African American community (Albuquerque, Belen: high school, university, wages)

[robmoorejr]

Hello, I am African American 29 male, my wife and i and 3 children are looking to move to Alburquerque next June from Pennsylvania and wanted to see how the area was. I see there is not many blacks there, but is it a decent place to raise a family. I have been applying to jobs there, my field is in criminal justice and Social field, please let me know where to look.

Thanks

Rob

[desert sun]

Originally Posted by robmoorejr

Hello, I am African American 29 male, my wife and i and 3 children are looking to move to Alburquerque next June from Pennsylvania and wanted to see how the area was. I see there is not many blacks there, but is it a decent place to raise a family. I have been applying to jobs there, my field is in criminal justice and Social field, please let me know where to look.

Thanks

Rob

I'd say if you have a job already lined up then this is a great place to raise a family, wages are lower here but so is the cost of living and most goods.
There arnt many black people here but it seems I see more and more all the time, who knows maybe more are moving here, but you will find ABQ is very accepting and no one cares what your profession is or your race. Everyone seems to mingle pretty good around here.

[abqsunport]

There aren't many Black People here, and there isn't as much racial predjudicing. This area has always been a mix of races (motly hispanic, native american, white, and asian) and naturally doesn't find race a big driving issue. As desert sun said, race and economics keep no one apart in Albuquerque. Come out here and visit and see if it right for you.

[karmathecat]

While the area is diverse and there is not much in the way of noticeable prejudice, you will want to really think about this. Depending on where you would live here, would you be okay with the fact that your kids might be the only AA kids in their class?
We know a couple who is moving out of ABQ because they feel that there is not enough of an AA population for them and they've met few, if any, young professional people with kids for them to have a varied racial social circle. Another AA family we knew moved about two years ago for the same reasons, they want their kids to live in a multicultural community that includes a larger number of other AA families/kids.

[nmnita]

I think you can be very happy, your kids will not be the only minorities in school and ABQ is one of the least prjudice places I have lived. Will there be a lot of blacks? NO, will there be some from middle and upper middle class, my guess is yes. Many families, after military retirement decide to stay in the NM area and many are officers, both black and white. In our church in Belen and I mean little we had 5 black families (one was a widower) 2 were black reitired couples, one a family at Kirkland air force base and one a middle aged but retired black couple, all very educated and certainly they had no problems.

Now if you plan is to find an all African America location, that might be very hard as there are not that many AA is Albuquerque. I doubt you are looking for that anyway.

Nita

[ApartmentNomad]

My impression as a relatively new white resident of this city is that for a city with such a small African-American population, it would still probably be a good place for African-Americans to live. Claiming that race and ethnicity doesn't matter here at all is going too far, but I think it's a fairly accepting place and does have a history of different groups co-existing (eventually peacefully).

(For what it's worth, a black friend of mine from the Bahamas was here recently, and has spent some time her before I ever moved here, and she has a pretty favorable all-around impression of the city. She does have the advantage of being fluent in Spanish, which is more than I can say for myself.)

[robmoorejr]

Thank you for all your positive comments, I'm not looking for an all black community or anything like that, but knowing there aren't too many blacks in a city I thought I would have the feeling of not being accepted. I don't mind being the only AA family or anything like plus my kids are 5 and 3 with one on the way so they don't see color. I don't see color either, but just curious as to how I would be accepted. Thanks for the replies

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by robmoorejr

Thank you for all your positive comments, I'm not looking for an all black community or anything like that, but knowing there aren't too many blacks in a city I thought I would have the feeling of not being accepted. I don't mind being the only AA family or anything like plus my kids are 5 and 3 with one on the way so they don't see color. I don't see color either, but just curious as to how I would be accepted. Thanks for the replies

I would gladly accept you as my neighbor. I don't see color either.

[songinthewind7]

I feel your ethnicity isn't a factor in this. What is a factor is your attitude and your willingness to get along with others in the community.

As the salute to NM says, 'Perfect friendship among united cultures' should be your guide.

[natthebat]

Hello! First, I would have to disagree with everyone saying how accepting Albuquerque is to African American people. My husband and I just moved from Philadelphia to Albuquerque a few months ago. We are an interracial couple(he is Nigerian and I am mixed, but appear white). Everyone is constantly staring at my husband because of the dark complexion of his skin and he has been harassed by many people. (For example calling him him the N word and me a "N" lover.) It's really saddened us because we were so excited to move here, and now we are constantly harassed on a regular basis. I would say Albuquerque is a bit behind the times in that sense and although the population of hispanics is very high, most are racist towards african americans. (Again, this is just my experience as a new comer in the university area.) I would highly suggest not moving to the university/ nob hill area. I hear it is better in the outskirts near the mountains if you really want the serenity of what New Mexico is supposed to be. The schooling however seems to be pretty good, they have a lottery for kids that keep a certain gpa in high school to go to college for free!
Anyway, I just wanted to share. I don't mean to be negative or anything, Albuquerque is a nice place, it's just VERY different from the people in Pennsylvania. Take an extended vacation here with the family and see if it fits your personalities! Best of luck to you and your family!