do you regret moving to albuquerque? (Santa Fe, San Juan: condos, neighborhoods, good schools)

[rybert]

Originally Posted by casden

JadedStone barks:

"Hmm well I have been contemplating a move to Albuquerque after visiting AZ and finding it beyond disappointing.

Now I'm not saying that every city doesn't have a problem similar to this but a word or two of caution..."

...and you have to submit links of old YouTube videos (really - is that a valid source? I'm going to say NO!!!). On another thread you state that Albuquerque has no jobs and will fail in a recession:

JadedStone claims:

"So think about it before you make any move. That is what city you want to ride out the Recession in? Cities like ABQ will fall victim more quickly to the Recession because of their lack of finance and lack of structure with government officials."

What is your source for this information? Most stats reflect that unemployment in Albuquerque is below the national average. Albuquerque has not experienced the recession to the extent that most other cities and even states in the US have at this point (including your prefered Arizona).

If the recession does hit Albuquerque in a severe way I'm sure the people and the city will ride it through with the vision and resilience to alleviate its effects.

Albuquerque has been around for more than 300 years and has experienced a heck of a lot more adversity than this current recession. Believe me ABQ will manage better than many, if not most US cities.

As far as the city government not having the infrastructure, money, etc. I just need to ask you - Have you been to Albuquerque lately? It really has changed in just the last 5 years alone.

I love and hate you. I'm torn.

[casden]

LOL!!!! Sorry rybert.

I'm just telling it like I see it. So, of course it's my opinion of the situation.

...it's not easy being me.

[reneeisxena]

To me it sounds like Albuquerque is like most other metropolitan cities. Crime is high; that's not surprising given the size. The recession will be hard here; so where will it be easy? At least in a large city one has more options than in a rural area. I know that jobs aren't easy to come by anywhere right now, this is why I won't go unless I can get a transfer from my current employer. I know the summers will be hot and dry, but that's better than the high 90s with 100% humidity that's common in Minnesota. As for snow, for me a little goes a long way, I could be very happy never seeing snow again. This last week the temps got down to -51,and that didn't even include the windchill. So for right now Albuquerque is looking very nice to us. If someone has another suggestion I would love to hear it. My main requirements are: Temps that don't get below zero for days on end, affordable apartments - in the $400 to $600 range that accept cats, and mass transit. Beyond that it would be nice to live somewhere that has lots of fun things to do and friendly people. I'm not 100% sold on Albuquerque but it's pretty close. I know there isn't a perfect place and I don't expect to find one, but "pretty close" is good enough for me.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by reneeisxena

I know the summers will be hot and dry, but that's better than the high 90s with 100% humidity that's common in Minnesota

Here we go again. You obviously dont pay attention to weather. How do I know this? For starters, 90 degrees with 100% humidity has never nor will never occur. Youre using a ridiculous guesstimate. Secondly, if you honestly think MN is warm, I suggest you run far away from most of New Mexico. Do you know how many days Minneapolis averages that are over 90 degrees? 15. 15 out of 365 days. Thats nothing. Yes, it can be humid at times, but please, lets not overexaggerate MN's summer weather. Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America

And while I think ABQ has a pretty nice climate, I will warn you that summers there are quite hot, despite being dry. ABQ averages over 4 times the amount of 90+ days that MPLS receives (66 vs 15). So Ill just warn you again, that if you dont like hot weather, than the summers in ABQ might not be too appealing for you. I can also tell you that ABQ's weather, although hot, is probably the best in the southwest, by far. El Paso is pretty decent, too.

[JstmeinVA]

I will have to say that news report on Utube did it for me, hubby got his paper work to move there but we are declining the move, we are both scared to death to move to Albuquerque, we have three kids to worry about and gangs their I hear are pretty bad. Now we don't know what to think.

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by JstmeinVA

I will have to say that news report on Utube did it for me, hubby got his paper work to move there but we are declining the move, we are both scared to death to move to Albuquerque, we have three kids to worry about and gangs their I hear are pretty bad. Now we don't know what to think.

You are only going to see gangs if you go looking for them.

Why is everyone so freaking scared of ABQ???

We moved here from Maine, a big state with a tiny population (just over 1 million). We feel very safe here. Heck, we LOVE it here. ABQ is a city, no different than any city. I never felt safe in Boston in the middle of the day, but ABQ doesn't bother me. Its like ANY city, it has its good and bad.

I guess if folks are scared to move here, then we will just have to enjoy all ABQ has to offer with less new residents.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

So, you're basing your relocation on a youtube report?

[JstmeinVA]

we don't know what to think, we met a family that moved from the alb. area and they told us to watch our kids and always be on top of them because the gangs their recruit young. Being in a new state my kids will not have any friends and we are scared that they may be recruited and not know it until it's too late, they will not know the gang garb, and could wear something that could get them hurt. I don't think we would have to find the gangs it sounds like they would find our kids.

I know that sounds like we are over reacting but we have never moved out of VA, we have heard of so many bad things about Albquerque, from people who used to live there. We were told if we were to live in NM do not live in Albquerque area, to live outside the area. If you do live in the Alb. area live in a gated community. Has us wondering.
We heard that it is not cheap living their, nor is the taxes cheap (house tax) I have tried to do all my research but all I have come up with is negative, other than the fact that Alb is beautiful, everything else seems expensive. We cannot afford a $200k house, the housing market there has not gone down much, but a cheaper house their means a not so nice area nor school district.

[gking01]

I grew up in Colorado but have lived in NYC, Boston and European cities in the last thirty years. Among other things, that has meant I didn't have to own a car. And I love that.

I can't imagine how one could even imagine living out West without a car! That's a price I would simply accept, however reluctantly, if I moved to New Mexico, which I still visit every October. Public transportation is an afterthought in most places out West. Even with a train going from ABQ to Sante Fe, I doubt that I could use my bike more than, say, 70% of time.

Some restaurants in Sante Fe are world class. But yes, I wouldn't move to ABQ for great Italian food.

Most of all I would move to ABQ to spend all of my time outdoors, more or less with no more than one other person. At all times of the year. If that is your incentive, New Mexico is close to paradise. And yes, I realize that narrows my concerns (no kids, etc.).

And I would never ask ABQ to be NYC or Berlin.
gking01

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by JstmeinVA

we don't know what to think, we met a family that moved from the alb. area and they told us to watch our kids and always be on top of them because the gangs their recruit young. Being in a new state my kids will not have any friends and we are scared that they may be recruited and not know it until it's too late, they will not know the gang garb, and could wear something that could get them hurt. I don't think we would have to find the gangs it sounds like they would find our kids.

I know that sounds like we are over reacting but we have never moved out of VA, we have heard of so many bad things about Albquerque, from people who used to live there. We were told if we were to live in NM do not live in Albquerque area, to live outside the area. If you do live in the Alb. area live in a gated community. Has us wondering.
We heard that it is not cheap living their, nor is the taxes cheap (house tax) I have tried to do all my research but all I have come up with is negative, other than the fact that Alb is beautiful, everything else seems expensive. We cannot afford a $200k house, the housing market there has not gone down much, but a cheaper house their means a not so nice area nor school district.

You did receive a somewhat exaggerated assessment from those who told you that you must live in a gated community. Unless you are flagrantly wealthy, you should be okay in ABQ.

If you're worried about gang activities and illicit "businesses", the real important thing is to avoid living in the South or Downtown areas, generally. Stick to the Northeast or Rio Rancho and you'll have no idea you live in a city with gangs, burglars, etc. I live in an apartment in the Northeast area and recently left town for three weeks. My neighbors keep to themselves (a stark contrast to where I used to live in Boise, ID), so I really had nobody to watch my place and had to take a leap of faith to leave my apartment for that long. When I returned, all was well... so it's not that burglars aren't scouting and surveilling so much as it isn't as common as people allege. From what people had told me, I was pretty worried, but apparently nothing came of it. Of course, this may be different with houses, as apartments tend to be less tempting from what I've heard. Ultimately, there is a relatively large amount of criminal activity here compared to a lot of the West, but it's not rampant like in parts of Vegas or LA.

Really, if you live in Virginia, you've already grown accustomed to much the same situation as here: an area with everything from rural to wilderness to urban, all vicinities requiring you to keep your wits about you, but very few areas where danger is guaranteed.

As for the gang situation, I didn't grow up here so I can't really say for sure, but there is one nice generally true fact about serious gangs as opposed to the wannabes that plague almost every school in the nation. Serious gangs tend to leave you alone if you don't meddle in their affairs (they want money, not attention), and they're also quick to shut down the wannabes who have something to prove and therefore pose far more danger to an innocent person.

Plenty of youth have a strong sense of their individual worth and don't need to join gangs, so unless one of your children has led you to question his/her susceptibility to fringe activities, there should be plenty of up-standing peers for them to get to know and those folks can fill them in on the particular conventions if there are any undesirable "turfs" or "garbs". Often, just because being a new kid never means instantaneous friends, the ABQ police actually provide information concerning gang activities to ensure that innocent people don't end up doing the wrong thing. I've heard of this information, but was not able to locate it quickly in Google.

Here's the ABQ police website:

APD | Albuquerque Police Department

If you do some research or even get some contact info for someone within the department, it shouldn't be much trouble to track down the information you're looking for, which will tell your children what clothes and behaviors to avoid.

Also, once again, let me reiterate that the problem seems pretty segregated to the Southern and Downtown areas, and even then only night would really be dangerous. Many in the Southeast have even asserted that the whole thing is blown out of proportion and is much more segregated to Downtown and South Valley. One thing I can say from personal experience is that if you live toward the Northeast or Rio Rancho, the alleged problems of ABQ aren't even apparent.