Moving from the UK (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: crime rates, house prices, allergies)

[neojynx]

HI.

I am moving from the UK at the end of the year. Due to my job, I can live pretty much anywhere in the US but need to be near a major airport hub as I will be working all over the US and parts of Canada and will be flying in/out on a weekly basis.

I was looking at a move to Texas, poss, SA/Austin or Dallas/FW. The humidity and climate there seems pretty bad though and my wife suffers from allergies.

I then started looking at NM. I am not sure if Albuquerque is a major airport and know very little about the state or area.

I am coming over with 2 young girls (5 & 7) and therefore looking for what I would call a 'decent' area.

I am willing to travel up to 70 miles from an airport to find a decent place, but the priorities are for my kids and for mobility via flights.

I would prefer to not live in a large urban area.

Wonder if anyone could initially point me in the right direction.

thanks

Garry

[yukon]

Can't comment on ABQ, but I can say that if your wife suffers from pollen allergies, they'll be worse in Dallas (or mine were, anyway). Weather fronts seem to stall over Dallas, bringing all kind of pollen not native to the area.

[lastra]

Hi Garry,
ABQ has an airport, but not a major one, like El Paso in Texas has for example. Me and my husband lived there 3 months due to one job, and we loved the area - absolutely. Stay away from downtown when it comes to houses ( that's what we heard anyway ). We want to move to Albuquerque but house prices are too high right now for us. If the money is not a problem, I highly recommend ABQ. There are a lot of people from California there ( that are moving there ). One of the best places to live in Albuquerque is in North East Highs. Rio Rancho is a decent area... But North East Highs are excellent...I hope I helped you a little bit...

But, on the other hand, if you want to live in a smaller city, I would recommend Las Cruces. That's about an hour from a major airport in El Paso, and house prices are very reasonable for now ( although prices are on a rise ), and it's not as urban as ABQ ( although we actually liked that about ABQ ).

[abqsunport]

Originally Posted by lastra

Hi Garry,
ABQ has an airport, but not a major one, like El Paso in Texas has for example. M
But, on the other hand, if you want to live in a smaller city, I would recommend Las Cruces. That's about an hour from a major airport in El Paso, and house prices are very reasonable for now ( although prices are on a rise ), and it's not as urban as ABQ ( although we actually liked that about ABQ ).

Actually the Albuquerque International Sunport is much bigger than El Paso in terms of flights and passengers.
ABQ serves roughly 6.5 Million Passengers where as
ELP serves roughly 3.4 Million Passengers
ELP serves 18 cities nonstop with 15 gates
ABQ serves 41 cities nonstop with 26 gates (23 main concours, 2 Commuter, 1 international)

ABQ Cities Nonstop:
Amarillo, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore (BWI), Chicago (Midway/O'Hare), Cincinnati, Cleveland (seasonal), Dallas (DFW/Love Field), Denver, El Paso, Houston (Bush/Hobby), Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, L.A.-Ontario, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Puerto Vallarta Mexico (seasonal), Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tucson, Tulsa, Washington (Dulles). Nonstop in-state service is offered to Carlsbad, Clovis, Farmington, Roswell and Silver City.


Almost any other destination can be easily reached by a quick 1-stop connection.

Here is the airline information:

Concourse A has 13 Gates: A1 - A12, A14

ExpressJet Airlines Gates A2, A4 (Austin, Oklahoma City, Ontario, Sacramento, San Antonio, Tulsa)

Northwest Airlines Gates A10, A12 (Minneapolis/St. Paul)

Southwest Airlines Gates A5 - A9, A11 (Amarillo, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago-Midway, Dallas-Love, Denver [begins November 4], El Paso, Houston-Hobby, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Oakland, Ontario, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland (OR), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Tucson)

United Airlines Gates A1, A3 (Denver, Washington-Dulles)
United Express operated by SkyWest (Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco)
United Express operated by Shuttle America (Chicago-O'Hare)

Concourse B has 10 Gates: B1 - B10

American Airlines Gates B1, B3 (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)

Continental Airlines Gate B5 (Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland [seasonal], Houston-Intercontinental)

Delta Air Lines Gates B8, B10 (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Salt Lake City)

Frontier Airlines Gate B6 (Denver)
Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines (Denver, Puerto Vallarta [seasonal; begins December 15])
Frontier JetExpress operated by Horizon Air (Denver) [ends November 30]

US Airways Gate B4
US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix)
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Phoenix)

Communter airlines use 2 Gates: E1 & E2

Great Lakes Airlines (Clovis, Silver City)

Mesa Airlines
Mesa Airlines operated by Air Midwest (Alamorgordo, Carlsbad, Farmington, Roswell)

New Mexico Airlines (Carlsbad, Santa Fe)


Hope that helps! Best of luck with your search! Keep us updated on where you pick!

[abqsunport]

I didn't mention this in my earlier post because I was simply correcting facts, but Albuquerque really is one of the few cities that would meet most of your requirements. Its airport is well served for a city of Albuquerque's size. Albuquerque has next to no humidity, and has excellent weather. Take a visit out here and give us a look!

[PaddyMac]

Originally Posted by abqsunport

xpressJet Airlines Gates A2, A4 (Austin, Oklahoma City, Ontario, Sacramento, San Antonio, Tulsa)

Thanks for posting the info.

FYI ExpressJet also flies to/from Abq from LA-Ontario airport, which is east of LA along the 10 freeway. We booked our flights to Abq in October through them. They were cheaper than Southwest too ($109 each way compared to $131 each way).

[mortimer]

neojynx queried:

> ... need to be near a major airport hub as I will be working all
> over the US ... flying in/out on a weekly basis.

> ... The humidity and climate ... wife suffers from allergies.

ABQ is not a hub. PHX and DEN are hubs. Both have low humidity
and much better connections. If you are going to be flying a whole
lot, those might be much better choices.

[abqsunport]

Originally Posted by mortimer

neojynx queried:

> ... need to be near a major airport hub as I will be working all
> over the US ... flying in/out on a weekly basis.

> ... The humidity and climate ... wife suffers from allergies.

ABQ is not a hub. PHX and DEN are hubs. Both have low humidity
and much better connections. If you are going to be flying a whole
lot, those might be much better choices.

yeah, but neojynx also said that he didn't want to live in an urban area. I would consider both PHX and DEN large urban areas.

[neojynx]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Just to go on if I may. How are the winters in ABQ? Does it get real cold?

I took a look at the state of NM on Google Earth and see that everything follows the river, towns, vegetation etc. I guess away from this thers is pretty much nothingness?

I also saw that ABQ crime rates seem pretty high, would Santa Fe be a better move?

thanks

-G

[mortimer]

abqsunport pointed out:

> neojynx also said that he didn't want to live in an urban area.
> I would consider both PHX and DEN large urban areas.

So would I but ...

neojynx also wrote:
# I am willing to travel up to 70 miles from an airport
# to find a decent place

70 miles away from Denver's airport puts you solidly in the mountains.
It puts you North of Ft. Collins and S. of Colorado Springs.

70 miles away from Phoenix's airport puts you about in Payson or
Prescott and also in the mountains.

Then, neojynx asked:

> How are the winters in ABQ? Does it get real cold?

What's your definition of "real cold?" If you asked me, I would
say no.