MTG and the NATIONAL DIVORCE

I think it's how the two different industrial profiles have evolved. When your biggest industry is your government - you're like Greece. That's major bad mojo, financially.

You can see the difference here: https://www.developcarlsbad.org/news-and-media/p/item/24585/what-are-the-biggest-industries-in-new-mexico
And here: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-biggest-industries-in-arizona.html

Just my take, as an outsider.

 

I must say, though - the SW in general is such a danged beautiful place - I can understand people being resistant to change. Any change. I remember seeing copies of "Arizona Highways" magazine 60 years ago and being astonished at the beauty. I still am.

 

Right. And not-so-shabby scriptwriting and acting didn't hurt, either. And I liked it, when I got called "Walter" or "Heisenberg" occasionally by young store-clerks, when I wore my black fedora. It felt cool, to an old guy.

 

I wonder if it isn't rooted in the Civil War. The Arizona part of the territory was quite active on the Confederate side. While the Confederacy also claimed part of the New Mexico side, I don't believe they sent any troops (like Arizona did).

Also, air conditioning. Before 1950 or so, large parts of Arizona were inhospitable. Maricopa County had a population of around 300K. Now the valley is home to more than 4 million residents, almost 5 times as many who live in Albuquerque. This was only made possible by air conditioning. About 7.2 million people live in Arizona, while New Mexico has 2.1 million. Also, 1.2 million residents in Arizona are retired, almost 18% of the population.

Arizona is a weird place.

 

Maybe, or possibly the post-Civil War migration of former Confederates to Arizona. I personally think that Arizona has the greater dose of natural beauty between the two states. The Sonoran Desert is noticeably more colorful and you can't argue with the Grand Canyon country.

Over the last few decades, I have occasionally thought of moving to Tucson. I love that city and have many friends there. But Arizona really is culturally different from New Mexico. New Mexico is OLD. European occupation dates from the very early 17th century, well before the Pilgrims, and the Europeans are very recent arrivals compared with the Pueblo tribes. The very timelessness that I sneer at as "enchantment" also makes this place unique. I don't know how I would do in the modern world.

 

Oh, MTG now says that people who move to Red states from Blue states shouldn't be allowed to vote for five years. Oy.

 

It isn't. But sssh - don't tell the Canadian Government. By 61, I was 11 years into retirement and picked up my first Canada Pension cheque. That's the one we Canadians all pay into by payroll deduction, in our working years. The standard starting age is 65, but you can start it any time you want after your 60th birthday and up to your 70th. Your monthly cheque will vary accordingly. My younger son's father-in-law is an accountant, by profession and said "Collect it early. It'll take 10 years of payments, for those who delay it to catch up with you." So I did.

And no - I didn't feel "old" at 61. Still don't - mentally. Music, writing, studying fashion, learning other interesting things - they all help with that. Bit creaky, but I can still run for a bus, climb stairs, walk several miles etc. Many can't - even walking is difficult or impossible. I'm VERY lucky. I don't want to say "sound as a dollar." That might be inviting trouble. Chronologically old? Yeah, but that's just a number. A GOOD number! Gets you free stuff. "Old" is great for some things. Quite a lot of things, in fact. I'll take it. As Ronald Reagan famously said, "It's better than the alternative."

 

We lived there for 3 years. We had visited many times and thought we'd like it. We didn't. We thought it would be "Little Phoenix." It's really "Big Yuma" instead.

 

Instead of just the "like" option, we really need a sliding scale of hilarity option... this would be like a 9/10.