Moving from Phoenix (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe: crime, tech jobs, live)

[wentworthy]

[font="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Hi all,
my hubby & I want to move from Phx to N.M.
can anyone recommend what town or city would be more desirable?
Mainly want to move from phx because of the weather.
We are possibly looking at Albuquerque or Las cruces.
We don't want to be in an area that is crime ridden(like south side in Phx)
and what is the job situation like?
I am in the retail industry and he is in warehousing.
What is the $$ for housing?
How hot does it get in Alb? and are they many bugs/spiders?
Any advice is most appreciated..

[ziaAirmac]

Coming from Phoenix, I would think Albuquerque would be most desirable to you. It's high elevation keeps the temps moderate. Also the life here would be closest to what you've come accustomed to in PHX, including high-end shopping (ABQ Uptown), three mid-range shopping centers (effectively two, since one, Winrock, is so dead they're using it for a film studio). Don't get me wrong, ABQ Uptown is no Fashion Square, but it's nice, and has a good mix of high-end but 'real' places. Also, in terms of work, there are lots of unique smaller retail business in and around downtown and Nob Hill that would give you a change of pace if you were looking to work retail in a setting other than the standard mall environment.
Albuquerque is the crossroads of I-40 and I-25 with a large warehouse district north east of downtown, so I would imagine someone in warehousing could find something to do around here.
I wish I could throw in having a water park but sadly our park, The Beach, didn't make it and was sold off to a more deserving city. That said, Albuquerque is central in a state filled with all sorts of things to do. Being in Albuquerque puts you in easy range of Santa Fe, Cochiti Lake, numerous Pueblos, Los Alamos, Taos, Moriarity (ever ridden in a sailplane?), Sandia Crest, Bosque del Apache, Acoma (the city in the clouds) and the list goes on.
Finally, you have major jet service right here in town through the Sunport. In Las Cruces, you'd have to hit El Paso to get to the next major jet 'port.

I'm not discounting Las Cruces. It's a booming town with a lot to offer including the possibility of regular trips across the border if that's an interest, I just think Albuquerque would come closer to being Phoenix without the heat.

[yukon]

The older part of the NE Heights looks very similar to the older parts of the Phoenix east valley. VERY similar. But without the congestion and crowding.

[mortimer]

yukon said:

> The older part of the NE ... similar to the older parts of the Phoenix ...

I was just thinking that older threads in this forum look very similar to the original post in this thread.

[TigerLily24]

if you want appreciably cooler, I would go with ABQ even though Las Cruces won out for me. I just had to be able to see the Organ Mts. every day combined with the least likelihood of snow. ABQ definitely has more of the 'amenities' like what you will find in the Phoenix area and the traffic has got to be better. Very good points about the airport, although having lived under both Newark's and JFK/LGA's flight patterns for years, no regular air traffic overhead is a beautiful thing.

[ziaAirmac]

Totally understand you about the Organ mountains. Have a gorgeous picture of the peaks splitting a rays of a sunset from the White Sands side.

[ricky37]

The job situation depends on your education and experience. Lots of hi tech jobs, engineering, chemistry, biology, lab work, etc. <Mod cut: Cannot solicit / advertise [eg: provide phone # or email address] per forum Terms of Service (TOS) - use DM function instead>