Information about moving to Albuquerque (Las Cruces, Rio Rancho: real estate market, low crime, house)

[jam_1415]

[SIZE=3]My name is Jam and I am new member of this forum. Recently signed-up hoping to gather infos from you guys about Albuquerque and its neighboring/cities or towns in NM. My husband and I are thinking about moving to New Mexico. I personally think that NM is a beautiful place, not mention its beautiful scenery and its historical background and culture. We tried doing some internet research on the Real Estate market in NM and the prices are way reasonable compared to California where it is almost impossible to buy a house at this time. We don't know anybody in New Mexico, nor any relatives ...so moving there will be a great adventure for the both of us. I am relying from your good and honest information/comments, whatever you can provide about the place.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]First, we would like to know what are the best places you can mostly recommend to live in New Mexico. Where job isn't much of a problem and crime is not high. I read a lot about Albuquerque and its a nice place and I think being a major city, job market wouldn't be much of a problem. On the other hand though we also learned that the crime rate is pretty high. That in cases like assault, battery, theft, and robbery is higher compared to California crime statistics. That is really depressing to know, who would want to live in a danger zone. I hope the statistics were wrong. We need to live close to the big city where there is job for both the both of us. On the other hand we are also looking for an area to buy house where crime rate is low and we can feel safe at night. And with the gas prices striking-up these days, a place where there is a public transport to downtown Albuquerque would be a great consideration. Again thank you very much for taking your time to read my post and I hope you can share additional time to drop some lines regarding my questions.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Best,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]jam[/SIZE]

[mattywo85]

Yes the crime is high but it is also dropping as fact as it came up. Personally I don't have any issues wherever I go day or night. Its not like you will see illegal acts on a daily basis. Albuquerque is a beautiful place and its not too big(yet) and not to small. Theirs pretty much everything you need right here in the city. If you are looking for warmer weather year round then you can try Las Cruces.

[Cade]

If you don't mind a 30min drive to ABQ try Rio Rancho. We chose RR b/c it is quiet with low crime. If you like urban living you won't like RR - it is suburbia.

We moved from Cali a year ago but have become disenchanted with home prices here. We are at a disadvantage with just one income though. Many of our neighbors are from Texas and feel housing prices are lower there. Yes the housing prices are much lower than Cali but we do not feel they are justified in what they are given the wage here. (remember, we are looking at it as a single-income household - most 2-incomers find the prices ok)

The wages here are much lower than Cali. My husband is an experienced truck driver and discovered that the same job here pays 40-50% less. It took nearly a year but he did find a job that pays well.

There are a lot of well-paying IT careers here if that is what you do

Good Luck!

[AlisonL]

We love it here, and are finding its much cheaper here than living in Maine was. We live in Rio Rancho also, and my husband doesn't mind the commute. Though being a country girl, RR is too big for me. (I grew up in a town of 500 people and love small towns)
Coming from Maine, I feel safe in ABQ, and I am not a city gal by any means. I never felt safe any time I was in Boston. ABQ doesn't feel like a city to me. I think its due to the fact that its spread out not up.
My husband is making the same money he made back in Maine, and we find the money goes much further out here. For instant, my electric bill here is $74/month, whereas back in Maine it was triple that(for the same size home). I can buy two gallons of milk here for the price of one back east.
As for crime issues, its been covered in earlier posts. If you go looking for it, you'll find it.

[Cade]

Food was a lot cheaper here (as opposed to Cali) but we've watched the prices creep up in the last few months in response to fuel costs. Our heating/electric bill is double what is was in SoCal. There's a huge difference between keeping my place at 78F when it's 40F outside; and keeping it that warm when it's 10F outside brrr! The cold actually has us thinking of moving back to warmer climes.

[AlisonL]

No way would I want my house at 78..too hot. Even in Maine, we kept our heat between 68-70. And we could easily get to -30 in the winter. Winter here is going to be so much nicer.

[Cade]

Yes, our neighbors from Massachusetts say the same thing - that winter will be nicer here for them. It is all a matter of perspective, and I realize that coming from back east, it is not as bad here. But the reverse is true too, and for us, the weather is unbearable in winter. But, I love heat (as long as it is dry) and am perfectly comfortable in 100+ degrees, whereas most others are dying. I prefer my place at 80, and last winter could only get it up to about 76. I was freezing, but, I am pretty sensitive to the cold. I am preparing to get reamed by PNM again this year

Ack, I should mention that I have very low blood pressure, thus I'm cold most of the time.

[AlisonL]

Lets hope Mother Nature will be kind to you this winter. I am sure once we get adjusted to the climate we will notice it more.

[Mike Horrell]

We'll be moving to Albuquerque from Panama at the end of the month. Here on the Pacific waterfront,
the temperature rarely drops below 82 or 83 even at night with daytime temps of around 90-93.
As long as there is a breeze, we now find that comfortable although it took some adjusting to.

Come February the loud clattering you'll hear will be our teeth as we readjust..

[Cade]

Yours and mine both