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My family (me, my husband, our 7 mo, and our dog!) will be moving to albuquerque in the next few months. We live in the Dayton area in the midwest but not from here (both from larger cities in the south and southwest) We originally lived in a subdivision in a typical nondescript suburb here with an HOA and hated it. (We are city folks at heart!). We then moved to a town right outside the city that is walkable, older unique houses with character, great community where people really care about the community and are very involved, safe, kids run back and forth between each others houses all day, endless community and family events,block parties, no HOA but people maintain their properties well, great schools, etc etc. (USAF/Gov folks may know the place (Oakwood) if ever worked at WPAFB in Ohio). Are there any areas like this in Albuquerque? Mainly people tell us you will get the walkability in areas around UNM but for community/family you have to move out to Rio Rancho and those areas, which REALLY does not appeal to us commute or lifestyle wise. We understand that the school situation can be iffy and unfortunately charter school may be in our future if we dont move out to the burbs. The other issue is very low housing stock around UNM and pretty pricey. IS there somewhere we can raise our daughter in somewhere with a community feel AND walk be able to walk to a coffee shop? Thanks for any input and managing our expectations if necessary
I would advise working with a Realtor if you are planning to buy. They can match you to a neighborhood and I'm sure they know where Air Force families like to live.
You are moving to a completely different part of the planet from Ohio. It's better to accept it on its own terms, than to think you will find a replica of Oakwood in the Southwest (just going by your description, I have no first-hand knowledge of the Dayton area). If you are big city folks, then most of Albuquerque will feel like suburbs, not very walkable. You may find bikeable coffee shops in most areas if not walkable.
Maybe too suburban for you but look at the neighborhoods around north Domingo baca park. You are in the La Cueva school district and the neighborhoods have a nice family feel but you can still walk to Starbucks and the grocery store.
That's a tall order for Albuquerque. We lived in NE Albuquerque near Wyoming and Comanche (Sandia HS and it's feeder schools). It's a nice area and you can walk to shopping/dining that is on Wyoming (very busy 8 lane city road) or Montgomery which is also a very busy 6 or 8 lane road, but both have sidewalks and crossing lights if you want to cross. There are some nice parks that you can walk on the neighborhood streets/sidewalks to get to for tennis, soccer, baseball, etc., or just playground equipment. Wyoming Blvd leads to the main Kirtland AFB Gate. There won't be any block parties or other neighborhood get togethers, but once you're established you'll likely meet your neighbors, and get invited to coffee or a BBQ (family to family, not the whole block). We did anyway.
Another nice option is to live in the trees. There are some nice small neighborhoods in the Tejeras, Sandia/Cedar Crest areas up Hwy 14 on the east side of the Sandia Mountains. It's much less crowded, certainly not urban, but has some nice dining and shopping options on Hwy 14 you could walk to. I think your neighbors would be more neighborly in general up there, and you're more likely to have a block party organized up there, than in the city proper or any of the other outer suburbs to the west or north. Just my assumption. And, it's still only 20some minutes to the base.
Like many bases: Right outside any of the gates are not nice parts of town.
That's a tall order for Albuquerque. We lived in NE Albuquerque near Wyoming and Comanche (Sandia HS and it's feeder schools). It's a nice area and you can walk to shopping/dining that is on Wyoming (very busy 8 lane city road) or Montgomery which is also a very busy 6 or 8 lane road, but both have sidewalks and crossing lights if you want to cross. There are some nice parks that you can walk on the neighborhood streets/sidewalks to get to for tennis, soccer, baseball, etc., or just playground equipment. Wyoming Blvd leads to the main Kirtland AFB Gate. There won't be any block parties or other neighborhood get togethers, but once you're established you'll likely meet your neighbors, and get invited to coffee or a BBQ (family to family, not the whole block). We did anyway.
Another nice option is to live in the trees. There are some nice small neighborhoods in the Tejeras, Sandia/Cedar Crest areas up Hwy 14 on the east side of the Sandia Mountains. It's much less crowded, certainly not urban, but has some nice dining and shopping options on Hwy 14 you could walk to. I think your neighbors would be more neighborly in general up there, and you're more likely to have a block party organized up there, than in the city proper or any of the other outer suburbs to the west or north. Just my assumption. And, it's still only 20some minutes to the base.
Like many bases: Right outside any of the gates are not nice parts of town.
I have to differ with you on a couple of things...
Most people I know who live in the East Mountains go there because they want distance from neighbors and are not interested in socializing. Some don't know their neighbors and have no friends after living there many years. I don't think there would be any "block parties", quite the opposite, they stay pretty much to themselves.
And I get a chuckle when I hear of Air Force people who shun the areas close to the Base, where you get occasional jet noise (which some neighbors liked to call "the sound of freedom"). There are nice and not-so-nice neighborhoods there. I lived a short walk from the Truman Gate for almost 20 years in the Parkland Hills neighborhood (I had no connection to the Base) and there were lots of kids running around my street, some nice parks, and some community activities, but the elementary school there (Whittier) is not great. Just to the west, Bandelier Elementary is better, and the area around Hyder Park is very nice, with yoga in the park, food trucks and entertainment in the summer. It is located in the Southeast Heights Neighborhood Association (SEHNA) and is a desirable neighborhood where the housing is pricey. From there you can bike to Nob Hill where there are numerous restaurants and cafes.
I would also look at the Valley, Old Town, Corrales...etc. Most parts of the city except the old parts are designed around the automobile. Sidewalks are narrow and are need of repair. Good luck. Here is some information!
I have to differ with you on a couple of things...
Most people I know who live in the East Mountains go there because they want distance from neighbors and are not interested in socializing. Some don't know their neighbors and have no friends after living there many years. I don't think there would be any "block parties", quite the opposite, they stay pretty much to themselves.
And I get a chuckle when I hear of Air Force people who shun the areas close to the Base, where you get occasional jet noise (which some neighbors liked to call "the sound of freedom"). There are nice and not-so-nice neighborhoods there. I lived a short walk from the Truman Gate for almost 20 years in the Parkland Hills neighborhood (I had no connection to the Base) and there were lots of kids running around my street, some nice parks, and some community activities, but the elementary school there (Whittier) is not great. Just to the west, Bandelier Elementary is better, and the area around Hyder Park is very nice, with yoga in the park, food trucks and entertainment in the summer. It is located in the Southeast Heights Neighborhood Association (SEHNA) and is a desirable neighborhood where the housing is pricey. From there you can bike to Nob Hill where there are numerous restaurants and cafes.
Good points. I forgot about the Parkland Hills area. I was thinking of Wyoming, Eubank, and Gibson gates. Those are the three I went through most often.
My Dad retired from Wright Patt and I met my husband there who is also now retired military. We lived in Albuquerque in the late 90’s while active duty and have now been back for about 1 1/2 years but moving back to OH this summer. Knowing Oakwood, you will have a hard time finding that here. People are right that the area around UNM is more walkable but not the family friendly or safe neighborhood you are used to. Crime is a big problem in Albuquerque, as it is a lot of places, but is not confined to certain areas of town. My husbands coworker lives in a nice area, Nob Hill near UNM, and they recently had their car stolen out of their driveway. Rio Rancho is definitely a better option for schools and community/family feel. They also have their own police and are not within the Albuquerque Police Dept., which is a good thing. We don’t live in Rio Rancho but if we were to stay long term we would move there or the NE side of Albuquerque. Feel free to direct message me if you have any more questions. We love Albuquerque’s weather, the mountains, and food.
On the west side of the Rio Grande, you have Corrales (village) and Rio Rancho (city). Corrales is an established place with some character and has something of a community feel about it. There are local events most weekends, it seems. Corrales Road is not all that walkable but not always very busy. There are old adobes and newer developments of custom homes.
Rio Rancho is a separate town of about 100,000 population adjacent to ABQ on the northwest. It has better than average schools for the area. There really hasn't been a single commercial area/downtown and things are somewhat dispersed in clusters. There are neighborhoods -- some dense and some sparsely developed. Some of those might have a community feel to them. Walkability varies. I enjoy living there but I'm retired and don't have to go anywhere every day. I wanted acreage instead of a small city lot and that is possible in Rio Rancho. I know my neighbors, but we don't hang out together. The problem on the west side is getting to the east side in the work commute there because of the bridge traffic.
I was considering living in Edgewood -- East Mountains area -- but there were forest fires not too far from where I was looking and decided against it. It was less expensive but some distance from where I usually wanted to be.
There are other places like Placitas and Bernalillo. Los Lunas is some distance to the south but serviced by the RailRunner commuter train (as is Bernalillo).
I kind of like Mesa Del Sol, but it's a self contained community on the south side of the Sunport.
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