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OK so I have posted several comments on this wonderful forum, read everything I can find on the same subject, and appreciate all the great feedback. I am in the final stages of planning a 3-day trip to ABQ to check out apartments (all are on NE or NW side, mostly zips 87109, 87111, 87112, 87114). Renting a car, bought a street map, planning to visit one or two zip codes each day (have mapquested them). Hopefully will have time to check out a few of the great restaurants mentioned also. I have located Petsmarts, Smiths, and have been checking your KOAT news channel website often also.
My main concerns are safety and flooding. (By flooding I don't mean water puddling in the streets or rushing down the arroyos. I am talking summer or monsoonal rains flooding apartments and homes, or the Rio Grande going over its banks into neighborhoods. Don't say it will never happen; the Weather Channel called the Sep 09 floods in Atlanta a "10,000-year climatological event". I plan to rent on the second floor if possible.)
Call me Nerd of the Month; I have an excel spreadsheet with the following data, plus the usual amenities etc, recorded:
sq. footage with associated rent, including pet fees and deposits
data from crimereports.com by address with 2 month comparisons
data from floodsmart.gov by address
all apts. checked on apartmentreviews.com; reviews taken with a grain of salt
I have no school aged kids and work remotely, so schools and traffic are not a big concern. **What have I overlooked? If you were coming to ABQ to visit with the intention of living here, knowing what you know as a resident, what should I watch out for?**
Thanks much.
Earthquakes. You over looked earthquakes. Albuquerque is located in rift valley
just like the one in East Africa so there are hundreds of fault lines under or near
the city.
In a 100,000 year event, we'll have an 8.2 in the middle of a flood and the resultant
tsunami down the Rio Grande basin will wipe out Belen. Better buy in Rio Rancho
where you're well above the river...
If you're working from home, is good cell phone coverage and internet access critical? Not sure how much coverage/service may vary across the places you're looking at but this may be something you think about in evaluating alternatives.
We just moved here and I work from home. Switched my cell phone in advance from Sprint to Verizon to get the best coverage based on what others have said on the forum.
Decided to go with Qwest for internet although opinions seem somewhat divided on this. We rented a house so had free choice on this selection; not sure if you would if you're renting an apartment so might be something to ask about.
Yes I checked all apartments for internet (I prefer Comcast high speed to DSL; most already have it but if not they will let me get Comcast to wire it and I am checking the Comcast website for availability also), and it IS absolutely critical. Cell phones are with AT&T, not as critical but I do need to check that, thanks.
Earthquakes - DOH!!! We actually have had 2 in Atlanta in the past 7 years. One was obvious and we definitely felt it, the other one fairly recently was not. Fault line is somewhere in AL.
Thanks.
Earthquakes - DOH!!! We actually have had 2 in Atlanta in the past 7 years. One was obvious and we definitely felt it, the other one fairly recently was not. Fault line is somewhere in AL.
Thanks.
I lived in Albuquerque for the first time in the early 70s and a couple days after
my arrival, there was a mild earthquake in the middle of the night.
"On January 4, 1971, another shock caused considerable minor damage in
Albuquerque, principally at the University of Albuquerque. "
We attended a geologic seminar on the Albuquerque basin a couple months ago
and the fault map was impressive. Many dozens of minor faults under the entire
area.
**What have I overlooked? If you were coming to ABQ to visit with the intention of living here, knowing what you know as a resident, what should I watch out for?**
Thanks much.
Hi Movinon38,
We made the move from Atlanta to Albuquerque this past summer. You're a nerd after my own heart; I, too, had an Excel spreadsheet with most of the variables that you list.
One aspect that I don't see you mention is crime. For each address that we considered, I looked at the 30-day crime count, which I obtained by entering the address into this website: Search CrimeReports.com
We ended up buying on the Westside in Paradise Hills.
I don't think that you have to worry about thr Rio Grande flooding you out. The elevation increases substantially from the river, up to 6,000 feet along Tramway (and probably 5,600-5,700 in the areas you mentioned). If the river floods enough to get those zip codes, I think there will more to worry about than flooding.
Flooding is more than just proximity to the river; a 100- or 500-year flood can overwhelm the arroyo system in parts of town that aren't particularly close to the river.
Similarly, Martineztown (not the closest to the river) was very susceptible to flooding due to shoddy 100-year-old grandfathered-in storm drainage. That's been largely fixed now, but some parts of town are better designed for that than others.
Driving on Juan Tabo between Montgomery and Eubank will give you an idea of how big they think the floods can get; that big old concrete thinggy isn't just abstract art.
... we'll have an 8.2 ...
Better buy in Rio Rancho where you're well above the river...
Oh THAT'S just GREAT advice.
Everybody knows that when the "Big One" hits, the volcano vents
on the West Mesa will start spewing big-time . Your Rio Rancho
real estate won't be worth much covered by 100 or so feet of lava.
Also, you think Mount Taylor is too far away to effect Albuquerque?
You think wrong.
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Phone/internet
We actually have had 2 in Atlanta in the past 7 years. One was obvious and we definitely felt it, the other one fairly recently was not. Fault line is somewhere in AL. 
