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Old 11-28-2009, 04:03 AM
 
8 posts, read 44,153 times
Reputation: 21

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First off let me introduce myself a bit :P I am an aspiring musician. I have this dream to start a band with minorities (white musicians are ofcourse welcome to join) to encourage progress in the media world and to fight racism through music.
I am an asian though people doubt it and do not see me as one ( I was raised around all kinds of non-asians all my life and I have mixed blood in me) but I am a proud minority and starting this band is my dream and my life.
SO...(finally, to my point :P sorry:P) I checked out LA but can't live there because the pollution really does damage to my extremely sensitive respiratory problems.
SO I've been considering Albuquerque for a while. I have hopes of finding musicians the share the same vision as me. I also hear that it has mild climate and clean air which is perfect for my respiratory conditions. Plus I hear about the laid back lifestyle, good people, and the multicultural community, I love the sound of that!:P
BUT the band would probably have to travel to LA or Austin regularly to gain notice of the big music people. It would be roughly 10 hours back and fourth either way. How doable is that for those of you who've done those trips.? The band would typically have 3 or 4 people and we could switch every 4 hours or so.


Thank you so much
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Old 11-28-2009, 05:00 AM
 
426 posts, read 1,083,095 times
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Oh that will be an easy drive. I've done ABQ to LA by myself several times. Round trips! With three or four people the experience would be more comfortable.
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Old 11-28-2009, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Abu Al-Qurq
3,689 posts, read 9,146,470 times
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Albuquerque to Austin is not 10 hours, unless you plan on averaging almost 90mph (impossible, simply because of other cars on the road who insist on going slower as they pass even slower traffic). LA is similarly going to take you more than 10 hours. I'd wager it'd take you longer to get to LA than Austin (even though it's less distance) simply because 40 sees more construction, truck traffic and slowpoke car traffic.

Your respiratory conditions may or may not find relief in Albuquerque, for the three following reasons:

*Our air isn't the cleanest. It's not LA bad, mind you, but we do burn wood in the winter, we get lots of ground level ozone around rain time (the rain smell), and some winter days a brown cloud does hover over downtown, owing to Albuquerque's geography.

*We have allergens. Our worst allergen is juniper, which many people find themselves allergic to. Grasses, Mulberry also rear their ugly heads on occasion. Not a good match for respiratory conditions.

*Dry and high. In the winter in particular, indoor humidities can shrink down to single digits very quickly, which can aggravate respiratory conditions. We're also at 5000+ feet here, and that takes acclimating to.. also not a good match for respiratory conditions.

As far as making the trips, I find 8 hours at a stretch is my threshold for comfortable. Beyond Phoenix, Denver, Oklahoma City, or Las Vegas, most destinations wear pretty heavily on me and those I'm with if I try to do them straight through. If you have multiple people able to drive for stretches though, that number can be extended pretty easily. Strongly recommended you consider flying, simply because of the cost of gas. Unless you're Tuba musicians, checking (or borrowing once you get there) your musical equipment might be an option. But then again,

United breaks guitars. (http://www.ewan.net/2009/08/03/united-you-broke-my-taylor-guitar/ - broken link)

Last edited by Zoidberg; 11-28-2009 at 08:41 AM.. Reason: HTML stuff.
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Old 11-28-2009, 10:41 AM
 
Location: 5,400 feet
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Our neighbors moved here from LA. They tell me it's a 11-13 hour drive, depending on weather from here to Flagstaff in the winter, and traffic as they near LA.
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Old 11-28-2009, 02:35 PM
 
426 posts, read 1,083,095 times
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Oh duh me, I was thinking about the drive itself, and not the time. Listen, you *could* go from ABQ to LA in 10 hours but you'd have to drive at least 85-90 mph 95% of the time or more, with bathroom only stops. You run the risk of being pulled over, and you have less reaction time if a deer or elk jump or walk out in front of you. On one of my drives, I saw a dead elk on the side of the road. HUGE animal. I hope the person who unfortunately hit that elk was behind a big rig, or a big bus, because if they were in a car...... ouch.

There are a lot of cameras trucks on the highways in Arizona. There's also a lot of cops that will pull you over for going 5 or 10 miles over the limit. Beware. Also, Flagstaff is cold. It's possible to be making "excellent" time, and hit a snow storm for more than an hour. That will set you back.

Once you get into California, it's deserted. Especially if you enter at night. There are few cops. Even in those little towns, or around gas stations. It's just so FAR out there. But that doesn't mean CHP won't be waiting around a curve.

Drive safe!
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Old 11-28-2009, 02:45 PM
 
Location: New Mexico U.S.A.
26,527 posts, read 51,546,549 times
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Quote:
BUT the band would probably have to travel to LA or Austin regularly to gain notice of the big music people. It would be roughly 10 hours back and fourth either way. How doable is that for those of you who've done those trips.? The band would typically have 3 or 4 people and we could switch every 4 hours or so.
According to Google maps:
Albuquerque to Los Angeles is 798 miles and 12 hours 29 minutes driving time.

Albuquerque to Austin is 882 miles and 13 hours 48 minutes driving time.
At $2.48 per gallon for gas and a car that gets 30 mpg the cost of gas for one round trip drive to Austin will cost you about $145. "3 or 4 people " would require a larger vehicle for the people and instuments....


I have done both drives in the past and neither is really pleasant for me.


from: Albuquerque International Sunport to: los angeles - Google Maps


from: Albuquerque International Sunport to: austin, tx - Google Maps




Rich
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Old 11-28-2009, 03:46 PM
 
Location: Albuquerque, NM
1,418 posts, read 4,903,827 times
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The drives are easily doable. The Drive to LA is easier than Austin in many regards (less road changes, faster speed limits, etc.) Perhaps your band could consider getting an airline frequent flyer credit card, and every once in a while, you could take the relaxing hour and a half flight (southwest and united express fly to LAX). Both drives are doable,neither are exceptionally fun, but luckily you are about half way in between both cities.
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Old 11-30-2009, 12:14 AM
 
8 posts, read 44,153 times
Reputation: 21
Thank you so much everyone! you ahve all been very insightful..!!!! please don't hesitate to contribute more thoughts or invite others to comment! this is really important for me! Thanks again.
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Old 09-06-2014, 01:02 PM
 
Location: New Mexico via Ohio via Indiana
1,777 posts, read 2,191,823 times
Reputation: 2897
a quick flight, and do rental cars upon arrival. If in no hurry....do Amtrak from downgtown ABQ.
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