Albuquerque for Bookish, Outdoorsy Family? (condos, neighborhood, middle schools)
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Hmm...that is farther than I thought. Are the neighborhoods to the south of Glenwood equally nice (going south towards 66/ US 40, but still up near the hills)?
Some of them are. If you stay east of Tramway, which is closest to the mountains, just about all of those neighborhoods are really nice, but just keep in mind that the Sandia Mountains are not really close to UNM, so if you want to live in the foothills you'll be likely have at least a 6-7 mile commute to UNM.
Good points about being closer to work or the hills. We live in Ashland, Oregon, which is in the mountains, so we don't have to choose now, and we have a pretty great mountain trail system that allows you to take off into the hills. The hills are mile one way and the U. is about 3/4 of a mile the other way. ABQ is much bigger, but I figured the foothills would be the best place for may wife to get her daily trail run with our two dogs. They are a red heeler and border collie, so they get squirrelly if they don't go out for several miles every day or two. So does she!
It seems like ABP could have even more trails than here!!!!
Of course a lot would depend upon where she found work as well.
It seems like everyone talks good things about UNM/Nob Hill, but I cannot really see a hill in Google Earth! And it seems like we would be in the heart of town, no?
For daily trail running, Glenwood Hills would be a good choice. The foothills are great for that, but my impression is that area tends to be more politically right-leaning than the University area (you mentioned you were "mildly left-leaning" in your original post), although of course every area is mixed.
The Nob Hill neighborhood centers around Carlisle and Central. The hill for which it is named rises to the south of this intersection.
Historic picture from the 40's. If it looks flat, it's because it's actually part of a mesa which extends south to the Sunport.
Good points. We are not too feisty on the politics. That is not to say we would enjoy being in a whole neighborhood of Tea Partiers. I was of the impression that ABQ was center to center left overall. True?
As for hiking, the Emdudo Canyon trails complex looks very nice.
Good points. We are not too feisty on the politics. That is not to say we would enjoy being in a whole neighborhood of Tea Partiers. I was of the impression that ABQ was center to center left overall. True?
Well yes, but some parts of town veer more to the right, some more left. University areas of most cities tend to be very much to the left and the UNM/Nob Hill area is no exception.
In the last city elections, Republicans took over the Mayor's office and gained the majority on the City Council. In the following map, Democrats retained hold of districts 1, 2, 3, and 6, while Republicans held or gained control of the remaining five districts. It will give you an idea of the politics of the residents in each area.
^Although 5 of 9 council districts are currently led by republicans, the republican districts tend to be 55% republican, whereas the democratic districts near the university/downtown tend to be in the area of 65-85% democrat. In other words, even though politics are fairly balanced, ABQ is mostly democrats (despite current leadership).
Frankly, I think balanced is pretty good. I don't like it when the business interests rule, nor when every tax hike or pay hike or expenditure is approved without due reflection. That said, I like that it tilts a bit to the left.
I would expect the higher income neighborhoods tilt conservative, and it would be interesting to know how obsessed with property values and such they are.
Good points. We are not too feisty on the politics. That is not to say we would enjoy being in a whole neighborhood of Tea Partiers. I was of the impression that ABQ was center to center left overall. True?
As for hiking, the Emdudo Canyon trails complex looks very nice.
Well, Glenwood Hills itself is probably among one of the more conservative areas of Albuquerque, from my observations of election signs in people's front yards in the area during elections, but I don't think it's the most conservative part of town. According to the State Secretary of State's website, the State Senate District and the State Representative district I live in are about 40% Democratic, and 40% Republican. So while Glenwood Hills itself seems fairly conservative, if you live off Montgomery Blvd. just west of Tramway, the homes are more affordable, you would still be close to the mountains, the neighborhoods are still very good, and I think they might be a little less right-leaning than Glenwood Hills. In general ABQ is roughly 50% Democratic, and 33% Republican, so you are correct that the city as a whole is more left-leaning.
I do have to say that when you relocate here from another state the corruption, nepotism and crime committed by elected and appointed public figures is shocking. Throw law enforcement into that and it seems that every week there's another headline.
This past week there was a pueblo lieutenant governor arrested for his third DWI, an APD officer arrested for some nastiness with an undercover officer posing as a prostitute, a judge facing bribery charges, another police ( or sheriff's? ) officer caught doing the dirty on the hood of his car, the continuing story of the other judge and the prostitute....
We are staying in Albuquerque for a few months (coming from Scandinavia), as my husband is working at UNM at the moment.
We have three kids, two of them in elementary school - and wanted them to go to public school while we are here. After looking around on the internet we decided on a school that seemed to get really good reviews everywhere. The bonus was that it's close to UNM and in a really nice neighborhood in Nob Hill. We're superhappy with the school so far! Oh - and we love love love the libraries that we have visited, they're great!
All in all - we really like it here and are quite impressed by some features of the community where we live, especially the friendly people everywhere!
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