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Looked through some of the threads. Albuquerque seems to get dumped on in the national spotlight. I have seen reports.. one of the highest crime rates.. worst place to retire... ranks high on bad driver lists.
Please tell the good, the bad and the ugly. P.s. Aside all of the above what is the white collar office economy like?
Rooting hard to like it, but these reports have me concerned. Now, being from the West Coast, the it, popular place has drawbacks too, mostly financial, and it being so crowded.
Would love especially to hear transplants and honest opinions for or against. Note: have read other relocation threads. Thanks in advance.
The local news likes to perpetuate a certain narrative. They cover petty crimes as though they were a small town paper. Ignore the local media, use common sense and you'll be fine.
Would love especially to hear transplants and honest opinions for or against.
My wife and I have lived in the Albuquerque area 15+ years. She initially accepted a Federal position transfer out here. I had worked in the "Southwest" previously. The first time was 1968. We are now retired here and plan on staying here in New Mexico.
You really need to come out here, feet on the ground, to check out the area...
White collar jobs tend to have depressed salaries here. However, Albuquerque has a decent cost of living, so that offsets the lower salaries. If you get a job that pays (relatively) well, allowing you to live in parts of the city with low crime, chances are you will never be directly impacted by the horror stories you read on the news.
There are certainly tons of pros and cons to living here. Whether or not Albuquerque is the right fit for you depends a lot on your personal circumstances. What is making you consider Albuquerque in the first place?
I'd ask the OP to please not move here. You already have a perception and narrative of Albuquerque established. If you move here you are bound to be one of those people who blames any and everything that goes wrong in their life on Albuquerque. You will constantly look for justification of your already negative perception by focusing on any bad thing that you see or hear about here. Save yourself the hassle and grief and look elsewhere.
Location: In my cat's house, until she finds a better human servant
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op, I know these questions have been answered numerous times, including in recent threads, because I personally have written some of those responses. Once you've read them we'd be happy to answer further specific questions if needed. Best of luck.
Show us these "reports". Need to know where you are getting your information.
Right. A lot of "reports" come from people with little or no experience here or from some intern staring at a stack of spreadsheets in a magazine back office.
I retired here four years ago after being retired in the Midwest for a decade. Like any city, there are places you won't want to live or spend much time. You want to choose your friends carefully, just like anyplace. If you are not open to diversity and multiple cultures and hearing people speak something other than American English on occasion you might not be comfortable here. I have made a number of good friends who also moved here and no one has any regrets, quite the contrary. Another couple I know just happily moved here on Monday. I have a better doctor now than I had before I moved. If someone is saying this is a bad place for retirees they are certainly having a different experience than anyone I know.
The economy is slow but will probably improve over time. People who constantly complain about traffic have never driven in highly congested and heavily populated place. There are only two million people in the entire state. The traffic problem is most often caused by a bottleneck on one or more of the bridges over the Rio Grande. That being said, speed limits seem to be whatever you can get away with, especially on the interstates.
If you are seriously considering moving you need to spend time here first.
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