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Hello - I'm a single, 25 year old, college graduate male looking to shake things up in his life a little bit by moving to a new area. I'm considering a lot of southwestern US cities and ABQ is definitely one of the finalists (from what little research I have done).
From a "twenty-something" standpoint, what can you tell me about the city? What does it offer to recent college graduates? Singles? Males interested in sports (especially basketball)?
Where might be the best places to look for an apartment/house to rent?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated - thank you!
In general, the Nob Hill/UNM area around Central Avenue would be the first place I would look for an apartment, depending upon your financial situation. I would encourage you to use the search function for this site. I am pretty certain that variations on your question have been asked and answered several times over. However, people with knowledge of the local basketball/sports scenes may want to chime in.
I assume you're looking for a job. Personally, I'd start there. Find out if Albuquerque has much opportunity in your intended career. Being a college town, you'll probably be up against a lot of local grads. And by local, I mean most people grew up here and have never left the city. Which can be a plus or minus for you from a competitive standpoint. If you went to a better school than UNM, you should have an easier time finding a job. But if your school was about the same, it will probably be harder.
As far as a social life goes, there's not a large transplant population. It seems like most people have the same group of friends they grew up with. So it's harder to make friends here than other cities. It's possible, it just takes more work than other places I've lived.
UNM is decent at basketball. But they don't have as much tradition as the big boys, so there's less passion. I went to Kansas, so that's my point of comparison. Obviously, we don't have an NBA team here, so you won't find a lot of NBA fans. Maybe a handful of Nuggets, Suns and Lakers fans. But you hardly ever even see anyone wearing NBA gear.
You would probably want to live in Nob Hill or certain parts of downtown. That's where most of the city's bars and restaurants are located. A lot of single 20-30 year olds live around here. But a nice place can be expensive, so it depends on your income.
If you like hiking and camping, it's a good area for that. And if you ski or snowboard, Santa Fe has a decent resort about an hour from here. There are better resorts within a few hours that make good weekend trips. If you cycle, there are some good trails. Just watch out for idiots on the road. There are a lot of hostile and inconsiderate drivers.
Hello - I'm a single, 25 year old, college graduate male looking to shake things up in his life a little bit by moving to a new area. I'm considering a lot of southwestern US cities and ABQ is definitely one of the finalists (from what little research I have done).
You, and me, and tons of other people too. I hear there's something like a million new college graduates being pumped out each year. Only a lucky few are finding jobs, and even fewer are finding stable, upwardly mobile jobs. What do you want to do for a living, and can you realistically make that career happen in Albuquerque?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandomName958
If you went to a better school than UNM, you should have an easier time finding a job.
That would be nice if that were true. Unfortunately though, I'm very skeptical of that claim. I have a master's degree from a school ranked #6 in the nation in my field, and from all my job searching efforts in the last year (in 11 different states), that's pretty much irrelevant. Unless if the hiring manager is an alum of your school, I find that the local candidate from the local U has the advantage every single time. I also find that your chance of getting hired as an out-of-state candidate in this day in age is just about 0%. I'd love to just pick up and move to Albuquerque and hope the stars align and succeed in finding a job quickly. But from all my research, I just don't see enough career opportunity there to make that a consideration at this time.
You, and me, and tons of other people too. I hear there's something like a million new college graduates being pumped out each year. Only a lucky few are finding jobs, and even fewer are finding stable, upwardly mobile jobs. What do you want to do for a living, and can you realistically make that career happen in Albuquerque?
That would be nice if that were true. Unfortunately though, I'm very skeptical of that claim. I have a master's degree from a school ranked #6 in the nation in my field, and from all my job searching efforts in the last year (in 11 different states), that's pretty much irrelevant. Unless if the hiring manager is an alum of your school, I find that the local candidate from the local U has the advantage every single time. I also find that your chance of getting hired as an out-of-state candidate in this day in age is just about 0%. I'd love to just pick up and move to Albuquerque and hope the stars align and succeed in finding a job quickly. But from all my research, I just don't see enough career opportunity there to make that a consideration at this time.
yep, you are right. Locals and those with alum connections get the jobs. The exception might be those in the east with IVY league degrees. Other than that, where you actually went to school, especially under grad really doesn't make too much difference. Of course the IVy league think ticks me off, but it always has been and always will be and kids with Ivy league connections aren't looking for jobs in NM.
What mortimer means is that (being young and wanting to "shake things up") you should make the effort to come and check it out for yourself and not just rely on anonymous people giving encouragement/discouragement from afar. Only by experiencing a place yourself can you really know if it is right for you. What we offer is mostly blather.
Nita, I think you're being unnecessarily cynical. Again. I came from back east and got a job here without any connections, alumni or otherwise. I know lots of other folks here like me. But I would not have come out had I not already had the job lined up.
That would be nice if that were true. Unfortunately though, I'm very skeptical of that claim. I have a master's degree from a school ranked #6 in the nation in my field, and from all my job searching efforts in the last year (in 11 different states), that's pretty much irrelevant. Unless if the hiring manager is an alum of your school, I find that the local candidate from the local U has the advantage every single time. I also find that your chance of getting hired as an out-of-state candidate in this day in age is just about 0%. I'd love to just pick up and move to Albuquerque and hope the stars align and succeed in finding a job quickly. But from all my research, I just don't see enough career opportunity there to make that a consideration at this time.
It probably varies by field. I was recruited here from out of state. But I work in a creative industry. So it's very easy to see when one person is better than another.
My sister is a doctor and a recruiter called her about moving here (a little random since I had just moved here). She went to a better med school. So that probably had something to do with it.
But I could see how more general corporate jobs would likely go to those with connections.
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