We’re halfway between Christmas and Thanksgiving, and it is a good time to take a little break and focus on what makes this community so special. This is not in any way meant to be dismissive of the many challenges so many of us are facing right now, but we are so fortunate that Carlsbad is positioned to move forward. Here are a few of our advantages:
- Economic Diversity: The best oil play in the world lies beneath Carlsbad, and this area has the biggest potash reserves in the country. Carlsbad is proudly the home to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and with it two national laboratories, Sandia and Los Alamos. We’ve taken a hit throughout 2020 just like everyone, but our unemployment numbers are still lower than most places due to our healthy diversity, which also includes tourism, agriculture and manufacturing. We have a productive relationship with our neighbors, including Eddy County, Artesia, Loving and Lea and Chaves Counties.
- Education: The presence of those two national laboratories means we have more PHD’s per capita than any community in New Mexico aside from Los Alamos. We have a very well developed education system, which has been focused on making sure we have highly qualified, well paid teachers. We have what is probably the best early college high school program in the state and an excellent college with the best nursing program in the state. We very much look forward to our children getting back into school.
- Outdoors: Not many places in the country are within an hour drive of two national parks. Carlsbad also has our own, unique state park – the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens and we’re a half hour from Brantley Lake State Park. We have treasures like Sitting Bull Falls and 6 Mile Dam that are a short drive away. We’ve spoken about this many times before, but honors such as Expedia’s naming Carlsbad the #1 Scenic City of the Southwest and Odessa’s “Best Day Trip” award are well deserved.
- Community and People: Carlsbad has amazing charitable organizations such as Packs for Hunger, Faith Hope & Love, Christmas Anonymous, the Carlsbad Community Foundation, and the United Way, just to name a few. You would be hard-pressed to find a community that stepped up more throughout this COVID-outbreak, and kept stepping up, than this community. We hear stories every single day about residents helping their neighbors in need, and we never get tired about hearing these examples of community generosity. We loved hearing about everyone coming together to put together community-wide Christmas decorations as a way of making this holiday special. Carlsbad has the best citizens in the world.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway