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First off, I have not been there so forgive me if this post seems ignorant. I got to thinking the other day, people talk so much about California, Arizona, and Texas but New Mexico seems left out. At least in my experience it seems you never hear about snowbirds going there, you never hear about people vacationing there, and you never hear about people moving to or from there?
Is it vastly different from the other three in some way? Or is it a well kept secret? I don't know if this seems vague or not, but it seems like it's not talked about much. Or am I just living under a rock?
The title of your thread bugs me. Why would we want the attention the other states get? Why? AND maybe we don't get the attention because we have a much lower population per square mile AND almost 1/3 of the state is military reservation. MILITARY, secret stuff going on.
NM generally speaking, is very low key, not flashy.
I guess AZ also managed to attract employers, which NM hasn't done very well, so people don't go there looking for jobs. Some bring their jobs with them. A few are able to get jobs with non-profit orgs in the state, or with the colleges and State offices, and small businesses. There's an active hospitality industry and spa industry in a few locations, but that sector of the economy is shrinking. Santa Fe and Taos have been attracting fewer luxury tourists. Galleries, spas and other luxury services have been closing, though there are still a few. There's a reason why the state has a high percentage of retirees. It attracts retirees from New York and California, and people who can afford second homes in NM. People who don't need jobs.
New Mexico "suffers" (or you might consider it a benefit) from a lot of the same problems that West Virginia does. It's just plain geographically isolated and there's no way around that. Both states are landlocked and mountainous, but NM has the added component of truly vast distances to overcome.
What's the distance from San Diego or LA to Phoenix? Ok, now what's the distance from Brownsville or Corpus Christi just to get to the New Mexico border, let alone get to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (which are both much higher and isolated in the mountains)?
And you might say "but Ray, other states are landlocked, are they not?". Ah. But states like Ohio and Michigan have the Great Lakes and ports on their coasts; Kentucky, Missouri, and the like can make use of the Mississippi/Ohio/Missouri/Arkansas watersheds and thus, barge traffic which drives economic activity, including exports. Neither NM nor WV have much of that luxury, and even WV gets some traffic very far up the Ohio river valley.
Both states suffer from under-educated populations. Corporations in the digital age aren't going to move into these places because they'd be unable to find qualified local talent and would be unlikely to attract talent to those locations.
Having retirees is great though. Money comes in and stays and retirees do not put much burden on schools or local police forces, courts or jails, less burden on the roads, but more on the hospitals and other medical services if and where those are covered by taxpayers.
California, Texas, and Arizona have larger populations and enjoy attention that that population brings from media and corporations. Corporate radar doesn’t see places/towns under 50k population so that means Roswell or larger. Roughly five places plus the Farmington area. The workforce in those specific places might not be educated and work-ready for corporate jobs. Attitudes and ambition are sometimes a bit backward in the Land of Manana compared to other places. People are a bit complacent and reluctant to relocate to another town or state if the job needs it. Is that a cultural thing? We hear about the Land of Entrapment.
None of that explains why NM isn’t the tourism hotspot that we think it should be. Lots of Americans are confused even about our statehood after more than a century. Santa Fe gets tourist attention but we need to have that shared in other places. For me, one of the most attractive features is the emptiness of some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. You don’t need to stand in line or get a reservation to see it.
OK. but that leaves 1/3 that is native reservation and 1/3 that is open to the public to buy and sell. Even so, why would we want any attenion? Too many people already live on that 1/3 that is left, the environment can't sustatin it long term with the population that is here, not to mention, if you want a decent job you won't find one unless you have a PhD and get on with one of the labs. Phillips corp is totally gone from the state and Intel is on a skeleton crew. We have an amazon warehouse that will work you for 15 $ an hour but it is sweatshop work. And they don't hire full time.
New Mexico "suffers" (or you might consider it a benefit) from a lot of the same problems that West Virginia does. It's just plain geographically isolated and there's no way around that. Both states are landlocked and mountainous, but NM has the added component of truly vast distances to overcome.
What's the distance from San Diego or LA to Phoenix? Ok, now what's the distance from Brownsville or Corpus Christi just to get to the New Mexico border, let alone get to Albuquerque or Santa Fe (which are both much higher and isolated in the mountains)?
And you might say "but Ray, other states are landlocked, are they not?". Ah. But states like Ohio and Michigan have the Great Lakes and ports on their coasts; Kentucky, Missouri, and the like can make use of the Mississippi/Ohio/Missouri/Arkansas watersheds and thus, barge traffic which drives economic activity, including exports. Neither NM nor WV have much of that luxury, and even WV gets some traffic very far up the Ohio river valley.
Both states suffer from under-educated populations. Corporations in the digital age aren't going to move into these places because they'd be unable to find qualified local talent and would be unlikely to attract talent to those locations.
Having retirees is great though. Money comes in and stays and retirees do not put much burden on schools or local police forces, courts or jails, less burden on the roads, but more on the hospitals and other medical services if and where those are covered by taxpayers.
Good points. I used to live in Dallas and would drive to Albuquerque to visit my relatives, I remember once when I had been on the road for 5 hours and had another 3 to get to the state border, which then was 3 hours to Albuquerque. I called my daughter, who lives in Delaware, and asked her how long does it take to drive from the east side of Delaware to the west side of Delaware, she said, "If we had a road that went straight it would be 15 minutes but you have to go around a bunch of towns so it would be 45 minutse". LMAO!
The perspective is relative. We think nothing of taking a day trip that is a 3 hour drive one way.
When I worked in southern NM we had computer problems and repair guys were based in El Paso (45 minute drive away), they had all of west Texas, and the whole state of New Mexico as their territory. The company was based in Boston and once the repair guy told me that his bosses told him, "Whiler you are in New Mexico, pop up to Santa Fe and..." Santa Fe is almost 300 miles north of Las Cruces. It is further from other towns that are in southern New Mexico, and it is about 60 miles north of the center of the state.
California, Texas, and Arizona have larger populations and enjoy attention that that population brings from media and corporations. Corporate radar doesn’t see places/towns under 50k population so that means Roswell or larger. Roughly five places plus the Farmington area. The workforce in those specific places might not be educated and work-ready for corporate jobs. Attitudes and ambition are sometimes a bit backward in the Land of Manana compared to other places. People are a bit complacent and reluctant to relocate to another town or state if the job needs it. Is that a cultural thing? We hear about the Land of Entrapment.
None of that explains why NM isn’t the tourism hotspot that we think it should be. Lots of Americans are confused even about our statehood after more than a century. Santa Fe gets tourist attention but we need to have that shared in other places. For me, one of the most attractive features is the emptiness of some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. You don’t need to stand in line or get a reservation to see it.
Why do you think there is an office for that television show America's Most Wanted at the Albuquerque International airport, it is because people think they are escaping to Mexico, never wondering why they don't need a passport.
Both states suffer from under-educated populations. Corporations in the digital age aren't going to move into these places because they'd be unable to find qualified local talent and would be unlikely to attract talent to those locations.
At one time New Mexico had more PhD's per capita than any other state because of Los Alamos and Sandia labs. Not saying they are all or even most of them from New Mexico, but people in New Mexico are not less educated, unless maybe you are considering the plethora of midwestern transplants we have gotten over the last 30 years.
At one time New Mexico had more PhD's per capita than any other state because of Los Alamos and Sandia labs. Not saying they are all or even most of them from New Mexico, but people in New Mexico are not less educated, unless maybe you are considering the plethora of midwestern transplants we have gotten over the last 30 years.
I seem to recall that some years ago, NM had the the highest PhDs per capita and the highest percentage of high school dropouts. Last numbers I saw, NM had improved up to 44th-45th.
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