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I personally wouldn't consider being closer to Las Vegas a good thing. Gambling is for suckers, and prostitution is for people who can't talk to women.
Arizona also has a bad history with racism, being one of the 16 states that, under the 1965 Civil Rights Act, must receive approval from the Justice Department or federal court in D.C. before making changes to its election procedures.
Sure, New Mexico has had its history with racism, but its no where near as bad as Arizona.
Arizona is very very hot during the summer. It reaches the 110's regularly.
New Mexico and Albuquerque are petty cool. The state has the highest non-white percentage of people out of any state, which is neither a good nor a bad thing, but it is pretty interesting.
Albuquerque temperature has an average high of about 69 and an average low of about 45 according to the Hong Kong observatory. It's skiing and snowboarding is not only good, but inexpensive.
The food is great, and is probably my favorite part of traditional New Mexico culture. The chili is world class and is the best in America hands down.
There's a rising movie industry growing in the state due to the cheap costs to use studios here and the great weather. Burqeuños take a lot of pride in Breaking Bad.
The big down side to the state is that it's quite poor; not Mississippi poor, but still pretty bad. Native american tribes in the state are some the poorest locations in the country.
On the other hand, Los Alamos is maybe the richest town in the country, but you would only benefit from that if you were a top-notch scientist.
That's my 2 cents.
I hope this helped.
--A kid born and raised in Albuquerque
Last edited by gltrost2; 09-11-2013 at 11:08 AM..
Reason: grammer mistakes
I'm not sure what the people are talking about regarding crime in ABQ. Firstly, the fellow who was referring to Wendy's may have been working either on Central or south of it. The southeast heights has long been a less than desirable part of town just like how most people in Phoenix avoid the southern section. Both states have high property crime rates.
New Mexico is definitely more genuine and less "fake" with the exception of Santa Fe. Arizona has way more transplants as a percentage of the population, many of which are snow haters. For whatever reason those types are less genuine. The same rule applies in Florida.
New Mexican food is far more unique than Arizona. Everything I've had in Arizona was either a chain or something from Sonora. Chile is king in NM and they will let you know as soon as your in the state. Don't get me wrong, there's some good Mexican in Tucson and the like but I don't know of any dish that is uniquely "Arizonan".
New Mexico's climate is far better as a whole than AZ unless your a snow hater. ABQ has the best four season climate in the country, and is a reasonable alternative to the west coast for retirees. A little snow in the winter, perfect spring and fall, and a mild summer with temperatures no higher than the '90s most of the time. In Phoenix and Tucson you have nice winters but the summers are just brutal.
Demographically, AZ is far more Anglo than NM. This is due to historic reasons. AZ is also very conservative, with NM being slightly left of center.
I will give AZ this: the people are generally more open due to being transplants. In NM many of the locals are incestuous in how they associate with people. It's like if you weren't in their clique in high school your never gonna be in their circle. Nepotism is rampant, and many people in general don't do much of anything productive.
The private sector in NM is also tiny outside of Intel. You can thank the gross receipts tax for that. Their largest company by employees based in the State is Allsups based in Clovis..yeah you probably never heard of them either!
I'm not sure what the people are talking about regarding crime in ABQ. Firstly, the fellow who was referring to Wendy's may have been working either on Central or south of it. The southeast heights has long been a less than desirable part of town just like how most people in Phoenix avoid the southern section. Both states have high property crime rates.
New Mexico is definitely more genuine and less "fake" with the exception of Santa Fe. Arizona has way more transplants as a percentage of the population, many of which are snow haters. For whatever reason those types are less genuine. The same rule applies in Florida.
New Mexican food is far more unique than Arizona. Everything I've had in Arizona was either a chain or something from Sonora. Chile is king in NM and they will let you know as soon as your in the state. Don't get me wrong, there's some good Mexican in Tucson and the like but I don't know of any dish that is uniquely "Arizonan".
New Mexico's climate is far better as a whole than AZ unless your a snow hater. ABQ has the best four season climate in the country, and is a reasonable alternative to the west coast for retirees. A little snow in the winter, perfect spring and fall, and a mild summer with temperatures no higher than the '90s most of the time. In Phoenix and Tucson you have nice winters but the summers are just brutal.
Demographically, AZ is far more Anglo than NM. This is due to historic reasons. AZ is also very conservative, with NM being slightly left of center.
I will give AZ this: the people are generally more open due to being transplants. In NM many of the locals are incestuous in how they associate with people. It's like if you weren't in their clique in high school your never gonna be in their circle. Nepotism is rampant, and many people in general don't do much of anything productive.
The private sector in NM is also tiny outside of Intel. You can thank the gross receipts tax for that. Their largest company by employees based in the State is Allsups based in Clovis..yeah you probably never heard of them either!
You really shouldn't be making blanket statements about how more genuine and less "fake" people in NM are in comparison to AZ or any other state. How can you honestly make an assessment like that? Secondly, although AZ has its share of nutcase politicians, AZ is not VERY conservative. If you've been here often, you would know better than to make a statement like that. In addition, does anyone in NM eat anything besides New Mexican cuisine? I hate to generalize, but I often hear from many NM posters how much better or unique the food is in NM but I would imagine that the residents do not eat this every single day. So what else do people eat there, how unique is it to NM, and what makes it far more unique as you put it?
You really shouldn't be making blanket statements about how more genuine and less "fake" people in NM are in comparison to AZ or any other state. How can you honestly make an assessment like that? Secondly, although AZ has its share of nutcase politicians, AZ is not VERY conservative. If you've been here often, you would know better than to make a statement like that. In addition, does anyone in NM eat anything besides New Mexican cuisine? I hate to generalize, but I often hear from many NM posters how much better or unique the food is in NM but I would imagine that the residents do not eat this every single day. So what else do people eat there, how unique is it to NM, and what makes it far more unique as you put it?
I could ask the same for you regarding Arizonan food. Firstly, chile is used in everything from candy to beer and is widespread throughout the state. And yes, there are those that eat it almost every day in some way or another. There is no other food I know of where an entire state embraces it in the same intensity. There is also the state cookie, the "Biscochitos", carne adovada, and posole in northern NM with hominy and red chile. Yes, you got philly cheesesteaks and garbage plates in cities within certain states, but it's not embraced through an entire state equally.
As far as AZ goes with people, I'll say that the Phoenix area is the epicenter of many "Fake" people. Perhaps I should be saying it's over commercialized instead in that nothing feels original except Camelback Mountain. It has the Florida vibe in that it is very hot, is outnumbered by transplants, and is filled with chain restaurants. I will say the people are friendlier than Florida though.
I totally agree with you. I do not believe anyone is disputing the importance of New Mexican food in New Mexico and throughout the Southwest, but I do not understand why some posters from NM constantly feel the need to challenge AZ (and Phoenix in particular) on things when there really is no reason for them to. ABQ is no Phoenix and Phoenix is no ABQ so I do not understand why posters are so concerned about comparing the two. I lived in Tucson for many years and enjoyed it, but looking back, it was the same tireless, ridiculous arguments coming from Albuquerqueans about Tucson and Tucsonans about PHX and there was even a time when I was sucked into that seemingly endless cycle of ridiculousness. Tucson and ABQ perhaps have more in common with each other than either does with Phoenix. So what. That's just the reality of it. Phoenix deserves it's place as the epicenter of the Southwest just as the other two cities offer plenty of opportunities and things to do/see, etc. for those wishing to visit or reside there. Of course the Phoenix metro will appear to be more commercialized than ABQ as it is over 4 times the size of that metro. It's just absolutely ridiculous for posters to attempt to write off a metro simply because they believe it doesn't offer unique food and has "fake people". Nobody is forcing anyone to be stripped away from their current cities to experience other cities that they simply wish to not be a part of and I want everyone in my city to be happy to be here, so if naysayers prefer, they can just stay tucked away in their own cities and hopefully everyone will remain secure and happy. LOL.
If you like wearing loaded guns everywhere you go because you`re paranoid, uneducated, and think you are going to "save the day", then AZ is the place for you. On a fixed income, yet vote Republican, AZ wins again.
Want to meet every ex Californian who either brags about how great it is there, or how bad and "socialist" it is? Then AZ it is. Too many Mormons, Republicans (the uneducated, low income ones), and a really high percentage of lowly educated residents. Sure, the scenery is nice, but that can`t make up for the excessive ignorance here. One of the main reasons I`m selling, and moving out. Maybe to Albuquerque, maybe not.
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AZ=racist capital of the world
