Unique - 12/14/2015

I have lived in Gallup for over 20 years and find this area very interesting. The tourist just blowing through see the vagrants & general run-down appearance, turn up their nose & yack about what a hole Gallup is, which is fine with me. There is a motocross park, bow range, rifle, pistol, & shotgun range, bicycle & mountain bike trails, the Cibola National forest, diverse hunting (elk, deer, quail, dove, coyote & more), hiking, fishing, pinon gathering, dangerous critters (mountain lions & bears), rock climbing, the vast 28,000 square mile Navajo Reservation, and more to do here. A pansy-ass city boy would probably find Gallup boring but adventerous types have plenty to do here. The people here are some of the most interesting I have ever met. Cowboys, Navajos, Zunis, Mexicans, Arabs, Blacks, Phillippinos, Chinese, Hopis, Apaches, Mormons, and more manage to get along here with little fanfare. If you want the "Santa Fe" experience please go there and buy some fake Indian jewelry and pretend you are in the Southwest. I like to sit and talk with older folks, their stories are educational, funny, and many times tragic, but genuine. Plenty of people have become lost and died in the surrounding wilderness and died but it's just a reminder foolish behavior has consequences. Gallup feells lost in time & I hope it stays that way.

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Living in Gallup - 10/26/2012

Gallup NM has great places to hike around and minimal cultural diversity. I found most of the white folk ( I am caucasion) to be super red neck.. I am having a hard time adjusting. I am in culture shock and this is the first time I have ever lived somewhere where I was a true minority. I love Native American spirituality and am finding the tribes here to be unfriendly. I have made a few good friends here but that was hard to do. I LOVE RED ROCK PARK and you can go from one terain to a completely different one in only about 20 minutes. I love the high desert but the people leave a lot to be desired.

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Great Little Gallup - 6/29/2011

I have to argue with the so called statistics. There are 3 kinds of lies and this is one of them in my view. I am/was an ER nurse and we see the worst a society has to offer. I have dealt with less murders here in a 14 year period than a 6 month period in Memphis TN and Jackson MS. I have found Gallup to be full of good people. There are supposedly 32 nationalities here and it is quite diverse. If you can not adapt this is not the place for you. It has many aspects of a frontier border town. It is not overly pretty. It is dusty. It is also rugged and so are the people that settled Gallup. There is not a lot of shopping or theatre or opera (though there is some) or other things to do here unless your into outdoor activities. That makes Gallup an ideal place to save money. Gallup has problems like everywhere else. The problems here are not that bad. Petty crimes and low murder rates. Nothing like other places I have lived. The beggers here do not try to kill you after you refuse them and they just go away. This makes me wonder what Bob and Carl were doing and where they were going that they were greeted with hoardes of beggers bothering them. It is not like they were mugged. Just say "no." They generally go away. The key is you must be flexible and adapt. Your life and where you live are what YOU make it. Do not try to change people as they live like they want to. Accept people and places for what they are and not for what they are not and life is easier for all. If you do not like a place you always have the choice to move. If you need a comparison try Memphis TN where you can get killed on the golf course or by driving in the wrong area at night... but there are things to do there. My first year here was tough as I missed grass trees and water. It took a while to adapt and once I did I found Gallup to be a good place and a good place to invest in. Just use some common sense (not so common any more)and do not leave things out if you do not want it stolen. Lock your car doors and lock your house. Do not hang out with the wrong people, make some friends, avoid drama. The people here are NOT pretentious and even most of the Doctors are called by first name. Keeping up with the Jones' does not happen here and it is a pretty laid back. Life here is good for me and my family. It can be for you too. Full disclosure- I am also a Realtor at Century 21 Action Realty of Gallup.

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Not Bad - 6/29/2011

I have read a few reviews of Gallup here and am a bit disappointed. The idea that just leaving your things outside is asking for them to be messed with, and that as soon as you set foot in this town you are attacked by hoards of transients is simply an exaggeration in my opinion. I like Gallup, its not too big, you can be anywhere in town from anywhere in town in about twenty minutes. So Gallup is not a metropolis, if thats what you want, Gallup is not your place. HOWEVER Gallup is certainly no hole in the wall. I drive an expensive German car, and I am NOT afraid to “leave it out” in front of my house, work, shops, parks…. Anywhere. We have a very interesting and rich history here. While there ARE transients here, I have to ask, what town doesn't have them? Try going to New York NY, Orlando FL, (both metropolises) or Durango CO, Ruidoso NM, (Both small towns) and NOT finding homeless or somehow downtrodden people. You cant do it. The size of the town is great, the people are quiet, not stuck up, talk to most of them and they will be friendly right back. Despite statistics, I, and most everyone I know, does not feel that Gallup’s economy has been effected much by the national downturn. We have felt a little, but we are by no means devastated, or a ghost town. Gallup is the kind of place that, to live here you have to be a creative, adventurous person. If you want to be told what is fun, where to go, and how to spend your money having fun, maybe this is not the place for you. But if you like the outdoors, participating in (not being a spectator to) sports, and fun in the sun/snow in general. This is a great place to live. The summers are not scorching hot, the winters are not comparable to Alaska. Our relatively mild seasons and the wonderful people here make it a decent, fairly quiet place to live.

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Real Americana - 5/2/2010

There are worlds that collide in a kaleidoscopic way in Gallup. Culture here is more palpable than Starbucks. History is settled, but the remnants linger on. A kind of rock and roll ghost town of time past-of cowboys and indians; here, where the Natives have their own America and bartering in turquoise is a common occurrence. Where Navajo and Zuni walk with railroad men down historic route 66, and the dust never settles, and the mournful whistle of the night train from LA marks a steady cadence, Gallup is an amazing anachronism that must be protected, and ultimately, revered. Nothing less can do to preserve the heartbeat of the nation. You want to feel America. This is the place.

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Hell On Earth - 12/2/2009

Carl's opinion of Gallup is spot on, but treads a little lightly. Literally everybody who sets foot within city limits is immediately accosted by hoards of local street drunks from the neighbouring Navajo reservation begging for handouts. It's a constant hassle, for tourists and residents alike. Crime is another major factor. Anything left outside for more than ten minutes tends to be pilfered. Simply leaving one's rubbish out is an invitation for it getting rifled through for empty aluminium tins. I once had an "inventive soul" try to sell me half a discarded coffee maker on the street. Spoils from an apparent dumpster dive. The affairs of the locals are carried on in such a fashion that it would make something from the back-woods of Afghanistan or Appalachia look like a Tea party at the Ritz. Simply put, it's quite possibly the least civilised place I've ever had the misfortune to live in.

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Not Recommended - 3/20/2009

Gallup is a dirty, ugly, and boring city stuck in the middle of nowhere. It's a two hour drive to get anywhere remotely interesting. Houses here are overpriced, but I must admit the property taxes are comparatively low. Some folks come here and love the desert "scenery" and the southwestern culture, but I don't get it. People here are undereducated, think nothing of damaging your property, and drive like idiots. If you are at all into civilization, culture, and generally leading an interesting and meaningful life, don't move here!

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