New Mexico -- Is it for me? (Albuquerque, Santa Fe: hardwood floors, violent crime)
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I've lived in Illinois for the past seven years, and moved to Chicagoland in the past year. Chicago certainly has a lot to offer, but it also comes with many of the issues associated with a large city (expensive, crowded, long commutes, crime). I'm more than ready to trade concrete jungles for majestic mountains again and return to the Rocky Mountain states (I have previously lived in Colorado and Montana).
I used to have several relatives in Albuquerque, and the last time I was there, I really enjoyed being there. After living for so many years in snowy Montana and being depressed by the perpetual cloudy weather in Chicago, I am more than ready to move somewhere with better weather. (I heard that ABQ often receives 300+ days of sun).
My educational and work background are based in computers, but I'm also looking at being able to integrate my skills into the Renewable Energy (RE) field, as well. And if not that, I'm also looking at turning my side business into a full time venture, so location might be a little more flexible.
Here are several reasons why I am considering New Mexico/Albuquerque:
- ABQ Isotopes : I grew up a Dodgers fan, and even where I grew up had a minor league Dodgers team. It would be nice to be in a city with another Dodgers-affiliate. Does NM also have strong Denver/Colorado connections?
- Enjoyed being there in the past.
- Mountains : Especially since moving up to Chicago, I've been missing the sights of mountains towering over the town.
- Lower cost of living : I can't imagine how anyone tolerates the high costs of living in a large city. I'm hoping that New Mexico offers a lower cost of living.
- Solar power initiatives : Considering the sunny southwest, this seems a great place for the solar power industry.
- ABQ large enough for some things I enjoy, but not TOO large :
- Apple Store - Great store to meet my Mac needs.
- Concerts - Looking at the back of my concert T-shirts, Albuquerque gets a fair number of concerts.
- Hastings - One of my favorite entertainment stores around when I was growing up. The only Hastings I knew of in Illinois shut down about 8 years ago.
- Drier, warmer winters. Limited snow. After living in Montana for 24 years, I've had my fill of snow and then some. Montana is a great state, but seeing snow in June is a little extreme.
- Southwest : The geographical name is CORRECT! The term "midwest" annoys me since it isn't west of much! Highly outdated and incorrect term.
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Here are my questions about Albuquerque and New Mexico in general:
- Crime : The constant consensus seems to be that Albuquerque has a bad crime problem. How bad is bad? Recently, in Chicago, a man was killed because his dog used another guy's lawn as a restroom. Often there are a dozen or more homicides in Chicago proper each week. A train station I go through is riddled with bullet holes and graffiti. I'm hoping that the crime in Albuquerque pales in comparison to Chicago. And if the crime is so bad in ABQ, why is this?
- Bad drivers : Several years ago I subscribed to the ABQ Journal, and recall reading opinions of people complaining about the bad drivers. Once again, how bad is bad? Or would this once again seem like child's play in comparison to some of the bad drivers in Chicago? (Yes, those lines on the road are more than just a suggestion…stay between the lines!). I visited Montana recently and was in love with how easy the traffic was in comparison to what I deal with in Illinois.
- How is snow handled : As I've mentioned, I'm interested in living somewhere that doesn't receive too much snow. How well does ABQ clear off snow when it does happen? And are the drivers even worse when it snows? Even when I lived in Montana, it generally took people the first good snowfall before they remembered one cannot slam on the breaks two feet in front of the stop sign anymore. And how much snow does ABQ receive generally? What months can one expect to see snow?
- Santa Fe expensive : Another general theme is that Santa Fe is expensive. Is this expensive relative to the rest of the state? How expensive is this? And why is it expensive?
- Cost of living in ABQ : This is a large factor I'm looking at, is looking at reasonable cost of living, especially for a house. Can a decent house (say 3 bedrooms, a yard and a garage in a decent neighborhood) be purchased for under $200K?
- Vegetation : One think I've noticed when looking at arial maps of New Mexico is how brown things are (duh, it's a desert!). Other posts have mentioned that Albuquerque isn't so bad and does have some plant life and parks. Is the ground view better in appearance than the bird's-eye view?
- Commute time : What are commute times like? I currently spend 3 hours a day commuting, and it is getting very, very old. I would like to get back to only having to commute for 30 minutes each way at max.
- Public transportation : How decent is the public transportation in Albuquerque?
- Job prospects in renewable energy : What companies are in NM that deal with renewable energy, especially solar and wind energy? Does there seem to be a strong market/interest for this?
- Henry Weinhard's Root Beer : Is Henry Weinhard's Root Beer available in New Mexico? It is my favorite brand of root beer, but it is only distributed out West.
- Hi-Country Beef Jerky : Has anyone seen Hi-Country Beef Jerky in New Mexico?
- Water quality : Is tap water drinkable? I lived in one town where the tap water was absolutely horrible.
- Bi-lingual : How prominent are non-English languages in NM? Would it be advantageous to be able to speak Spanish, as well?
- Political climate : What is the political climate in NM like? Moderator cut: Please, no political bashing, name calling etc in this forum. Please, keep it local to New Mexico.
- Hiking : What type of opportunities are available for hiking (or just getting out and away from the city). How close are the Jemez Mountains to ABQ?
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I know there were quite a few questions I listed, but I hope this is enough information for others to give me an idea if New Mexico is a more ideal place for me to consider sometime in the future, or if I am letting my fantasies runaway with my imagination.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 07-28-2010 at 08:18 AM..
Violent Crime. Not really that bad and largely restricted to people involved in or having
acquaintances / family involved in gangs or drugs.
Bad Drivers. Most people here have never driven in really horrible traffic and have
no idea what bad driving really is.
Snow. What snow?
Santa Fe. That's my impression, also, but I never really seriously considered living there
so I don't have direct knowledge..
Cost of Living. I'd say that you could find a decent house for that amount, but it won't
be in a prime neighborhood or a prime location.
Vegetation. Many eastern parts of the city look like the mid-Atlantic states with lots of
trees, grass lawns, etc. I live on the westside and glory in desert shrubbery,grasses,
cactus, road runners, coyotes, etc.
Commuting time. Not bad, not bad at all compared to really major cities. It all depends on
where you live / work.
Public transportation. Pretty good bus links in the inner 'burbs and core areas, but it
drops off fast once you're out past them.
Job prospects. Don't know. Retired.
Henry Weinhard's Root Beer. Never heard of it, but now I'll start looking.
Hi-Country Beef Jerky. Dunno; don't care for jerky.
Water quality. It's OK. Tends to be very "hard".
Bi-lingual. Spanish would be a real advantage, but not required.
Political climate. You'll get lots of different opinions on that. It's not the Bible Belt.
Hiking. Everywhere. The nearest parts of Jemez are about 90 minutes away by car,
a day on horse or 4 or 5 days walking.
*Traffic: Imagine Chicagoland without the trains, and without anything inside the 294. Heaven by comparison, though only so if you drive to get from point A to point B, and not rely on public transportation.
*In-city biking: Comparable, though more scenic in Chicagoland on average. Drivers here like to hit bicyclists for some reason (probably just less used to them), and some bicyclists help you understand why.
*Drivers: Chicago's drivers (particularly the deeper in you go) had slightly more crazies per capita than I'm used to (these are people who may go wrong way on the street to get where they're going faster), and I like crazies more than jerks (weave without effect, perform hooking maneuvers where they beat you to the stale red light that would've been green and wouldn't have required you to slow down), dullards (drivers who are slow to react, and pick lanes based on comfort rather than function), distracteds (15 seconds from green to accelerator, sometimes >20mph under the speed limit), and elderlies (take distracteds but also add lane fidelity to the mix). Chicago has far more crazies, about the same number of jerks and distracteds (their distracteds being better at driving), and far fewer dullards and elderlies. Chicago had surprisingly similar (or even less) use of the horn, though I wasn't brave enough to try Chicago downtown.
Albuquerque's grid layout is much higher-fidelity and easier to manage than Chicago's. As such, speed limits of 35-50 for comparable (or even higher) densities of city are very safe, reasonable and common. It's kinda annoying in Chicago once you're used to Albuquerque's grid pattern (places like Phoenix are even more ordered and thus easier to get around). I guess imagine Chicago with half the intersections. It's also much harder to get lost in Albuquerque (and in NM in general) because mountains are always there to help your bearings.
RE Jobs: Chicago doesn't get as much sunshine or as much wind as out here, but that doesn't make it a bad place for RE or jobs in general. NM has a reputation, several small companies, and a few larger organizations, but it's not the hotbed of job-creating RE activity that most people assume it is. I'd imagine a job in Chicago in RE would be easier to find than in NM for someone of comparable skills, though the cost of living differential may not make it as attractive. The best RE climate is where the most RE money is being spent, and that's been in the private sector (Silicon Valley).
Snow management: We occasionally get a blizzard once every few years that Chicagoans might see 3x per year, but the freeways are well-plowed statewide (still have to use caution when it really comes down) and the state is far easier to live in by comparison when it comes to the traffic snarls and delays that snow causes back east. The mountain regions tend to get hit the hardest (though the southeast plains and western counties get socked sometimes too) and from Albuquerque south it's not near as big an issue.
Hope that helps. I liked most of the people I met in Chicago, and they weren't too different from the people here in terms of attitude (though courtesy is expected and appreciated a bit more out this way).
I think Mike nailed it on the head with what he wrote, short and concise as it might be.
Crime is usually petty crime, not so much muggings, car-jackings, kidnappings or the kind that really scares you. However someone did pull a gun on a family they stole three puppies from this week. The police will obviously catch him pretty quick and put him away though.
As for the bad drivers, everywhere has bad drivers, everywhere you live you hate the drivers around you - or at least I do. Albuquerque is not a major city so you will not see the major congestion but you will find some pretty ignorant drivers.
Albuquerque uses nature to clear away snow, the sun! It is usually gone by lunchtime.
It is not green like the east coast here, not even close, don't water your lawns in a week here in the summer and you will see it start to turn brown. However where we lack green trees and lush vegetation we make up for with scenic mountain ranges.
One thing you did not mention was health, I always tell people that it is very dry here, people who have allergies can suffer pretty bad as can those who have sinus problems.
You are going to love the commute. I travel across half the city in the mornings/afternoons and get to my office/home in around 15-20 minutes, 30 if I travel between 8-9 and 4-5:30.
You have a side business, renewable energy? solar? If so you might find the locality of Sandia & Los Alamos a benefit then. I've seen used solar panels go through the government auctions here, along with a lot of stuff you might be able to use.
I have no idea why, but I found that statement hilarious.
That is because Mike is funny.
He's extremely dry and sometimes it's like swallowing
cottonballs, but his sense of humor and timing is really
impeccable. It's a mark of intelligence that you got it.
- Crime : The constant consensus seems to be that Albuquerque has a bad crime problem. How bad is bad? Recently, in Chicago, a man was killed because his dog used another guy's lawn as a restroom. Often there are a dozen or more homicides in Chicago proper each week. A train station I go through is riddled with bullet holes and graffiti. I'm hoping that the crime in Albuquerque pales in comparison to Chicago. And if the crime is so bad in ABQ, why is this? The crime is bad in certain areas of town and can be largely avoided if you live away from those areas. I suspect that the crime does pale in comparison to Chicago regardless of where you live. As far as I understand it, there is some gang related and drug related crime here and we do have a problem with drunk driving.
- Bad drivers : Several years ago I subscribed to the ABQ Journal, and recall reading opinions of people complaining about the bad drivers. Once again, how bad is bad? Or would this once again seem like child's play in comparison to some of the bad drivers in Chicago? (Yes, those lines on the road are more than just a suggestion…stay between the lines!). I visited Montana recently and was in love with how easy the traffic was in comparison to what I deal with in Illinois. People here tend to go too slow or fast and like to cut people off. People run red lights and don't use turn signals but I really don't think that it is worse than most places.
- How is snow handled : As I've mentioned, I'm interested in living somewhere that doesn't receive too much snow. How well does ABQ clear off snow when it does happen? And are the drivers even worse when it snows? Even when I lived in Montana, it generally took people the first good snowfall before they remembered one cannot slam on the breaks two feet in front of the stop sign anymore. And how much snow does ABQ receive generally? What months can one expect to see snow? Usually snow (when we get it) doesn't stick to the ground so there isn't too much of a driving problem with it. I think I encountered slippery roads due to snow once in the past 2 years.
- Santa Fe expensive : Another general theme is that Santa Fe is expensive. Is this expensive relative to the rest of the state? How expensive is this? And why is it expensive? Santa Fe is an artsy place that is expensive, but probably still less expensive than you are used to.
- Cost of living in ABQ : This is a large factor I'm looking at, is looking at reasonable cost of living, especially for a house. Can a decent house (say 3 bedrooms, a yard and a garage in a decent neighborhood) be purchased for under $200K? Cost of living is good here, but not that good. If you live in Rio Rancho (kind of a suburb of Albuquerque) you can get all of that for 200k. If you want to live in a nice part of Albuquerque (generally the far NE area) you probably won't be able to get what you want for less than 250k.
- Vegetation : One think I've noticed when looking at arial maps of New Mexico is how brown things are (duh, it's a desert!). Other posts have mentioned that Albuquerque isn't so bad and does have some plant life and parks. Is the ground view better in appearance than the bird's-eye view? We have a lot of low scrubs and stuff that looks like weeds to us midwesterners! It is very brown and grass is almost nonexistant but you do see trees and the landscape is pretty. Brown, but pretty.
- Commute time : What are commute times like? I currently spend 3 hours a day commuting, and it is getting very, very old. I would like to get back to only having to commute for 30 minutes each way at max. If you don't have to cross the river while commuting, you will spend less than 30 minutes driving to/from work. If you live in Rio Rancho it might be more (depending on where you live and work and during what hours).
- Public transportation : How decent is the public transportation in Albuquerque? There are buses but I have never used them so I really don't know. There is a train between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Other than that, not much. I rarely see taxis.
- Job prospects in renewable energy : What companies are in NM that deal with renewable energy, especially solar and wind energy? Does there seem to be a strong market/interest for this? I really don't know much about employment in this sector but there are renewable energy companies in NM. I don't know if they are in Albuquerque though and I don't know their hiring needs.
- Henry Weinhard's Root Beer : Is Henry Weinhard's Root Beer available in New Mexico? It is my favorite brand of root beer, but it is only distributed out West. Never heard of it, sorry.
- Hi-Country Beef Jerky : Has anyone seen Hi-Country Beef Jerky in New Mexico? You have interesting taste.
- Water quality : Is tap water drinkable? I lived in one town where the tap water was absolutely horrible. It is drinkable (at least where I live in the NE part of Albuquerque). It isn't amazing (a little hard) but you can certainly drink it (and I do).
- Bi-lingual : How prominent are non-English languages in NM? Would it be advantageous to be able to speak Spanish, as well? Spanish is prominent here but I don't speak it and found the only time it would of been helpful was to better communicate with the men installing hardwood floors in my house.
- Political climate : What is the political climate in NM like?Not really sure what you want to know. Politics here can be dirty, but then again you are from Chicago so I suspect you will find NM an improvement.
- Hiking : What type of opportunities are available for hiking (or just getting out and away from the city). How close are the Jemez Mountains to ABQ? You can hike right here in Albuquerque (Sandia mountains) and the Jemez isn't too far away (couple hours).
From what I have seen/heard just stay away from the "war zone" as they call it around the fairgrounds.
Ive felt pretty safe all around Abq at all times of day or night.
I think your answers have been pretty well summed up. I just wanted to comment on the snow and plows. I think the city owns only a handful of snowplows because they don't get much use. We've had very little snow in the city the past few years. When it did snow, it was melted in a couple of hours. Schools will get canceled out here for tiny amounts of snow, yet by 11:00am, you wouldn't even know it snowed.
At the end of Dec. '05 we did get a doozy of a storm -- 18 - 24" all over the city. That was the most snow ever on record and was dubbed "The Perfect Storm." The snow didn't melt like usual because it was early January and too cold from all of the snow on the ground and in the mountains.
When the schools were to open after the winter break (five days after the storm), they could not open because the school walkways had not been shoveled and the parking lots had not been plowed which were still covered in snow. Schools were closed for an additional 3 more days (8 days total from when the storm blew out of here). The plow that showed up at my neighborhood school destroyed the parking lot by plowing into and tearing up the speed bumps. It was a mess! The freeways and some major streets were plowed, but that's it. Nothing on the side streets.
So when it does snow even a little, there are accidents all over the place because people are not used to driving in it. Usually though, we get an inch or two (little more closer to the mountains) two or three times per winter. At least that's been the case for the last 4 years. A "big" storm here is 6" which used to happen once or twice per winter, but not so much lately. Alb. winters will be very mild compared to what you are used to.
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