of Utah, Colorado, Grand Canyon area in AZ etc. However, as someone above noted, there is terrible drought right now and everything may be on fire this summer, who knows...
Crime is... how shall I put it? Yes, it seems to me like there is a lot of crime here, but its pretty much avoidable if you take precautions, and depending on your lifestyle. When people tell you how to avoid crime here, take them seriously, do what they tell you, and that goes a long way to avoiding most of the problems. So for example, NEVER leave ANYTHING out visible in your car. Obviously, don't leave anything out lying around your yard/property that you want to keep, lock that all up. Don't engage or antagonize people in traffic. Etc. Etc. Etc. You just have to be a little aware and a little cautious and then its mostly fine.
I found people to be really friendly when we moved here, but that was four years ago, just a bit ahead of the current influx of Californians/Texans fleeing their burning/freezing states and buying up all the available housing, so attitudes may have changed a bit (understandably).
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:54 AM on March 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
OH sorry, meant to add that my husband's company is in San Francisco and he works remotely. He has done this for going on five years now and has had no major problems.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:55 AM on March 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:55 AM on March 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: All valuable, thank you! LGBTQI is not necessarily a declared label, but I don't really know if I'd like to live somewhere that would have concerns with it, regardless.
posted by firstdaffodils at 11:48 AM on March 8, 2021
posted by firstdaffodils at 11:48 AM on March 8, 2021
As a queer resident of Albuquerque, I would say that the state has greatly improved in the last 20 years in terms of queer-friendliness, as has the rest of the country. Because it's a much smaller town, it's a small "pool," and it can take a while to find your people here. I've found this even more the case in Santa Fe; socializing there is more insular. It can be hard for adults to make new friends in both places, especially if you're working remotely. But there's lots to do outdoors and the weather is more moderate than most other places, though still allowing for all four seasons.
I stay because it has much more sunlight and cleaner air than anyplace else I've ever lived and both are important for my mental and physical health.
posted by answergrape at 12:40 PM on March 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I stay because it has much more sunlight and cleaner air than anyplace else I've ever lived and both are important for my mental and physical health.
posted by answergrape at 12:40 PM on March 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
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Finding a place to rent, depending on budget, may be next to impossible. The housing market is also crazy here like many places - median home price is over $600,000 now.
A lot of people are moving here. A lot of locals are being pushed out. Culturally you have that and you have Northern New Mexican Hispanic population, Puebloans, White and LatinX mixing and not mixing together. Usually there’s a lot of art and music and food happening but, pandemic.
There’s a major drought so things are very dry and very dusty.
There are lots of things to do outside, but everything has gotten very crowded and busy, because pandemic and more people visiting and moving here and using outdoor spaces.
Things are still closed or only partially open here, but our numbers are generally low-ish and people wear masks. We have a fairly high rate of vaccination too so our numbers should remain low.
If you have Facebook, I recommend scrolling through the “Santa Fe Bulletin Board” to read (though not completely accurate) what people are asking and talking about to get a sense of what’s going on here.
I love Santa Fe. You may love Santa Fe, but it can be a tough place to live and find community.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 7:03 AM on March 7, 2021 [2 favorites]