NM

I read something that described one of my favorite states like this:

 

"New Mexico, where people go to cook Crystal Meth and disappear into the maw that isn't quite Mexico"

 

Obviously, this bozo is not a backpacker. Or a hot pepper lover. Or a UFO freak (ok, that's good at least).

 

New Mexico is the site of a brand-new, intentional ghost town:

 

"It could fit 35,000 people if people were allowed to live there but that's not the point for this ghost town. Instead, the purpose is to let anyone test anything on a city wide scale without the interference of nosy citizens. Think of it as one gigantic lab, only it'll have highways, houses, old buildings, new buildings instead of coats and beakers.

 

The ghost town, which they refer to as The Center, is the brain child of Pegasus Global Holdings, a Washington DC-based company. There won't be any people living at The Center but other companies can see how their solar panels play out on a larger scale, how new traffic systems work in real life simulations, how Wi-Fi will translate between old and new buildings and so much more. It's an actual blank slate city to manipulate however they'd like. A playground for research."

 

He goes on to wonder the same thing that I immediately thought: how long before it becomes a squatter's paradise?