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This forum has been a great wealth of information. I’ve spent hours reading through these threads in preparation for an upcoming move. We are pretty much narrowed to the NE or Rio Rancho. We have two young children (not yet school age) so obviously safety and schools are our main concern. It seems from reading through the forums that most of the consensus is to look towards the NE heights (good schools and safer).
I’m intrigued by Rio Rancho though, obviously it’s more bang for your buck. It seems difficult to find up to date information, as a lot is outdated. What is the commute really like? We will be coming from a heavy east coast commuting area so commuting is not new but obviously less commmute than here would be nice. Some of the communities like Cabezon interested us as it would be great with nice community areas (pools, parks, etc.) A concern is the amount of construction in RR may negatively impact resale. It seems like there is a little disconnect between RR and ABQ is that true?
We would like to keep the house hunt around 350k if possible. I know opinions may differ depending on experiences but any information would be greatly appreciated.
This forum has been a great wealth of information. I’ve spent hours reading through these threads in preparation for an upcoming move. We are pretty much narrowed to the NE or Rio Rancho. We have two young children (not yet school age) so obviously safety and schools are our main concern. It seems from reading through the forums that most of the consensus is to look towards the NE heights (good schools and safer).
I’m intrigued by Rio Rancho though, obviously it’s more bang for your buck. It seems difficult to find up to date information, as a lot is outdated. What is the commute really like? We will be coming from a heavy east coast commuting area so commuting is not new but obviously less commmute than here would be nice. Some of the communities like Cabezon interested us as it would be great with nice community areas (pools, parks, etc.) A concern is the amount of construction in RR may negatively impact resale. It seems like there is a little disconnect between RR and ABQ is that true?
We would like to keep the house hunt around 350k if possible. I know opinions may differ depending on experiences but any information would be greatly appreciated.
There are about 197 threads in the Albuquerque forum with the word Rio Rancho in the title. So a lot has been said.
My wife and I have lived in Rio Rancho for over 15 years and she was employed here about 13 years...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Plmok123
What is the commute really like?
That really depends on a several factors. When my wife worked it was less then 40 minutes each way. For me it was several thousand miles (I worked in the Wash DC area). There was a time my grand-daughter could walk to work.
The school systems in Rio Rancho are very good. Check them out with whatever means you please. I have had children, grand-children and great grand-children attend schools from K to 12th grade...
We live less than a mile from Corrales, and about 6 miles from Albuquerque.
If you have any specific questions I will try and answer them...
Much of Rio Rancho’s earlier development seems to be near the bridge crossing at Alameda or up by Enchanted Hills (near Bernalillo) and along rt 528 (Intel). Now it seems to be growing west (Unser Blvd.) but there are huge spaces of sparse development with custom homes and vacant land waiting for development. I live halfway between the two bridges and a couple miles west of 528. It is a little like Russian Roulette on picking the best route into ABQ based on bridge traffic. I’m retired so I don’t have to fight it everyday. It can take 45 minutes to get downtown where my daughter lives or, sometimes, only 30 minutes. This is usually not during rush hour traffic. I tend to do most of my personal business in Bernalillo and not venture into ABQ. Almost everything I need is in Rio Rancho or Bernalillo or near the Cottonwood area including medical facilities. I’m reasonably close to two hospitals and two high schools. The construction of the new bridge at Bernalillo, now underway, will complicate traffic patterns on that route for some time but there is something of a commercial building boom along that stretch even now.
Rio Rancho schools have a good reputation, as do the far NE Heights schools. Poncho has provided you helpful links to the raw data. I think it is probably a wash, with LaCueva perhaps pulling a little higher on the swag scale simply because of the overall wealth and education of the families in that district. Rio Rancho has a more broad socioeconomic base than that one section of the NE heights that feeds into LaCueva. I also plead ignorance of how RR is divided to determine who attends RR High vs. Cleveland, and whether it matters in the whole scheme of things. THat is probably something to look into if you narrow your search to RR.
350K will give you a lot of choices in RR. Not so many choices in the LaCueva district for a SFH. It will give you plenty of choices in the ElDorado district. You could also take a look at the Cibola district, which covers the Corrales and Paradise Hills (ABQ) kids.
You don't mention where work is located, or whether work is during conventional 8-5 hours, so I can't comment directly on the commute. I can say that I work near UNM and have a coworker who lives in Cabezon. She loves her home and her neighborhood and her daughter's school. She does not love her 45-minute commute in traffic. And that commute can be extended if there is construction or an accident. On occasion for work I have to drive during the day from my UNM-area office out to Sandoval Regional Medical Center (which truly is at the edge of the earth in RR). I always give myself an hour, and usually make it in between 45-50 minutes. This is not during rush hour.
It's a balance, and although there are other differences between RR and NE Albuquerque, it largely depends on what you care about more: the size/age of your house or your commute. As you have found out, your money buys a lot more in RR than NE Albuquerque, but for your budget you can still get a nice house in the La Cueva school district. Your exact commute will depend on exactly where in RR you are driving from, where exactly you are working, and what times of day you plan on arriving/leaving work. That being said, if you worked downtown your commute to RR would likely be around 45 minutes and your commute to NE Albuquerque would be around 20 minutes.
When I first moved here, with a similar budget and situation that you are in, I chose to prioritize my time and moved to the NE side of town. Plus, I agree with jakabedy that the NE Albuquerque schools have a little leg up on the RR schools. I never regretted my decision for a minute. I have since upgraded to a bigger home on the NE side of town, but if my financial situation would not have allowed me to do so, I would have been happy staying put in my first place. I would also agree that homes in NE Albuquerque, in general, sell more quickly than in RR, largely because of the huge supply in RR and the limited supply of homes in NE Albuquerque, especially in the $300k range.
That being said, Cabazon is a great community with the park and newer homes. I know a lot of people who live there and are happy with their decision. There are, however, great parks in the La Cueva school district. My favorite is the North Domingo Baca park, which blows Cabazon out of the water (though it doesn't yet have a pool). Here is a link to a house that's on the market that would be an easy walk to the park, and shows you what you can get for your money in NE Albuquerque: https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...3_M16386-63422
There are other, smaller but nice neighborhood parks in the NE Albuquerque as well, such as Desert Ridge Trails Park (which has this home for sale in your price range https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...3_M28568-73784) and Vineyard Estates Park (which has this home for sale in your price range https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...2_M16157-19494). Completely up to you whether you prefer the nicer house or the nicer commute.
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