Southeast Heights.. Pros and Cons (Rio Rancho, Kirtland: apartment, hotel, buying a home)

[jrod2828]

Ok guys and gals, you know the drill.

The homes here look very similar to the newer homes on the westside.. and prices are similar as well. Curious about your thoughts.

jrod

p.s.- Looking for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath immaculately remodeled 1941 bungalow in the heart of Indianapolis? Very conviently located to Indianapolis and all it's amenities but far enough away that you get that cozy safe neighborhood you always wanted. How about an established garden? Cherry wood paneled den overlooking your beautiful wood deck and 1/4 acre landscaped lot. Refinished kitchen w/ granite countertop and recessed lights. Shoot, I just remembered this is the ABQ forum Nevermind.

[lisdol]

I chatted at the playground the other day with a woman who lives in the Manzano Mesa neighborhood. It is that neighborhood right near Costco, east of Eubank, west of Juan Tabo, around Southern.

She likes it. Her husband is military and she says almost the entire neighborhood works at the labs or is military. She says its a nice little neighborhood.

If you work in the area you cannot beat the convenience. Heck, you are within minutes of Costco, Home Depot, Sams, WM, and the shopping center at hotel circle (I40 and Eubank).

[EnjoyEP]

OK Jrod -

First off, agreed with lisdol's post completely - very good post!!

Having said that, I haven't been posting here much for a while, but I have scooped on in in just the nick of time to field this question.

Your knee-jerk reaction from most ABQeans when they hear "Southeast" is to tell you to run like h*ll! They will warn you that the Southeast area in general is somewhere between Compton, CA and the old Hell's Kitchen area. By the time many ABQeans get done with you, you'll think that the Southeast area is essentially the regurgitation from Beelzebub's gag-up.

Why do I tell you this? So you, as a non-ABQean, are braced for it, and yet when you get it, stay firm in the knowledge that no, not all of the Southeast is like this *at all*...at least as it relates to the newer, growing Southeast Heights areas.

So...

There are many older sections of the Southeast quadrant (around, say Gibson Blvd., etc.) that are ranging from very iffy at best to awful at worst crime-wise. Certainly, those areas you'd like to avoid substantially. However, your realtor would never direct you to any of these areas, and beyond that, you'd be able to tell from online listings/photos/pricing, etc., that this wouldn't be an appealing area.

Having said that, there are many very new, very NW-side, very nice/safe communities being built up in the Southeast - largely known as you pointed out the Southeast Heights.

I had an acquaintance in ABQ who moved from a very nice apartment in the Northeast Heights (single guy) - a very nice portion of the NE Heights - into buying a home in a new community in the Southeast - very far south and very far east. His neighborhood / community was excellent, his home was great, he was butted right up against the Sandias, his cost was very reasonable - I would've moved there in a heartbeat.

Actually, commuting wise, you'd be closer in large portions to many areas in the SE Heights than you would be in the far NW / Rio Rancho! Great location for folks that work at SNL or Kirtland AFB.

I would totally look at newer / nicer homes, communities in the Southeast. Great location, good prices, etc. So in the Southeast, *stay away* from the great majority of the older sections - too run-down, crime-ridden, etc. But definitely go towards and check out - ABSOLUTELY - newer developments, homes, etc. The good news too is that quite a few of the nicer communities area quite geographically separated from the shoddy areas of the SE.

You have great access to the Sunport there, Isotopes Stadium / The Pit / University Stadium, I-40, Downtown, the East Mountains for weekend getaways, etc.

Definitely check it out!!

P.S. Did you ever check out Four Hills? The neighborhood also in the vast southeast area of the Southeast. Another great neighborhood that I have a feeling you / your wife might really like. Older, wooded, tons of character. Very nice and safe. Often gets overlooked on these forums but it is a really nice part of residential ABQ.

[jrod2828]

EnjoyABQ (Yep that's right.. I've officially changed your named),

We did look a little bit at four hills. Very pricey. We can get a teeny tiny house there. It would be big enough for our 2 dogs but my wife and I may have to sleep outside

No seriously though, it's really expensive.

Yeah, I've heard the horror stories about the southeast and the war zone. Actually we found a really cute house on Louisiana right next to the war zone. Anyways, how far away do we need to go to be in the southeast heights? What are the streets we should stay east of or south of, etc.? The homes seem very nice and are priced much like the NW. Plus, it would be a great commute for my wife and a pretty good one for me.

Thanks.

[honu1]

Just wanted to add that I almost rented there. I have friends who lived in every corner of ABQ. Those who rented in the south east (I never completely understood the boundary with four hills vs se heights..but anyway), they were down past the costco. Both ladies were single/lived alone and they always felt safe. The only reason they moved last year is they got better paying jobs and AZ, and thus left NM.

[yukon]

Um, where's the "war zone"?

[abqsunport]

War zone is areas around the State Fair Grounds. So San Pedro to Louisiana. Central to Lomas and the neighboring hoods.

[lisdol]

Oh, I did forget to mention Four Hills. We looked there too, just online, enough to know it was out of our price range. They are building a ton of residential new construction there, just East of Smiths. Its called "wagon" something. Not sure how that compares price wise to the older Four Hills area.

I lived off of Carlisle on Vail (just a few blocks north of Gibson) way back when I was in college and would advise against that immediate area (just north of the airport and east of the golf course), though there is a very nice looking (and I think nice in all aspects) neighborhood just north of there off of Carlisle. I think its called "Ridgecrest"?

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by abqsunport

War zone is areas around the State Fair Grounds. So San Pedro to Louisiana. Central to Lomas and the neighboring hoods.

I would just like to add... and south of the relevant part of Central.

ABQConvict

[jrod2828]

Still a little confused.. the SE side is affordable, seems safe, great commute to downtown ABQ and the NE area, next to mountains.. so why is the NW side experiencing more growth than the SE side? The NW side sounds like it has some major infrastructure issues with their arteries getting across the river. Yet, they have this explosive growth. I looked on the map and the SE side is sort of blocked by KAFB but it could grow more south and east towards Miera.

Just curious.