North RR/Bernalillo to KAFB (Albuquerque, Santa Fe: for sale, crime rate, loan)

[johnnyw]

I'm thinking about buying a house near very NE side of Rio Rancho or Bernalillo and commute to KAFB by bike and Rail Runner. I will be working at the very west side of the base. There's a train station near 550/I25. Basically I'm planning to bike to the train station, take the train, and bike to work. Is this plan feasible? An alternative is to leave early (6:00) and come home early (3:30) to avoid the traffic. Any thought?
Thanks.

[Zoidberg]

I think I'd be out of my mind if I got in that situation by choice. I'd also guess it's the third most frequently posted question on this forum.

Why stop at RR/Bernalillo? Rail runner goes all the way to Santa Fe. You could get a house there. Or you could get a house in Raton.. Amtrak can take you both ways.

With the amount of bike riding you'll have to do to incorporate the Rail Runner (which goes slower than driving), you could get a comparable house at a comparable price with a comparable bike ride to the far SE heights, or NE heights. Also, you have far better (more frequent, more versatile) bus service between the base and the rest of town than the train offers to its oh-so-few locations.

If you absolutely have to ride the train on a daily basis, recommend looking at Bosque Farms and getting on at the Isleta station.

[johnnyw]

I think RR has a good combination of schools, lower crime rate, cost of housing and community life. East Mountain is another place we have been thinking about. My wife is a college professor and she might want to find a part-time position in a local college if possible, although it is not a top priority. She would rather stay home and take care of the kids. NE heights is our third choice. We don’t know how long we will be staying in ABQ, so investing a big money on a house is probably not the best of our interest (particularly we are not planning to take any loan). Although NE heights is still an option if there’s no other choice.
My wife is a true believer of education. As a Harvard graduate, anything less than a 10 in greatschools.org is probably not acceptable to her. Enchanted Hills in RR, San Antonito in Sandia Park, Double Eagle/Dennis Chavez/GOK in ABQ are the ones I have been looking for. Bosque Farms has a 9, I think I might be able to talk her into not paying for the private school…
I’m a little different from my wife. I’m more into green, in which I try not to pollute. I drive a Prius and ride on bike often. I don’t like big cities although I do like to interact with people. Crime rate is the first thing I consider before buying a house.
In summary, we are looking for a residence that has “very good” schools, very safe and quite, short commute (<40 minutes or has good public transportation) and ideally the housing is less than $250K. We can bump it up to $350K if we have to. Finally, we like to live in a community that has neighbors and don’t need to live behind bars on the doors and windows. Hopefully we can find a place that satisfies both of us.
Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it.

[loola]

Well I can't speak for schools in the NE Heights, but my fiancee rides his bike from here down to the West Side of base. This town has plenty of bike routes, bike lanes, very bike friendly! Especially on the East side of town. And plenty of great bike shops in town! Fat Tire is a good one. Here is a link though to the city provided bike map if that helps some. Bike Map - City of Albuquerque (http://www.cabq.gov/bike/documents/pdfs/bike-map.pdf/view - broken link)

[loola]

Oh and another thing, the city may be trying to make the roads more cyclist friendly but the drivers here do not care for cyclists. Too many times I have seen cars purposely drive in the bike lane in front of a cyclists so they can't pass the car. It's a shame.

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by johnnyw

I think RR has a good combination of schools,
I drive a Prius and ride on bike often. ...

You might want to consider a house somewhere close to the Blue Line
bus route. It will take you to the UNM area and from there, you can
either bike to the base or connect to another bus that goes there.

There are other base commuters, but the Blue Line runs
often and all day/night rather than just a couple of times.

[jiminnm]

The only impediment I can see to your plan is that 550 carries quite a bit of traffic, most would be going in the same direction you would be biking. We know a couple of folks who bike to that station from the other direction (Placitas), with less traffic and they were thrilled when the station opened and they didn't have to drive.

BTW, my last commute when I was working was 32 miles from my house to the office, so I have a broader perspective than some who have posted.

[johnnyw]

Thanks for your information and that map is extremely informative. From the map I can tell that the east/west bound of traffic can be bad since there are only few bridges that connect 2 big cities. Too bad to hear that the drivers there are not so bike-friendly. I’m more afraid of drivers that come from the back.
I found there are some houses for sale in Bernalillo and I hope I can find one that goes to the station without using 550 (much). In general, is Bernalillo similar to RR in terms of schools and crime rate? Business Week said that RR is the best family-friendly town in NM.
As far as the base commuters, I used to work at Hill AFB in Utah. We have van pools (free) or public transportation vouchers for us to purchase tickets (up to $105 a month). Is there anyone who work on base knows this information?
Thanks.

[loola]

You might want to check with the MPF.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by johnnyw

I found there are some houses for sale in Bernalillo and I hope I can find one that goes to the station without using 550 (much).

I don't know if you are aware that there are two RailRunner train stations in Bernalillo