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Let's get this out of the way first:
1. Yes, this is my first post, but only because I forgot what my older user name is. And they don't seem to have an option to recover it...
2. I realize that there are a ton of these posts floating around, but I have a couple of specific questions that I haven't found answers to when reading old posts.
So...moving to ABQ for graduate school soonish and I'm looking for a place to live. I want to live near UNM or within 2 miles. My dream is to park my car and only drive it maybe twice a month. Anyway, here are my questions:
I decided to move before the end of May (May 22) with the hope that traveling prices will be lower. Now I'm wondering if this was a bad decision since the spring semester at UNM doesn't end until mid-May. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Do the majority of places become available the beginning of June or do students tend to move out as soon as the semester is over?
Second, I've trolled all of the major apartment finders, but I'm wondering if there are some sites that only locals would know about. I know the best way is to walk around, but I'm looking for some very specific things. I don't want to live in a complex. The ideal place is a house or casita with a washer and dryer or w/d hookups and off-street parking.
And looking at crime maps around UNM is scary. Is it worth it to live further away and take the bus? Keep in mind: I HATE driving. I have a 30 minute commute right now for my job and it's absolutely horrible.
I forgot to mention. I currently live on the other side of the US so I can't just visit whenever.
I may think of one or two other questions. Thanks in advance!
Some of the graduate departments might keep listings of housing for grad students.
I know a lot of students stick around all year so there might not be a large increase in vacancy in May/June as you might expect at some schools. When I lived in the area I typically had a year lease.
In-unit laundry will be harder to find, off-street parking should be available most places.
Hi unmbound2014,
What are you going to study at UNM and what do you think of the school? I have narrowed down my search to UNM or UA for graduate study in Spanish, but I haven't decided yet. (Might depend on who will have me
North of campus is really nice, but going to be pricey. South of campus there are definitely some nice areas, but it can be sketchy and very hit and miss. Don't go too far south (I would say no further than just past Coal maybe...). If you go southeast of campus you again get back into a better area (Nob Hill) but again price will increase. Some of the neighborhoods around Silver just south and southwest of campus seem pretty decent. Public transportation blows here, so if you really want to be able to walk to school and restaurants/bars/grocery, then south of campus would be your best bet. It's just tricky because it can be a little sketchy but can also be nice. Most people have roommates in bigger houses, but there are also a lot of places that have a small house in the back that you could rent.
Don't rule out downtown. There are several apartment projects under construction that should open but not until the late summer. The Rapid Ride bus service takes about 5 minutes to get to the campus. I'd recommend downtown or north campus.
While we're open to anything on a busline, the preference is to be within a mile of campus. 2 miles at the most. Complexes are a last resort even though they are the easiest to find. Being an older graduate student, I don't feel like dealing with 18 year olds.
The UNM off-campus housing was one of the first websites I looked at seeing as it's one of the first websites to pop in when doing a Google search. They have a little over 100 places listed. There are around 60 that are under $900. And the scarcity of details are atrocious. Plus, there are a surprising amount of places listed on there that are 8-10 miles away! Craigslist has been a much better source.
Maybe I should have mentioned that I'm 31 with a boyfriend and 3 cats. I'm not living in dorms or university housing. And I'm not really looking for advice as to what areas of town I should live. I've been researching the areas around UNM for months. I'm just wondering if there are websites with apartment listings that only locals know about. I'm guessing not.
Eyepod: I will be in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department. I love the campus. I think it's gorgeous. As for departments, each one is different so I can't really say much on that. One thing to consider is weather. Albuquerque has more moderate high temperatures compared to Arizona. I think UA has over 100 days with temperatures that are over 90 degrees.
I am in Albuquerque looking for rentals and/or houses to buy in the UNM area, and I can share the following:
1) Craigslist listings, even ones constantly updated, are about half the time already rented or unavailable. You will spend a lot of time responding to CL ads and not hearing anything back.
2) The UNM off campus housing website is just as unreliable.
3) There is a lot of misrepresentation on these ads, especially around the issue of bedrooms. I would say that 3/4 of the rentals and houses for sale I have seen have an "illegal" bedroom. And this is even on the realtor's multi-list site, so some of the real estate agents around here are either incompetent or unscrupulous.
For example, we saw a "3 bedroom, 2 bath" house for sale in Spruce Park, priced over $400k. The "master suite" is located in the basement in an illegal space with no fire escape, and it was really shoddily done, too. So this is in reality a 2 bedroom house with 1 bath on the main living level, and another bathroom adjacent a storage area in the basement.
Interesting real estate market, to say the least...
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I have not! Thanks! 
