PECOS ENTERPRISE

Daily Newspaper for Reeves County, Trans Pecos, Big Bend, Far West Texas

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OPINION

Jan. 24, 1997

OBSERVATIONS

Pecos is good place for snow birds to roost

The reason I want to talk about this is the economy. Living where we do
leads us to believe everyone is suffering from a stagnant economy. Wrong!

I went to Florida - Jupiter Beach near West Palm Beach - and everything
is booming in that area. Of course, the result of all that is masses of
people, and it appears that many of them are among the very rich.

Hanging out on the beach, it was clear that I was out of place. Most of
the people there appeared to be big time money. It was certainly
different than living in a poverty stricken area.

I'd never been to the southern part of Florida and I've heard over the
years that Florida because of its weather and beauty has attracted a lot
of retired people from the north. The weather there is nice and you can
swim in the Atlantic in January due I guess to the gulf stream keeping
the water warm.

I can understand why people are attracted to that area and why it takes
a lot of people to provide all the support that is needed for that large
of a population. It means a lot of jobs and a good economy.

Then this past weekend, I drove to Dallas for another meeting and once
again, the economy is exploding. It seems businesses can't find enough
people to fill the jobs that are available.

The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area is an exciting place to live, but I
can't for the life of me understand why people want to all congregate in
one area. Why not move where there's a lot of room?

Part of the answer to that is that the people with money live in those
areas and they invest in things that are close by that they can keep an
eye on.

It was brought up in a local economic development meeting earlier this
week about promoting Pecos as a retirement spot, a subject that keeps
popping up. It seems a number of "snow birds" have already discovered
Pecos and spend some time here in the winter. They enjoy the unhurried
life here while being close to many areas they want to visit.

I've always believed that Pecos with its mild climate, wide open spaces
and cheap real estate would be an ideal location for many who want to
retire. This area is relatively crime free, with no traffic jams and
convenient access to everything a person might want.

Many cities in Arizona as well as Nevada have capitalized on their
desert climate to attract residents. It seems that Pecos has just not
been discovered.

The problem to me with Florida and North Texas is the humidity. I enjoy
being around water but when it gets hot, the humidity makes it
unbearable. Sure, it gets hot here but the dry air helps make it
bearable, at least most of the time.

Living in a depressed economy is not attractive, nor is living around
poverty, but those are problems that could be partially cured with a
little more business and industry. And retirees are an industry.

It's something we need to work on.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mac McKinnon is editor and publisher of the Pecos
Enterprise. His column appears on Friday.

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