Exploring living in Albq, near by cities (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: apartments, rent)

[AhSanMateo]

I would like to know the honest opinion of the residents of Albq or the outskirts.
I have two children and am looking for a good school district.
Also, I would like a safe area to live in. I hear positive and negative things about the safety in certian areas.
Which cities are nice to live in?
I have heard of Rio Rancho, Corrales and Paradise Village.
I am going to visit this Friday and would like to know where I should go visit for housing and safe apartment areas.
Your honesty would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[LLD]

I live in far north Rio Ranco off of 550. The big subdivision up here is called Enchanted Hills with all kinds of prices, existing homes and new homes and a new set of apartments.

I've lived here 2 years and always felt very safe -- although I do have an alarm system I hardly ever turn the thing on. LOL

My son is grown so I didn't worry about schools but I have been told the RR schools are good.

Corrales is pretty pricey and I don't know of any apartments there. But I do think there are some down in Rio Rancho proper off of Southern and some across from Cottonwood Mall.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[finmqa1]

It really depends on what you want to spend, and how you feel about commuting? Let me know those two things and I will surely make a few recommendations. One thing to note before your visit, many visitors find ABQ an ugly city in the winter with all the leaves gone (I would say this is true in any city that has a true winter). You may or may not feel this way yourself, but I promise you the rest of the year is beautiful with the green bosque and beautiful Sandia Mountains.

[AhSanMateo]

Thans for the input finmqa1 and LLD.
I was thinking of looking at a budget of 2000.00 to
3500.00, as far as a home. I really would not mind the commute. As long as I find a comfortable, safe place for my family. I would be working in Albq. Also, how is the weather? I hear its cold right now in the winter. How is year round.
Once again thank you for the input.

[kaforeman]

Originally Posted by AhSanMateo

Thans for the input finmqa1 and LLD.
I was thinking of looking at a budget of 2000.00 to
3500.00, as far as a home. I really would not mind the commute. As long as I find a comfortable, safe place for my family. I would be working in Albq. Also, how is the weather? I hear its cold right now in the winter. How is year round.
Once again thank you for the input.

There are four distinct seasons, none of them as harsh as those found in the East or Midwest. Summers are hot but it always cools down at night. Winters are moderate, with rare snow that usually doesn't stick around long. Unless you really hate dry weather, Albuquerque's climate is pretty wonderful.

[finmqa1]

Since commuting won't be a big issue for you I would consider the following areas.
Northwest Albuquerque (Taylor Ranch, Paradise Hills, Ventana Ranch, and Cottonwood areas) is safe and you can get a lot more house for your money compared to the Eastside. There are plenty of amenities and gorgeous views of the city from this area. Cibola H.S. and the new Volcano Vista H.S. (under construction) are good schools and these neighborhoods are some of the safest.

You will also find plenty of nice housing in Rio Rancho for that amount. The schools are great and crime is low. Rio Rancho may lack good retail right now, but that will surely change very soon as they are the fastest growing city in the state, and one of the fastest in the nation.

[LLD]

My comment about Paradise Hills and Ventana Ranch is that they are WAY west and there aren't many roads in and out of that part of town. My mom looked out there and decided against things simply because of the access.

She woumd up buying in Enchanted Hills in farth north Rio Rancho and I'm in the same general area. Access is good to the freeway down 550 through Bernalillo and you can also cut through the town down 313 if you need to and you can also go up 528 to Paseo del Norte too. So several routes to get around when problems occur.

Access is one of the problems with Corrales also -- basically one way in and out and house prices are very pricey there now too. I remember coming here about 10 years ago and I loved Corrales and could have gotten a nice house on acre for about $160K.... the same is not easily $350K in Corrales.

[grnmnnm]

Try looking in the Northeast heights around Paseo del Norte and East of Wyoming. This area has some of the best ranked schools in the area and with the decrease in housing values you may find a home that meets your budget. I would also recommend that you rent a aprartment if possible for at least 6 months until you get familiar with the area. There are some nice apartments in the High Desert subdivsion and off Academy near Tramway.

[rybert]

Originally Posted by AhSanMateo

I would like to know the honest opinion of the residents of Albq or the outskirts.
I have two children and am looking for a good school district.
Also, I would like a safe area to live in. I hear positive and negative things about the safety in certian areas.
Which cities are nice to live in?
I have heard of Rio Rancho, Corrales and Paradise Village.
I am going to visit this Friday and would like to know where I should go visit for housing and safe apartment areas.
Your honesty would be appreciated.
Thank you.

The search function knows all. Give it a shot.

[Mike Horrell]

LLD's comments about Paradise Hills are worth listening to. We live on the far
Westside near Unser and Montano, both good access routes, and we have relatively
short commutes almost everywhere, but there are only a handful of major Westside
routes and once you get further back into some of these communities, it can take
quite a while to get to where traffic flows well.

We ruled out many Westside areas with nice houses for just that reason and it's
a factor to consider. We made extensive use of Google Maps to locate potential
houses and then to map out how we would get in and out from them and that really
helped us avoid problems.