Just Moved Here, And Feeling Unsafe (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: 2010, insurance, safe area)

[violent cello]

Originally Posted by Esoterica

In agreement here. I lived in Miami where REAL violent crime was all around me. I lived in N. Miami Beach which is NOT considered the bad area. My husband was robbed at gunpoint, our car hit in 2 drive by shootings, and we heard gun shots several times a week. It was hell. They didn't break in when you weren't home. People would break in when you were home, torture you, then take your stuff, then kill you. I bet you think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. Not at all.

My best friend is from Miami. One afternoon, still in broad daylight, she and her best friend were driving home after visiting some friends. When they stopped at a red light they heard breaking glass behind them - someone had smashed the back window to distract them and when they turned to face the front of the car again there was a gun pointed at my friend's head. The guy got in the back and made them drive and drive and drive, all the time telling them how he was going to kill them and what he was going to do to them. At one point he said "you asked for this Lucinda" and my friend said, "Lucinda? That's not my name."

The guy asked her to turn around and she was too scared not to, and he said "oh, wait, you're not Lucinda. Well, you stay a good girl or it might be your turn next." And he asked them to pull over and he got out of the car and walked away. He took her wallet with him. My friends were almost out of gas by this point so they stopped at the nearest gas station and begged the clerk to give them free gas, which he did, so they could get home. As best as my friend could figure out, the guy was some kind of cheap hit man. But who does that?!

In short - I don't think this would happen in Albuquerque. Technically it could, but that sort of menace and hit man element, I'm not so sure. Miami sounds like a much worse place to be.

[bradly]

I think mostly everyone sometimes can feel unsafe when they move, When I got my house in Vegas.. which is in a nice area, there were some parts of town that I hated to go threw.. but every city has crime and its share of problems.

[yukon]

Miami sounds like a much worse place to be.

IMO, it is. I've lived in a lot of large cities in my life, even worked and lived in bad parts of town, and Miami is the ONLY city where I refused to wander off the beaten track into specific areas - even in daylight....with other people in the car, no less.

Here, the only way I can tell if I'm in what's supposed to be a gang area is by the tats or the pants, LOL.

[abqsunset]

Todd,

First off I use to live in ABQ 2001-2006 and made the unfortunate mistake of moving to hometown of San Antonio, Texas.

I use to live in the same area as you. UNM north area between Constitution and Lomas just West of Carlisle. First have you heard of the "War Zone" (East of San Mateo between Central and Gibson) Don't need to be in this area after dark, if you are then you have a drug problem.

And that is really it. We are talking about a three by eight to tem block of crime area. Look ABQ is very laid back town and if you like the outdoors and everything it has to offer the city will be good to you. have fun and as the song goes "Don't worry be happy!"

[pumpkin819]

I am moving to albuquerque this fall. I did some research about crime in albuquerque compared to other cities. There is a website, www.crimereports.com which lists all reported crimes in neighborhoods by zipcodes. theft, petty theft, assault, homicide. This website has it all.

I have lived in cleveland, Ohio my whole life. I live in the actual city. My zipcode is 44102. When I punched in my zipcode versus the one that I am moving too, 87109, there were far move violent crimes commited here in cleveland. I am a single 34 year old woman who has never had a crime commited against me in my hometown.

The bottom line is that every city has crime. Punch in any zipcode in any major city, and you are going to see a list of crimes varrying from theft to murder.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by pumpkin819

The bottom line is that every city has crime. Punch in any zipcode in any major city, and you are going to see a list of crimes varrying from theft to murder.

Pumpkin - You hit the nail right on the head. Folks that get all riled up about "crime stats" in big cities need to read and understand that statement.

Originally Posted by pumpkin819

versus the one that I am moving too, 87109, there were far move violent crimes commited here in cleveland.

I owned a home in 87109 from 04 until mid-07 and we never had anything close to an issue. With two young children and a wife, I care a lot about safety / crime, and never observed anything. There are a couple of specific areas in the 87109 zip that you'd want to steer clear of ideally for living, but the overwhelming majority of the zip is very, very nice.

[ABQRick]

Originally Posted by pumpkin819

I am moving to albuquerque this fall. I did some research about crime in albuquerque compared to other cities. There is a website, www.crimereports.com which lists all reported crimes in neighborhoods by zipcodes. theft, petty theft, assault, homicide. This website has it all.

I have lived in cleveland, Ohio my whole life. I live in the actual city. My zipcode is 44102. When I punched in my zipcode versus the one that I am moving too, 87109, there were far move violent crimes commited here in cleveland. I am a single 34 year old woman who has never had a crime commited against me in my hometown.

The bottom line is that every city has crime. Punch in any zipcode in any major city, and you are going to see a list of crimes varrying from theft to murder.

87109 is a very nice area. I grew up there, not a whole lot of crime. Sure, there are some "bad" areas of town, but as with any large city, crime can tend to be erratic.

[ABQT]

There's a reason COPS filmed 40+ episodes here! (and the city won't let them come back)

[rybert]

Many American cities have been featured on COPS.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by ABQT

There's a reason COPS filmed 40+ episodes here! (and the city won't let them come back)

There was an article in the Albuquerque Journal in 2006 about all of the frequent COPS episodes that were filmed in Albuquerque. Mayor Martin Chavez (and many others) hated how often COPS filmed in ABQ, as it gave a perception nationally of Albuquerque being terribly more crime-laden than other bigger / medium sized cities (which it certainly is not...its got crime spots for sure, just like Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Tulsa, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Orlando, etc., etc., etc.) and overall gave off a highly unfair negative stigma. People essentially thought, "Hey, all I know about Albuquerque is that I see them on COPS every other episode - what a bad place that must be."

However, the producers of the show stated firmly in the article that there really was only one reason why they filmed in ABQ so frequently: they really liked the weather / climate. That was it! They stated vehemently it had nothing else to do with anything, that they could've found more than enough "crime shots" in any other city they ever went to as well. They actually came to ABQ so much because...well...they themselves really liked ABQ!

To thoughtful, logical people, I don't think it mattered much if COPS was filmed in ABQ or not - most will realize that in any city of size (eg: a metro area over 500,000), you would be able to film horrific-COPS-esque scenes. However, due to people not thinking / realizing that, it gave off a highly unfair stigma to ABQ, and thus overall was probably not a good thing to have them filming there so often.