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I know there are doctor shortages here and all over the country, but for some reason I have never had a problem getting an appointment with my primary care in ABQ (I've had the same one for almost 10 years) or a specialist. The last time I called to see my primary care I was scheduled in the next day. And I was seen by my PC, not a PA or NP (although I think those would have done just as well). First time I called the dermatologist I had to wait for a whole 2 days to see him. I'm not sure what I'm doing right or what others are doing wrong.
According to this survey of 2017's best and worst states for doctors, NM ranks just below the middle at no. 30, better than California, New York, Massachusetts.
The problem with the shortage is faced by newcomers to the state, as I noted in the first sentence of my post. Once you have a doctor here, assuming they don't stop practicing, retire, or move away, you should not have much trouble getting future appointments. It is the initial appointment that is the toughest nut to crack here. I have lived in many states, and by far my experience in getting doctors here has been worse than in any other place I have ever lived.
The problem with the shortage is faced by newcomers to the state, as I noted in the first sentence of my post. Once you have a doctor here, assuming they don't stop practicing, retire, or move away, you should not have much trouble getting future appointments. It is the initial appointment that is the toughest nut to crack here. I have lived in many states, and by far my experience in getting doctors here has been worse than in any other place I have ever lived.
Here is your first sentence: "There is a very real doctor shortage in ABQ." Then you talked about the wait for a dermatologist.
I had never made an appointment with a dermatologist before and when I needed one I found one that could see me within two days. Your statements about your experiences do not apply to everyone else. When I moved my mother out here, she was new, but we never had the long waits for her appointments that you are describing. And she had to see a lot of specialists. I know because I made all her appointments and drove her to them.
There's a truck stop in Albuquerque. I was told there's riff-raff there 24/7.
I'm surprised he said that about Albuquerque. Maybe he was referring to areas outside the city limits. NM as a whole is poorer than AZ or CA.
I heard the same about Tuscon and Albuquerque.
Something interesting about El Paso: I read someone claim that 30 or 40 years ago, El Paso and Juarez was like one big city with people coming and going all the time.
I'd probably prefer to visit Southern California but prefer to live in El Paso. Visiting and day to day life are two different things.
As this is the Albuquerque forum, I fully expected ABQ to gain the majority of votes and thus far it has.
However, I am always surprised at how little favor El Paso elicits. As my "EnjoyEP" moniker indicates, I have long been a fan of El Paso. Its not "wrong" to like or dislike a city, it just is a little weird to me as I fell in love with the city.
As for Tucson, I have always heard of it compared very directly as cactus pointed out in the thread, so it intrigues me to spend some time there. Ultimately I think I would still be an ABQ/El Paso guy (and Las Cruces too!), however, I wouldn't mind a little flirtation with Tucson.
In my opinion Tucson seems like it's the most "cosmopolitan" of the three. I've never been to ABQ and only made a small stop in EP, my take on EP was that there wasn't much going on, it was hot dry and looked run down from what I saw on the freeway and the stop I made little impact on me. No offense to EP folks.
I'm planning on doing a scouting trip to ABQ in the winter this year to check it out. My buddy is a long distance truck driver and drives the 40 across country and he frequently stops in ABQ and he's told me repeatedly that ABQ is quote a "crap hole" that looks like crap to him.
In all fairness a city should be judged by more than driving through the highway and hitting up truck stops. I've told this to him and he said he's seen more of the area than just truck stops and still insists that it's a craphole.
LOL, not sure what to make of that comment. I still wanna check it out for myself though.
This trucker doesn't seem to have much of a vocabulary other than "crap". So I wouldn't put too much weight on his opinion. I live in ABQ, in Tucson many years, and have only visited El Paso. If you are ok with destitute views of old Mexico then I guess EP would not be a bad choice. The only objection I have is the constant all year sunny weather, which in itself is not bad but some variation would be nice. I lived in Tucson and the wicked heat (I'm from New England) was too much to bear. Again, the weather is not very interesting except in the monsoon season, if you like a lot of rain and lightning all pretty much at the same time. The geography is flat with some mountain views, although if you go up into the Coronado Forest for a welcome cooling effect, its refreshing. And of course there are all those Saguaro cacti, which I can say are in a word, "comical". Medical services are typical southwest - inadequate. Albuquerque is an entirely different animal. The most obvious characteristic is the spectacular setting in the Rio Grande Valley. There isn't a bad view anywhere you happen to be. You don't just view the mountains, you live in them. The weather is much more interesting than the other 2 contestants. The sunsets are to die for, many times behind the thick dust and attendant clouds, which polarizes the sun into perfect round disks. This does not normally happen in Tucson because the sun's light is dispersed in the cobalt blue skies. Nothing to write home about. In Tucson's favor is the proximity to Mexico, about 60 miles to the border. The Hispanic culture and influence is more pronounced in Tucson. Your chances are greater of being serenaded by a mariachi band at dinner than they would be in Albuquerque. Don't hold this against me. I have dined in maybe 1 or 2 Mexican restaurants here. This would probably follow suit in El Paso, which is just a bridge ride away. All in all, I wouldn't even think of living in El Paso and I would never go back to Tucson. Winner...Albuquerque, hands down.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 09-19-2017 at 08:08 AM..
Tucson: because I haven't lived there but visited enough to get it, it's development is more attractive and connected to its ecology (high land ethic), there are great AC and energy-efficient building techniques now (hyper-summer), and more sun but more rain than the others (greener).
I lived 21 years in ABQ and 3 in El Paso (plus visiting often on business). Both places have many unique elements I like, and they tie on different versions of a similarly "good climate", where it's hard to tell if there's any more comfort and discomfort over the year. El Paso is even sunnier and misses 1/2 the winter cold fronts ABQ is grazed by.
All 3 places are a wash on good, unique food that can be inexpensive. El Paso's mountains and scenic variety are good but beaten by the others including year-round recreation or ability to cool off fast, while El Paso is friendlier. (i.e. zealous ABQ fan who name-calls those who dare dissent)
My guess is it would come down to finding people with more in common and a satisfying job w/ pay to afford where one enjoys living. Talk about 3 sister cities or towns!
interesting poll: I say that because we considered all 3 when it came time for retirement. ABQ won out. Here is why, the first reason was the climate. No place we have lived or visited has nicer weather, especially for those who want 4 seasons. I will add fall season isn't all the great, but it is better than some places. Overall COL was about the same when we made our move. ABQ was slightly lower, but that was 17 years ago, things may have changed. We also preferred the beauty of ABQ. High desert is much nicer than the lower desert.
As for political atmosphere, I can't imagine anyone choosing a place to live based on that and certainly El Paso isn't like much of Texas. But I guess we all have our own reasons for doing and saying what we do.
Health care wise, that is where ABQ falls down. I don't care what anyone says, they do not have great or even good quality of care. This doesn't mean it if bad, but the metro area doesn't draw top quality doctors, nor do they have a wonderful research facility. As for senior services, many cities offer good benefits to seniors.This was not even an issue for us when we decided to retire in the region. And yes, we were seniors at the time. Otherwise we would not have been retiring. I will add just one more comment: when someone says this or that is the "best" remember that is just an opinion, not fact.
Always appreciate your perspective. Like you, the political leanings of an area do not determine where I want to live although wife doesn't want to live in a Democrat controlled area (though we live in one currently).
About the Albuquerque climate, yes that's a nice 4 season climate but I see that the average wind speed is pretty high and there's very little rain...do they get dust storms?
I voted Tucson because I think the area is prettier with more rain creating the saguaros, less wind and I like the look of the mountains surrounding the city. Tucson also has the advantage of being near a big city (Phoenix) and reasonably close to one of the world's mega-cities (LA).
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