What was the motivation to relocate to Floyd?

In a word, CRIME. Alright, already! there were two words, DROUGHT. But this post will center on crime-

Here are some statistics, the Floyd county figures are from an annual report by the Virginia State Police, the City of Santa Fe data is from the city's "Santa Fe Trends 2014" report. These numbers are for 2013.


                      Robberies       Burglaries             Rapes
Floyd County       0                   32 [168]                3 [14]
Santa Fe City     87                 853                        41   
Santa Fe 2012  110                 988                        40
the difference in population is 526% so to make the figures comparable, the Floyd numbers in the brackets are the raw data multiplied by 5.25. Should you think Santa Fe's 2013 numbers are an aberration, the 2012 data are also included. As you see there is no comparison. Floyd is a far safer place to live.

An article entitled the Most Dangerous States in America appeared in the USA TODAY January 3rd issue. They ranked New Mexico as the second most dangerous state, right behind Alaska:

New Mexico
Violent crimes per 100,000: 596.7
Population: 2,085,287
Total 2013 murders: 125 (21st lowest)
Poverty rate: 21.9% (2nd highest)
Pct. of adults with high school diploma: 84.3% (6th lowest)
New Mexico's violent crime rate rose 6.6% between 2012 and 2013 — the most in the nation — to nearly 597 per 100,000 residents. The increase in violent crime came despite Governor Susana Martinez's avowal in 2011 to be tough on crime. As in other dangerous states, the concentration of crime in New Mexico's larger cities may have contributed to the state's crime problem. Albuquerque, for example, the state's largest city, had an estimated crime rate of 775 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, more than twice the national rate. New Mexico residents were also among the nation's poorest in 2013, with a median household income of $43,872 and a poverty rate of nearly 22%.

Contrast those figures with another western state, Montana:

Montana > Violent crimes per 100,000: 240.7
Population: 1,015,165
Total 2013 murders: 22 (tied-6th lowest)
Poverty rate: 16.5% (19th highest)
 Pct. of adults with high school diploma: 92.7% (3rd highest)

There were nearly 241 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents in Montana in 2013, a third lower than the national rate. While the violent crime rate fell 5.1% nationwide between 2012 and 2013, it fell more than 13% in Montana. Low crime rates may be attributable to high levels of education. Nearly 93% of Montana residents had at least a high school diploma as of 2013, the third highest rate in the country. Despite the state’s relatively well-educated population, Montana struggled with poverty last year. The state’s poverty rate was 16.5% in 2013, one of only two of the safest states with a poverty rate above the national rate of 15.8%. This was likely due in part to the state’s large Native American population, which tends to be more impoverished.

Read more: The Safest States in America - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/01/02/the-safest-states-in-america/#ixzz3cIiWmV5v

 

Yes, Mr. Fuzzy sleeps much more soundly in Floyd than in Santa Fe. And gets lulled to sleep by the pitter patter of rain sometimes... some lovely lightening last night illuminated the skies above the hundreds of lightning bugs also intermittently sparkling in the meadows below.