Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have hard a lot of great things about both places but what are people's thoughts on the two? I am a 25 year old married black women. My husband is in his 30's and we have three small children. Which of the places do you think would be good for us. We do not go out but we want to live in an area where there are plenty of kids. We want to be able to go to parks, find decent jobs, nice places to eat at. What do these two places have to offer and where would you prefer to live and why?
I live in ABQ but I think I would prefer Las Cruces cause its a smaller and slower paced, but from what you described I think ABQ would be the better choice, of course ABQ will offer alot more.
Tasha....for what you ask for i'd definately say go with albuquerque.
The Albuquerque metro is around 6 to 7 times the size of the Las Cruces metro as the employment opportunities are superior to Las Cruces.
You didn't state if your looking at Housing or Apts but here's a ''rule of thumb'' about the metro ....which is about 90% of all new housing and schools are being built west of the Rio Grande river although most of the major employers are on the east side of the river (Think about commute).
For apts the best areas on the west side are along the Coors Ave corridor from I-40 all the way to Rio Rancho and on the east side of the Rio Grande it's anywhere north of Montgomery Blvd.
If you said you and your husband were in your 40's and established in careers and the kids were out of school and that you really hate the cold Ohio winters then i'd say Las Cruces would be a good choice.
I live in ABQ but I think I would prefer Las Cruces cause its a smaller and slower paced, but from what you described I think ABQ would be the better choice, of course ABQ will offer alot more.
Tasha....for what you ask for i'd definately say go with albuquerque.
The Albuquerque metro is around 6 to 7 times the size of the Las Cruces metro as the employment opportunities are superior to Las Cruces.
You didn't state if your looking at Housing or Apts but here's a ''rule of thumb'' about the metro ....which is about 90% of all new housing and schools are being built west of the Rio Grande river although most of the major employers are on the east side of the river (Think about commute).
For apts the best areas on the west side are along the Coors Ave corridor from I-40 all the way to Rio Rancho and on the east side of the Rio Grande it's anywhere north of Montgomery Blvd.
If you said you and your husband were in your 40's and established in careers and the kids were out of school and that you really hate the cold Ohio winters then i'd say Las Cruces would be a good choice.
Tasha....for what you ask for i'd definately say go with albuquerque.
The Albuquerque metro is around 6 to 7 times the size of the Las Cruces metro as the employment opportunities are superior to Las Cruces.
You didn't state if your looking at Housing or Apts but here's a ''rule of thumb'' about the metro ....which is about 90% of all new housing and schools are being built west of the Rio Grande river although most of the major employers are on the east side of the river (Think about commute).
For apts the best areas on the west side are along the Coors Ave corridor from I-40 all the way to Rio Rancho and on the east side of the Rio Grande it's anywhere north of Montgomery Blvd.
If you said you and your husband were in your 40's and established in careers and the kids were out of school and that you really hate the cold Ohio winters then i'd say Las Cruces would be a good choice.
I forgot something. We are looking at houses because of having three kids and a med size dog. She's our baby also.
I like to think of Las Cruces as Albuquerque in 1950.
It's a warmer version of Albuquerque.
If moving cold then I'd pick the place I'd like to live without regard to employment. I'd visit both places in August when it's the most uncomfortable (if you can call it that) so that you really know what they are like. Just talking about it doesn't help.
You've got kids, so you might want to visit a school or two.
Check out each university.
Albuquerque and Las Cruces are close enough that you can stay a couple nights in Albuquerque then drive to Las Cruces and do the same then go back to Albuquerque then back to Las Cruces.
For me, it was the weather. I like it cooler. I also came from Ohio. Las Cruces summers are quite mild compared to Dayton. Albuquerque winters are even milder - relatively speaking.
If you are coming from Ohio and you have never been to NM and you are black, be prepared for culture shock. Some areas of Ohio can have 25-50% black populations when talking about people in restaurants, malls, etc.
That's neither bad or good, it just is. I've talked to some people about it and it took some getting used to. Most people who purposefully make the move simply don't care.
We just visited both cities and for us it's Albuquerque hands down. ABQ just has so much more to offer in the way of shopping, entertainment, cultural activities and everything that a city has to offer. It also bothered me that LC has only 1 library and since I am an avid reader that spoke volumes to me (pun untented).
I do agree that you should visit both places and then make your decision.
I forgot something. We are looking at houses because of having three kids and a med size dog. She's our baby also.
Obviously it depends on where you and your husband are employed in the metro but i'd explore the westside as that's where a majority of all new housing and schools and younger families reside in the metro area.
It also bothered me that LC has only 1 library and since I am an avid reader that spoke volumes to me (pun untented).
It has 3 if you count the ones at the University.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
