TAOS New Mexico....BETA.....?

[Canada1]

where including Espanola....

arroyonm, buy land in TA esse.

And yes, Many other Anglos have been burned out. I guess I don't know what makes some percieved as a threat and some accepted. Yeti, moving on was the right thing.

Here is the truth about northern New Mexico. Every Anglo I know who was born and still lives there is trying to find a way to get to Durango or farther away. This even includes those that moved to ABQ. My parents and Grand Parents were very happy there. You'll never understand Machismo until you've lived there. There are a heck of alot of locals with hearts of gold that would share their last food with you if you were a friend in need. It's a wierd place. Is is also a wonderful place.

Yeti, I would never move there to raise my kids there as an outsider. I had people try some of the shit they were doing to your kids when I was young. Then someone told them who I was and they shut the hell up. No one had your back. You made the right choice getting out of there. Good place to be a ski bum. Tough place to raise a family if your from somewhere else.

[raisingarizona13]

As I mentioned earlier I just spent 7 days staying in Gallup and working out on the Navaho rez. I consider myself to be very open to other cultures, not a racist, and a tolerant person. In just 7 days out there I came back a little skewed. I have never experienced such racism during my whole life. If people want to be treated and excepted as equals then maybe they should start with themselves because honestly I left saying to myself, fuck all those assholes, and I have always been one to stick up for the native cultures and protection of sacred lands but now I'm struggling to still do so.

[ill-advised strategy]

No one had your back. You made the right choice getting out of there.

Nahh...I was there for quite a while, after a while lots of people had my back. Moving was a mistake, because everywhere I went in my fire career people knew what a clusterfuck Taos is and had experiences with wild, illiterate, sketchy AD crews from Taos and associated my resume and experience with that mess. Additionally, my paperwork was all fucked up, I lost qualifications, and it was a shock to go deal with the pace and social structure of the real world. Additionally, the whole situation was too much change and stress for my family, and the difference between me being raised in a place with good public schools and a University versus my girlfriend being raised in Mississippi and Utah was that she didn't care nearly as much about her children growing up with a rotten education in an environment of racial hostility. It was more of a problem for me than for her, she just assumes schools are going to suck because hers sucked, and she's used to everyone being racially hostile because of her time growing up in Mississippi. So I wanted the kids to grow up somewhere nice where they'd learn english from intelligent teachers, and she didn't care. I left, and they stayed. Fuck it. It all went wrong.

Good ski scene, great terrain with iffy snow, freedom, scenery, fun times, great food....fucked up dysfunctional culture, terrible schools, expensive real estate. YMMV

As for the bullshit about me being some self-appointed expert...what the fuck, they're stories about my life in a place somebody wanted to know about; yeah I'm an expert on my own experiences living there and my opinions on the place. Why don't you post your own stories and your own opinions instead of ripping on mine? Why don't you contribute something of your own? Maybe you could add to the discussion. What, is your life a big secret, is Taos some big secret? Don't be scared homie.

I'm sure if I was having this conversation in Taos somebody would be like "here, hit this...mellow out mannnn."

[buck_nasty]

Yeti,

If you ever make it back out to Taos I wanna make some turns with ya. I'm sure you could show me some good stashes, but mostly so I could hear more of your crazy stories on those long, slow lift rides.

[Canada1]

As for the bullshit about me being some self-appointed expert...what the fuck, they're stories about my life in a place somebody wanted to know about; yeah I'm an expert on my own experiences living there and my opinions on the place. Why don't you post your own stories and your own opinions instead of ripping on mine? Why don't you contribute something of your own? Maybe you could add to the discussion. What, is your life a big secret, is Taos some big secret? Don't be scared homie.

I'm sure if I was having this conversation in Taos somebody would be like "here, hit this...mellow out mannnn."

Not scarred, just not as articulate as you. I made a choice to move 20+ years ago. When I go back now, I'm shocked by the pace of life. Growing up there I knew no differrent. It is good and bad. I added a few of my thoughts here in response to the original question of what is Toas, What is Northern New Mexico. I did not live in Toas. New Mexico is my Home, but it is not my childrens home. I love the fact that people there don't judge based on what your wearing. My wife laughs when I talk about the iron on patches on tough skins being cool! I never knew or cared about brands until I left for college. Still don't , but she keeps me employable. Seriously sorry to have offended! Not at all what was intended. Your thoughts and stories rang true. I was trying to justify your decissions as I look back at some of my own. I have not been back since my grandmothers death a few years ago. I probably need to make the trip. At a minimum, I owe you a beer and a bowl of chili.

Peace out!

[raisingarizona13]

Nahh...I was there for quite a while, after a while lots of people had my back. Moving was a mistake, because everywhere I went in my fire career people knew what a clusterfuck Taos is and had experiences with wild, illiterate, sketchy AD crews from Taos and associated my resume and experience with that mess. Additionally, my paperwork was all fucked up, I lost qualifications, and it was a shock to go deal with the pace and social structure of the real world. Additionally, the whole situation was too much change and stress for my family, and the difference between me being raised in a place with good public schools and a University versus my girlfriend being raised in Mississippi and Utah was that she didn't care nearly as much about her children growing up with a rotten education in an environment of racial hostility. It was more of a problem for me than for her, she just assumes schools are going to suck because hers sucked, and she's used to everyone being racially hostile because of her time growing up in Mississippi. So I wanted the kids to grow up somewhere nice where they'd learn english from intelligent teachers, and she didn't care. I left, and they stayed. Fuck it. It all went wrong.

Good ski scene, great terrain with iffy snow, freedom, scenery, fun times, great food....fucked up dysfunctional culture, terrible schools, expensive real estate. YMMV

As for the bullshit about me being some self-appointed expert...what the fuck, they're stories about my life in a place somebody wanted to know about; yeah I'm an expert on my own experiences living there and my opinions on the place. Why don't you post your own stories and your own opinions instead of ripping on mine? Why don't you contribute something of your own? Maybe you could add to the discussion. What, is your life a big secret, is Taos some big secret? Don't be scared homie.

I'm sure if I was having this conversation in Taos somebody would be like "here, hit this...mellow out mannnn."

So where did life lead you Yetiman? What was after Taos and where are you now? Sorry for digging but reading your posts is just to good and I don't want to let this thread die.

[skieurmalade]

Here is the truth about northern New Mexico. Every Anglo I know who was born and still lives there is trying to find a way to get to Durango or farther away.

huh. Well you did say STILL lives here, but I think that's a legitimate prevailing vibe anywhere with any race. I just moved back to the land of my birth. Couldn't wait to come back, although that was an eventual decision. Best food and people anywhere. Slow pace that gives Hawaii a cruise for its money. Plus the trees have very little undergrowth and go to 12000 feet making some of the best tree skiing on earth I'm fairly sure. Oh, and hell yeah for the Espana Wal Mart. That's my grocery store

[buck_nasty]

I'd be interested to hear any former or current Taos mags' opinions on the proposed Main Street lift. Thoughts? http://skitaos.org/content/master-development-plan

[Meadow Skipper]

I'd be interested to hear any former or current Taos mags' opinions on the proposed Main Street lift. Thoughts? http://skitaos.org/content/master-development-plan

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...Taos-Expansion

[up an down]

Nahh...I was there for quite a while, after a while lots of people had my back. Moving was a mistake, because everywhere I went in my fire career people knew what a clusterfuck Taos is and had experiences with wild, illiterate, sketchy AD crews from Taos and associated my resume and experience with that mess. Additionally, my paperwork was all fucked up, I lost qualifications, and it was a shock to go deal with the pace and social structure of the real world. Additionally, the whole situation was too much change and stress for my family, and the difference between me being raised in a place with good public schools and a University versus my girlfriend being raised in Mississippi and Utah was that she didn't care nearly as much about her children growing up with a rotten education in an environment of racial hostility. It was more of a problem for me than for her, she just assumes schools are going to suck because hers sucked, and she's used to everyone being racially hostile because of her time growing up in Mississippi. So I wanted the kids to grow up somewhere nice where they'd learn english from intelligent teachers, and she didn't care. I left, and they stayed. Fuck it. It all went wrong.

Good ski scene, great terrain with iffy snow, freedom, scenery, fun times, great food....fucked up dysfunctional culture, terrible schools, expensive real estate. YMMV

As for the bullshit about me being some self-appointed expert...what the fuck, they're stories about my life in a place somebody wanted to know about; yeah I'm an expert on my own experiences living there and my opinions on the place. Why don't you post your own stories and your own opinions instead of ripping on mine? Why don't you contribute something of your own? Maybe you could add to the discussion. What, is your life a big secret, is Taos some big secret? Don't be scared homie.

I'm sure if I was having this conversation in Taos somebody would be like "here, hit this...mellow out mannnn."

i can relate to the children education issue... my 1st son was born in '83 ... it took me almost 3 years to get custody even with no marriage, or maybe because of no marriage.. after that i had a decision to make about where to spend my winters, and i rejected taos because of the (at least at that time) crappy day care/school options. i heard a lot of bad things about the public schools from many sources.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Interesting thread. I'll be moving to Northern NM in a year or two because my wife's family is there. I'll be thrilled to escape the NYC shit show, but also excited to move to a place that has some personality. Yetiman, keep the stories coming.

[neckdeep]

New Mexico's murder, rape and assault rates are on the same level as Detroit, D.C., Baltimore and New Orleans. So are the property crime rates. If you want to live in BFE nowhere, why would you chose this??? Seriously, Idaho is really BFE but at least our murder rate is the 3rd lowest in the nation. People's willingness to kill one another speaks volumes about the overall quality of life in a place. And we get snow (precious water) every year. I've been to NM four times. It's ok to visit but in terms of scenery and wildlife, as good as it may be, it's the lesser of all the western states. Its got the southern tip of the goods, the tail end of the Rockies, and a lot of scrubby desert and malpais makes up the rest. Virtually no water resources. Sure, it compares well to west Texas or southern Arizona, I guess. No offense, but I'd rather live with the Momos any day.

[skysos]

Wow, this is an interesting thread. I went to middle and high school in New Mexico, in the "East Mountains" near Albuquerque. We moved there when I was 12 and I was super happy to get out of Buffalo, NY. That was 1978 and I lived there until 1985. The white population basically stayed out of the hispanic areas that were known to be hostile. This includes large areas of Northern NM -- places like Espanola, Truchas, Penasco, etc. Taos was very authentic back then, but I think it's changed a lot. It sounds bad, but to me it wasn't a big deal and I found the mix of cultures to be very interesting and because of that I grew up without any preconceived racial prejudices. As kids, whites, hispanic, and native americans often hang out successfully. Invariably, the hostile areas are super poor. They have a pretty good reason to be resentful, but that's just common sense. I wouldn't walk into a bar in Trenton, NJ either. If you go, go as a tourist and do tourist things, but live in a place that fits your socio-economic comfort zone. Santa Fe is a good choice. Yes, the schools suck if you are outside of Albuquerque, but there is a strong scientific community there, and if kids are so inclined, it's a good place to start. Worst thing that ever happened to me in NM was getting a knife pulled on me and my friends by some hookers on Central in ABQ, but we deserved it :-). I had a gun pulled on me in Oakland, so it can happen anywhere.

As a skier, I'm not too excited about Taos anymore. Too many dry seasons. Steeps suck when there's no snow, but when it's deep it's a great place.

[Cyber Cop]

New Mexico's murder, rape and assault rates are on the same level as Detroit, D.C., Baltimore and New Orleans. So are the property crime rates. If you want to live in BFE nowhere, why would you chose this??? Seriously, Idaho is really BFE but at least our murder rate is the 3rd lowest in the nation. People's willingness to kill one another speaks volumes about the overall quality of life in a place. And we get snow (precious water) every year. I've been to NM four times. It's ok to visit but in terms of scenery and wildlife, as good as it may be, it's the lesser of all the western states. Its got the southern tip of the goods, the tail end of the Rockies, and a lot of scrubby desert and malpais makes up the rest. Virtually no water resources. Sure, it compares well to west Texas or southern Arizona, I guess. No offense, but I'd rather live with the Momos any day.

stay with the momos homo.

[Cyber Cop]

Taos is in a hole. the whole thing. too bad, big hills...

[Lani]

neckdeep: is murder rate a big concern of yours? Keep you awake at night? There's also a small stream here called the Rio Grande that starts near Wolf Creek and sends some water our way. Utah is all right. I like gas stations that sell liquor.

I bet the schools in Los Alamos are really good. Within an hour or two there are a lot of climate zones and a lot of cultural zones. Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Espanola, Taos, Tres Piedras, Ojo Caliente, Tierra Amarilla, Chama - the contrast between these places is entertaining. Excellent year-round rock climbing. The skiing is good if inconsistent. Regarding quality of life, I've never lived in a more relaxed, crime-free place (LA). The weather and food are epic.

[concretejungle]

neckdeep: is murder rate a big concern of yours? Keep you awake at night? There's also a small stream here called the Rio Grande that starts near Wolf Creek and sends some water our way. Utah is all right. I like gas stations that sell liquor.

I bet the schools in Los Alamos are really good. Within an hour or two there are a lot of climate zones and a lot of cultural zones. Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Espanola, Taos, Tres Piedras, Ojo Caliente, Tierra Amarilla, Chama - the contrast between these places is entertaining. Excellent year-round rock climbing. The skiing is good if inconsistent. Regarding quality of life, I've never lived in a more relaxed, crime-free place (LA). The weather and food are epic.

He lives in Idaho. I'm pretty sure the thought of interacting with anyone "ethnic" keeps him up at night. Mormons aren't ethnic for the record.

Not saying you haven't been other places in NM and liquor in a gas station is definitely a plus as long as you're not like some residents with a propensity to use it while driving but LA isn't indicative of NM. Pretty sure it's one of the richest towns or zip codes in the country and most of the population that does the dirty work up there lives down the hill so you end up with a super educated affluent populuation. I may be entirely wrong but I read somewhere that the drop out rate for Santa Fe is somewhere around 60%.

That said I love it down there and it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been but there is some special kind of backwardness that thrives in Northern NM.

[Lani]

I'm well aware that Los Alamos is special. I have my own backward qualities and most of the places I go around NNM there's nobody nearby to care. Which is nice.

I like Taos, too. I'm going to see Charles Neville play there Saturday night. Dumpstaphunk rocked it with the Neville bros last May or whenever it was.

[changodeoro]

another taos thread with a little bit of everything!! from epic tree runs to cigar smoking midgets i gotta say it sure sounds like the 505 i've come to love/hate over the last 30 years...i live in 'burque now, but have friends from aztec to cruces...some people will dig it, and some wont...whitey is the minority here --you'll run into cool people and assholes --pretty much like anywhere...one quick one: i know a guy who was a teacher in taos...high as a kite every morning, and lunches were spent slamming a doce with the principal until it caught up with 'em...the rest is a story for the lift...

[buck_nasty]

I'd be interested to hear any former or current Taos mags' opinions on the proposed Main Street lift. Thoughts? http://skitaos.org/content/master-development-plan

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...Taos-Expansion

Thanks, dude. But you left out the "SEARCH JONG" This is a great thread. Growing up most of my life in NM, I never realized quite how crazy this place was until I moved away and came back to Taos and met a bunch of people not from here. I thought everyone had shitty schools and smothered all their food in green chile

[Meadow Skipper]

riously, Idaho is really BFE but at least our murder rate is the 3rd lowest in the nation. ...I'd rather live with the Momos any day.

New Mexico vs. Idaho? rotfl. Idaho - with it's major cultural, gastronomic, and skiing resources - is all yours, gringo.

[Meadow Skipper]

Thanks, dude. But you left out the "SEARCH JONG"

Caught me in a benevolent (gin-soaked) mood.

[Cyber Cop]

Caught me in a benevolent (gin-soaked) mood.

I need a dose of that this week...

[warthog]

My good friends moved out to Taos a while back. First, the "school" he went to work for had accreditation problems, then that got resolved. Not a great start, but they made it work. Then, I noticed they were traveling back to CO a ton. Next thing I knew, they took a loss on their house, and moved back to CO to live in an apartment. Now, we have never discussed it, but I can't imagine life was swell there.

[Canada1]

My family had backpacked into Truches lakes in the Pecos Wilderness. I'm pulling this from memory, so ignore spelling. It might have been no fish lakes, as it was alot of blows to the head ago. Anyway, it's raining so the parents were hanging out in tents. This is four or five miles into a wilderness area, and the only other person around is some old guy camping under a a piece of plastic at the other lake. Dude rides into our camp and says "Gringos, pack your stuff up, I'm taking it." My sister and I look at each other like what the ####". But he has a 30 -06 in his hands sitting there in the saddle. So my dad comes out of his tent with a 9 mil in his hand and says "whats up" They guy then starts laghing and saying it ws just a joke and rode away to join a bigger group all on horses. I later ended up working with the guy on a ditch digging job I had in college.

One time I'm driving through Espanola with a group of tenagers. Were at a light when we here "Hey Gringos". We do what every group of teenage boys would do, we all respond with the middle finger. He yells "Hey Gringo's" again. This time we turn and see a sawed off shot gun out the window of the low rider. We blaze out of there at over 100 mph and don't look back. In retrospect, if the guy wanted to shoot us, he would have, he was just messing with whitey. But I don't think stuff like that happens frequently elsewhere.

On a lighter note, I'm backpacking on the trail from the ski basin in Santa Fe to the lake behind baldy.(katherine?) I think it is the windsor trail, but again, all of that was a long time ago. Were cruising along and here comes someone down the trail. It turns out it is two guys walking along buck naked. No gear, no clothes, just two naked hippies. We kind of keep walking without saying anything. We have one guys little sister with us who is probably 10. She belts out, do you have any idea how bad the misquitos are out there! Pretty damn funny from a 10 year old. She committed suicide years later, but I will always remeber her wit and humor in that situation. Again, stuff that would only happen in Northern New Mexico. I've had friends beaten near death because they went to the wrong party. I've had friends beaten because they came across the wrong group in the woods. I've gotten out of tons of trouble with a case of beer to the right authority.

One day my family broke down on the road that was from the trail out of the confluence of Red River with the Rio Grande. It is North of Toas on a dirt road and kind of in the middle of no where. We're working on our broken down old truck when this purple step side chevy pulls up. The driver steps out and out of the far side jumps a chimpanze wearing a shirt and overalls. Looking back on it, I think the guy was baked, but I was only about 10. The chimpanze walks up to each of us and shakes our hands. The guy asks if we need any help, and we explain were alright. They both jump back in their truck and drive off. Sureal stuff you see in northern NM.