Travel assignments New Mexico

[Tuffnikki]

I recently considered a travel assignment to Roswell, NM.... then decided to google the crime rate stats and OMG, it was insane! So I turned it down. I was contacted again by a different agency a couple days ago about an assignment in Las Vegas, NM (which I didn't even know existed!). So this time I knew to research the area before putting in for the job, and when I did, it was rate the top murder capital of NM. Are you freaking kidding me??!

I'm a young female who would be traveling alone to these assignments so I obviously want to feel safe.

Has anyone been to either of these towns? Is all of NM this way?

Thanks! :)

[silverbat]

New Mexico is ok, no worse than other states. It is easy to have a high crime rate in a town of say 10,000, you have 1 murder, so is a risk of 1 in 10,000. If a bigger town, say, 100,000 has one murder, then risk of 1 in 100,000. same number of murders, just looks worse in a smaller population. I think my town is about normal. The one thing is I think, in NM, more alcohol related incidents.

[Tuffnikki]

Thank you mds1. Have you done any assignments in Roswell or Las Vegas, New Mexico?

[NedRN]

Take all crime rates with a huge grain of salt. Murders are largely gang members against other gang members, and most other murders are by people who know each other. Civilians rarely suffer unless they wander into a crossfire but when they do (random bullet goes through wall and hits infant), it gets oversized press. I've lived in many scary areas, especially for white suburbanites, that have top national crime and murder rates including Harlem (20 years ago), Oakland CA, Baltimore (neither Hopkins or UM are in stellar neighborhoods), DC (I lived in "scary SW"), and Venice CA. Never had a problem (I'm white). Lots of travelers in high crime cities like Fresno, and areas like the Virgin Islands (I worked there too). What you read about on traveler forums is about crappy housing, crappy assignments, issues with cancellations. Not so much about crime, except personal perceptions about the safety of hospital or housing.

Most agencies are fully aware that much of the success of an assignment is the perception of safety in provided housing to women, so they will house travelers in really "safe" areas despite the distance often required. Personally, I like to live close enough to the hospital to get there by bicycle, so I am often in "sketchy" neighborhoods that like all neighborhoods, are populated mostly by good people - and you will only learn this by taking the plunge and living in such neighborhoods.

As one more disclaimer, I'm also male, so my perception of personal safety is very different than the average women (and many males for that matter). Still, I think it is important to recognize other cultures and lifestyles are often scary because they are different and out of our comfort zone. By their very nature, travelers have a larger comfort zone than most ("I could never travel to a strange place"). It certainly is possible to travel to only "safe" places, but so-called undesirable areas have more needs because of this very perception of undesirability.

[Tuffnikki]

Thanks so much for you comment. It makes a lot of sense. I am happy to travel and try new places and am perfectly fine being somewhere that isn't fancy. or poor. or being a minority. My only issue is safety being a female and traveling alone. But if the agencies take that into consideration, then I'm def. will to try more places.

That's pretty cool that you ride your bike back and forth. That def saves money!

[cosmicmama, BSN, RN]

I've been to both places (not to work, just to visit). I would never travel to Roswell. I just didn't get a good vibe from the area. Northern New Mexico is one of my favorite places in the world. Las Vegas isn't much, but you've got the Sangre de Cristo mountains and Santa Fe is only an hour away.