Want to move to Albuquerque (Santa Fe, Las Vegas: work, hospital, new home)

[tuscanbaby]

I currently live in Georgia and I hate the humidity, gnats, mosquitos and allergies. I lived once (over 20 years ago) in Pheonix. Is it just as hot in Albuquerque? Also, my West Highland Terrier has terrible skin allergies and I'm hoping that the climate there will be better for him? I've been looking at houses, but don't see a lot with pools. My daughter will be attending the Community College there. Any info on these subjects would be greatly appreciated.

[loose cannon]

After going through Albuquurque some weeks ago I assure you that you dont want to go there. It is avery spooky state. Albuquurque and the surrounding areas are just weird. Very barren with drunken Indians trying to sell you jewelry while eating at a diner.

[casden]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

After going through Albuquurque some weeks ago I assure you that you dont want to go there. It is avery spooky state. Albuquurque and the surrounding areas are just weird. Very barren with drunken Indians trying to sell you jewelry while eating at a diner.

To loose cannon:

BOO!!!

LOL!!!! You scare easily...just kidding.


...but seriously, I gotta say that your spelling errors and global generalizations about Native Americans, sound like they actually came from a "loose cannon". Thus you've named yourself appropriately.



Also, it sounds like you actually either drove through ABQ, or maybe you took a bus, or a train, etc., but you didn't actually explore what really makes the city, or some of the great neighborhoods, or museums, or natural settings - like the bosque, or the mountains (which are by no means at all "barren"). You must have whizzed right through the city.

Your description might be compared to a review given of an epic poem by someone who only glanced at the title, and never actually read it (it seems a bit uninformed).





NOW BACK TO THE WEATHER!

TO tuscanbaby:

Actually, the weather in ABQ is somewhat moderate. Winters are mild, but you still see some snow. Summers are mild, but you still get a dry heat of about 100 degrees fahrenheit for a few days. Mostly toward the middle of summer.

Spring and Fall are phenomenal. You get beautiful sunny warm days and slightly cool nights that make being outdoors perfectly comfortable. There is very little to no humidity at all.

Here's another thread about the weather in New Mexico - this might give you a general idea:

Weather in New Mexico

[Heather68]

Hi Tuscan, I moved from Georgia to Albuquerque two years ago. Sadly, although it is true summers here are gorgeous and the mosquito/gnat/insect pest count is astonishingly low, and although the humidity here is so low that streets become dry less than an hour after it rains, I am leaving Albuquerque in 2008 and moving back to the east coast. There are a few reasons.

First, New Mexico has a very different work ethic than you will be used to coming from the South. People here are, and I hate to use this word but it is the most economical, lazy. They call it "manana", from the Spanish word for "tomorrow" - i.e. "put it off, do it tomorrow" - but it's more than a simple Spanish word construct here. It is an entire way of life. Workers are unmotivated and sloppy. Things don't get done. When you start seeing manana affecting the U.S. Post Office, with items being stolen, not delivered on time or not delivered at all ("Oh... sorry, you're right... your package IS back here behind the counter... sorry") simply because it has an 871-something zip code on it, your patience with manana will wear very thin. I could almost tolerate the congenial smiling laziness endemic in all the offices here and deal with it as a local nuisance. When it began affecting the Post Office, I said enough. By the way, never let anyone outside New Mexico tell you the laziness here is a cultural, Native or Latino thing. In two years the people I saw indulge in the most procrastination and offensive manana were the gringos. Yes. The Santa Fe poncho wearing, Yuppie, bead-wearing, organic-eating gringos. If this is the Age of Aquarius, new agers in New Mexico will miss it because they'll wait until the Age of Capricorn to put on their sandals to greet it. And I mean that.

Second, the bureaucracy here has to be seen to be believed. It is slower than time itself. Do not EVER accept any work from the State here. I run a TV business and have been solicited by the State numerous times. They never pay on time. Waiting six months for a paycheck for work you did that long ago is not unheard of. On the good side, utilities and other bureaucracies are locally patient with you if you cannot pay on time. They often ask, "Do you work for the State?" and laugh - because they know. As for services and any benefits at all, unless you are Native American or Latino, you can forget it; you don't exist. And if you are Native or Latino, you are expected to confirm to a rather racist picture of the above - you must be poor, struggling, on the res, or pregnant while being those two races. Try to get ahead and work for a living and the system will shun you. Rudely.

The skies out here are lovely and twilight is a phenomenon that will snatch your breath away with its beauty. These, however, do not erase the fact that Albuquerque is one of the coldest cities on earth. It is a surreal, lunar cold that will make you fear the apocalypse must be nigh. The cold slams down suddenly, as the sun begins to set. It is also windy, subject to sudden sandstorms blown from the west that howl and reduce street visibility to zero. The weather here is bipolar. Summer is warm but never quite hot enough - I laugh as 'Burqueans moan about their single 100 degree day in July, since I am hypothyroidic, cold all the time, and someone who loved Las Vegas's 127 degree summer norm. Spring is ok. Fall is delightful. But winter is terrifyingly cold, and do not let New Mexicans lie to you about their snowfall. Every year is going to be "dry and warm this winter" according to them, and "the snow last year was unusual". These are lies. It snows every single winter in New Mexico, and often even in AUTUMN. And it is a LOT of snow. Never forget this state is right beneath Colorado and the Rockies. Keep that in mind and dismiss the lies. You'll like the change from Georgia weather at first. A few winters in and it begins to grate upon you.

Third, people here are gullible. Many are new agers and bring with them that "trust the Universe and embrace everyone blindly" philosophy. I moved here as a new ager. I am leaving an agnostic. Take from that what you will.

Fourth, the economy, human resource pool, government and work ethic are not at all friendly to hard work, entrepreneurialism or ideas. It is a state highly unfriendly to business and small business owners. Bill Gates initially wanted to put Microsoft here. This is a true story. Albuquerque chased him out. He found the city and New Mexico as a state so backwards, so ornery and stubborn, so resistant to change, and so unfriendly, that he put his fledgling company instead in Seattle. We all know the rest of the story. Albuquerque City Hall reps still talk about this one today, gazing ceilingward over their coffee and saying with a low whistle, "Boy, we blew that one."

But did they change the behavior that drove Gates out?
No.
And that says a lot.

Fifth and penultimate, there are many, many transients and homeless folk here. I'm not talking about a few here and there. There is an entire Lord of The Flies subculture of them. They crowd the cities and wander freely in parks, unmolested and very aggressive. Any ABQ folk who want to lie about this, go walk down to Central. The buses are full of them, they camp out openly in front of most restaurants, and many are mentally ill. I would feel for them, but those are the minority. The majority are mentally capable and running scams pretending they are homeless. I got bilked out of hundreds by dozens of these guys; silly me, moving here and feeling sorry for my fellow man. Albuquerque allows Fake Homelessness to be a cottage industry in a way you will witness and not believe. There are more homeless people here than you will see ANYWHERE. I have lived in Los Angeles and am completely taken aback by the sheer numbers here.

On a similar note: single women from LA or NYC who are concerned about police response, stalking, rape response or safety? Stay out of Albuquerque. If you are stalked or harassed, YOU WILL NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY POLICE. Behavior that in other cities would be termed proof of mental illness is considered NORMAL here and is not enforced against. You are expected to "be a good sport" and "just let it go".

Nuff said, and a word to the wise I think is sufficient.

Finally, if you are single, DO NOT COME HERE. If you are gay, DO NOT COME HERE. I am straight, female and single, but I noticed right away as someone from Atlanta who has lived in NYC and LA there are no gay or lesbian bars or restaurants to speak of here whatsoever. Also, Albuquerque is a small town with a very narrow mentality. Everyone here is married to his high school sweetheart. Singles are looked at with sympathy and suspicion. There is no one to meet and no one to date. They are all taken. Upon closer inspection, that's probably a good thing, though, in retrospect. On the other hand, however, the city has a very clear, very overt and in-your-face agenda where unwed motherhood is concerned. It's as though they expect it; but the terrifying subtext is that in many ways they subtly encourage it. You'll see it on the billboards and signs when you get here. One word - "Salud".

You'll see.

In short, I was fooled by the hype and the Land of Enchantment BS when I visited this place in 2001. I thought the world of Albuquerque and uprooted my entire life taking a chance and making it my home. Albuquerque however made no effort to make itself my new home. I extended trust, hope, hard work, money and naivete and was given stubbornness, laziness, ineptitude, clumsiness, inefficiency, lies, evasions, excuses, and a shrugging, smirking attitude of incompetence snarkily excused as "manana". As if that one word is supposed to make up for the fairytale and bill of goods I and many others were sold by this city.

I am moving back to the east coast as soon as I've got the money raised. I'll visit Arizona to again see those sunny skies. New Mexico is dead to me.

Biased review, but I live here and I know.

[Towanda]

Is anybody on this thread related to cantwaittogo or NMSUX?

You sound familiar.

[casden]

tuscanbaby:

I'd go to ABQ and experience it for yourself - then make a decision.

Whether or not Heather68 is a Georgian, or not, her claims are her own, based on one or more experiences she may have had. My experience is in a diametric opposition to hers - I can't say that I had the same experience at all. Many people I've talked to have not had this experience.

Every city has very unique beauty, but at the same time there is a part of every city (urban area) that is less than ideal. ABQ, like Atlanta has its less than ideal aspects, but they are both very unique and beatiful cities.


As far as ABQ being unfriendly to business and entrepenuers, the city was actually ranked by Forbes Magazine as the #1 city for businesses and careers in 2006 and #6 in 2007. Check it out:

http://www.itsatrip.org/albuquerque/...s/default.aspx

BTW - these rankings are by numerous readers and experts in their field, people with a more objective view - not people who may have an agenda to get people to either go to, or stay away from ABQ.


...hate to say this, but Heather68 sounds a little disgruntled, and I sincerely hope she works it out and finds happiness wherever she decides to go.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Heather68

The skies out here are lovely and twilight is a phenomenon that will snatch your breath away with its beauty. These, however, do not erase the fact that Albuquerque is one of the coldest cities on earth. It is a surreal, lunar cold that will make you fear the apocalypse must be nigh. The cold slams down suddenly, as the sun begins to set. It is also windy, subject to sudden sandstorms blown from the west that howl and reduce street visibility to zero. The weather here is bipolar. Summer is warm but never quite hot enough - I laugh as 'Burqueans moan about their single 100 degree day in July, since I am hypothyroidic, cold all the time, and someone who loved Las Vegas's 127 degree summer norm. Spring is ok. Fall is delightful. But winter is terrifyingly cold, and do not let New Mexicans lie to you about their snowfall. Every year is going to be "dry and warm this winter" according to them, and "the snow last year was unusual". These are lies. It snows every single winter in New Mexico, and often even in AUTUMN. And it is a LOT of snow. Never forget this state is right beneath Colorado and the Rockies. Keep that in mind and dismiss the lies. You'll like the change from Georgia weather at first. A few winters in and it begins to grate upon you.

I think you must be bordering on delusional if you are talking about "lies" in regard to weather and then spout this.

Albuquerque one of the coldest cities on earth??? Huh???

Here is the averages for temperatures, year round, in Albuquerque (actually click on this link):

http://www.weather.com/outlook/healt...mnav_allergies

Here is Atlanta's:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/healt...28?from=search

You'll notice that ABQ and Atlanta actually have very similar year-round temps. Atlanta is a bit warmer in the winter and Albuquerque a bit warmer in the summer on average. Otherwise about the same.

Albuquerque averages 11.0 inches of snowfall per year. That is fairly sparse in comparison to places like New York City, not to mention Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, etc. So yes, last year when there was ~31 inches of snowfall, that WAS highly unusual. However, even then, that is less than the average annual snowfall of a whole lotta cities. Generally ABQ's 11 inches of snowfall classifies as extremely little in comparison to most United States major cities outside of Florida, California, the lower Gulf Coast, and the lower Sonoran Desert.

I don't quite get your angle with your comments on the weather, but they are so factually far off that it makes me wonder.

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by casden

tuscanbaby:

...hate to say this, but Heather68 sounds a little disgruntled, and I sincerely hope she works it out and finds happiness wherever she decides to go.

I have to agree with Casden on this. Heather68's rant sounds similar to the San Diego rants written by San Phlegmatico. I hope the next move works out better for her.

Tuscanbaby: I moved here from MD two years ago. There will definitely be things you will miss about Georgia. You will miss the green, and the southern hospitality [NM is friendly too, though], and surely your friends. But you will love the scenery, the wx, and that special something that only NM has [which isn't for everyone]. And if you are trying to escape humidity, gnats, allergies, etc, this is a good place.

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by Heather68

since I am hypothyroidic, cold all the time, and someone who loved Las Vegas's 127 degree summer norm. Spring is ok. Fall is delightful. But winter is terrifyingly cold, and do not let New Mexicans lie to you about their snowfall. Every year is going to be "dry and warm this winter" according to them, and "the snow last year was unusual". These are lies. It snows every single winter in New Mexico, and often even in AUTUMN. And it is a LOT of snow. Never forget this state is right beneath Colorado and the Rockies. Keep that in mind and dismiss the lies. You'll like the change from Georgia weather at first. A few winters in and it begins to grate upon you.

And yet your very first post on City Data you are asking about moving to Massachutsetts on their threads and yet you posted about always being cold as your above paragraph explains and that you hate the cold etc...etc...

Have fun in Warm and Hot Massachutsetts !!

[Heather68]

Hell of a welcome. "You sound like somebody"... "You sound familiar"... WTF?

I've never been on this forum in my life and have no idea what scribbly screen names you're referring to with these weird messages pointed at me. I don't even know who you people are.

Frankly it sounds like this board has issues.

Bye.