Moving to NM from AZ (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: for sale, credit, new house)

[gilbertaz]

Hi to All,

Please help! My husband has received a promotion at work & we will be relocating to NM. His office is located in the ABQ area zip is 87110.

We're are trying to figure out the best area to live and the following are of the utmost importance in our consideration:

1.) Top-Rated Schools (Elementary, Middle, High School)
2.) Family Oriented Neighborhood
3.) Commute Time (Prefer to be within 20 mi of the office w/ light-mod traffic)
4.) Looking for a nice area to raise our children
5.) Looking for newer home (Between 1-7 years old)
6.) If anyone has any reccomendations for Hospitals, Pediatricians, Dentists & Orthodontists we'd love to hear about it.
7.) Any reccomendations for Non-Denominational Christian Churches?
8.) Close to shopping

We have heard that the NE Heights area is a good place. We did have a chance to drive out to Rio Rancho while we were in town. We drove around the Cabezon neighborhoods. I think that we're looking for a home with a bit more of a yard and not so cluttered together. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

[Chaparral]

There are plenty of areas around ABQ that should fit all or most of your criteria. But before I make a recommendation: what price range are you looking at? If your budget is limited, you may have a harder time finding what you're looking for in the NE Heights.

Chap

[knollsnews]

My neighborhood is great, and is near Cottonwood Mall, churches, good schools, lovely views of the Sandia Mountains, and lots of friendly people. You are going to love this climate and the hospitality. Here's a link to my neighborhood. Relocate

It's close to Paseo del Norte and Coors. Good luck and welcome aboard.

[rotorhead]

I live in the 87110 zip now, pretty much grew up here too. You are unlikely to find a new house in this zip, the area was pretty much completely built up by the late 60's and early 70's. There are a lot of very nice houses here however, and many of them have been remodeled several times since then. What you will find in the NE heights thats almost totally lacking on the W. side is mature landscaping, tall trees, and any sort of shade. The size of the average lot is also typically much larger on the E. side, and many houses there have usefull backyards. There is a veritable sea of almost identical "McMansions" on barren, postage-stamp size lots throughout the west side and particulary in Rio Rancho. If you want green and trees on the W. side, you're typically out of luck unless you are considering one of the older areas like Paradise Hills or Corralles.

If you want top rated schools, you are in the wrong state and the wrong city. La Cueva is generally acknowledged to be the best high school in the city, and the middle and elementary schools are a patchwork of OK and...not so much. If you have the money and the inclination there are several excellent private schools up to and including the Albuquerque Academy.

Commute-wise, if you want around 20 minutes and you are working in 87110 you can completely rule out the W. side, there are not even close to enough bridges over the Rio Grande and no improvement is in the works. If you commute well off the peak hours, 20 minutes is feasable. Check the archives for numerous threads on this issue.

If you have young kids, there are lots of parks with big trees....again...on the E. side. The W. side parks are few and far between, and tend towards flat expanses of baked grass and play equipments that'll be too hot to touch through most of the summer unless you go early or late. The ABQ BioPark now encompasses the Zoo, the Aquarium, and the Botannical Gardens and there is a yearly family pass for purchase at a fairly good price. I can wholeheartedly recommend all of them, they are a considerable credit to the city. There is also an Explora science discover center and the Natural History museam, both nice facilities but they have their own separate memberships. All five of those facilities are...again...on the E. side, but near the river and Old Town so they are relatively accessable to the W. siders as well. The city also runs Tingley Beach, the local stocked fishing lake and paddleboat pond. It's much better than it used to be, but not up to the standards of the other facilities discussed earlier. There are a number of public pools but little if any shade except for the indoor high school pools and the West Side Pool near W. Mesa High School which has a large indoor kids pool with lots of water features for the little guys and a couple of small water slides for swimmers. It also has an outdoor pool and an olympic sized indoor lap pool, overall a very nice facility (with sometimes frustrating open hours) and just off Coors, south of I-40.

Shopping, all over the place. The malls are infested with gangbangers and wanna-bes and various others of their ilk. There are nice places to shop on both sides of town, and chain restaurants all over the place these days.

PM me for a recommendation on a good pediatrician.

[_yb]

If you are working in the area code 87110 I would not advise you to move to the west of the river. The commute time will be a nightmare and will only get worse as the years pass.

[gilbertaz]

Originally Posted by knollsnews

My neighborhood is great, and is near Cottonwood Mall, churches, good schools, lovely views of the Sandia Mountains, and lots of friendly people. You are going to love this climate and the hospitality. Here's a link to my neighborhood. Relocate

It's close to Paseo del Norte and Coors. Good luck and welcome aboard.

Thanks for the info Knollsnews.

What schools are zoned for your area? Would you happen to know if there are any homes in your neighborhood for sale? And the price range?

Thanks!

[gilbertaz]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

I live in the 87110 zip now, pretty much grew up here too. You are unlikely to find a new house in this zip, the area was pretty much completely built up by the late 60's and early 70's. There are a lot of very nice houses here however, and many of them have been remodeled several times since then. What you will find in the NE heights thats almost totally lacking on the W. side is mature landscaping, tall trees, and any sort of shade. The size of the average lot is also typically much larger on the E. side, and many houses there have usefull backyards. There is a veritable sea of almost identical "McMansions" on barren, postage-stamp size lots throughout the west side and particulary in Rio Rancho. If you want green and trees on the W. side, you're typically out of luck unless you are considering one of the older areas like Paradise Hills or Corralles.

If you want top rated schools, you are in the wrong state and the wrong city. La Cueva is generally acknowledged to be the best high school in the city, and the middle and elementary schools are a patchwork of OK and...not so much. If you have the money and the inclination there are several excellent private schools up to and including the Albuquerque Academy.

Commute-wise, if you want around 20 minutes and you are working in 87110 you can completely rule out the W. side, there are not even close to enough bridges over the Rio Grande and no improvement is in the works. If you commute well off the peak hours, 20 minutes is feasable. Check the archives for numerous threads on this issue.

If you have young kids, there are lots of parks with big trees....again...on the E. side. The W. side parks are few and far between, and tend towards flat expanses of baked grass and play equipments that'll be too hot to touch through most of the summer unless you go early or late. The ABQ BioPark now encompasses the Zoo, the Aquarium, and the Botannical Gardens and there is a yearly family pass for purchase at a fairly good price. I can wholeheartedly recommend all of them, they are a considerable credit to the city. There is also an Explora science discover center and the Natural History museam, both nice facilities but they have their own separate memberships. All five of those facilities are...again...on the E. side, but near the river and Old Town so they are relatively accessable to the W. siders as well. The city also runs Tingley Beach, the local stocked fishing lake and paddleboat pond. It's much better than it used to be, but not up to the standards of the other facilities discussed earlier. There are a number of public pools but little if any shade except for the indoor high school pools and the West Side Pool near W. Mesa High School which has a large indoor kids pool with lots of water features for the little guys and a couple of small water slides for swimmers. It also has an outdoor pool and an olympic sized indoor lap pool, overall a very nice facility (with sometimes frustrating open hours) and just off Coors, south of I-40.

Shopping, all over the place. The malls are infested with gangbangers and wanna-bes and various others of their ilk. There are nice places to shop on both sides of town, and chain restaurants all over the place these days.

PM me for a recommendation on a good pediatrician.

Thanks for the info.

What are your thoughts on the Far NE Heights & Paradise Hills areas? We're looking in the price range of $300 to $550k.

Thanks!

[gilbertaz]

Originally Posted by Chaparral

There are plenty of areas around ABQ that should fit all or most of your criteria. But before I make a recommendation: what price range are you looking at? If your budget is limited, you may have a harder time finding what you're looking for in the NE Heights.

Chap

Hi Chap!

We looking in the price range of $300 to $550k. What are your thoughts on the Far NE Heights & Paradise Hills areas?

Thanks!

[_yb]

I bet you could find a bunch of listings in that price range. Try here:
ABQREALTORS.com - Official site of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Board of REALTORS® (http://www.abqrealtors.com/homefinder/ - broken link)

[gilbertaz]

Chap - We are looking the the 400 to 500K range for housing. thanks