Is Cedar Crest considered a suburb of Albuquerque? (Corrales, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque: houses, neighborhoods)

[D-Towner]

Is Cedar Crest considered a suburb of Albuquerque? Also, is Los Ranchos de Albuquerque considered to be the most exclusive area in the Albuquerque metropolis?

[songinthewind7]

Yes, Cedar Crest is a suburb of Albq.
Sorry but I don't know the answer to your second question.

[casden]

Yeah Cedar Crest is sort of like a suburb in the sense that it's economics, etc are tied to ABQ, but there's a large mountain separating it from ABQ.

Los Ranchos is really nice, and there are alot of very big, expensive, mansion-like houses there, with horses, etc, but there are old little houses that have been there for probably over a hundred years.

So in Los Ranchos there's a little bit of a mix visually and aesthetically - but it is pretty pricey to live in that "village". IMO - Los Ranchos, Corrales and Sandia Heights (and maybe Placitas) would be sort of the most well to do areas in ABQ.

[ABQConvict]

I think as the commuting population there has grown, the east mountain communities are increasingly seen as suburbs. The mountain remains a big mental as well as physical barrier, however.


ABQConvict

[D-Towner]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

I think as the commuting population there has grown, the east mountain communities are increasingly seen as suburbs. The mountain remains a big mental as well as physical barrier, however.


ABQConvict

What does this mean other than a lengthy commute because the mountain is in the way?

[mortimer]

D-Towner asked:

> What does this mean ...

It sometimes means that you will either have to spend the night in
Albuquerque due to weather or you will wait on a big traffic back-up
due to weather or an accident or you will need to arrange to leave
work early so that those first two scenarios don't come to pass.

This will happen from 1 to 5 or so times per year.

Also, not mentioned above Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is surrounded
by Albuquerque on all sides. ( like University Park, in Dallas )

[mortimer]

D-towner DM-d me with this. Although I responded to the DM,
I thought it belonged in the thread also for people who do searches:

> The weather here is pretty much the same over
> the same metropolitan region.

Coming from Ohio, I can relate. Dayton, OH weather is pretty much the same as Chicago, Cleveland, Lexington, etc.

In Albuquerque, Cedar Crest can be in the process of getting a foot of snow while Albuquerque might just be patchy clouds.

This change in the weather in our microclimates is one of the things that fascinate me about the mountanous West.

From my house, I can see it snowing on the top of the mountain. There is a ski area on the back side. If you search on Elevation, in the New Mexico or any other western state forum, you'll find how important it is. The climate on the top of the mountain only two miles from my house is like that around Hudson's Bay in Canada.

You'll see this in the vegetation. It's totally different. Cedar Crest has naturally growing pines up to 80' tall and grass, while the natural desert in Albuquerque is more like Yucca, Cholla, and patchy grass with lots of dirt in-between. Beautiful in its own way, but not very green.

> Is Cedar Crest considered a nice place to
> commute to work in Albuquerque from?

Other than the occasional weather, yes. It's too long for me, but my experience in the Dallas Texas Instruments plant, was that most people drive more than 45 minutes one-way to get to work. There is pretty much no place in Albuquerque that is that far from Cedar Crest.

You pass through beautiful Tijeras Canyon. On the way into town,
you see the vally spread out and lit by the rising sun.

On the way back, you go into cooler weather and pine forest which is really nice in the summer.
In the winter, you go back into the snow many many days of the season.
It's a nice variety.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by mortimer

You pass through beautiful Tijeras Canyon. On the way into town,
you see the vally spread out and lit by the rising sun.

I have posted this here before.....

The EXACT SPOT where I fell in love with New Mexico was Tijeras Canyon.

It was 1970 and we were on our way out here to live ... and we had driven I-40 all the way from the east. I was amazed at how different it looked than anyplace I had ever been.

Then we hit Tijeras Canyon and the sight of it literally took my breath away - I felt like I had died and this was heaven. I knew this state was a place I wanted to live and spend a long long time.

[lisdol]

Another nice thing about commuting from the E Mtns is if you have a regular work schedule, you will be driving in with the sun at your back, and returning home the same way.

[MaggieBelize]

You've gotten some pretty good descriptions here, I'll just add this conversation I overheard at Cedar Crest's Triangle Grocery store, shortly after we moved out here to Sandia Park:

Customer: "I have to go into town (ABQ) today."
Cashier: "Oh, hon, I'm sorry!"

Of course it's really only 20 minutes "into town" from here, but the longer I live out here the fewer trips I make over the mountain. On the other hand, my husband commutes most days. In the 4 years we've been out here, he's never gotten stuck overnight in ABQ; but there have been a few days when he could choose not to go in, based on the weather reports.

As for high-end neighborhoods in ABQ, I think Tanowam seems more "exclusive" than Los Ranchos, wouldn't you? I mean, in every sense of the word: Tanowam is walled and gated - really gated, with a guard booth - and is more homogenous, ALL the houses big & fancy, golf greens down the center, etc. I've never lived either place, so that's just my impression.