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to me there is hardly no wind here, coming from Eastern NM, ABQ is perfect in that category.
That is completely true. Eastern NM blows in the wind category. Just this summer we were at a BBQ in Portales, and watched an entire wall of dirt come off the horizon. Some of the most painful wind EVER.
Needless to say, coming from the NE, the wind will probably be something you'll have to get used to, even if ABQ can't compare to the Eastern Plains. So, I agree, wind is something that is unenjoyable about ABQ and NM in general.
There is an anti-downtown attitude that is disappointing. I can't figure out if this is a vocal minority, or a wide spread belief. Downtown ABQ has made enormous steps recently but seems to be really at a tipping point.
Now that I've figured out what part of your very confusing post was actually what you were saying and what part was you quoting others (from an entirely different thread, no less). . .
How much time have you spent walking around the downtown area in the evening? As I've said before, a lot of the time, too many people go there to get f***ed up (very drunk, high, etc.) and maybe get into a little trouble.
But actually lately it's been pretty dead because of Sauce closing (and that's not a good thing either).
I get the sense that a lot of restaurants in the area, even older established ones, are struggling at the moment. (The downtown restaurants are mostly mediocre to begin with.)
Occupancy turnover tends to be pretty high (or that's the way it looks to me anyway). This is not a large area we are talking about, but there are still lots of vacancies.
I live downtown, and it's very weak on basic conveniences for people living in the area. (I moved to this neighborhood because I wasn't sure where I was going to be working and I needed to have easy access to public transportation to different parts of the city because of that. I remain here because it's very inconvenient for me to move again right now.)
I am not anti-downtown. I would be happy to see it get better. I'm new here, and I understand that the downtown area has turned around in recent years; but frankly in the past half year it hasn't been looking too good. Maybe this is a temporary setback which will be overcome once we get past what may be a temporary economic setback globally.
And to respond to the original question, I wouldn't say there's anything I don't like about Albuquerque that I didn't already see before I moved here. No real unpleasant surprises.
(The only real buyer's remorse I have is that I underestimated how harshly the dryness here, the very thing I moved here for, would effect my sinuses.)
Yes to your question (have I spent time downtown). It is the very reason we need the Events Center. We need to get large amount of people downtown regularly. It has also been pointed out many times the positive effect such a development would have on convention business. Have you read? Have you seen? Sorry for the confusing post.
I'm from Long Island, grew up there, also lived in New Hampshire, Maine, and Boston. I've been in Albuquerque now for 20 years. I'm glad you got a good feeling while visiting here, maybe it had to do with the time of year. I first visited in December and thought it was the ugliest place I'd ever seen, everything was brown, the sprawl and squat architecture was unappealing to me. Then after moving here, with very low expectations, my opinion could only improve. I found far more things to like than dislike. People mention the wind, but I can only think of a couple of unpleasant "windy episodes" in 20 years, they are mostly forgotten. If you don't like snow you may be more unpleasantly surprised by the possibility that it can snow as early as October and as late as April. Personally, it doesn't snow (or rain) here enough for me.
I will say that I don't like the high crime and DWI rate. Break-ins are common, it happened to me only once, but it has happened to almost everyone I know. I'm tired of coming home worried that maybe today it was my turn again. My mother moved out here to be closer to me in '02, she grew up in Queens and has lived other places, but she had never been burglarized until she lived here, and being close to 80 at the time it really affected her (and burned me). She can never get the images out of her head of discovering her house had been ransacked. And this in a gated community.
When I retire I'm considering leaving the state, although I'm glad overall to have lived here. This is partly because of the crime but also one gets restless over time and thinks of moving on. There is too much sunshine here for me, which didn't bother me until more recently. Sometimes I want it to rain all day and it doesn't happen, the sun eventually breaks through. This isn't a problem for most people, I know!
I will say that I don't like the high crime and DWI rate. Break-ins are common, it happened to me only once, but it has happened to almost everyone I know. I'm tired of coming home worried that maybe today it was my turn again. My mother moved out here to be closer to me in '02, she grew up in Queens and has lived other places, but she had never been burglarized until she lived here, and being close to 80 at the time it really affected her (and burned me). She can never get the images out of her head of discovering her house had been ransacked. And this in a gated community.
Is break-ins common in all areas or mostly in certain neighborhoods. Growing up in the city, crime is always just around the corner, but you usually just accept as a way of life living in the city. It must be nerve wrecking having to deal with this sort of stuff on a daily basis.
I gew up in a bad area of the Bronx and then lived in Queens and in 60 years my apartment (in Queens) was broken into once.
I've hear so much about crime in Albuquerque and it's the only thing that gives me pause about moving there. Is the crime limited to certain sections of the city or is it rampant all over. How about Rio Rancho or Corrales?
Is the crime limited to certain sections of the city or is it rampant all over. How about Rio Rancho or Corrales?
Crime varies, some locations tend to be worse than others, sometimes the areas change, there has even been crime in Corrales to include murders. Rio Rancho tends to be low crime and well as Corrales. ABQ is a much larger area, 10 times (?) more population than Rio Rancho.
Look at forums here at C-D where you have lived. How does it accurately reflect those areas you have actually lived in?
Crime varies, some locations tend to be worse than others, sometimes the areas change, there has even been crime in Corrales to include murders. Rio Rancho tends to be low crime and well as Corrales. ABQ is a much larger area, 10 times (?) more population than Rio Rancho.
Look at forums here at C-D where you have lived. How does it accurately reflect those areas you have actually lived in?
Rich
Growing up in Brooklyn. You had your good neighborhoods and you had your bad neighborhoods. Granted crime can occur at any given point at any given time, but you knew you had a better chance of not getting mugged in section x as oppose to section y. Me personally all I wanted to know is if the neighborhood with the $1500 plus rent is just as prone to crimes as the neighborhood with $800 rent. In any regards I look at it this way, if my pitbull doesn't get to you first, the shotgun will.
I just spoke to 2 of my wife's cousins that live in East Mountain and they said there is no problem with crime there.
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