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I've read a few posts about people who visited Albuquerque / New Mexico and were so struck that they decided to return home long enough to tie things up and move their lives here. Whether you've made it yet or not, I'd love to hear about the experience or moment when you knew (like you know about a good melon.).
Mine will have to be more like an "experience" rather than a "moment."
So for a year or so, after weighing (and subsequently ruling out) Denver CO and Phoenix AZ as possible relocation sites from the Milwaukee WI area, I did a TON of long-distance research of Albuquerque, NM.
I was CERTAIN that Albuquerque was the place that was a great fit for my wife and I. But...going back before that...
I had initially considered Denver / Phoenix due to the much-increased sunshine from the Milwaukee area, family/friends living in both of these two cities, the much lower humidity levels in the two cities, the milder temps, etc. However, I realized that both cities were far too big/congested/expensive for my tastes/needs, etc., as well as Denver still being too cold/snowy and Phoenix too hot/un-snowy.
After that initial consider of DEN / PHX and denial, being the amateur weather nerd that I am, I started noticing this state called "New Mexico". Now, of course, I always knew NM existed, however, I started to realize that a) everyone from WI always talked about CO and AZ, but b) no one, and I mean NO ONE talked about NM. So I became fascinated as I saw this huge landmass on my weather maps. What in the heck was "New Mexico"??? Why did no one talk about it?? Did anyone live there???, etc.
Thus, that led my to my research on ABQ. I read ABQ books. ABQ publications. NM books and magazines and publications (and those especially with emphasis on ABQ). And of course...tons of internet research (maybe why I have such a soft spot for the city-data forums).
That led my wife and I (similar to new-forum-member jrod's current experiences) to an "exploration initial trip" of ABQ in August of I believe 2002.
I remember we went through a lonnnnnggggg flight day, driving in hellacious traffic from Milwaukee to Chicago; then, flying from Chicago all the way to ABQ. We landed in ABQ around 9pm locally (10pm on my Central time internal watch) and were exhausted (and furiously hungry). However, immediately, I was SO PSYCHED by the Sunport. First, the airport was named the friggin' SUNPORT!! But the interior decor, music, restaurants, etc. - it just bled ABQ / NM / Southwestern...sure, somewhat in that cheesy, pretentious airport-esque way, but not like you'd expect in huge, sprawling airports (*cough*cough*Phoenix!)...but in still an endearing, ABQ sense.
Hopped out into the warm-yet-cooled 75 degree ABQ August evening and hit the freeway in our rental car. Saw the incredible city night lights that you get from I-25 in ABQ at the south end from the Sunport and the stars above. I was already nearly hooked.
But the real clinchers happened that night:
Just FAMISHED at this point, we ended up (my wife and a visiting support buddy from Phoenix) at the old Blue Corn Cafe (which no longer exists in ABQ - now the Chama Brewing Co.) on roughly I-25 and Jefferson for dinner. Thank God fate landed us here that night. The Blue Corn will forever hold a special place in my heart for that night. Not only did I grab a wicked good (no I am not from Boston but it seemed appropriate there) local NM micro-brew or two, but I got a HUGE plate of hearty, authentic New Mexican cuisine - a New Mexican fry bread Indian Taco and the fixings (frijoles, arroz, etc.) and Good Lord, I don't think I have ever eaten a better meal.
Then, that night, we stayed at the now-Nativo hotel (I-25 and San Mateo). My wife and my buddy were able to sleep fast asleep, but the excitement and adrenaline of finally being in ABQ / NM kept me up. Early that morning (I am talking 5-6am), finally just giving up on sleeping, I walked out onto our patio into the cool early-morning high desert air (65 degrees) and just stood out on that patio viewing beaty. The vast, wide open, so clear, so bold, New Mexican nighttime sky, giving way to yet another breathtaking, vivid, clear, New Mexican sunrise over the Sandias.
All the while, I watched/heard the soft hum of the traffic on I-25, and watched light start to embark ever so slowly over the western edges of the city / the west mesa.
I remember distinctly thinking to myself after that incredible New Mexican meal and those sights in the PERFECT summertime early morning desert air, "wow, I really am in this place known as NEW MEXICO. And not only am I here, but I am in love."
Fast forward two days. My wife was not yet hooked. In fact, after seeing a little too much of San Mateo for her own tastes/good (remember, we were newcomers to the city with no idea of where to go), she was ready to say "no" to ABQ. Then, we decided on a flyer to do this whole "tram ride thing."
We drove from Alameda / I-25 up to Tramway Blvd. (the long way from the north) and headed up that vast/open/fast/clear way from Tramway all the way up to tram head. The drive probably took 5 minutes, but it seemed like it went on forever. It was glorious. It was heaven. In those 5 minutes - seeing the vast open ABQ city below us and the mountains above - my wife went from leaning "no" to a definitive "yes". To this day, folks, belive it or not, even though she doesn't post here and barely knows what an internet message board is (and she is smart as a whip), my wife probably loves ABQ even more than I do. Seriously. I thank God to this day with our experience in ABQ that we did that drive / that Tram that day - it was perfect.
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Finally, fast-forward to over 1/2 year later. We had decided we were moving to ABQ. We were doing a more specific job/lodging-oriented trip in March. Yet, we only had a few days in ABQ before our tickets took us back north. We left Milwaukee on a 31 degree, snow-bound morning - very, very early. We ended up in ABQ but after a long AM of flying. We were exhausted.
Our first stop from the Sunport was at the Garcia's on San Mateo for a breakfast burrito (papas, eggs, green chile, queso, bacon)...filled our gullets, and were driving north/west for house/apt-hunting but got detoured into the most quiet / rural / calm area of the far north North Valley. Ended up parking our car in a 68 degree March ABQ sun near a few fenced-in horses. Took an hour-long nap with the windows down, birds chirping, the burning sun pouring in, and the soft warm breezes coming through.
We knew we were home. On this return flight, we never wanted to get on to the airplane.
Love it, EnjoyEP! Great stories. This had me ROTFL:
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnjoyEP
After that initial consider of DEN / PHX and denial, being the amateur weather nerd that I am, I started noticing this state called "New Mexico". Now, of course, I always knew NM existed, however, I started to realize that a) everyone from WI always talked about CO and AZ, but b) no one, and I mean NO ONE talked about NM. So I became fascinated as I saw this huge landmass on my weather maps. What in the heck was "New Mexico"??? Why did no one talk about it?? Did anyone live there???, etc.
I had classmates in Virginia that would ask me to bring back some of the currency from my summer vacation in New Mexico. I got tired of explaining and would just nod my head and give a thumbs up thinking I could always hand them some pocket change if they asked about it later.
The 'San Mateo' strip experience hit home and is in the same vein as the 'missing New Mexico' thing. It just doesn't unfold for you. You've got to seek it out to find all the good stuff. I grew up in Santa Fe, and for years I thought Albuquerque consisted of that San Mateo strip and Coronado Center. It's only when you're:
a) In Petroglyph National Park, minutes from downtown and checking out the ancient symbols against the backdrop of the black rock mesas.
b) Hiking the Embudo canyon in the foothills and taking in the view of the entire valley, with the Sunport and downtown to the south and a thin line of green denoting the Bosque meandering to the north.
c) bundled up with a hot coffee in late December taking in the farolitos (whoops...grew up in Santa Fe)... luminarias lighting up the adobe in old town in that subtle brown/gold that just says warm and beautiful.
that a knowing grin creases your face and you start to figure out the secret.
sometime it is just easier to quote yourself from a couple of days ago:
The same thing happened to me one morning 30 years ago in Alamogordo. I was sitting on the wall at the White Sands monument parking lot brewing a cup of coffee on an Optimus stove watching the sunrise over the Sacramento Mountains. I remember saying to my self, “Self, someday we have to live here." Still working on that part but, as I’ll retire in a few years, if not sooner, it is likely to actually happen.
yeah - New Mexico just reaches right out and grabs ya.
ahh, these posts really make me miss ABQ! *sniff-sniff*
My family used to take vacations to northern NM (Red River / Taos) and I always cherished the time out there. When I had a chance to move to ABQ for work, I did so in a heart beat. Moving there felt like going home after being away for a long time. Something about getting a cup of coffee and walking out on the patio to watch the sunrise over the Sandias and the hot air balloons to the north. Of course, I also remember long hikes in the Sandias and having the trails nearly to myself (if you stay away from the LaLuz trail that is) to crest and look out over the city while taking in the smell of evergreens. Another thing that always made me feel warm and fuzzy was wandering through farmers markets while the chiles were roasting.
You make an interesting point about not knowing anything about NM when you did your initial research. Being from the midwest and also spending many years in Louisiana, New Mexico has always been a foreign country in my eyes. No one ever speaks about it, it's never in the news, no one has been there.. that's just the impression midwesterners have.
I wonder why? We hear so much about every other state. Why do we hear so little about NM? I put NM in the same boat as Utah, Vermont, New Hampshire and perhaps a few others. Those states that you never hear about and that you never think about moving to.
I have never ever heard anyone talk about NM or ABQ in a conversation until I started to post on here. But if someone asked me 6 months ago what is the first thing I think about when someone says Albuquerque, I would say brown and hot and boring. I have no facts to back that up. No hearsay to back it up... nothing. That is just the impression I have without every visiting or hearing about it.
I have no idea why I feel that way. I think the national impression of NM and ABQ in general is brown, hot and boring (for those people who haven't visited and don't know anyone that has). When I hear the word Albuquerque, I think of like old 1970s brown and taupe. Again, don't ask me why. I have nothing to back that up. That is just the first thing that comes to my mind.
So my question is why? With a dry mild climate and mountains and so much to brag about, why doesn't ABQ and NM try to create a more colorful fun public image? I understand the ABQans want to stay small and keep their paradise a paradise.. but the fact is that growing is a part of evolution and if you aren't evolving you are dying off (see Detroit).
It just sounds like NM and ABQ could be not only great vacation spots but also great places to live. And as our economy gets more global it is becoming easier and easier to pick up and move. I think a lot of money is coming from the NE and MW to the south. If I was NM and ABQ I'd try to take advantage of that. I know too much growth too fast is bad but sustained and healthy growth and tourist dollars are always a good thing.
Anyways, EnjoyEP your point about never hearing about NM and that it seemed like a foreign country that no one spoke of, really struck a cord with me. That is the exact same thought I had when my wife and I were researching places with good temps and came across this odd place called New Mexico.
I understand the ABQans want to stay small and keep their paradise a paradise.. but the fact is that growing is a part of evolution and if you aren't evolving you are dying off (see Detroit).
I am far more mature at 45 than I was at even 25, but I am still 5'10" tall. There is more than one kind of growth. Albuquerque needs to mature a bit, not necessarily get bigger.
Not everybody is against growth. Granted we don't want Phoenix-type growth where it's Giant Suburbia. We (I actually speak for myself lol) want an ABQ that grows in a smart way. This includes adding people as this is inevitable (unless you are a few cities which I will not name), but it is more than adding people to our city. It is the way our city adapts to these new people. Don't add strip mall after strip mall and neighborhood after neighborhood until we reach Rte 66 Casino. Grow smart. Include Infill Projects. Continue to revamp downtown so that it shows onlookers and/or those hopping from plane to plane that we take pride in our city. I know many people say downtown does not really have an impact on a city. I see it differently. It is the heart of our city. Yes, we have Nob Hill, Old Town (among others) but it is DOWNTOWN that strikes the eye to people first. And you know what they say, 'First impressions only happen once' .
I love Albuquerque as it is. I just believe it is time for the city to grow up a bit. We don't need to become the next (fill in the blank), but we need to take pride in our city and help ABQ grow up maturely. Sorry TRAPPED, as I stole your word 'mature'.
Oh dear, I can't spread any reputation points to EnjoyEP, Lobo, Zia, or Trapped.
Anyway, great posts! One of the things that we like about ABQ is that not everyone wants to move here.
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