The truth about Albuquerque (Las Cruces, Rio Rancho: housing, condo, rent)

[abqDude]

Homless people are all over Albuquerque anywhere on Central and Downtown. They dont only ask, but demand you give them money. If you park your car to go in a restaurant, at least two individuals will want your money as you go in and two as you go out. They are drunk, stinky, and some are shirtless. They all will get close enough to touch you.
There are not many elgible single young people around inspite of UNM. And the few that are here leave in the Summer as there are no jobs and not much to do (except go hiking maybe, and it does get old believe me).
Many people have no class. Girls get yelled at in the street (this is on Central and Tulane) from driving cars: "bi**c, show my your bo**s"! This is yelling at classy well dressed ladies just minding their own business walking in a good part of town at 6 pm. This could be your mom or your sister. It is really upsetting.
Not many places to go to, even restaurants there is this one place on central with an italian name and red front and it serves over-cheeze-ified "pizza" or another place across the street with a lot of greesy food and encourages waitresses to wear skimpy clothes. People seem to love both places. There are coffee shops but did I mention the homeless people? Yes they go inside sometimes and ask you for money. A lot of hippies around too.
No culture here, Madstone, the independent movie theatre closed its doors a couple of years ago. Downtown on Saturday night has a very few clubs and all the same people (usually very young tatooed and periced) just club-hop around as the police stand by ready to break up the expected and common fights.
Crime rate is very high, two of my friend-girls got mugged, 4 got their cars broken into, one 4 times. All this and I am talking central and north of it (this is supposed to be the good area as apposed to south central).
A lot of drunk drivers looking for trouble I had a beer bottle thrown at me from a driving car while I was crossing the street of Central on Yale at 1pm.

more on this thread:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-m...uerque-nm.html
icpc, countrytrash, aunmguy on that thread, and the others have more points.

True it is cheaper to live here than elsewhere but there is a reason for that. You even dont get what you paid for, you get less. Please visit here first and spend some time before moving. Even Santafe gets old after a while, its just a plaza with some gift shops around it and snow. Big deal.

I hope this is useful.

Jason.

[nmnative505]

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences in Abq so far...I just wanted to reiterate that there are more areas in Abq besides downtown and Central. I lived there off an on for the past 5 years and never really had the need or desire to go downtown, especially for entertainment. There is more to Abq than the bars downtown. I understand if you're a student and live near or at the university then you might be limited to that area but there is much more to the city and I hope other people can help me attest to that.

I lived in the northeast heights as a student and a working professional and managed to avoid crime and the offenisve cat-calling and all that bad stuff you mentioned. Even though there is crime throughout the city...if you branch out you will find that there is more to offer than just a few city blocks of fun. You have to remember that downtown and Central Ave are located right next to the University, to 2 major interstate highways, ALL the bus stations...thus this might be the reason for the increased homelessness in that area. Maybe Abq should do what Las Cruces did a few years back and pass regulations that prohibit panhandling near intersections, that seemed to worked in Las Cruces.

[catman]

Wow, I had no idea it was that bad. I was there three years ago and didn't run into any of that. Just lucky, I guess. When I move to NM, maybe I'd better not live in Albuquerque.

[catman]

It's probably bad form to reply to one's own post, but I've been thinking over what I said in my previous post. I think I was a bit hasty...there are areas in every big town which are unsavory. I won't willingly go into some parts of Fort Worth or Dallas, especially late at night. Panhandlers and homeless are not uncommon in either. So, I just need to investigate further before I decide to move to anywhere in NM. I have enjoyed the Duke City every time I have been there.

[kaforeman]

I have several friends as well as a cousin who live in Albuquerque--they've all been there for 20 to 30 years, all from other parts of the country. Every single one of them absolutely LOVES the city and wouldn't live anywhere else. We visit frequently and when we do I make a point of asking people (clerks, cabdrivers, etc.) where they came from and how they got to Alb, and if they like it. Without exception, they came from somewhere else and they love Albuquerque. The statement you hear over and over again is, "I wouldn't live anywhere else!"

My husband and I long to live there permanently, rather than just visit several times a year, but since our jobs and family are here it's not practical. We plan to move there when we retire, though.

[Gallit]

Central and Downtown don't constitute all of Albuquerque. I'm a young woman in my 20's, was born and raised in Albuquerque, and I never ran into anything you mentioned - and I even lived in the Central/UNM area for a while.

[stupac]

As a Rio Rancho resident, I visited ABQ quite frequently and have nothing but positive things to say about my experiences there. True, crime is a little high, but from what I heard it's on the decline and nothing compared to cities of a similar population (500,000). I never actually lived there though, so my comments may be invalidated, I just want to say to the curious or interested that ABQ is a city that offers it all, even if DT isn't as vibrant as I would like it to be.

[nevywevy]

I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I recently moved out of state to go to college and I just want to say that being gone as really made me realize how much I loved living in Albuquerque. Sure there is crime, but where is there not? I think that Albuquerque is the perfect size, there are still things to do, yet it is small enough that you can know your way around the city and feel like you are connected to the community. I'm only 18 and obviously have not experienced many different places, but all I can say is that I feel that Albuquerque often gets bad reviews unnecessarily.

[Jimdandy]

I have lived in Albuquerque for about four years now. I was born in New York City. Raised in Harlem, I moved across the river to Newark NJ. I am a retired law enforcement officer. When I retired, I moved to New Orleans for about seven years. I visited a friend in Albuquerque, on my way back to Nawlins, I decided to move to Albuquerque.

To me Albuquerque is a small town, just spread out. When I lived in Nawlins, I knew LA. ranked 49th in terms of education, I often wondered what state ranked 50th. You guessed it NM.

Knowing what I know about other places in this country, if I had to make a living, and raise a family, I would not choose New Mexico as my home base.

New Mexico is a great place to retire. The weather is great, the food is not all that, but after living in Nawlins, what town can compare with New Orleans when it comes to food.

Crime in New Mexico? Having been a cop, in New York, New Jersey, and New Orleans, I know crime. Albuquerque has more than it's share, but the same can be said about any city. There are some parts of Alb, I would not advise people to frequent.

Also, I would not advise anyone to hang out in the 9th ward in New Orleans, or Algiers.

I would caution people to be careful in Trenton NJ, Newark, Jersey City, and Camden. The same can be said for New York City, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. That covers all five boroughs. Lets not talk about the city of angles, leave us not forget Chi Town.

I think by now you can see where I am coming from. I have spent some time in every state in the lower 48, and Alaska. I have seen the good, the Bad and the ugly in every state. There in no paradise on earth. Some places are good, and if you cross the tracks, you will find the bad.

Where I live in Albuquerque, you can't believe how quiet it is, all day and all night. The view from the balcony of my condo is breath taking. I used to live on Tramway Blvd that too was all that and then some.

There is no crime free zone anywhere, in any state. Having said that, it is also incumbent upon a person to use good judgement. Pan handlers are no real problem, neither are crack heads or meth heads, unless of course you choose to do business with them.

This is a free country and one should be able to go anywhere free from fear. The reality is, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, anything can happen.

If you look for trouble, you are sure to find it. If you go about your business, you are less likely to have any real problems.

I have traveled in and out of all of the places, I have cautioned people about, and I have never had any problems. The fact that I am 6'5'' 240 pounds and carry a gun may have something to do with that.

Not really, I make it my business to spend the first 24 hours of each day tending to my own business. The rest of the time I mind other people's business.

Albuquerque, like every other city has it's own uniqueness. Some parts are beautiful, some are ugly. The same can be said about the people. Some are beautiful, and some are ugly. I would not consider living in some parts of Albuquerque, there are some parts where I would love to live, but can’t afford the price. A million dollars, the price of some homes in Sandia Hts, is a little out of my income bracket.

When choosing a place to live, I think you must first decide what you are looking for, and does the place under consideration, offer the things you require.

If the place has what you want, pack up and move. If not, then keep on stepping.

[heath]

Just moved here from PA, Altoona area and so far love it!!! Sure there seem to be alot of panhandlers--especially in the "suburban" areas. You would only see those in the downtown areas back east--in fact I've stopped carrying cash LOL Yup housing seems to be high here, but you tend to get what you"re paying for---as for the bars on the windows-maybe for crime, but most of my neighbors have them up to keep glass from breaking by "UFO's", due to the high winds. Traffic hehehee don't make me laugh try driving in a city of similar size back east then we'll talk. Drugs--Moved out of PA to get away from rampant drug problems funneling in to PA's smaller cities from places such as Philladelphia, New Jersey and NYC--they send their druggies out to "rehab" in these central PA towns, they get "clean" are released but don't go back, instead set up operations there thinking us stupid hillbillies won't know what's going on.......can ya see my fustration with PA.

Anyway, I'm done with PA----should have made this move years ago