SperlingViews - Chaparral, New_mexico

Most people don't know us. When people ask "where are you originally from," and I say Chaparral, NM, they are like, "where?" Other people I meet from NM are from Las Cruces or north, and they think they know Chaparral. Most of the time, I say I'm from Las Cruces, everyone seems to have family there. But mostly, no one really knows the town like the inhabitants. Sure there are no jobs. People think we're poor. Others think we're foreign, (Welcome to America! Huh? I said New Mexico, not Mexico). But all in all, it's a wonderful place to grow up. I did. Many times I miss it, although I can't see myself going back. So if you ever get a chance, go. If you really look at the Land of Enchantment, you'll understand how the state got the nick name, for a good reason. So despite the economic (and in some instances racial) disparity, it is a beautiful place to see for all those who are willing to look.[read more...]

From one Santa Fe transplant to a possible other, think long and hard about moving to Santa Fe. Sure, the scenery is beautiful, the weather is not too bad and there is plenty of open space to lose yourself, BUT the job market is lousy, the cost of living is extremely high and the pay scale is very low compared to other cities. With the exception of the downtown area and Canyon Road, Santa Fe is a very poor city - it's a case of the have and the have-not's (where most of the citizens are the have-not's.) There are areas of the city where, if you forgot where you were at, you'd swear that you were in Mexico. It's very dirty and impoverished. Santa Fe is in an extreme drought. We had literally no snowfall this year and our water situation is getting scary (living in the middle of the desert.) We are on a water ration - this means, asking for water at a restaurant, no lawns, no washing your car in your driveway, no swimming pools/hot tubs...basically anything that you have to put water in - forget it. There is no grass at what few parks the city has. Just dirt soccer fields and weed patches. The environment is also suffering from the drought. Most of the trees on the south-east side of town are now dead and are posing an extreme fire danger, the National Forests will be closed to campers and hikers this summer (unless it happens to be a particularly rainy summer), and there won't be enough water in the river to even have a decent river rafting season. As far as nightlife goes, there is only one club in town (the other one closed down last winter), and things get very dull after you've lived here for a while. Believe me. I've done it all...rockclimbing, river rafting, skiing, etc...now I'm looking to move to where there's more excitement. The tourism board and chamber of commerce paint a rosy picture, but ask any citizen - things need to change for the better. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I wish someone would have told me all of this before I moved here and bought a house. We don't call it the "Land of Dis-Enchantment" for nothing.... [read more...]