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I am relocating with my girlfriend to NM in 2017 to work at my family's business in Santa Fe. I have spent some time in SF and it is enough to know that I do not want to live there. I currently drive 45 minutes each way to work, so a commute is not a dreadful thing to me.
My question is, does anybody commute to SF from ABQ? If so, what neighborhoods should I be looking at to avoid any difficult traffic? We will likely be renting before purchasing with a budget of around $1,700.00/month. I want a reasonable commute while not being so far away from ABQ that going to the Shooting Range Park or into the city for dinner is a chore.
LOTS of people commute to SF from points south, including Albuquerque. It's the cause of most of the traffic on I-25, in fact.
The most popular parts of the ABQ metro to do that commute are Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, and perhaps Placitas. They're the northern edge of the ABQ metro area and, provided you can get the couple of miles to I-25, open road for your commute. There's also the rail runner train convenient to some parts of the above.
Alternatively, you can live east of Albuquerque and take NM highway 14 in. A town like Sandia Park provides a similar value proposition, but narrower, twistier roads, and alpine mountain living versus desert mesa or valley living.
Communities like Cochiti, Eldorado at Santa Fe, and Algodones may be worth exploring, if you'd rather halve the commute to SF and don't mind living in an isolated community.
Thank you for all the info! We definitely prefer the city life so anything isolated or rural isn't in the running. I will check out Rio Rancho, Placitas and Bernallilo.
My question is, does anybody commute to SF from ABQ?
We have lived in Rio Rancho since 1998. We have met many people who commuted to Santa Fe from the Rio Rancho and Albuquerque area. It can be done. But I'm not sure you will like it. I use to commute a lot over the years...
The commute from Rio Rancho is obviously closer, so is Bernalillo, and maybe some parts of Placitas. Depending on where you work it may take you an hour or so. It takes me right at 60 minutes to drive to the Town Square. (I drive slow...)
Some use the Rail Runner to commute to Santa Fe, here is their web site: Rio Metro Regional Transit District Official Site - Home I usually dump my wife and visiting relatives at the North Bernallio Rail Runner station when they want to go to Santa Fe... You can drive there a little bit faster, but daily commuting takes a toll on some people. The Rail Runner is actually relaxing for some people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by omarrodriguez
I want a reasonable commute while not being so far away from ABQ that going to the Shooting Range Park or into the city for dinner is a chore.
"Reasonable" varies, I've been to the Shooting Range Park years ago. it's about a 35 minute drive from Rio Rancho. Rio Rancho also has/had a shooting range, I have not been to it since it's relocation and few years ago.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 12-21-2016 at 04:49 PM..
If your budget is $1,700 per month just for rent, you should have zero problems finding a great part of the city to live in. I live in the NE Heights and love it up here. It's close enough to everything, but a little more quiet than some of the other areas. We pay like half of what you plan to and are in what I consider a great spot, so I think you should be able to rent anywhere you'd like.
Like others said, the north side of Rio Rancho (north of Northern Ave), Placitas, or Bernalillo would be the ideal spots because it would put you a little closer to SF. Or even just being near I25 on the north side of Albuquerque would help. I'd suggest you just rent for your first year here and find out what your lifestyle is going to have you doing for entertainment, friends, activities. See how you tolerate that commute. The shooting range is far out on the westside of Albuquerque and isn't near anything unless you live far out on the westside. But given our low traffic here, driving anywhere is generally easy. $1700/month will get you plenty rent wise here and/or mortgage wise.
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