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My wife and I lived in the Sacramento area for 15 years, mostly in Elk Grove, and have been in the ABQ area for 6. We think people here are more friendly than in Sac. It may take longer to get to know folks to the point where they invite you into their homes, etc., since the culture here is more family oriented and inwardly directed. But you'll definitely get more smiles from folks you meet on the street and in the stores than in Sac, and if you're willing to work at making friendships, the people in ABQ are great.
I also think the ABQ crime is less or certainly no worse than in Sac. Seems like the media here is overly focused on it compared to other places. If you watch where you go and who you hang out with, you're not going to run into much crime. From your original post, certainly sounds like you get it and would likely have few problems with crime here.
My wife and I lived in the Sacramento area for 15 years, mostly in Elk Grove, and have been in the ABQ area for 6. We think people here are more friendly than in Sac. It may take longer to get to know folks to the point where they invite you into their homes, etc., since the culture here is more family oriented and inwardly directed. But you'll definitely get more smiles from folks you meet on the street and in the stores than in Sac, and if you're willing to work at making friendships, the people in ABQ are great.
I also think the ABQ crime is less or certainly no worse than in Sac. Seems like the media here is overly focused on it compared to other places. If you watch where you go and who you hang out with, you're not going to run into much crime. From your original post, certainly sounds like you get it and would likely have few problems with crime here.
A dentist who was open on a Sunday and helped me through a horrible broken tooth and extraction was from Elk Grove so I have a real soft spot for that town
Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it!
I have just a little different take on ABQ. We lived in a small about 30 miles south of the city. We are joiners so had no problems making friends, but the crime rate was high and we saw more signs of poverty then anyplace we have ever lived including Sac. Of course we didn't live in Sac. We in Carmichael. I cant say we felt unsafe in Abq but there was crime, both in the city and the small towns. Much of it was gang relate.
Good luck and remember no place is perfect. There is a lot to enjoy about ABQ.
I lived in the Abq area (Placitas) for 11 years and never considered it to be more dangerous than other cities of its size. OTOH, the prevalence of poverty and the lousy education system were problematic for me.
We have dog abuse, just like other states. We have helped rescue a variety of dogs over the past 10+ years. All of our dogs (four so far) since moving here 15 years ago have been rescued dogs. We have also "fostered" dogs (taken care of briefly).
There are a variety of dog parks and events in the ABQ area.
The video was wonderful brought tears to my eyes. As someone who has had up to 5 "road dogs" (the dog underground knows our address) you and your wife are #1 in my book!
A lot of denial here. Those bars on homes are called burglar bars, and they ain't ornamental! I never felt any fear walking to and from Bart in 'frisco, and I lived there decades. Guess it depends on where on Bart you were. 16th street was a war zone, as was 24th sometimes.
There certainly is crime in Albuquerque, not to mention a police force that is scary in itself. There's a reason the Feds are investigating it. I lived there many years, and we visited a couple of times (once recently). Albuq has road rage that is nothing to dismiss, and has it's share of gang shootings, robberies, etc. It's not exactly hidden information. Once you get out of downtown you get into either high crime areas or the burbs, which are quite safe. But if you have big city smarts it's not a particularly dangerous town. The problem is that even if you avoid the obviously bad areas, and you'll know them when you see them, there's a randomness to the crime that spooks me. If I moved back it would be to those boring burbs, and I would go to the university area for my culture and coffee, art, food, etc. Then head back to the burbs at the end of the day.
A lot of denial here. Those bars on homes are called burglar bars, and they ain't ornamental!
I just never thought that when I first saw them. Not all houses have them even next door to each other. Seem to be varying opinions posted. I prefer to go with the more positive.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 11-29-2015 at 06:18 PM..
"Burglar bars" do have a precedent in Spanish architecture and there are some quite nice homes that have ornamental ones, but make no mistake, they do provide functional security especially in poor neighbrhoods where they may not look as attractive. But they are less stigmatized, even on middle class homes in New Mexico due to their traditional origins.
So, yes. You will see them. If you go around the finest neighborhoods in fancy suburbs around the country do you not see gated drives, gated communities and signs that say, "This House protected by ADT"?
Of course you do. Do you asume that these, the finest properties are awash in crime just because people have home security?
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Dogs, Canine, ABQ Area
